Needlight advice

[Seajay]

I did a blog post on lights, to see and to be seen by.

BW. I have to respectfully take issue with your assumption that a light too weak "to see" is possibly bright enough to "be seen"
There is no such thing as this distinction. Any of my sales staff caught making this distinction get a proper "talking to"

A small inexpensive light may look bright when you stare directly at it. However at any angle it is barely there.
It will also be quickly washed out by street lights and headlights around you. Both these situations rendering you essentially invisible.
Furthermore, any light that does not project into intersections and through/around cars nearby you should not be considered a light for being seen.

Imagine the scenario where a car driving in front of you blocks your "to be seen" light to the left turning car at the intersection. That left hand turning car is going to turn when the car is past....right when you get there. You want that left turn car to notice there is something behind the first car.

The only situation where the $20-50 lights are appropriate is on paved trails with no cars.

[azfiddle]

I rarely use lights, but my DH commutes daily and often comes home at night. He is pretty much obsessed with lights, and I will ask his opinion and get back to you. Plus he knows everything about where to buy bike lights in Tucson.

[Bike Writer]

BW. I have to respectfully take issue with your assumption that a light too weak "to see" is possibly bright enough to "be seen"
There is no such thing as this distinction. Any of my sales staff caught making this distinction get a proper "talking to"

A small inexpensive light may look bright when you stare directly at it. However at any angle it is barely there.
It will also be quickly washed out by street lights and headlights around you. Both these situations rendering you essentially invisible.
Furthermore, any light that does not project into intersections and through/around cars nearby you should not be considered a light for being seen.

Imagine the scenario where a car driving in front of you blocks your "to be seen" light to the left turning car at the intersection. That left hand turning car is going to turn when the car is past....right when you get there. You want that left turn car to notice there is something behind the first car.

The only situation where the $20-50 lights are appropriate is on paved trails with no cars.

I don't ride at night, but at times do get caught at dusk or early nightfall and I believe I qualified that in my blog post and also advised people to seek out expert advice from their local bike shop. The lights I use are suitable for the kind of riding I do which is mostly trails and street riding in semi-rural areas with light traffic. I've checked with our local police officers when I've seen them while using those lights and inquired if they feel that they were adequate for me to be seen and got positive responses from them. Even that does not make me comfortable riding after dark.

One of the reasons I don't ride at night is that I don't feel there are any lights suitable enough for me to feel safe riding at night. If I end up staying longer at a friends house than I had anticipated and it ends up real dark, I stick to the sidewalks. But that is not convenient or even legal in some places.

You raise good points about lights getting washed out by street lighting and such. Your recommendations are good for night time commuting on roads and streets.

[Dogmama]

I'm thinking that my light needs to be very bright because I want it strikingly visible during the day. That's why I'm going towards a flashing head light.

And yeah, riding on the sidewalks in Tucson will get you a ticket.

[azfiddle]

Someone posted this last year when it was a kickstarter product- I think it looks pretty cool, and will be shipping in January 2014
http://www.blaze.cc/

[rebeccaC]

Someone posted this last year when it was a kickstarter product- I think it looks pretty cool, and will be shipping in January 2014
http://www.blaze.cc/

This kind of stood out to me "The Laserlight is eye-safe if used correctly"

[nuliajuk]

I spotted a headlight yesterday that was so bright, I almost thought it was a motorcycle at first - which would have been odd on a snowy, icy road at -18ºC. I wish I could have flagged down the rider to ask what kind it was. Probably about 800 lumens, minimum.