By proper i mean 500 lumen plus, do you commute with them on in the day (in flash mode)

was hit by a car, and i cant help but wandering if i had my diablo on flash, maybe the guy would have seen me?

yes.

I’ve tried it with my DX bastid light (900 lumens) but on flash it’s just too bright and all the road signs flash back at you with the reflection! I can’t stand it for more than a couple of minutes, it’s just too much!

Also, there’s little or no side visibility. I use a Joystick on my head or on the bars to see where I’m going on the dark bits and a separate flashy light on the bike for visibility

ay-ups on constant here. never been hit by a car…

I sometimes drive to work. Some chod commutes with what is obviously a rather good off-road light flashing on the front of his bike. It is so damned bright I actively don’t look at him because it is too bright and messes with my vision.

Unless you got hit head-on, what difference would a flashing light with no side visibility make?

The word is ‘wondering’, not ‘wandering’.

IF you have bright lights (i.e ones which can be used for riding in unlite areas) don’t put them on flash have them on constant the flashing is dazzling. Just like on a group (but worse) ride you should set your rear light to constant and not flashing.

no light in flash mode during day. At night use a 500 lumen cutter a lummi with lit up cover and a flashing gnog when dark
why not flash for rear?i have one of each fwiw at rear

Unless you got hit head-on, what difference would a flashing light with no side visibility make?

Think about that statement very carefully…….. The answer is in your question! 🙂

why not flash for rear?i have one of each fwiw at rear

Group ride. It dazzles when riding in a pack / line. Just the same as ultra bright front light dazzles drivers and other cyclist when on flash.

perhaps he was wandering, whilst wondering and that’s why he got hit by a car?

Is this a troll?

Yep – you cannot have too much light – 900 lumen minimum of full beam set horizontally so drivers can’t miss you, plus about 4 rear LEDs, one at least 5W.

The guy never checked his rear view mirror, so i was guessing that if my light was flashing then it would have increased the chance of him seeing me

£500 quid to replace a derallieur and gear shifter, not to mention the injuries to me will make anyone wander about ways to increase their safety

Just a thort?

£500 quid to replace a derallieur and gear shifter

sorry you got hurt but you should get another quote.

Rather than having a very bright flashing light with a narrow bean you need a light with a large area of light output and a broad beam – you want it to be able to be seen from all angle and you want the area that it emits light from to be large.

I have wondered about putting a ping pong ball with a hole cut in it over my off road lights to give a diffuse light to seen from all angles

I do sometimes use a small head torch and shine that directly at cars or in their mirrors – but its a a 20 lumen job not a 2000 lumen

And of course always assume no car driver has seen you.

yeti guy – Member

The guy never checked his rear view mirror, so i was guessing that if my light was flashing then it would have increased the chance of him seeing me

I think its a fair bet he whouldn’t have seen yo no matter what you did

How did he hit you if he needed to look in his rear mirror to see you?

I have a new commute. It was fine in the summer, but now I’m travelling in the twilight and the dark. Lumi LED up front, flashing in the daylight, constant at night (to see). Handgrenade (flahing) on the back). Flashing/reflective ankle and wrist bands.

I’m going to supplement with:

*bright constant rear light, maybe on bike maybe on rucsac
*flashing leds to be seen front and back of helmet
*flashing lights on forks to give side visibility

Small price to pay for a route that is a mix of lit urban/suburbam roads, unllit country lanes, busy A road, pitch black river bank.

I want to see and be seen.

me again, peddling my crackpot bullshit 🙄

I commute – by car

small (effectively point source) super-bright lights that have no control over upward beam spread do cyclists no favours at all when it’s dark. You don’t look like a cyclist, you look like a distant bike or car (or UFO) on full beam

IMO if you want to be seen, wear a high-viz top and shine weakish lights onto yourself. Don’t kid yourself that dazzling drivers is making you safe. Use the bright lights in dark areas where there’s no traffic

Daytime maybe different & might just get attention drawn your way (& then they can easily identify what you actually are)

ourmaninthenorth
Bloodyhell,it’s only just turned october and your putting up your christmas tree lights 😀

I find oncoming off road lights on a bike a hazard when driving my car. I find them blinding and also they make me lose sight of the road. I would not do it myself but I think cyclists using them are quite likely to prompt a motorist to putting their lights on full beam. Which isn’t right in its self, but can see it happening.

Yep, flashing on the road, beam off. Makes no difference though. The roads are filled with complete bellends. The other morning I could see the guys eyes lighting up as the flashing light reflected off them and he still pulled out in front of me.

Kill them. Word will get round.

£500 quid to replace a derallieur and gear shifter
sorry you got hurt but you should get another quote.

Trust me that was with shopping around, Props to Shiny Bikes Fraser there gives great service and crackin prices

Dark means danger, so get yourself seen
At night, make it white
In the dark make it light
But get yourself seen

Take a brush to your bike
Use some tape if you like
But get yourself seen

Make it big
Make it bold
Make it bright

To be sure that you’re seen
Keep your lights bright and clean
But get yourself seen

Whether working for a living or just riding for your pleasure
Let the world see your life is something that you treasure
And get yourself seen

Make it big
Make it bold
Make it bright
And get yourself seen

Chomp: did you write “Just say no”?

