Bright lights?

Ok, so this is completely the wrong time of year to start thinking about this, but still, I thought some of you might have ideas from this winter's commuting.

Briefly - what do you think of the really bright bike lighting systems available now? Sorry, haven't read up so I don't know the jargon, but this winter I've seen several commuters sporting BLAZINGLY BRIGHT lights, so bright that I can't see if it's a bike, a motorcycle or a car with only one headlight approaching. A friend of mine just bought one of these (Light and Motion something-or-other), which I thought were designed for lighting up unlighted trails and gravel logging roads, but he doesn't even ride places like this in the dark, he's mainly a commuter like me and is going to use it commuting along roads and bike paths with (some) lighting.

I'm out of lights at the moment. I don't really want to get one of these, since it bothers me when other people use them and I can't see the rider. But there's no doubt that one is EXTREMELY visible and attentiongetting wearing lights this bright. Any opinions, either if you've used them or just seen them?

Ian has one & normally uses it on a night mtn bike ride or for the 12hr mtb event. They;'re great if you are doing an endurance event at night as they last quite a few hours.

I have Cateye double shots & can see well when it's not wet & yucky outside. If i see someone coming towards me, i'll often tilt my head down as not to blind them. I don't know how bright they are as i've never stared into them..:o

One thing that bothers me is the bright blinky lights. Do people not realize that some of us can't see and blinded when they're blinking?? It's bad enough trying to see when it's dark!!! Bright blinky lights & bells :mad: You can't see the person as the blinky lights are overpowering.

Just an observation prior to going to bed..

Crazy, why don't you like bells? I found bells essential (on my bike and on others) when I commuted on the Multi-Use Path in DC. It wasn't that useful on the streets, but sometimes it came in handy there, too, with pedestrians.

I have a NiteRider headlight that I really like. It's a few years old now. It's not blindingly bright, but it's certainly noticeable and lights up the path or road in front of me.

As for blinkies, I use mine on bright blink to make sure the car drivers see me. I want it to be bright to be noticeable with all the distractions that drivers deal with.

I've heard blinkies are much more visible than non-blinky. It depends on your commuting conditions. I have a variety of conditions and thus a variety of lights. Some of my streets are well lit, some poorly lit, and some not lit at all. Sometimes it's dusk, dawn, dark, or daylight depending on what meetings I have, how late I slept in, or what critical procedure is scheduled.

To handle all these conditions, including my inability to remember to change batteries, I have blinking reelights front & back, a regular blinkie in back, a hub generator light up front, and a helmet light. Since the helmet light & generator light are steady, I want to get an additional blinkie up front. The nice thing about more than enough lights is that when the battery runs out on my rear blinkie and/or my helmet light, I have plenty of other lights to compensate.

My new Knog Gator is plenty bright. DH and I did some after-dark cruising up and down my neighborhood streets when I first got it. When I watched him coming up the dark hill, he was definitely visible, but I don't think I would have mistaken him for a motorcycle or pididdle (for those who remember Sniglets, isn't that a one-headlight car?). But I tend to aim the light down low - directing the beam about 10-15 feet in front of the bike, not up at traffic.
But other than that trial run, until we "spring ahead" next week, it's been too light for my commute to make much use of it. However, I did use the 1W blinkie yesterday (didn't commute today - fighting a head cold)...and the Knog blinkie I have to say is pretty nice. Not seizure-inducing like some of those out there.

I think aiming it down a bit is important. I've been blinded by an oncoming bike once when I was in my car and I really don't think that's a safe thing to do to drivers.

I commute after dark on the highway three times a week so need to light up the shoulder in front of me far enough to be able to avoid whatever may be blocking my path, so I'm in the process of switching to better lights then my old light is going on my city bike.

Those really bright lights are LED lights basically. More and more lights are being made that way. I actually bought my husband a cheap but nice LED light that you put around your head so that he could work on the insides of his computers and I have found that putting that baby on a helmet works out well. I will probably buy myself one as well.

As for the blinky lights, I think they are good when you are on a road with lots of cars. It probably is a little overkill for a trail but I'm all about being seen when there are cars around.

I have the Dinotte 200L lights -- one for handlebars, one for my helmet, and I LOVE them. They're insanely easy to install (just snap the o-ring around the bars and they're on!) and the run time is great. I used them for a 24-hour race and they were amazing. Not blindingly bright, but more than sufficient to light up the road about 20 feet ahead. I keep the helmet mount pointed down to light up right in front of my wheel.

