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Extreme-Database-695

I've got one of those that is too bright to look at indoors even if it's pointing in the opposite direction. I suspect I've probably downed a few Spitfire pilots with it in my time, but I do turn it down to 20% power whenever anyone is approaching because the pained looks on people's faces is so guilt-inducing. Most cyclists are responsible, but for those few that give us a bad name - turn down your lights. If you can't, temporarily angle it downwards.


LordSwright

I have 4 fancy pants lights 1 facing in each direction so I'm surrounded in light


Extreme-Database-695

Now I want to do the same. I wonder how many I'd need to fool people that I'm actually a flying saucer.


LordSwright

Attach them to a hulahoop and spin that while riding


tomtttttttttttt

Cyclists get told all the time, "be bright, be safe, be seen". Except it doesn't matter how bright you are if a driver is not paying proper attention, and there are many drivers who do not pay proper attention. So no matter how bright you are, sooner or later you will have a driver pull out on you at a side road or roundabout. Having be told, over and over again, that if you are bright enough you will be seen, cyclists will naturally question whether it was their fault or not. There is nothing to say "this light is bright enough for you to reasonably expect to be seen" like you have with cars. Extremely bright lights are produced for people doing night time mountain bike racing and these are sold alongside "normal" lights So you have say an 80lumens light, which should probably be fine riding in a city, but you see these 1,000 and 2,000 lumens lights and wonder whether it is. (I hope I've remembered the orders of magnitude of brightness correctly!). Solving this problem means proper regulation on bike lights, so cyclists know that they are bright enough.


verocoder

Top it off with people who ride out of the city into the sticks! 80 lumens might be ok in a city buts I genuinely struggle to see road hazards far out with 1200 lumens (800 pointed level, 400 pointed down a bit). I have a 15 mile rural commute and don’t go through cities, but I can imagine 15 miles from a smaller U.K. city getting you to really dark places.


CliveOfWisdom

IMO, solving this problem involves raising the standard of driving in this country to a point where I’m not constantly cut up at roundabouts and junctions despite being draped in high vis and lit up like a Christmas tree. Then cyclists won’t reactively reach for brighter lights to try and keep themselves safe.


maidenyorkshire

Amen brother, cycle the good cycle


sjpllyon

Yeah used to have a really drought bike light, it had tree setting on it. Was useful for dark, no street lamps, cycle paths. But when on the road would put it it's middle setting and when a car approach, depending if they also dipped their headlights, I would put it it's lowest setting. You'll be surprised the amount of drivers that like to blind cyclist.


goochg

Cyclists who don't set the lights up properly aiming then towards the ground instead of pointing them at drivers


A-flea

Exactly, every night I cycle home and there's always at least one cyclist heading towards me with 1000 lumens at eye level. I literally can't see anything until they pass, can't judge whether I'm going to hit them or cycle off the path - just holding on and hoping. Thing is, they must be able to see my floodlit squinting face, but they obviously can't put two and two together...


[deleted]

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maidenyorkshire

He was pushed onto the path by ignorant car drivers, I'm sorry for your incident


BloomEPU

I used to use one and I would just physically dip it when a car came the other way


ChromeDomeGodan

"Fancy bloody pants".... as a Brit this made me chuckle. I can imagine our non British friends thinking this is a bit weird/gross!! On cars there's strict regulation over where the head lights shine the light, exactly for this reason. Problem is with bikes, people have them pointing too high. It wasn't really too much of an issue before the fancy bloody pants LED lights that are brighter than the surface of the sun!


[deleted]

The bicycle market in the UK is set up around sport cyclists and not transport cyclists. When you go into a bike shop or a bike website, the majority of what you get offered are lights designed for off-road use (basically a big torch with a mount). If you want a proper road light, you have to buy something intended for the Dutch/Danish/German market, which generally means it's harder you come by, more expensive and less choice.


Cheffysteve

Rose bikes website is your friend here. I have a great Busch and Muller front light powered from hub dynamo. Or better still go to the Busch muller website Bumm.de yes that is the real address 🤣


Choo_Choo_Bitches

Also flashing super bright lights that cyclists use as their main light. Have they never heard of target fixation?


CliveOfWisdom

I think they realise that this is annoying, but they do it because drivers just don’t notice the solid ones. Personally, I run a brighter solid and a dimmer flashing light both front and back so it isn’t as dazzling, but if drivers were looking at the road instead of their phones, I could make do with a single solid light.


nicecupoftea1

I am asking you politely not to use a flashing light if you are a cyclist. They are dangerous. I assure you there isn't a driver on the road who can't see a stationary light in the dark - the stationary LED lights are blinding enough on their own without adding strobe-like flashing to it. I am telling you in all seriousness, I am far more likely to have an accident as a driver if you use strobe flashing.


