Just heard in passing that Jeremy Vine is going to be ranting about ‘How bright?’ bike lights are these days. “Up to 1200 Lumens!”

Prepare to be annoyed (or to phone in…)

all cyclists should be taxed, insured and have registration plates. this is guaranteed to stop them running red lights/getting in the way, riding on pavements/getting in the way on Our Roads(tm) and having really bright lights/having no lights…etc

and some of them wear lycra! bastards.

Shall we play bingo then?

I guarantee that within the first 4 calls a London cabby (who sounds like Phil Daniels doing Parklike) has warmed to his theme and gone off on one about red light jumping, and not paying road tax? 😀

Big ass lights constantly on flood mode instead of the beem being directed? Seems fair

I think we should all phone in..

I do point my jumbo lights down when in traffic – and I’m not sure that 2000 lumens on your city bike is really doing anyone a favour. My issue is with flashing bright lights as they’re hard to judge the distance away from it.

so as many lumens as a strong light bulb. hmm.

The thing about flashing lights is that if you see one its quiet clear whats headed your way.

Obviously if its set to an eye raping level of intensity it looks like ET has returned!

Ay, the bastards..
Lights on most vehicles are too bright for my (getting older) eyes. I have trouble sometimes with intermittent flashes, sometimes vehicle LEDs are too bright too.. But then you have to counter that with not being seen at all. I still see folks riding in Town without lights and wearing black (hoodies invariably) which is a proper PITA.

I give the Vine programme 6/10 for proper journalism.

It’s not totally wrong, though. Trouble (as with car lights) is aim. Which is really weird because if you’re riding on unlit roads, you want to have your lights aimed downwards anyway.

Bike headlights are rarely as bright as car headlights.

ass lights

Are they just for the rear?

chipps – I work here

Just heard in passing…

Just heard in passing…… 😆

a debate on poorly-located sat navs and phone cradles in the middle of windscreens is needed more than this.
it’s a satnav mate, it’s not a f***ing head-up display…

How about indicators behind white lenses, they are lethal, its often really hard to see a driver indicate his intention to ignore your existence on the road and cut right across you from the other side of the road.

Isn’t he a big cyclist himself? Assume this is about urban usage not bombing down through the woods….

chipps – I work here
I do point my jumbo lights down when in traffic – and I’m not sure that 2000 lumens on your city bike is really doing anyone a favour. My issue is with flashing bright lights as they’re hard to judge the distance away from it.

Exactly!

How about indicators behind white lenses, they are lethal, its often really hard to see a driver indicate his intention to ignore your existence on the road and cut right across you from the other side of the road.

This. In addition to indicators placed towards the centre of the car rather than outside, usually the french cars. Also cars that have indicators that are not visible from the side, having to rely on tiny repeaters.

As a motorist I’m all for bright lights front and rear and as much flashing as possible. Anyone who goes to great lengths to prevent my precious tin box from ending up with a dent in it, is alright by me.

other commuter lights often have me shielding my eyes. i dont often do this with car lights. i dim my lights on road or if approaching people. its worse when thy are mega bright and also flashing.

i`d agree with mr vine.

Just because some cars have problems with indicators, satnav positions ect, ect it doesn’t mean there can’t be a discussion about cycle lights. And yes some cyclists do use inappropriate lights 🙁

once you’ve dried your eyes you big baby, put some sunglasses on.

I really should ring in…

Road Riders can be a nuisance if the light isn’t ‘dipped’ especially if they’re out and about in big groups. Do roadies need 1200 lumens in the city with street lighting?
Some rear lights can be a real nightmare to ride behind, why do they need to be off the scale lumen wise?

So yes, really bright bike lights should only be the province of off roaders.

1000 lumen job pointing down about 6ft in front of me on the road with my “hat lights” switched off until I get off road.

Don’t need any more. If I get hit it is because they haven’t looked so if I’m lit up like Old Trafford it wouldn’t make a difference.

Now, people riding with little or no lights and dressed like Ninjas… that boils my wee. Saw a roadie (just) on a high end bike, dressed in black with lights out of a Christmas cracker weaving through wet rush hour traffic last night.

Saw a roadie (just) on a high end bike, dressed in black with lights out of a Christmas cracker weaving through wet rush hour traffic last night.

that’s the important bit though. I bet your satnav was in a sensible place 😉

Here we go…

It’s really up to manufacturers to set some standards and provide guidance. Buying and using lights is a minefield.

Personally though, I’ve never experienced any problems while driving. If I see anyone with a super bright light, my first thought is, where can I get one?!. Never ever been blinded by them. They’ve never been any more overpowering than the oncoming motor traffic. Usually much less so.

The one place they’re a pain in the arse though, is on unlit tracks. As a pedestrian or a cyclist, if you dip your beam and put it in utterly feeble mode, and someone approaches with 1200 lumens directly in your face, all you can see is blackness… I’ve literally had to stop a few times, not even knowing whether I’m on the edge on in the centre of the track because I couldn’t see anything at all. Little bit different in a car when you have a fair bit of power blasting back at them, even on dipped beam (but perhaps I just haven’t experienced it yet).

the worst bit of this debate is having to sit through all the crap music and Vine getting shirty with Corbyn.

Shall we play bingo then?

I’ve got £10 on first mention of IS or immigrants. Top talking point for the cabbie(s) who will call in.

bans – tick

I think its a fair criticism, On my commute I meet cyclists with
-overly bright poorly angled bar lights
-stupidly dim lights which are completely useless
-helmet mounted lights flashing straight in my eyes as we pass
-Road ninjas with no lights and dressed in all black
-An idiot with a rear light on the front
None of which are helpful for other road users, many of which make it dangerous for the cyclist in question some make it more dangerous for me to cycle.

Maybe there is something to be said for some form of certification of lights for road use, not that it means they will actually be used correctly.

As said above, on unlit tracks they’re a bloody nuisance, but it isn’t the brightness that’s the issue it’s the fact that some idiots have them pointed so that the beam is parallel to the ground.

Like driving round in your car with full beams on permanently and wondering why it annoys other drivers.

I have asked a few folks on my cycle path commute to point the light down the way, if you need that extra bit of light to ensure a car at a junction sees you, then a helmet light is the best way.

Jeremy Vine is nob though.

Jeremy shining lights straight in his face and saying how bright they are.. science at work!

How many lumens is a car headlight? 2000+

VINE: “if I point it in my face I can only see the light!!!”

WTF

motoring journo spouting industrial-strength bollocks

that’s the important bit though

the

just

was the important bit actually. He’d passed me at a set of lights near Morrison’s in Whitefield earlier and I thought “Nice bike but crap lights”, a Dogma, then he vanished off into the darkness. I caught up with him by the Beehive when he launched himself passed a 135, but this is just irrelevant detail.

Leg Over! – Zog gets bitch slapped. Quality.

good work James

Jeremy Vine is nob though.

He dances like he’s got a Grippa-Rod™ up his ass too.

This Zog is a right dickhead.

must be a middle ground somewhere (not on Jeremy Vine to be fair).

“Ninja cyclists”
“lights are too bright”

Do roadies need 1200 lumens in the city with street lighting?

Well, to some extent to differentiate themselves against a background of headlights, it could be argued yes they do…