A group of us got together here in Seattle and did a little night time testing with a variety of lights and reflective equipment.
My impressions from that session

Very bright lights are not necessarily any safer - if you are blinding drivers it actually makes YOU harder to see - as all the drivers can see is a small bright point of light and the rider behind gets entirely lost (as does any signal you might be making)... They are great to see by, but if you choose to use one, be very careful where you point it... (and for petes sake if you ride on a bike trail don't blind other riders with it! turn it down or away from the faces of other people)

Helmet mounting your reasonably bright lights makes them very easy to control - you can put the light where you need it and you can briefly "flash" drivers to get their attention.

Flashing lights say bike all over (this can be good or bad...) and they are more eye catching than steady lights. Just be sure your flashing taillight is not obstructed by any bags or baggage you might be carrying and make sure the batteries are fresh enough that your light is still bright. If you have an old red LED, it may be time to invest in a new one - the new ones are much brighter and more noticable. Those little blinky valve stem lights were a big suprise. They actually worked very well.

Over everthing else reflective items make you noticable. This was surprising to me. I figured good bright lights and lots of them would trump any reflective materials - Nope! The most eye catching thing anyone had that night was one of those standard dorky orange and yellow strap on traffic triangles... Reflective piping and patches on clothing - especially parts that move a lot, like your feet and legs are very good. Colored reflective materials were more effective than plain silver. One guy had his bike covered in orange reflective tape - he was very visible. Tires with reflective sidewalls looked very good from the side, which is often a hard angle to be properly lit from.

Lastly have someone ride your bike - then you can see just how visible you are and see if anything needs to change. I added a whole bunch of reflective tape and sew on strips to my messenger bag after the session.

I came up on a cyclist on the path at night--he had no blinkie, no lights, no reflectors. I had my light on, but I came up on him all of a sudden and I didn't see him at all. A blinkie or even reflectors or a white shirt would have helped.

That's a lot of great info, Eden, and I think it's awesome you guys got together to test things out. I put reflective tape on my helmet. I bought an orange reflective vest and have yet to use it but after reading what you said about the reflecties I am definitely going to start wearing it when I start commuting again this season. Thanks again!

lph, yes, I have experience with the EXTREMELY bright lights. They are the HID type, and they are in general the brightest lights available. They're the incredibly expensive lights. They've been popular in the night mountain biking crowd for several years now. In my opinion they're too bright and not worth the money. I used them for a few years night mountain biking. They were brighter than my companions' halogen lights and I had to take care never to look at my mates' faces during breaks, or I'd really blind them. I also felt that too much light was cast on the trail, the light was too bluish, and I couldn't see shadows very well (I couldn't see the relief of the terrain well enough therefore). The image of the trail I perceived seemed to be very flat and at speed this was a bad thing. I missed the old halogen lights, which gave a duller, yellower, light. I finally said "what is all the hype about" and ditched the HID for night mt. biking.

Then, I did use the HID commuting for a while. At first I liked it, because I thought I was safer. If it looked like a car was about to cross me, I could train the beam at the driver's face. That worked alright, but upon consideration, I realized that this is bad for the driver and kind of overkill for my safety.

Finally I think I have the right kind of light for commuting (and mountain biking). I'm using a much less powerful LED light now, helmet mounted. It's bright enough to light my way in unlit places, bright enough for cars to see I think, and not blinding to motorists.

+1 on Eden's observations - my experience is similar. Big And Bright helps me see and that's important, but for me to be visible things like position are more important.
I've waxed green enough to really like the idea of generators - and passive-aggressive dwerps can't turn them on while they're parked on the bike rack, either. (Goign to be peeking out there today - it's always on Tuesday or Thursday.) My Busch-Muller is well-engineered and shines a nice light and has that cute feature that keeps a little light going when I'm stopped. I do want to add hokey spokes 'cause they really announce "bicycle," but I lost the special thingies that attach them to the spokes :(
For my backside I've got a helmet mounted Trek Flare 10 http://bontrager.com/images/products/medium/402903.jpg that's visible from a *long* ways and many angles, and because of the height people think I'm something worth slowing down for. I noticed right away that the reaction distance was lots further back when I got this thing on, even when I was on my fast-bike-without-all-the-commuter-lights. There *is* soemthing to be said for not inducing seizures and using up 46 batteries, if I can effectively create a "slow down and figure this out" reaction without it... but I also have a string or two of little Christmas LED lights ($1.50 after the holidays) and my cheaper-than-reallite big red light. http://www.gulfcoast-solutions.com/s...s/RedLight.gif

I've gotten lots of compliments on my visibility, both when I was totally blinged out with the full Crhistmas Tree regalia and when I've waxed more traditional. I am also certain that little things like lane position help, too.