What shifter and mech costs £500?

road bike?

Di2? lightweight? super record?

I’m still intrigued with how him not checking his rearview mirror lead to you getting hit, did he stop with no brake lights? Reverse into your path (in which case reversing lights would have been on). If he pulled over ontop of you then you were either gaining on him rapidly anyway, or he must have seen you to overtake you?

If it’s daylight then a hi-vis vest is best as any actual lights will be drowned out by sunlight surely?

and how can you mangle a shifter and a mech with no damage elsewhere??

Five hundred quid does it include a new frame

I was hit a few years back exposure enduro on bars joystick on head Lumi full jacket with reflective stripes and panniers with reflective bits on and three rear lights one on constant two flashing driver stopped about hundred yard down the road waited til I sat up then drove off . Fecker 🙁

no control over upward beam spread

Interesting point. I was thinking of this yesterday, as I tried to angle the light head unit up and down so that I didn’t dazzle oncoming drivers but also remained visible.

IMO if you want to be seen, wear a high-viz top and shine weakish lights onto yourself.

Understood, but how do you propose that doesn’t then restrict my own vision for seeing beyond the reflected pool of light? The glare coming back off my gear cables is bright enough to cause an effect.

Bloodyhell,it’s only just turned october and your putting up your christmas tree lights

Tescos are advertising. So am I…! Yo ho ho.

About this flashing super-bright thing: It’s not a good idea.

I used my L&M Stella on flashing once, and I swear the cars ahead of me thought it was a police car or ambulance coming! At least 3 cars moved over into the cycle lane in front of me as if they were getting out of the way!
(Road has an ambulance station on it, so they regularly fly down the middle of the traffic).

I have an old cateye triple shot that feels like overkill a lot of the time.

Wouldn’t ever have a very bright light set to flash – flashing lights are hard to judge distance on anyway, let alone when dazzled. Constant light plus a flashing one for visibility.

If you’re really concerned, get more reflectives / hi-viz, and consider something like the Fibreflare ( http://fibreflare.com/ ) light on your downtube for an extra pool of light and some side visiblity.

What shifter and mech costs £500?

11 speed Campag Record 2011

(With Bike shop labour)

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5061422847/]IMG_2496[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5062034650/]IMG_2499[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

I commute out of london on bike, I get pulled out onto all the time no matter whether I’m in hi-viz, flashing cats eyes, helmet light or even my Telsa 5 on second beam. I truly believe most drivers commuting in and out of london or any other busy cities are either tired or in some sort of constant daze, mainly caused by sitting in endless brain numbing traffic whilst cyclists whizz past without a care in the world. Cycling has gone through the roof in london, as a side effect the opportunity for other vehicles and pedestrians to pull out of junctions and cross busy roads as been greatly reduced, which is why I experience so many people taking the chance and pulling out.

I followed a guy home last night who’d put a flashing cats eye at the back pointing to the ground, very effective.

Nice commuter bike

Flashing lights on their own on bikes are terrible. You don’t just need to be seen, you need drivers to clock the speed and direction of travel too, and this is much harder to do with a flashing light than a steady one. Plus, drivers might only glance your direction for a split second, your light could be OFF in that split second, so they could not see you at all.

If everything was static, a flashing light would be noticeable. However, on a busy road junction it’s not, so flashing lights just confuse the issue and f*ck everyone’s motion perception up.

I use a bright steady on the rear and a small flasher, because flashing red lights has come to mean cyclist in most people’s minds, which is fine. But if I only have one it’s steady – or maybe flashing quickly.

I am of course a motorist as well as a cyclist, and by far and away the best way to be seen is loads of bright/reflective clothing in addition to your lights. That goes for the daytime as well, which is why those BLACK nightvision jackets with the reflective overload are stupid, cos they are not very visible in the daytime.

and how can you mangle a shifter and a mech with no damage elsewhere??

I was going down the inside of a long queue of stationary traffic, one guy decided he wasnt going to wait in the traffic so swung hard left into a side road, we collided, my hands were on the hood, broke his wing mirror with my hand, dented the side of his car and the derraillier was pushed against the side of the car.

Not a huge amount of visible damage, but 11 speed has very little tolerances and the bike shop could not get it to index correctly, turns out some of the internal gubbins were damaged

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5062059154/]Screen shot 2010-10-08 at 09.30.17[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5061443487/]Screen shot 2010-10-08 at 09.29.45[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5062069518/]Screen shot 2010-10-08 at 09.43.57[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevantlin/5062054766/]Screen shot 2010-10-08 at 09.30.04[/url] by kevantlin, on Flickr

My god, your socks could be in a Daz advert. Make sure you use the same stuff to get the blood smear off your handlebar tape…

i’ve used a dinotte set to flash in the day time, but wouldn’t use at night due to it dazzling car drivers. Its pretty difficult to find a light that lets you see where you’re going on country lanes that doesn’t dazzle drivers though.

I see Use Exposure have just released one, but i’m not aware of too many others with a proper beam pattern.

I assume your shifter is at that angle because of the crash..?

use one of these motherf**kers

2 million candlepower torch

forget about “one less car”, you can take out like 50 with one of these*

seriously that monster will fit in a courier bag

*coined by bikesnobnyc not me