blinking safety vest

[Technotart]

When I first saw that video, I too was surprised by how invisible most of them were. I think most of us probably are less visible than we think we are, no matter how good a job we do of lighting up. I did notice that reflective tape on the rims seemed to be more visible than anything else - just have to be careful to keep it off the braking surface.

I was thinking about trying out some tires with reflective side walls.

[Tri Girl]

That's a great video to show me that I need to wear at least 10 taillights and 5 headlamps plus put reflective tape all over my bike and on my clothes. None of the cyclists were really lit up. To me, almost all of them were invisible. Shocking.

Now I want to video myself to see if I'm as lit up as I think I am (I have a blinky on my rear stay, my seat post and my helmet- one bright headlight on the bike and a dimmer one on my helmet, and reflective tape on all the chrome parts of my bike). I'll bet I'm dimmer than I think I am (although DH says I'm probably a distraction to motorists because I'm so blinky).

[Geonz]

I just got a handful of 10-LED strings for $1.50 a pop at teh grocery store. (No, the 2 AA batteries were not included.) They're visible from lots of directions, they're not totally distracting (when more than one car hits the curb I knwo I've gone too far... but that took the pig-snout helmet cover :-) ) ... if I could only juice 'em from the generator!

Now for this snowy rain to clear out...

[fatbottomedgurl]

My husband was the victim of a "right hook/ sideswipe" on Dec 5. He spent 5 days in the hospital with a broken rib and pneumothorax (collapsed lung). The driver of the full size pickup stopped long enough to yell at my husband and then he took off. We don't know if visibility was a factor or if the driver was aggressively passing my husband. My DH is a healthy 47 y.o. and has recovered very quickly, thanks to his cycling fitness.

After viewing the above video I am going to go out and follow him in my car (he plans on resuming his commute next week - atta boy!). I want to check out his visibility. He wears a reflective vest (rides fairly upright), uses a large tail blinky and a so-so headlight. I think we might get one of those geeky triangle things. In addition I am thinking of building some BRIGHT homemade headlights that we can use mountain biking also. They rival the uber-expensive HID lights being used offroad.

Please everyone be careful out there!!! We don't want any more ghost bikes around.

If you are interested here is a link to his story in our newspaper:

http://www.venturacountystar.com/new...-hit-and-rant/

[KathiCville]

Yowwww, just read the article about your husband's accident! Incredibly warped response from the driver, even if he was spooked by what happened! Here's wishing your DH a speedy and complete recovery from his ordeal. Your idea of tailing him to check out his on-the-road visibility is a great one.......

Thanks to Denise's plug for the Firefly lights I ordered two and received them this morning. WHOA! Wonderfully, wonderfully eye-catching when set on blink mode. I'll definitely carry both with me from now on. The red seems to be brighter than the blue, but I figure the dual-combo will jump out more at drivers than an all-red set-up. Might even get one of the green ones just to make things even livelier........

[KnottedYet]

I've just *gotta* get me a set of these: http://www.rockthebike.com/lights/downlowglow Maybe I'll order them today.

[Technotart]

There is no way to be too visible. We are planning to shoot some high-qual video of the various things people use when riding at night to see if we can really show what's most effective.

I think a lot of us (myself included) are not as visible as we think.

I bought a couple pair of these this week. I figure they will serve well as turn signals of sorts - they don't offer a lot of warmth, so order a couple sizes up if you are wearing heavy gloves underneath. I was actually thinking about cutting the palms out of mine to allow my bike glove grips to be accessible. (They are mens so they are pretty good sized anyway)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F1OZ46

[Technotart]

We went out and tested the night vision stuff -

Conclusions -

* Most headlights are either way too bright or far too dim (Blind a motorist or make yourself barely visible)

* The LED vests are VERY visible as long as they have good batteries - the lights dim rapidly as the batteries wear. This goes for pretty much all the LED stuff.

* Reflective sidewall tires allowed the bike to be easily identified as a bicycle.

* The reflective piping on tights near the ankles is also very visible, hence the more of it, the better.

* Illuminite fabric does NOT light up - it barely glows at all, but gives the illusion that the person is wearing a light colored garment - so more visible than other garments to a small degree, and definitely more visible than someone in a black hoodie!

* Red blinkers sold in most bike shops for cheap are barely bright enough to be seen and should not be used as a single light - again some of that depended on how new the batteries were, if you are going to buy 5.00 blinky lights, buy 5 of them and since you are going to spend more money anyway,just give it up and spend the money on a good one.

Many of us never ride at night, but it could occur that due to a flat or other event, that you end up out on the road at dusk or after dark. Carry a spare flashlight and a velcro strap if nothing else.

oh...and the gloves above ROCK!

[Geonz]

This light (welp, *and* the blinky on my helmet and the one on my backpack) got me commendations from a passing truck driver. Big fat thirteen dollars and shipping, though installing it was a little tricky. (you can spen$40 for one with a cycling mount at www.reallite.com ) http://www.gulfcoast-solutions.com/s...fety&ppinc=T1b

[Technotart]

I LOVE that light - it is the one I use on the back of the GoBug - a little plumbers tape took care of installation

one trick I have used to install lights at least temporarily - stick em in a plastic bagggie and duct tape or velcro wrap the baggie to whatever you want to light up. Not ideal, but I pretty much always have a baggie and a small wad of tape or velcro strips in my backpack.