Bright lights?

[lph]

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?

[crazycanuck]

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..

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 You can't see the person as the blinky lights are overpowering.

Just an observation prior to going to bed..

[tulip]

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.

[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.

[7rider]

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.

[kat_h]

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.

[F8th637]

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.

[GuitarRiderGrrl]

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.

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 -

[GuitarRiderGrrl]

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