Legal lights?

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LancsGirl
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Legal lights?

Post by LancsGirl »

OK, I've read the regulations, and this: https://www.cyclinguk.org/lighting-regulations

I must admit, I'm pretty confused. I don't cycle much at night. Hardly ever in fact. I've got a red light permanently fixed to the back of my saddle pack, which I sometimes turn on when I think I'm in danger of being rear-ended, even in the day. I've got a white light in the saddle pack, which I put on the bars if I'm a bit late and it's getting towards dusk.

But I'd like proper, legal lights. I quite like to be compliant. I've got pedal reflectors and a rear red reflector on the mudguards, so compliant there.

Is it possible to actually buy:

1. A white front light, that can be switched between steady (for if I'm cycling down dark unlit roads) and flashing (to alert other road users, if the road is well lit).

2. And a red rear flashing and/or steady light.

Both of which are actually legal?

I'm not against the idea of investing in a dynamo front wheel, but for the moment battery/rechargeable lights would be fine.

Thanks.
PH
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by PH »

I mostly use dynamo lights so no experience to pass on, my one battery front light is the anti social blast them type, but as I'm primarily running a dynamo, I can leave save that till there's no one to be anti social to.
Something that you could add to your search is "StVZO" which is the German standard. There hasn't been much produced to "BS", I can't think of any, while in the EU there wasn't the need. Here was the first google hit, there's plenty more to delve into.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/be ... ke-lights/

Edit - but you won't find flashing StVZO front lights, German regulations don't allow them. But it doesn't need much of a flashing light to get noticed, I run an additional cheap small one that I've been told is noticeable from a long way off.
Nearholmer
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by Nearholmer »

I think the bit you will struggle with regarding “actually legal” is the compliance marking of lamps that are capable of showing a steady light.

The ones I’ve got I’m very happy with, wide choice of functions (steady and flashing) at different output levels, very robust, and excellent charge-life, but they are both probably technically non-compliant in that they don’t seem to carry compliance markings, not that I can find anyway.
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freiston
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by freiston »

I find it all a bit confusing too - not least because what is "legal" (as a primary light) and what is available are not always the same thing. My take on it is (particularly in respect of Q1) that if you want to be sure that a front steady beam light is legal as a sole light/primary light, then StVZO should meet the requirement. But as PH said, StVZO lights don't flash - so if you want both legal steady primary and flashing, you'll want two lights.

I used to do a lot of night riding on all kinds of roads but mostly unlit narrow single track country lanes. I like to be "proper legal" too and have pedal reflectors, rear reflectors and front & back lights. The lights on my touring/everyday bike are StVZO dynamo lights (80 lux front) but on my folding bike, I have a StVZO AA battery front light (40 lux) and an old 1990s Cateye LED rear light. I'm not so worried about my occasional-use folding bike having a StVZO rear light because tbh I think that just about any modern LED rear light does the job properly - a wide angle red light (that doesn't dazzle).

Front lights are more important imho because they need to put enough light in the right place without dazzling others and that's where I think StVZO trumps anything else available - their beam is akin to a car headlamp on "dip" - good road illumination without dazzling. There are loads of "impressive" bright lights available that have beams that either dazzle others or illuminate the immediate road so brightly that you can't see anything except for directly in front of the wheel.

Personally I never bother with and don't use flashing modes on my front or back lights and when I see them on other bikes, I find them distracting but not helpful (especially front lights). I usually leave my dynamo lights running permanently and only switch them off if I'm using the dynamo to charge a powerbank or when approaching skittish looking horses.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
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andrew_s
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by andrew_s »

LancsGirl wrote: 28 Jul 2022, 8:25pmBut I'd like proper, legal lights. I quite like to be compliant. I've got pedal reflectors and a rear red reflector on the mudguards, so compliant there.

Is it possible to actually buy:

1. A white front light, that can be switched between steady (for if I'm cycling down dark unlit roads) and flashing (to alert other road users, if the road is well lit).

2. And a red rear flashing and/or steady light.

Both of which are actually legal?
Probably not.

To be officially legal lights have to have the BS6103 markings, or those of an equivalent European standard.
The only other country with an equivalent standard is Germany, and flashing lights are illegal there, so you won't get a Z-marked light that's capable of flashing.
BS6102 has been ignored for so long that there are virtually no lights avaliable that are marked with it, and the chances are that any marked lights are pretty poor.

The simple option is to put dynamo lights on. They are almost all Z-marked, and if you lose the flash, you can compensate by putting them on any time the daylight is a bit dull.

If you like you can put on a pair of random LED flashers as additional lights
Last edited by andrew_s on 28 Jul 2022, 10:23pm, edited 3 times in total.
slowster
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by slowster »

You might find that the best option woud be an Stvzo approved (battery) front light and a cheap and cheerful front flashing light. If it is uncommon that you would actually need to use the Stvzo light, then I think non-rechargeable lithium batteries are a better choice than rechargeables, because the former hold their charge for years if unused, whereas rechargeables need to be recharged every so often even if not used, e.g. once a month. If you search the forum as per PH's suggestion using "stvzo" you will find a few previous threads which have mentioned Stvzo battery front lights. Personally, I think daytime flashing front lights do not give any significant benefit.

For rear lights, I think the best are those which use a lens to create a patch of red light over the surface of the lamp, rather than just emit light from a single point source. The two main examples of the former are Busch & Mueller's Toplight Line Plus light and Spanninga's Elips light. Both are available in battery versions as well as dynamo (although the dynamo version of the Elips appears to be difficult/impossible to buy in the UK now). The advantage of these types of rear light is explained by B&M here - https://www.bumm.de/en/technologie-deta ... ec-42.html.

