Front Light for daytime

[Ric2013]

Now I feel bad. Because I have a dynamo hub with so little drag that I never bothered to put a switch on the lighting setup, and so I always have my lights on.

[hemo]

One of these for under £20 inc 4 x 18650 battery pack & charger, very bright with several modes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000LM-XM-L- ... 0011.m1850

[Cyril Haearn]

Here is a normal cyclist and a cyclist disguised as a battleship.



So which would you detect coming up your inside. Perhaps something flashing would gain your attention.

Those two must be engaged immediately as cycling ambassadors, plus a cute little dog in the basket
Is that THE white house in the background?

[old_windbag]

Is that THE white house in the background?

Yes with a london bus going past it . I'm not from that neck of the woods but I would say that it is the front of st pauls cathedral, which donald trump most definitely doesn't reside in .

[busb]

There's a lot more going on than just "I'm a cyclist they should be looking for me".

That's why when I'm on the bike I don't pass anything on the left that's just starting to move, and at traffic lights I usually stop behind the first car in line if its indicators are going (unless there's an advance stop line) - because at some point during the manouevre the driver will be looking away from me - he/she HAS to.
So wizzing up the inside of a vehicle at lights just as they change is bound to cause problems. And a flashing light (that doesn't dazzle) can attract that little bit of attention in a person's peripheral vision.

Yup - I do the same - stop behind the leading vehicle who may or not be turning left - the driver you are adjacent or in front of has a greater chance of seeing me.
As for daylight use of bikes lights - I've previously used them in poor light to be seen. My new front light has a so-called daylight mode that's a slow double pulse. Both commutes are currently in the dark where I use a pulsed continuous mode where the continuous part is probably 100lm & the short pulse about 800lm every second - good for well-lit roads.
I was waiting to turn right at a T junction some years back when a van coming towards me from the left missed me by mms as he/she turned across me. I was rather taken aback but did wonder if my flashing front light was off at a critical moment. I maintain that no bike light should be off completely until switched off!
Most of the other cyclists I see in Reading not only do not use daylight lights but none whatsoever at night as well. As for traffic lights...

[busb]

One of these for under £20 inc 4 x 18650 battery pack & charger, very bright with several modes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000LM-XM-L- ... 0011.m1850

If there's one law regarding cycle lights I'd happily see introduced is a ban on elastic band mounting or "tool-less" installation as it's marketed as. I rarely get dazzled by motor vehicles but do by other cyclists with their +500lm wide-beam lights NOT pointing downwards - either because they are set badly or move every time they go over a bump hence replacing mine with one that clamps
I realise that cyclist's lights need to compete in brightness to some extent to motor vehicles (that have to include regular tests including headlight adjustment) - cycle lights can be 10000lm or higher with no regulation over the angle they point at or the shape of the beam.

[[XAP]Bob]

Frankly I'd rather see tighter restrictions on motor vehicle headlamps to start with. They are generally horribly bright and dazzling... That is even from my driving position high up in an MPV.

The adjustment of beam angle needs to be a lot tighter, and needs to be automatic - the number of people who have their 'dipped beam' set well above the horizon is absurd.

[Cyril Haearn]

Frankly I'd rather see tighter restrictions on motor vehicle headlamps to start with. They are generally horribly bright and dazzling... That is even from my driving position high up in an MPV.

The adjustment of beam angle needs to be a lot tighter, and needs to be automatic - the number of people who have their 'dipped beam' set well above the horizon is absurd.

So one often sees standing vehicles with lights on even when the engine is not running

[hemo]

One of these for under £20 inc 4 x 18650 battery pack & charger, very bright with several modes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5000LM-XM-L- ... 0011.m1850

If there's one law regarding cycle lights I'd happily see introduced is a ban on elastic band mounting or "tool-less" installation as it's marketed as. I rarely get dazzled by motor vehicles but do by other cyclists with their +500lm wide-beam lights NOT pointing downwards - either because they are set badly or move every time they go over a bump hence replacing mine with one that clamps
I realise that cyclist's lights need to compete in brightness to some extent to motor vehicles (that have to include regular tests including headlight adjustment) - cycle lights can be 10000lm or higher with no regulation over the angle they point at or the shape of the beam.

