Just been out for a short walk up on Stanage with the missus. Passed a fair few roadies on the drive out and back. All of whom had rear lights on, appropriate for the rather gloomy, overcast/low sun conditions.

Except all bar one might as well not have bothered because I needed to be within 10m to actually be able to tell the light was on, they were so dim! That one guy was visible from miles away (I spotted him long before his 2 mates who were behind him by some distance). The rest needed very careful attention to pick out from the general greyness. (special mention to the guy with the Knog-style helmet light. Your Chris-Froome-staring-at-stems position meant the light was pointing straight up in the air, and therefore useless!

It’s worth noting that there’s something funky about the discharge cycle of modern batteries with LEDs. If you just put the light on for a few seconds, it can appear quite bright, but if the battery is not very charged, the output will drop off a cliff after a few minutes use, so it’s easy to be fooled into thinking the battery is OK when it very much isn’t.

I’ve almost certainly been guilty of exactly the same error. First thing I’ve done though, since walking back in the door, has been to put my Flash & Flare on charge for tomorrow.

Good advice.

Mine stopped working on a twilight ride the other day, at which point I have no idea.

Fortunately I had a reasonable amount of reflecto-guff on my garments, it’s dodgy enough bombing round the unlit lanes at rush hour anyway.

Can’t argue with that.

I double up with rear lights, one on steady and one on flashing.

I have witnessed some truly terrible lights out and about, both too dim and too bright.

I always ride with 2 rear lights on road, just too risky to rely on a single light IMO

You also see lots of commuters with red lights on seatposts or helmets which are obscured by their panniers or rucksack.
Seems obvious to check this in a mirror or ask someone to check for you.
Doubling up – one flashing and one steady is a sensible strategy IMO

Spot on. And while you are at it do make sure the angle adjustment screw on the bracket is tight after you fit a new light that is just right at the angle it came out of the packet at.

Illuminating the bolts on a rear crud catcher/the seat stay yoke after the first mile or so is of very little benefit to anyone … 😳

Concur. Have just upgraded my own rear lights.

Agreed.
Often see bikes with mega front lights, and the feeblest rear lights possible.

It’s also worth getting someone to check whether your “highly reflective”/ brightly coloured jacket is actually bright colours from behind or under streetlights. A lot of clothing manufacturers seem to think that we want the front to be nice and bright, and the back to be black so we’re invisible… (And Jon, most of your red jackets really do look black under sodium lighting!)

see too many riders in London at night (during my daily commute home) with very dim rear lights, lights obscured by other items, lights at wrong angle (i.e. mounted on backpack sticking 45 degree up into sky when rider on bike) and a good number just with no lights..at all

many of the replaceable battery lights seems to chew through batteries really quickly? Cateye always seemed the worst offender based on my ownership of a number of their front and rear lights. You could turn the light on, it would be bright, and within 1 mile its gone dim. Had to replace the batteries every 3-4 weeks to keep it bright, and only commuting 30-40 minutes 5 days a week.

20hrs ain’t bad for rear light batteries really

@dirtyrider

I suppose so, but its one of those things you easily forget as the light seems bright when you initially switch it on.

I currently use rechargeable USB lights which give 5-6 hours, and make sure to charge once a week

Musing to myself the other day whilst driving along and noticing the same thing, surely a minimum legal rear light brightness wouldn’t be too hard to enforce?

Campaign/awareness obviously needed ‘keep you light charged’ etc, and phasing out/phasing in out acceptable lights timeframe.

Some people will need to buy new kit, but it’s hard to argue against it? – Just rear lights, not high-vis underpants and blah blah that the visibility of cyclists issue tends to descend into (not trolling btw, not my thing).

Oh and yes, there’s a case for front, but just struck me that who could argue against the rear meeting minimal compliance? (Saying that, even before I click send post, I’m sure some will!)

EDIT: Legislation such as (off the top of my head, I’m sure it’s flawed) – “All rear lights for use on public highways must be of ‘x’ brightness.” This is delivered by all lights that wish to meet legislation, having an indicator to show that sufficient brightness is being achieved by current charge or battery power (therefore safe to use on roads) or not, in which case use the batteries for ‘off-road’ or bin, or charge you battery if rechargable)

In the old days lights were hard to achieve. Bulbs failed and batteries might last 4 hours if you were lucky. In real terms lights and batteries cost more

Now a day there really is no excuse

I do think that Alkalis and LED is a confusing combo as they turn on but get gradually dimmer with time. The specs are often lies as well suggesting battery life’s that ere clearly impossible at full power

The converse is the guy who went past me on box hill today, I think it might have been a lezyne and it was super bright even in day time to the point of being irritating. I had to let him escape up the hill

I’m a Christmas tree on the road, 2 front, 2 rear (one constant one flashing) and reflective arm and leg bands with LEDs built in on right arm and leg.

Tend to see extremes, enthusiasts belting out the lumens and commuters with flat batteries and obscured lights.

I can totally recommend the Knog Blinders. Really bright (for a commuter light) and they just slot into your laptop whilst at work to charge up – plus they are pretty much the only cheap(ish) commuter light I’ve had that’s waterproof

Well, Bear, current legislation does specify a brightness. I can’t remember what it is but think it may be couched in terms most would not be able to translate to what their light is achieving from looking at it. How it could be tested by police I don’t know. Don’t think the legislation specifies a distance at which a reading would be taken but may be wrong – I suspect it is “at the light” so to speak.