With regard to dynamo lighting, I cannot recall anyone regretting switching from battery to dynamo lighting whenever the subject has been discussed in previous threads. It is so convenient having lighting that is always there when needed, which does not regularly need to be kept charged or need spare/replacement batteries, and which does not need to be remembered to be taken or fitted to the bike (or be removed from the bike to prevent it being stolen).
JohnMorgan
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by JohnMorgan »

You could try Aldi or Lidl bike lights? I’m given to understand they conform to the German standard, so should conform to the British. Good luck!
Nearholmer
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by Nearholmer »

The Aldi/Lidl ones I was using for a couple of years were very good in terms of lighting, cheap, and included flashing, so those particular ones would have been non-compliant in Germany, but were let down by being a bit fragile. They ended-up held together with insulating tape!

The issue of accidentally dazzling other road users is made much of, but is dead easy to overcome by (a) buying lights that have multiple output levels, and (b) using the “fancy elastic band” fixing that most come with, so that you can physically dip them as well as selecting a suitable light output level.

I’d agree with others that good, German dynamo lights are the gold standard, I had hub dynamo and B&M lights on a tourer that I had briefly and apart from lack of flash they were truly excellent, but that set-up is all a bit OTT if you only rarely cycle after dark, so really mostly need daytime attention grabbers, and use different bikes on different days.
PH
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by PH »

Nearholmer wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 6:58am The issue of accidentally dazzling other road users is made much of, but is dead easy to overcome by (a) buying lights that have multiple output levels, and (b) using the “fancy elastic band” fixing that most come with, so that you can physically dip them as well as selecting a suitable light output level.
It isn't possible to adjust a spherical beam in a way that doesn't put as much light into an oncoming cyclists or drivers eyes as it does onto the road and the nature of LED lighting means it doesn't have to be that bright to be dazzling. Easy to test that with a bit of reflective tape at eye height. A slight issue with StVZO lights is they don't illuminate all road signs!
Adjusting a light down (I wish everyone would) shortens the time an oncoming user is dazzled, but at cycling speed that can still be long enough to be problematic. Many car lights are just as bad, the difference is usually the closing speed and the resulting shorter exposure time.
In the winter, rush hour on my local cycle path into town becomes unrideable against the flow, like trying to ride wearing a blindfold. The answer to someone else's bright lights, which can also be a different issue with a rider behind, seems to be to get even brighter ones.
slowster
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by slowster »

The only time I have seen any value in a flashing front light is in daytime on a winding singletrack road in a wooded area, where varying light levels and visibility combine with oncoming vehicles sharing the same narrow single carriageway. Otherwise I think they serve no real benefit, and can even be counter-productive. It is much more difficult to estimate the distance and closing speed of a flashing light than a fixed beam.
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squeaker
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by squeaker »

This is probably as close to a BS rear light that you're going to get. (IIRC it's the need for a reflector that's the tricky bit.)

For the front I'd agree with others that 2 separate lights is the best solution: one Stvzo approved (Lidl would be my choice) and a flasher, as the whole point of the latter is to alert (just in daylight, hopefully).
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rogerzilla
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by rogerzilla »

Do German regs still count, post you-know-what?
sizbut
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by sizbut »

slowster wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 8:43am The only time I have seen any value in a flashing front light is in daytime on a winding singletrack road in a wooded area.
Disagree. Flashing lights have become synonymous with 'bicycle' and so send a message to other road users as to the nature of traffic around them.
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freiston
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by freiston »

rogerzilla wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 11:14am Do German regs still count, post you-know-what?
As far as I'm aware, the provision in UK law that allows for them hasn't been changed. The Government website still says "Lights and reflectors not conforming to the BS, but conforming to a corresponding standard of another EC country and marked accordingly, are considered to comply as long as that standard provides an equivalent level of safety.".

Given the lack of available BS marked lighting, it would make almost every non-flashing light illegal if the provision were to be dropped. Given the number of non BS lights that don't conform to corresponding EC standard already in use in the UK, it would be unworkable to drop the provision for corresponding EC standard without also dropping the requirement for BS marked lights. The only way around this imho would be for BS to be re-written to be "encapsulated" by StVZO and for manufacturers to mark StVZO lights with the corresponding BS - but that's a daft solution too.

So unless our govt do something stupid (so can't be ruled out), it looks like the options are to keep it as it is or drop the requirement for BS marked lighting.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
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freiston
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Re: Legal lights?

Post by freiston »

sizbut wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 12:38pm
slowster wrote: 29 Jul 2022, 8:43am The only time I have seen any value in a flashing front light is in daytime on a winding singletrack road in a wooded area.
Disagree. Flashing lights have become synonymous with 'bicycle' and so send a message to other road users as to the nature of traffic around them.
But that flashing is not always immediately identified as "cyclist". Moreover, the flashing is often perceived via reflection off surfaces and does not make others immediately aware of where the cyclist is (often the flashing is seen away from where the cyclist is), the flashing confuses cues as to speed and distance and can cause "fixation"/attention issues. Flashing lights that I have seen are usually very bright and dazzling too when in direct line of sight - like staring at a flashgun being repeatedly discharged - not good if you're relying on those subjected to it to be able to see clearly - flashing lights are used in some "security" applications to disorientate people.
Disclaimer: Treat what I say with caution and if possible, wait for someone with more knowledge and experience to contribute. ;)
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