Spurred on by the recent thread about attitude changes after an accident, not that I’ve had an accident, but I decide to start running a rear light even in the day as I’m doing a lot of early morning training rides.

As the new bike has an aero post, this meant my current light didn’t fit, so was a good excuse to get a shiny new bit, and I got an Exposure TraceR.

Now this is pretty searingly bright on it’s steady lowest setting, and flashing even feels a bit offensive to me.

So, do you flash, or are you steady?

Yep moon shield set to slowish flash on the rear. The fast flash would cause a seizure I think.

Flash, definitely

Flash. Makes the battery last longer as well! Don’t have lights on during the day though.

After reading this article by Jan Heine, I tend to run my lights steady all the time.

To me, a flashing red light triggers an automatic awareness that it’s a bicycle, rather than anything else ahead… I have both a flashing and a steady together.

Daytime, I flash front and rear.

definately a flasher, got a lezyne femto £7-8 and they are brilliant, wasted my money on many styles before that, the zecto drive may be better if commuting (usb and brighter).

had a play with the moon ring in evans, thats a nice one too

Leave my Dynamo on all the time – so constant steady. Also run a flasher on the bike and a steady on my helmet at night as well.

Constant on the back of my head, flash on the seatpost.

The advantage of the exposure bracket is you can nudge it to point slightly out of the direct line of sight to traffic, or back again if its a dull day and youre in a lot of traffic.

Rear is a cateye something or other which does a dim steady with double pulse, front in summer is a moon comet on fast flicker as (I believe) that catches a drivers eye and also allows them to estimate speed whereas a slower flash can make speed judgement harder. That’s both in daytime. As soon as the light fades I add a steady helmet light (lezyne micro) on front and another rear pulse also on the helmet.

Flashing is awful, please stop it. It is horrible as a driver.

Also, check out that article linked above by steezysix – https://janheine.wordpress.com/2014/04/12/when-more-visible-%E2%89%A0-safer-target-fixation/

“Target fixation occurs when drivers (or pilots) focus on a light source. As most cyclists know, your bike, car or airplane goes where you look, so if you look at the taillight of a cyclist riding on the shoulder, you are more likely to drift onto the shoulder yourself. This is not a theoretical concern – it has been documented in simulators.

Target fixation appears more pronounced for impaired drivers (whether sleepy or drunk). It also appears to be more pronounced with blinking lights than steady ones. And the brighter the lights, the stronger the target fixation becomes.”

Constant, with reflectives on cranks and rims for motion attention. Flash mode maybe if in a busy city but nowhere else.

The right sort of constant also said to help, not a point-source spot but a refracted ring or line type that helps someone behind judge distance better. Downward-angled bright LEDs that light up the rear of the bike are good in the same way. Looks good to me from a distance anyway.

“Target fixation occurs when drivers (or pilots) focus on a light source. As most cyclists know, your bike, car or airplane goes where you look, so if you look at the taillight of a cyclist riding on the shoulder, you are more likely to drift onto the shoulder yourself. This is not a theoretical concern – it has been documented in simulators.

Target fixation appears more pronounced for impaired drivers (whether sleepy or drunk). It also appears to be more pronounced with blinking lights than steady ones. And the brighter the lights, the stronger the target fixation becomes.”And a significant number of riders killed by cars are hit from behind.

Interesting this. I can’t help the OP but I will say that when it’s dark or dusk and a bike has a really bright flashing rear light it can be very distracting when trying to pass safely. Presumably there are different brightness modes?

Or for contrast to a speculative blog post check what British Cycling have to say on the subject. A precis would be “do all you can to be visible but don’t dazzle”

And a significant number of riders killed by cars are hit from behind.

Doesnt mean a light would hrlp

Or for contrast to a speculative blog post check what British Cycling have to say on the subject. A precis would be “do all you can to be visible but don’t dazzle”

The whole article is about low light conditions though. Not sunny days. Why someone would think a flashing light will help them on a sunny day is beyond me.

Is the mid-noughties Smart 0.5W rear light still considered good by today’s standards?

I bought a Moonshine MJ-900 front for the bargain price of £30 recently, ready for winter (or less likely a night ride in summer, given my usual early bedtime), but I resisted getting the higher model front/rear Moonshine set with remote switch, because the Smart seems ok.

as – Bright sunshine means deep shadows under trees, and someone accustomed to the light levels in the sun may find it harder to see obstacles in the darker parts of the road. Any light source in the shadows will help you get noticed by someone who’s still in the sun.

Almost all my road riding is commuting, but it’s a mix of urban, suburban and rural roads.

I always have at least one flashing rear light. If it’s dark/dim then I have one steady and one flashing. As above, the flashing marks you out as a bike, in the dark the steady one helps judge distance.

Flashing is awful, please stop it. It is horrible as a driver.

I’m a driver too, never had a problem with a flashing rear light. Occasionally noticed one and thought “oo, that’s good, I wonder what it is”. I’ve seen a guy using a magicshine style front light on strobe mode down a pitch black country lane, it was horrible to ride towards and probably horrible for him too.

flashing around the town center
flashing and an extra steady if I’m doing anything more rural

Bought a Bontrager Flare R on the basis of its high visibility claims during daylight. Use it in flash mode during the day. Anything that alerts drivers to your presence from a distance on the road is a good thing. I am also a driver and I have no problem at all with cyclists using bright flashing rear lights during the day.