Thanks all for your feedback, I reckon I'll stick with my usual collection of blinkies and medium-bright LEDs, and let the hype just pass me by ;) Lots of good light tips here for next winter.

Geonz - on your lightswitcheronner: if you have some inexpensive lights you could have a lot of fun boobytrapping one with say, some glue, or a short needle, or preferably something that makes a small explosion. Or starts an alarm :D...

Or you could just remove the batteries. Trying to turn on something that won't turn on is BORING.

I just started using the Ironman ILS helmet. It has a white light in the front and a red one in back. Only downside is they don't blink. It's very easy to recharge, and I've gotten lots off comments about it.
I also use a blinky on my camelbak. And if I ride in the pitch dark (vs. at sunset) I use a light and motion helmet mounted light. It works great. But I must say the L&M's are a bit pricey! We've actually had ours for a few years.

The silly thing's ductaped to the handlebars (and since it only getsan extra hour or so fo on time they're not *totallY* worn down). I'm going to have to take it off to put new batteries in (I have this problem with keeping light mounts and knowing which one goes with what.)

I did think of some pretty vile things to, say, rub onto the switch, especially that day I was on the rag ;)

I just ordered the Dinotte 200L headlight today, using a 20% coupon, plus a teeny dividend from last year, at REI. Works out to be about $150. Got the one that uses rechargeable AAs. Not cheap, but of the headlights I read about here on TE and other cycling forums (especially commutebybike.com), it looks like a good one, for a decent price. .....I did a little night riding recently (road) and loved zipping around on semi-dark streets. We've got lots of beautiful open country roads 'round here that I know I'll enjoy riding after sunset and before dawn this summer---'especially when the daytime temps in July and August are miserable. :).............I use blinkies, too! Red, blue and green, on the back of my little under-saddle bag, and on a wristband. Definitely eye-catching, but I don't get the feeling I'm going to run anybody off the road with 'em.

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Originally Posted by KathiCville

I just ordered the Dinotte 200L headlight today,

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You'll love the ease it takes to slap them onto the bike. Shoot! Just remembered that I forgot mine for the night ride I'm doing tonight. Grrr. They're great, and easy to use, only if you remember to bring them with you....:mad:

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Originally Posted by Pedal Wench

You'll love the ease it takes to slap them onto the bike. Shoot! Just remembered that I forgot mine for the night ride I'm doing tonight. Grrr. They're great, and easy to use, only if you remember to bring them with you....:mad:

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Cool! At first I couldn't see from Dinotte's website pics how the light mounts on the handlebar, but then I checked out a description on Peter White's Cycles page and realized, doh, how simple it is. Nice to know that it just pops on and off in a flash, 'cause I won't want it to be on the bike for most of my daytime rides! I'm already tracking the shipment from Pittsburgh to Virginia, LOL, just dyin' for it to get here. :D

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KathiCville

Cool! At first I couldn't see from Dinotte's website pics how the light mounts on the handlebar, but then I checked out a description on Peter White's Cycles page and realized, doh, how simple it is. Nice to know that it just pops on and off in a flash, 'cause I won't want it to be on the bike for most of my daytime rides! I'm already tracking the shipment from Pittsburgh to Virginia, LOL, just dyin' for it to get here. :D

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I did run home last night and get mine. Felt kinda smug when I instantly strapped my light onto the bike and the woman next to me spent 5 minutes messing with the clamp on hers. :cool:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KathiCville

I just ordered the Dinotte 200L headlight today, using a 20% coupon, plus a teeny dividend from last year, at REI. Works out to be about $150. Got the one that uses rechargeable AAs. Not cheap, but of the headlights I read about here on TE and other cycling forums (especially commutebybike.com), it looks like a good one, for a decent price. ......

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LOL, I did the same thing. There's a guy at work who commutes by bike in the dark (unlit MUC) and he LOVES this light. I got mine as a secondary, backup light.

I have one of those super bright L&M headlights and I'm very pleased with it. Bought it in 2005 and still runs like a champ. It's bright enough that I can keep it on low beam and still light up the trail well enough to see, even in rain or fog. Sections of the MUC where I ride are unlit and on some mornings, pitch black. When I encounter a pedestrian or other cyclist, I am polite & simply turn the light beam to shine off the side of the trail. There are folks who don't move their beam and have bright lights. I just avert my eyes from the light---look down slightly---and have no problems passing by safely.