The fact that they have several light modes dosen't mean you have to use the high setting, outer bezzle strobe is the one I use most. In all not much differnt to the Lezyne's from reputable retailers which are also bright and use elastic rubber fittings, just a bit cheaper with longer battery life with 18650 cells.

As a car/lgv driver as well I prefer cycles to have any light showing rather then most I tend to see that have nothing at all albeit a cheap crappy light that only omits a glimpse of light once you get within a fe yards.

[squeaker]

Frankly I'd rather see tighter restrictions on motor vehicle headlamps to start with. They are generally horribly bright and dazzling...

In that there are far more of them, and the regulations seem way behind the technology (especially in relation to the wavelengths that are used / allowed to scatter) then I have to agree with you (as a motor vehicle driver). The misused 'torch' problem is more of an issue on dark cycleways or quiet country lanes IME

[thirdcrank]

... So one often sees standing vehicles with lights on even when the engine is not running

It used to be an offence to have headlights lit on a stationary vehicle, other than an enforced stoppage, which I take to mean when held up while driving. I can't find any mention of it in either the HC or the lighting regs so I presume it's been scrapped. AFAIK, it was a hangover from wartime blackout regs. Even if it is still an offence, which I doubt, nobody is going to enforce it. It looks as though it's been replaced by the general ban on dazzling other road users, which isn't enforced either.

Most, if not all, modern cars seem to have the feature which automatically switches on the headlights for a short period when it's locked. It was on my 52 reg Berlingo, so it's neither recent nor restricted to luxury models but it would contravene a ban on headlights when parked.

Bearing in mind the amount of this sort of gimmickry in vehicle lighting, automatic levelling can't be such a big deal and so much better than a wheel out of sight down by the driver's knees that has to be adjusted eg whenever passengers get in or out of the back seats.

Over the recent Crimbo break, I've done several Dad's Taxi airport runs at times when I'm now normally in bed. There seems to be an impressive number of cycling commuters in Leeds if yesterday morning is typical, but without any counting of examples, the number of riders with absurdly bright flashing front lamps - generally without any cut-off beam - outnumbered by far the drivers with dazzling headlamps. (As an aside, lycra shorts + bare knees in early January seems to indicate a certain lack of experience, but with the car heater toasting my knees, it's not my opinion that counts ) I fancy undipped automatic headlights on motor vehicles are a much greater problem for cyclists on roads with less traffic, since they only seem to dip automatically for other motor vehicles.

By far the worst case of dazzling I experienced was returning on the M62 from Doncaster Airport just befor Crimbo when I came up behind a big truck with two very bright flashing amber LED arrays at eye-level about a yard apart. It was only when I was on the point of overtaking it that I realised that it was a wide load without any of the lights or marker boards required at the outer extremities. Nobody seems to be enforcing that, either.

[Cyril Haearn]

My chance to use a new phrase I just nicked from Brucey, +2

Leeds is full of *various flavours of urban hipster* on their fixies

[mjr]

The fact that they have several light modes dosen't mean you have to use the high setting, outer bezzle strobe is the one I use most.

If that's an actual strobe, it's illegal and anti-social. Please stop it. Flash between 1 and 4 times a second if you have any dignity.

[[XAP]Bob]

The fact that they have several light modes dosen't mean you have to use the high setting, outer bezzle strobe is the one I use most.

If that's an actual strobe, it's illegal and anti-social. Please stop it. Flash between 1 and 4 times a second if you have any dignity.

Why is 1-4Hz not a strobe?

[squeaker]

Nobody seems to be enforcing that, either.

Applies to most of the rules in the Highway Code nowadays