Thread: Bright cycle light problem?

Originally Posted by JoeFriend

There are enough studies out there to prove that high viz and yellow jackets make cyclists easier to spot, so not arguing there.

The point all of them make is that idiots still make unsafe passes and/or don't care about the safety of the cyclist due to some perceived thought of them being ridiculously inconvenienced. Until we fix that, you aren't actually fixing any issues at all.

Would be keen to see the camo kit, and whether it is an actual cycling kit or normal camo. Wouldn't wear camo on the road, but would for mountain biking!

Nothing so special, it just looked like Army Surplus, but I guess he was warm.

Originally Posted by weeds

VNX....I’m a cyclist and do have lights, they were top of range and costly buggers 5/6 years ago...I went this way over the cheap LED sets on the market.

Mine are easily adjustable while riding a 30km/hr, the odd time a car would give me a flash back I would adjust them down straight away.

Once or twice in the last six months I’ve come across a poorly adjusted from light....I gave them both a flash, on adjust straight away the other didn’t

I wear glasses and also find LED lights at night problematic at night, not always but sometimes, whether it be tail lights, head lights, speed signs etc.

I hadn't thought about the possibility of the cycle lights being easily adjustable. The ones I saw must have been aimed directly at me rather than down at the road.

Now that I think about it I can't imagine how they could be so bright unless it was a tightly focused beam. Unless there was some sort of additional light designed to throw some light down onto the road as well, I wonder how visible potholes would have been directly in front of the bike.

The problem with the brightness was not that I was dazzled or blinded in the way that car headlights do. I could still see OK, but initially had real problems working out how far away they were.

Because I erred on the side of caution there was never any danger, but I could imagine other situations where the difficulty of judging distance and approach speed could be a problem.

Can never understand why riders have lights on their head. Goes against the helmet manufacturers instructions. Know plenty of people do it but have none of them thought of Shumacher whose problem was caused by the head cam he had attached to the helmet. Also their are design rules in regard to max and min heights for lights on a vehicle which without looking this up am going to think a light on a helmet would exceed. Then there are rules around how bright a light can be think high low beam

Hi,
My helmet goes over the straps of my headlamp, so it is not part of the helmet structure.
I also have a light on the handle bars for general road use. The one on my head is mainly used in poorly lit areas.
Cheers

Having done a fair bit of group night riding in the past I know by observation how useless hi-vis tops are at night in city environments. They blend into the background within 10-20 metres. Properly adjusted bright lights make you visible 50 times further than hi vis.

It has been very sedate

I ride most mornings or after work the light on my bike is led but not strobe as my mate has I find riding with him the strobe light gives me a head ache and can confuse drivers but I will agree some bike riders aim there bright light up to high and this can Dassel approaching traffic.

As most of the Sydney metro area is one big work zone you would stand out more if you wore black.
Anyone would think a hi vis vest is part of the national dress.

Regarding lights on helmets.....would be interesting to see the stats of cyclists killed or injured from being hit by a car to those from helmet failure due to headlight. Personally i just use a elastic head torch so it would come off before i hit the ground.

Back to the original question which is how to judge the distance. My thoughts are first you have noticed that the light is from a cyclist which then makes you take notice more. Its probably only a second or 2 to work out. Speed is a problem now with so many Uber eats riders on electric bikes. Im finding i miss judge because im not expecting a bike to be coming up a hill that fast in a bike lane.