Front Light for daytime

[fatbelly33]

Hi All,
Just got back into Cycling & I'm loving it. All of my Cycling is done during daylight hours & I'm looking for a bright front light to alert Car drivers that I'm there. Can anyone recommend a bright front light (LED perhaps). I've seen the flashing ones & they get my attention whilst I'm in the Car so was thinking flashing is the way to go. I am on a budget & would prefer to pay less than £35.

Thanks.

[meic]

Do you promise to only ever use it in the day?

I only ask because lights that meet you criteria will be really offensive (and probably illegal) for night use and so some strong words will likely be said on the thread based on the assumption that these lights will be used at night.

I dont know if the Hope1 is down below £35 yet but that when set on flash is very attention grabbing in the daylight and downright criminally anti-social at night.

[thelawnet]

Have a look at the Cateye Volt series.

Volt 500XC £32 (2200 mAh battery, non removable, USB charging)

https://www.sigmasport.co.uk/item/Catey ... Light/EJAJ

500/100 lumen hyperconstant setting

I personally like the older (non-XC) Volt series with changeable batteries (I have the matching rear light so you can swap around), but they are about 33% more expensive for the same brightness, and it's very probable that a powerbank (which can also charge your phone, etc.) and the Volt XC series is a better investment than this system now.

[mjr]

Can't be done. You can't compete with the sun and the problem motorists are the ones who aren't looking properly, not the ones who will look and notice a flashing light.

If it did work, it would be a rather anti-social “me first” act, encouraging other road users to look for flashing lights and not all the stuff on our routes which isn’t lit. We must act to reduce the causes of injury, not divide-and-conquer ourselves by encouraging motorists to only look for lights.

It's far better to ride in road positions where motorists will be looking (so-called primary position) and undertake Bikeability training if you would like help with that, but always be as ready as you can for the multi-tonne metal users to do something stupid - practice emergency stops and emergency turns.

[Mick F]

^^^^^
Wot he said.
+1

[fatbelly33]

Do you promise to only ever use it in the day?

Yes daytime use only. I'm semi retired so even in the depths of winter I can still cycle during the day light hours.

[tatanab]

I am against the use of daytime lighting for the following reason.

The more such things as daytime lighting (front and rear) and cameras (front and rear) become accepted as usual behaviour the more they will be expected by the general public. Possibly giving rise to court cases due to "lack of care and consideration or negligencer", or some such, when they are not used. This means that the touring cyclist would have to cart around a much more powerful generator system in order to charge all these devices (plus of course the modern touring necessities of GPS, telephone, tablet etc) since the tourist would not have the luxury of charging devices at home or stealing electricity at work (you can tell I am old fashioned) when they arrive after their couple of hours riding. Some time ago, on this very forum, I put this point to somebody who advocated that all cyclists should record all riding on cameras. The response was "I only commute so that is all I care about". In short - I think that we should each consider the future before adopting daytime lighting etc.

A nice subject to discuss - calmly and reasonably please.

[The utility cyclist]

As above, totally against daytime lights, can't see any evidence of them working either, pandering to those causing the harm never works, in fact just makes matters worse for every vulnerable road user.

[rmurphy195]

I use the Cateye Omni 5 - mine is mounted on the handlebar stem using the mount for the rear version of the same lamp. Attracts attention without being superbright/dazzling. Flashing in daytime for the reasons the OP suggests, and at night steady in addition to a to-see-by light.

[Samuel D]

Daytime running lamps are a bad idea on cars and worse still on bicycles, which have to find the power to run them. You will never overpower car lamps, and trying to leads to the current arms race of annoyingly bright LED lamps, usually with terrible spectral power distribution, often flashing, on every vehicle, everywhere you look. Don’t our landscapes have enough visual pollution without this too?

I think it’s important not to give into the temptation to act in this selfish way. Doing so leads to a tragedy of the commons.

[pwa]

I am against the use of daytime lighting for the following reason.

The more such things as daytime lighting (front and rear) and cameras (front and rear) become accepted as usual behaviour the more they will be expected by the general public. Possibly giving rise to court cases due to "lack of care and consideration or negligencer", or some such, when they are not used. This means that the touring cyclist would have to cart around a much more powerful generator system in order to charge all these devices (plus of course the modern touring necessities of GPS, telephone, tablet etc) since the tourist would not have the luxury of charging devices at home or stealing electricity at work (you can tell I am old fashioned) when they arrive after their couple of hours riding. Some time ago, on this very forum, I put this point to somebody who advocated that all cyclists should record all riding on cameras. The response was "I only commute so that is all I care about". In short - I think that we should each consider the future before adopting daytime lighting etc.

A nice subject to discuss - calmly and reasonably please.

I wonder if you are too late and the transition to daytime lights being normal has already happened. I don't use them myself in decent lighting conditions but I now see a lot of cyclists with daytime lights, and all recently made cars and vans.

[meic]

The tragedy of the commons has already occurred.
Cars have had them as compulsory fittings for almost seven years.
No point in blaming the vulnerable minority for trying to match the complacent majority.

[flat tyre]

Cateye Omni 5 here too, battery lasts ages on flash mode. I generally have it on on dark gloomy days.

[Samuel D]

The tragedy of the commons has already occurred.
Cars have had them as compulsory fittings for almost seven years.
No point in blaming the vulnerable minority for trying to match the complacent majority.

So what do you suggest, meic? If you give up this fight you are automatically entered into another, the arms race I mentioned. The lamp that’s adequately antisocial today won’t be tomorrow. Obviously pedestrians should light up too. Maybe the law should mandate cyclists to wear illuminated Stars of David while we’re at it.

Your position reminds me of Yossarian’s line in the book Catch 22, where he says he won’t fly any more missions because, “From now on I’m thinking only of me.” His boss replied, “But, Yossarian, suppose everyone felt that way?”, to which Yossarian retorted, “Then I’d certainly be a damned fool to feel any other way, wouldn’t I?”

The safety benefits of these lamps are largely illusory anyway, with some research suggesting that flashing lamps in fact attract drivers like moths to a flame. It’s difficult to judge distance to a flashing lamp, especially one of negligible surface area (like all of them). Since drivers hit cyclists not because we’re invisible but because they don’t look or they misjudge a manoeuvre, I’d want to give them every opportunity to judge distance accurately.

[BakfietsUK]

Cyclists are perfectly visible during daylight hours and clear conditions without lights. If you feel safer with them, then I would not argue. The danger is that in taking up this strategy we are reinforcing cyclists obligation to account for others inattention and incompetence. The responsibility is then shifted unjustifiably onto the more vulnerable to become, somehow less vulnerable whilst the real problem goes unchallenged.

I bet if it was claimed that cyclists were safer with orange flashing lights on stalks and have 100 dB sirens, somebody would believe them and behave accordingly. I would suggest playing around with concepts of reverse psychology. As a thought experiment if cyclists never had lights day or night, how much more risk would result. There is perhaps a possibility that drivers behaviours would change as they had to work harder to see cyclists and be more attentive as a result. Just something to think about OK, not a recommendation.