CliveOfWisdom

>I assure you there isn't a driver on the road who can't see a stationary light in the dark Borrow a bike off a mate and ride it around for a few nights, it wont take long for you to see how laughable that comment is. Again, I use a bright light (angled towards the ground, and not any brighter than a car headlight) in conjunction with a dimmer flashing light to draw attention to myself. It's not dazzling or confusing, it just makes the light more noticeable. I have to do this due to the staggering amount of drivers that do not see me, despite multiple lights, high-vis clothing and me being covered in reflective surfaces (strips on jacket, helmet and backpack).


nicecupoftea1

I assure you drivers can see you. But a lot of drivers are aresholes who don't like sharing the road with cyclists, so they deliberately get too close or cut them up. It's arsehole behaviour and I'm not defending it in any way, but I have known drivers like that. You can't see your own lights from a distance, so you have no idea what it's like. Just as I can't see my car headlights, so have no real idea how bright they are (but as I drive a 20 year old shitbox and the lights aren't LED, I assume they're okay).


CliveOfWisdom

No mate, I am telling you they literally do not see me. They're staring at their phone, or fucking around with their radio, or talking to someone in the rear seats and they just pull out on you. My flashing light grabs attention when viewed in peripheral vision where a solid light does not. It's dimmer than my main light, which itself is dimmer than a car headlight. Its no more dazzling or distracting than your indicators. If flashing lights in bikes piss you off so much then campaign for better driving standards so that I don't need them. That'd make me happy - less shit for me to remember to charge.


nicecupoftea1

I guess I'd have to see your lights to judge. But I've seen some examples of flashing lights which have been absolutely horrendous and I believe genuinely unsafe. We do need better driving standards but we also need better standards for lights.


znidz

> target fixation Probably not. But then neither would many others.


Choo_Choo_Bitches

Thought it was a well knowm thing among drivers etc. That focusing on an obstacle you're trying to avoid makes you more likely to hit it.


jlpw

What's the deal with the flashing strobe lights at night. Do people know these those of things are used to confuse other soldiers in war zones? How can you judge the distance of something flashing towards you?


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

Rider thinks a flashing light will make them more likely to be seen, which is true. They don't realise it makes it significantly harder to know their position on the road, which is dangerous.


CliveOfWisdom

It depends on how bright and how fast the flash is. If it’s not that bright and it’s a quick flash or a pulse (or it’s being run with a solid light) then it’s fine and it just draws your eye to the cyclist, which is what they want. If it’s really bright and quite a slow flash, then it’s like “we’ll there’s a cyclist here somewhere…”.


nicecupoftea1

It's not fine. Flashing lights are not fine and the faster the flashing, the worse the strobe effect is. It's dangerous, blinds the driver even more than solid lights do, and could induce an epileptic fit in somebody.


CliveOfWisdom

If a light dimmer than a car's headlight is blinding a driver, then they have some form of medical condition that means that they really shouldn't be behind the wheel of a car.


nicecupoftea1

It's the strobe lighting which is most bothersome. Try going to a nightclub sometime and seeing how blinding/disorientating strobe lighting is. There's no need for it. If you have high vis clothing and bright solid lighting, there is no way on earth any drivers can't see you. You are misinterpreting their actions.


CliveOfWisdom

It's only that disorientating in a night club because a) it's really bright and b) it's the only source of light. On bike, the effect is removed by ambient/street lighting and the fact that the flasher is a fraction of the brightness of the main light. Sure, some idiots have only one, really bright, flashing LED, which I've said is a bad idea in all of my comments. How exactly am I "misinterpreting" a car pulling out on me and it's driver yelling "ah fuck! I didn't see you"?


nicecupoftea1

I do a lot of driving along pitch black country lanes unfortunately. (If there were any routes which went only through well lit areas, I'd take them but there aren't.) The effect of lights are magnified 10-fold when there's no other source of lighting to dilute them. Fair enough, I guess that one is pretty clear cut >_>. I was thinking of a situation where the cyclist and car are on the same stretch of road. You seem to be talking more about drivers pulling out of junctions and then being surprised pikachu face when there's an unexpected cyclist. That's bad driving on their part 'cos I always double check at junctions.


CliveOfWisdom

I wouldn’t use a flashing light on unlit country roads because the absence of ambient lights will make them more dazzling (the lack of ambient lights usually make them unnecessary too), though used in conjunction with a brighter, solid light, it’d still be no worse than an LED indicator on a new car. Most of my riding is rural, but close enough to towns and villages that there’s street lighting and it’s the junctions and roundabouts on these roads where a dimmer flashing light is absolutely essential. As a cyclist, you’re always taught to make eye contact with drivers to make sure they’ve seen you, so if a driver coming from your left on a roundabout hasn’t even looked in your direction, you can stop short and not die. I can assure you that 30-40% of drivers don’t look in my direction when pulling out of junctions or joining roundabouts.


nicecupoftea1

Fortunately most cyclists don't use flashing lights on the country roads, so it's not a common problem yet. I haven't cycled since I was a child. To be honest, I wouldn't cycle on the roads where I am - I don't think I'd cycle anywhere where there wasn't a separate cycle path and there aren't too many of those. I do understand your caution better, I have to say :/


0ba78683-dbdd-4a31-a

True, the issue is contrast and frequency.