I always have two seat post lights ,and every Winter I buy a few sets of these

and hang them on my rucksacs.
I also extend the ties with kite string so that they move around more .
They are cheap as chips from Aldi..lidl and last all winter on the slow flash.

Go on then, how are you going to enforce it? And the people you get to enforce it, which other laws are you going to stop enforcing in order for them to have the time to do so?

Has anybody mentioned reflectors yet? For visibility to cars approaching from behind, they’ll easily beat a light which meets the minimum legal standard, and a lot of the decent ones currently available.

Recently when driving I passed a cyclist who had no rear light that I could see (he was visible due to reflectors as mentioned above). I’m hoping he took it the right way when I pulled alongside and told him his light was out – trying to help him out.

i see lots of shadows at the last minute
most tend not to be on bike

i guess black is the new black right now? (at night running for the tram when the green man goes red)

have solid red on one bike, flashing on the other, and the helmet flashing LEDs are merely additional ( but the battery went flat on oneside)

Drove past a girl cycling along last night and initially grumbled to myself how stupid she was for having no rear light.
As I got close, I realised she had one but her curly lock was clipped above it, completely obscuring it.

So, stopped a bit further up the road where there was space for her to get off the road, managed to stop her and told her the problem. She seemed quite grateful and I didn’t get sworn at, so seemed like a good result.
Initially I wasn’t gonna bother, but glad I did.

At least two rear lights I one flashing. That way even if the steady light fails, there will still be a working light. Power drain rates mean they won’t fail at the same time.

I use Cateye Rapid Mini x2 one with a seatpost mount, the other with either saddle rail or Fizik special mount.

Commuter also has a fenderbot for emergencies.

/\ she was probably grateful you didn’t stop to murder her.
Loads of bikers in Oxford wear black, have no lights and no helmet at night.
Are these the ones who get killed the most?
I just don’t get it.

aracer – Member

Go on then, how are you going to enforce it? And the people you get to enforce it, which other laws are you going to stop enforcing in order for them to have the time to do so?

😀

OC thanks; if manufacturers were forced to have the output indicators on the unit, it would remove any need to measure. Simple Y/N, pass/fail or even a sliding scale to get a bit swanky.

Just looking at the cyclist/device would give a yes/no legal output, or non compliance. (Old style light)

I’m not a policymaker, just struck me as a relatively easy quick-win. I’ve not thought it out much more than the above.

Loads of bikers in Oxford wear black, have no lights and no helmet at night.

Not sure how a helmet aids conspicuity?

Agree with the comments about double rear lights, one steady and one on flash, also have a cheapy Aldi one in my bag for the just in case moments.

I met someone from Oxford who was “having to buy lights as all the motorists in Cardiff are idiots who don’t look out for cyclists who haven’t got them.” He was serious, and I seem to remember him being dressed in black too.

3 rear lights in various modes and 3 front lights in various modes.
usually 2 each direction on the bike and 1 each direction on my helmet.
can you have too many lights?

So occifers stop cyclists to check the markings on the lights? All old lights (along with imported ones) are instantly illegal even if they’re really bright? Sounds like a good use of police time.

You see loads of people who have bought loads of gimmic lights (like those tiny elsatic/rubber band fasten ones shown above). While they seem great to you, they are utterly pointless more than 10m away. The bigger the light the better (size not brightness), tiny lights (where it basically just a raw LED) do nothing for being seen.

Perhaps there needs to be a standard then folk on bikes wouldnt need to read an obscure forum to know its an issue?

Respect to the guy I was following last week – had a nice shiney rear light.

Alas, the long (black) trench coat he was wearing that completely covered it made it a bit pointless…

I have, um, I think 6 rear lights just now. One of them’s got low batteries though, should probably sort that in case the other 5 go out

Sometimes I get the feeling that some cyclists are almost daring drivers to hit them, really!

So occifers stop cyclists to check the markings on the lights? All old lights (along with imported ones) are instantly illegal even if they’re really bright? Sounds like a good use of police time.

Um, yes. Officer suspects below standard looking light, stops the perp and simply looks at the indicator – not a big faff is it?

Regarding instantly obsolete old lights:

Campaign/awareness obviously needed ‘keep you light charged’ etc, and phasing out/phasing in out acceptable lights timeframe.

Change happens, laws come in, stuff becomes obsolete.

Went past a rider this morning on a country road that seemed happy to blind everyone coming towards him with his bar and helmet light unfortunately his rear light was the equivalent of a dying candle.

I have 3 rear lights on my Arkose. A cheapie Evans flasher, a Cateye LD610 and a Fibreflare, on constant, down the RH seat stay.

I’ll be most put out if someone does run into the back of me.

EDIT: forgot to mention the flasher on my helmet too, for brow of the hill early warnings

“Um, yes. Officer suspects below standard looking light, stops the perp and simply looks at the indicator – not a big faff is it?”

And how would the marking account for a battery on its last legs? Which is the usual problem. It’s actual output, not theoretical, that matters.

OC, the output would be what’s measured by the markings, or am I missing something? (entirely possible!)

A certain standard of output required by all manufacturers (maybe even a max?) and basically you have an output level indicator. Even if the circuitry maintained maximum output and then just went pop, the ‘law’ as it were would put the onus on cyclist to ensure it’s charged etc to attain sufficient output.

A battery on last legs would be showing reduced output and indicting as such.

I’m waiting to have some fundamental flaw pointed out, upon which I’ll apologise and scuttle off, just my little brain hasn’t seen it yet.