Always a bit scary commuting on the first week after the clocks change.
It’s like some people spent all summer forgetting how to drive in the dark.

Keep sharp all you commuter folk.

Spent a decent chunk of the last week charging batteries and replacing shagged out kit, I quite like night commuting but it’s still a pain… (I have an unlit, NSL stretch on mine and I’m pretty sure I’m safer at night with my fairground lights going, than I am in the day…)

I prefer it when it’s properly dark for my commute, really don’t like the half-light of dusk as drivers pay less attention than usual. Work is flexible about time so I can adjust my commuting time to suit.

After the other weeks demonstration of driving fuckwittery i’m on the canal for the foreseeable future.

Minibusses hurt

Treated myself to a new Lezyne 600 lumen job. That plus a flashing led at the front and two at the rear should have me pretty well covered

I also prefer a properly dark commute to dusk. You’d have to really not want to see me to miss me with all those lights in the dark.

hang on, someone will be on in a minute to tell you how having lights makes busses hit you or something.

Someone needs to tell the students in Stirling – Saturday night late, black top, jeans, no lights, no reflective, big headphones on, unlit road, under trees against dark grey wall. Even with car headlights on the kids could not see him, until we were a couple of car lengths from him. 😐

I’ve been using a B+M LED dynamo lamp for the last month or so, I’ll be wiring up the rear lamp tonight when I get home. Fit and forget, it even turns on automatically.

Oh yes. If you were a couple of mountain bikers heading out of Colne over the tops towards Skipton on Saturday morning then wearing black in thick fog and not having your lights on is a good way to become a traffic statistic. At least one had a decent front light and both were middle aged men so not just local kids out for a ride.

+1 for the dynamo setup as well.

Someone needs to tell the all students in Stirling – Saturday night late, black tops, jeans, no lights, no reflective, big headphones on, unlit road, under trees against dark grey wall.

^^All while tXt’n* 😯

* usually

The police round my way have been telling people the same thing recently and handing out cheap hi viz neck warmers for free as if that will solve the problem. The “stay bright, stay safe” message is a ridiculous one.

I was talking with a colleague about this a few minutes ago. I’ll agree that darkness is safer than dusk if you have lights on. Which obviously I do as I’m not suicidal.

I’ve found an Exposure Link on the helmet seems to get drivers to take extra care.

Plus a B&M front light, Moon rear light, reflectors on my spd pedals and a Night Vision jacket…..

I’m happy off road with my Hope R8 but I think that is a bit OTT for a road commute. Any recommendations for a road use USB chargeable light of reasonable power? I have two Wilko flashes at the rear and a Moon flasher/solid at the fron but that is no good for seeing, only for being seen…

I think statistically, you’re more likely to get hurt at dusk than in the dark…

I’ve had lights on for most of my commutes in October anyway, but might need to have more reflectives than hi vis on

Any recommendations for a road use USB chargeable light of reasonable power?

Plenty of good suggestions here:

USB rechargeable lights thread

In the recommend what you’ve already got tradition the Lezyne 600XL is very good for £42 off of CRC

Hmm, about to head off along the canal and the pedestrians dressed in black who you only see because of the light from their phone 🙄

Any tips for lights to attach to a rucksack? I run a good cateye under the seat but could do with a light higher up on my back. Fibre Flare any good?

Herself has a FibreFlare zip-tied to her rucsac. It’s not all that bright, it just helps to make her a little more visible.

[video]https://youtu.be/YqPfcuw7AxU[/video]

I have a fibre flare on my back pack and I’ve had car drivers tell me how good it is when they pull up at the lights.

Don’t forget to wear some reflectives.. Ankle and wrist bands work well, maybe some reflective 3M tape on your bike or helmet

Quite often think that pitch black commuting is the safest of all. In daytime, drivers look for other vehicles, at night they look for light sources. Decent lights level the playing field for the commuting cyclist.

Lidl/Aldi did some 3M reflective arm/ankle straps with a strip of LEDs in them. They were so cheap we assumed they were disposable and bought a few packs but actually they take CR2032s. Illuminated and reflective, moving and flashing, you’d hope they’d help!

Buy a medium powered light, strap it to the bars backwards and illuminate yourself. I’ve found that one of the best ways to be seen as a cyclist and not just some random bright light in traffic.

I’m tempted to get one of these after seeing a couple on the roads.

http://www.provizsports.com/en-gb/proviz-reflect360-cycling-jacket-mens.html

Those Proviz are literally brilliant, almost disconcerting and appropriate for Halloween!

Great video that re reflective clothing.

I never wear a jacket and only pop a gillet on if driving rain, cold and windy.

Are there any good normal riding shirts out there that have good reflective taping? I don’t commute but do end up on the road during my night rides.

Cheers

Looks like some Proviz kit, almost too reflective

i dont think it matters.

i near got taken oot by a static transit tonight. **** was texting or facebooking on his phone and just switched lanes as i was passing him in static traffic.

– was sporting high viz vest , lumo helmet , b + m iqx , reflectors , helmet light etc etc …. but they just aint looking.

A saw a driver enter a one way street the wrong way.
There was a copper on his horse at the entrance to the road.
If he doesn’t get noticed ,no one is safe.

The M61/62 was flippin’ unreal tonight – as if everyone went “ooh it’s dark – engage Singapore GP mode – bwaaarrrp”.

No cyclists though.

Tonight’s commute was a bit of an eye-opener, so muck f**kwittery on display 😯

Passed one knocked-down cyclist, two fender-benders and one nasty looking motorbike crash with the rider lying in the middle of the road after being cut off by a car turning right. Bike looked a mess and the rider was in a very odd position on the ground.

Not good for a 4 mile commute 😥

Tonight’s commute was a bit of an eye-opener, so muck f**kwittery on display 😯

Passed one knocked-down cyclist, two fender-benders and one nasty looking motorbike crash with the rider lying in the middle of the road after being cut off by a car turning right. Bike looked a mess and the rider was in a very odd position on the ground.

Not good for a 4 mile commute 😥

Where the hell are you riding Milky?

My 23 miles was very uneventful apart from one driver thinking he could squeeze his large silver German car through a gap I was already occupying. Yes, it was an Audi.

Thanks for reminding me I want a new front light 🙂

First road ride commute of the season here having gone to LL and bought a lezyne 600XL yesterday. Took most of the ride trying to get the angle right, only finally got it close about 2 miles from home. Was nice and quiet and I managed to get off the main roads before the worst of the ‘dusk’ arrived and the back on them once it was definitely night. I’ve ordered some reflective tape for the mtb helmet and want to get some in white for the road helmet too so will be in sticking mode soon.

Mister P – that was going through the centre of Cardiff W-E along Newport Road, not the best or safest route at the best of times but I had an order to collect from Evans so it was the only way! It’s a bit of road that goes from multi-lane dual carriageway to narrow single lanes, multiple pinchpoints and a few local ratruns going off in all directions. Oh and a random bus lane too, it’s awful in rush hour. I usually avoid it.

Had a good one last week on cycle path in pitch dark – jogger running towards me with a flashing red light on his head to me looked like a bike 1/2 a mile up the path until I was close to actually figure out WTF it was…..close enough that he waved his arms even.

Don’t really get running towards cyclists.

Got the proviz out this year – evil sweat in the bag but deco ultimate in the be seen

Those pro viz are amazing when it’s dark and you shine a light on them. Pretty crap rest of the time though as they are grey.