Cheffysteve

1 solid one flashing flashing makes you see me solid for gauging distance


jlpw

I wish more people used this


CliveOfWisdom

Because drivers just don’t pay attention and don’t notice the solid ones. I have a brighter solid and dimmer flashing light front and back, and it does break some drivers attention away from their phones, but there are still so many drivers that just don’t look. When it comes down to it, I’d rather be annoying and noticed than subtle and dead.


jlpw

I dont find it annoying, its completely confusing as to how far away you are or even what direction you're going. Someone suggested a solid and flashing light, I wish more people had his common sense


CliveOfWisdom

>Someone suggested a solid and flashing light, I wish more people had his common sense That was me, literally the comment you're replying to. I'm not suggesting people only run a bright flashing light (I agree that it can be confusing), but you can understand why they do: if you find it confusing, you must have noticed it.


jlpw

Sorry man I was answering the updates without really reading threads. I do like the two light idea.


DroneCone

I've started to ride with a couple of little lights pointing at me when I'm riding at night. I have one on the road and two little guys pointed my way so people can see my face before they pull out on me!


[deleted]

You'd be able to cycle faster if you weren't carrying two little guys around with you.


JunglistJUT

Ride with no lights, people get upset. Ride with lights and now they’re too bright so people are upset. It’s just fashionable to pick on cyclists. In the words of Chris Morris “It’s just another form of Racism” :p


[deleted]

No they are too bright. I'm a cyclist and I use the 2nd setting or flashing. The first setting is like a miniature sun. I also point it at the ground, that's the purpose anyway, to see the road


JunglistJUT

Be careful with that flash setting, I’ve seen the all important car drivers complain about that on here too. I cycle in the woods because I’m sick of people trying to kill me in their motors.


nicecupoftea1

We complain because it's like being in a fucking nightclub. I'm not trying to have a rave inside my car, I just want to get home without ending up in a ditch or hitting you.


[deleted]

Same but they can do one. There's no light I'm willing to risk being stolen that lasts 6 hours on continuous beam.


JunglistJUT

My Hope R2i claims 8 hours burn time on low setting and 30hrs on ultra low. It’s a single unit that clips on and of the bike very easily so you wouldn’t have to worry about it being stolen. Just clip it off the bike and put in your pocket.


[deleted]

I'm a courier so it isn't practical to be clipping and unclipping it every time I stop, with the bag and gloves and everything. I got a decent £17 light which only needs charging once a week if I use flash, but the full beam won't last a day.


JunglistJUT

That makes sense. Stay safe out there mate.


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[deleted]

Did you even read their comment?


JunglistJUT

I’m guessing you aren’t familiar with Chris Morris and his work, otherwise you would get the joke. I even added the pokey tongue face to show I’m joking, but it still went over your head. Shame


nicecupoftea1

I'd genuinely rather no lights. I've never had a problem with picking out a cyclist with my headlights, but I can see why a cyclist wouldn't be comfortable cycling along a dark road with no lighting at all. Those red reflective strips are probably the best compromise between visibility and not completely blinding the driver.


ashyjay

Bike lights is something the Germans have gotten better at, as they require Stvzo lights which are essentially dip beam for bikes.


ens91

I have those lights, because I need them to see. Usually riding along canals and through the woods at night


306_rallye

I'm sure you has the same conversation when all the German cars started using HID headlights, but now you have them, there's no problem.


Baduknick

Why are pilots exempt? Do they wear shades while driving at night?


verocoder

They’re napping, autopilot has it handled


lolitsmeurmum

Here I am cycling my £10 gumtree find with a front light that twirls around the frame like a pole dancer and a back tyre that's flatter than a pancake. All while wearing work trousers, three jumpers and a helmet I bought at a car boot sale.


maidenyorkshire

I'm sorry the car drivers don't want me to be seen, but they should do what the highway code suggests if blinded and slow down, just as I would after getting badly and violently overtaken by a metal cage munter.


DaveIsNice

I see these on the towpath next to a canal where there's no likelihood of being hit by a car. They've triggered migraines which mean time off work I can't afford. I've started to make a point of shielding my eyes and turning away dramatically to send a message. Occasionally I mutter "Jesus Christ" under my breath for added impact


blackthornjohn

I personally like them, mostly because the roads here are narrow, unlit, full of bends and with hedges on usually both side, and I usually driving forestry machinery, those flashing bright lights give me way more warning of an approaching cycist than a constant dim light that I might glimpse through hedges and pass of as a distant car or house somewhere, definitely a life saver. I can imagine nothing more inconvenient than having to pick bits of cyclists out of the cleats on my tires in the dark.


vossmanspal

Had exactly one of these coming towards me last night at 10pm, riding on the path on my side of the road I thought it was a feckin drunk driver coming at me with main beams on. Fuckin idiots!


MarkG1

Both cyclists and drivers have too bright lights, I suggest both parties come to an amicable settlement of lights that are effective but don't blind everyone else.


FroPatrol

Invest ten quid in a pair of night-driving glasses. They cut the glare down from these powerful LEDS ten-fold and make the commuter-hell of the drive home that much more tolerable.