I have two tailights and blinkies, too. I'm not on the road much, since I live close to a paved MUC, but I feel safer being lit up [morning paper delivery dudes in their cars are a particular menace---think basic rules of the road don't apply to them]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KathiCville

I just ordered the Dinotte 200L headlight today, using a 20% coupon, plus a teeny dividend from last year, at REI. Works out to be about $150. Got the one that uses rechargeable AAs.

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Have it, love it. Seriously!

I just checked shipping status and my new Dinotte headlight will be here this afternoon, yyyyayyyy! If it's dry tonight, I know what I'll be doing, LOL! Entertaining my neighbors as I zip around in the dark testing my new toy.:D (If I can get the batteries fully-charged in time, that is.....)

Bright is good - not only for being able to see when I'm riding in the middle of winter in the relative country side (no street lights, winding hilly or mountainous roads with possible nocturnal animals making an appearance), but also so that other road users can see me. I use the nite rider classic dual beam, and would also like to get a helmet light for extra security / visibility for cornering etc. Rear lights = two - one on 'full' and the other on slow flash, at about eye level for a car drive. Also have reflector strips on my backpacks for commuting.

I definitely notice a difference with most drivers / other road users - they are more courteous and give me a wider birth on the road. Anything that makes me safer on the road is good :)

Choice was based on reviews and price. HID replacement bulbs are expensive, and a friend's just didn't seem to have the same light as the halogen, though is bright. Would love to see the difference between the nite rider and a turbo cat two beam system, but will have to wait for the $ to be available for that.

found this link useful to see a comparo:
http://www.mtbr.com/spotlight/lights...n_nonhid.shtml

I looked at the Nite Rider line, too, before settling on the Dinotte. Hard to choose; both have great features. My Dinotte 200L came yesterday and I charged up the batteries right away. (Mailman probably wasn't even down my driveway yet....!) It's been raining like mad, so I haven't put it on the bike yet. But I shone it out the door into the backyard to see what could be seen. Whoooooaaaa! The light itself is TINY, but the beam it puts out is incredibly powerful. And taking it on and off the bike is ridiculously easy. I can tell already that I'm going to love it! Can't wait to try it after sundown on one of my favorite quiet roads outside of town.

:D Finally got a chance (excuse?) to try my new Dinotte 200L tonight---just 3 miles zipping around the neighborhood. Love it! I'm not a fast rider, so can't imagine outrunning the beam. Combined with my usual blinkies and tail light, it's definitely a winner!........Those of you who have the AA version, do you charge up the batteries and store them in the battery holder (disconnected from the light) until use? Or is there a good reason not to store them in the battery holder, e.g. reduces battery life? From what I've read, the newest NiMH batteries hold their charge pretty well between uses.

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Originally Posted by Melalvai

I've heard blinkies are much more visible than non-blinky. It depends on your commuting conditions. I have a variety of conditions and thus a variety of lights. Some of my streets are well lit, some poorly lit, and some not lit at all. Sometimes it's dusk, dawn, dark, or daylight depending on what meetings I have, how late I slept in, or what critical procedure is scheduled.

To handle all these conditions, including my inability to remember to change batteries, I have blinking reelights front & back, a regular blinkie in back, a hub generator light up front, and a helmet light. Since the helmet light & generator light are steady, I want to get an additional blinkie up front. The nice thing about more than enough lights is that when the battery runs out on my rear blinkie and/or my helmet light, I have plenty of other lights to compensate.

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Hey guys,
Up here in Washington, the biking laws state that you shall have flashing lights - night and day - red in the back, white in the front.......... its all about making sure that the bean brains talking on cell phones, can see you......... At night you can have steady white in the front, red blinkie in the back -

hey,
has anybody used the Night Hawk? Looks like its only about 150 bucks, with the Ni-Mh batt pack - its a single LED but looks very nice!

here is the link:
http://www.nite-hawk.com/bikeemitter.html

Cyn

I've used their lights for 6 years and have been very happy with them. The K2 is really as bright as a 10W halogen. I use a Princeton Switchback 2 on my helmet as well. This gives a good balance of light, and flexibility in aiming.

I have the Niterider MiNewt X2 Dual, and I love it! It *definitely* keeps drivers from pulling out of driveways and sidesteets in front of me on my busy commute route. I use it on blinking when I commute during daylight, and on steady when it's dark or near dark. Since I also use it to see the road, I don't actually aim it into drivers' eyes, but it has a big enough beam that they notice it.

Jenn