Garmin Varia rear radar/light, flashing changes when it detects a vehicle and shows up on my Garmin Edge.

During hours of darkness.
I have my rear light on steady because i think rear flashers are a bit annoying
I have my front light on steady because i think front flashers are pointless and really annoying.
A bit of flashing is understandable, but some people on the road are going massively over the top, the idea of rear lights is to be seen, not to stun fellow cylists and frustrate drivers.

During daylight flashing is probably fine, if it floats your boat.

anagallis_arvensis – Member
And a significant number of riders killed by cars are hit from behind.
Doesnt mean a light would hrlp

No, agreed sometimes it’ll make no difference, I was wondering if lights may influence how close people get since some rear shunts will be from misjudging distance and position – exactly what bright, point-source flashers may have an influence on based on studies.

I know from all the time I’ve spent riding on dark B-roads and lanes that I’ve felt that I get less close passes with a good constant light, after using both types for a fair while. Driver annoyance over strobes resulting in a DGAS pass or simply less ability to judge space, that’s the unknown.

hmmm the latest flashing trend around here seems to be mounting a white forward flashing light on the side of your helmet….at eye level 🙁

Which is absolutely great on a 10 mile cycle path with err no cars or elephants in broad daylight …

In the proper dark then one on solid and one on flashing (front and rear) I.e. In the winter

If I ride at night now then ideally it’s flashing usually (usually in an urban area fairly well lit)

Off topic plea to turn down the settings of lights on shared paths. Really unpleasant for walkers and other cyclists to have stupid bright rear/front flashing/steady.
I’ve had to stop my bike before to let the Suncannon type of riders pass.

In low light (including where the sun is low in the sky), rain or dark I use a constant light.
On a bright day where I am going in and out of the deep shadow of trees I use the flashing mode to catch the attention of drivers who are wearing sun glasses or whose eyes are slow to adjust from bright sunlight to the gloom

If there’s such a thing as a driver who is so distracted by a flashing light that they drive into it.. well, they clearly have other mental problems which mean they shouldnt be driving at all.

Seem to get the best results using a pair of cheap Lezyne lights set to pulse at all times, not as harsh as a strong flash but more noticeable than a steady light most of the time. If it’s really sunny I’ll put my second rear light on a hard flash, that’s usually on continuously to provide a focus for drivers to judge distance. Going to look into a dynamo setup for the commuter soon though so will have constant lights all the time and use the pulsers as extras.

If there’s such a thing as a driver who is so distracted by a flashing light that they drive into it.. well, they clearly have other mental problems which mean they shouldnt be driving at all.

It is not so much destraction as position judgement. Of both you and other traffic. In an urban environment in the dark 0.5 w smart rear led flashing is very visible and not too dazzling, paired with a constant one in rural environment s is very good in the dark imo.

However in rural areas some of the super bright rear (and front) light on pulse mode are and make it hard to judge position of on coming traffic as your eyes are constantly trying to adjust. It is like following someone turning on and off super bright fog lights when there is no fog. Even in the day time some of the super bright rear ones can be a little dazzling. These settings should be reserved for day time imo as visibility at night is really a problem with any halfway decent basic led.

I’ve never ran a light during the day but have been considering it problem is finding a light with the right level of brightness.

Interesting set of thoughts so far. With the flashers seeming to exceed the steadies.

I went steady for this morning’s 50 mile rural road ride, and it certainly felt like I got given more room. Impossible to say for sure though, but it did seem like people were slowing down and pulling out earlier to overtake, which suggests they were able to recognise a bike, and plan their overtake, much earlier.

I think I’d only run the flasher if I had a steady on as well. I’m well aware of target fixation, coming from a motorcycling background, and I don’t think flashing lights help at all. In fact, I’m completely anti them in the front as I think it makes it really difficult to gauge speed, and something like my front Exposure light on flashing is like being blinded by a disco.

I use the same light as the OP – Exposure TraceR – and have it set on flash which is actually a steady with a brighter pulse, so is the best of both worlds IMO. I run it in the daytime because it can’t do any harm, right.

If there’s such a thing as a driver who is so distracted by a flashing light that they drive into it.. well, they clearly have other mental problems which mean they shouldnt be driving at all.

I actually had a similar discussion when a driver pulled alongside for a conversation about my (then) flashing Niterider. It was early days for bright and flashy so I think he was trying to go down the epilepsy route and argue how dangerous it could be should they have a fit and step on the accelerator, inadvertently running over the offending cyclist.

You gotta laugh…

I go steady. Got a Moon LX70 which is plenty bright enough.

Try to wear hi-viz or bright jersey if I’m on road for any length of time.

Moon Shield on standard flash on the seatpost in almost all conditions. Sometimes with another, in bad weather or at night. If I’m running two, on flashes and one is constant.

It is not so much destraction as position judgement. Of both you and other traffic.

Sorry mate, you can science it up however you bleedin want, but I live here in this real world and if I’m driving my car on a real road and I see a real bike with a real light on it, flashing or otherwise, bright or dim, it means only one thing: There is a bike there on that road. I see it with my eyes and I react with my driving. It’s not a “destraction” [sic], it’s a real thing, there to be part of the observation I undertake when driving and avoided/given space/waited for… whatever the situation dictates.

Perhaps not covering yourself in black clothing might help too.

I need to use my rear lights on flash mode otherwise you only get a couple of hours .The moon lights are really bright but last about 2 1/2 hours on constant