BIKEPGH MESSAGE BOARD ARCHIVE

Great happy ending! What kinda light did you get?

I have no idea what kind it is. It is some kind of huge LED, very very bright, suitable for illuminating my way on the streets and bright enough that I saw more than one driver adjust their rear mirror when I pulled up behind them (I also angled it down more after that, I don't want to blind people). It'll work for 3 hours, takes 4.5 hrs to charge (via USB or wall, Li ion battery). The helmet mount was extra, so i didn't get it, but it's an option. I figure if I need more than 3 hours of light, I should get off my bike and call for help anyway 'cause i've done something horribly wrong.

Sounds like a MiNewt Mini. I love mine.

I don't really use my helmet mount much, if you want to test it out.

dwillen - that sounds like what they called it. I call it Freedom

I was initially super nervous to ride at night (they don't see us during the day, night should be so much worse!) but after last night, I have no fear (careful caution, yes, fear, no). Will probably change as winter gets nearer and rush hour is in the dark, but that's for later. For now, I'll sing myself back to the suburbs, illuminated and two-wheeled

Do you have a mirror ? Mirrors are nice to see what coming up behind you.

I think we are more visible at night with all the blinking lights and reflective crap. You can't miss a glowing blinking thing that moves.

The guy that hit me did.

Boazo - no mirror, yet. Working on it.

rsprake and dwillen - makes me wonder if alien abductions or ufo sightings are UNDER reported. Maybe we just don't see the glowing blinking things that are moving all around us.

I just got my mirror a few weeks ago at Performance and love it. It's nice not to just hope that cars back there see you, but to actually have a visual on them, it's more proactive or something. Plus its really noticable how traffic moves in rhythm with the red lights, you know like a set moves through then theres none for awhile then another set.

ejwme - where did you get your light and about how much was it (if you don't mind my asking)?

I realized coming home after the Flock that if I plan on going anywhere at night and not getting eaten by a pothole, then I'm gonna need something more substantial than my $25 blinky.

Ok, I didn't do it the smart or cheap way. I walked in to Dirty Harry's, said "I need a light to ride on ARB and through Plum at night to see the road and not get hit by cars." And some discussion ensued that I didn't really pay attention to, I realized that 1) brighter is better and 2) I don't need more than 3 hours of running time and 3) this is a key step in my Car Elimination plan (especially with winter coming up), and worth the money ($100). So I bought it. I think with the Bike PGH discount it was something like $96 after tax. I'm sure I could have planned ahead and found it somewhere local for cheaper, but I like them, and I have it now, and it didn't break the bank this month.

Jeg - there are a number of lights in the 15-40$ range. They're usually not as bright, not rechargeable, or some other feature that seemed less convenient to me. I'm sure they do most people who use them just fine, I just didn't go that route. There are also many that are more expensive (the helmet mount for this one was an extra $30 I didn't spring for). I'm sure they're fantastic and worth it, I just didn't go that route either.

But now not only can I see the road in front of me, but I have confidence that I will be seen - instilled by two drivers flipping their rear view mirror. They saw me more than I'd like, but I'm visible. I can now be a Night Rider, and add that theme song to my repertoire (only to be sung at night, though, to preserve the mystique).

One of my Bicycle Illumination projects (in addition to Christmas Bike) is to put a mini Knight Rider light bar on the front of my bike, like the kind that KIT had. Back would be more practical, but front is more authentic.

If you want to go really cheap, there are now some good inexpensive LED flashlights available that you can either buy a bicycle mount for or fashion a mount with an old inner tube and or zip ties. I would look for one using the "cree" leds.

ejwme, sounds like you have your front light problem solved. Myself, between my $15-30 front light, and the incredibly bright 2-for-$5 9-LED light I got at Home Depot that I duct taped to my helmet, I'm OK going forward.

I am still very worried about being seen from behind, and I don't see a lot of detail in what you have on the back. At minimum, I want a bright blinky on my helmet and one more somewhere else -- elbow, middle of my back, somewhere on the bike, I don't really care.

Mounts on the bike have proven troublesome. A couple of the bikes have neither rack nor fenders, but get ridden at night. Under the seat, they've been blocked or broken by my cable lock wrapped around there. On the rack, they've been covered in crap after a ride on a wet trail, and/or broken off. At $15/light for a decent one, and going through three or four a year, I'm getting frustrated.

What does anyone else do, and what *can* I do to make sure I don't get run over after dark?

I find you get what you pay for with lights. If all you want is to be seen by others, then you have a lot of options for front lights in the less than $40 range, but if you also want to see the road and have half a chance of seeing things like a gaping pot hole, road kill, giant tree limbs etc. and you ride on roads not all that well lit by street lights, it is worth investing in a better light.

If you go the flashlight route ("cree" leds good) try to get one where you can focus the beam or at least one that directs the light in a nice pool in front of the beam. A diffuse light isn't so useful in showing you the road and its hazards.

I have an older HID light from Planet Bike that lights the road better than anything I have ever used. It's almost a car headlight. Some of these new LED lights come pretty close--are perhaps even better, but the good ones get expensive.

@Stu, if you have a solid fender (metal or the SKS/ESGE plastic-metal ones), a fender-mounted light like the Spanninga or similar would probably do nicely. Drill two carefully spaced holes, and away you go.

[Edited to add:] Ok, I obviously can't read, as you were talking about bikes sans fenders. My apologies.

Multiple lights can work well, too. One light down low (like, mounted on fork crown or fork arm), with a sharp beam, is great for picking out road hazards. Another, more diffuse light up high illuminates deer, road signs, bats and owls, and oncoming traffic.

@stu, some of the newer rear blinkies are very bright. The kind that look like they have a clear round light above 2 or 3 leds especially. (the "clear" light usually flashes red. Glue the clip shut and you can can zip tie one to your helmet.

You could also get a couple of those "frog" blinkie LED things and wrap them around your seat stays in back--they might get less knocked around there.

I have relfective bands I wear around my ankles some times when I ride (since I don't have reflectors on my road pedals). There are newer versions of these with flashing LEDs in them. Flashing, reflective bands around your ankles going up and down while you pedal might be pretty noticeable.

owls

Now that would be a sight to see in your headlight beam.

When I've seen pics of me at night, the reflectors that I got with my Bike Pgh membership and put on my fenders show up WAY more than my LED blinkies. With those and reflective sidewall, my bike is downright garish in night flock pics.

If I know that I'm going to be in heavy traffic, like Allegheny River Blvd, I take reflective ankle straps and put them on as arm bands.

There are reasons for having active lights, but for the most part, reflectors are more effective.

For headlights, I've found that having two -or even three -is great. This is for different focus lengths. One for distance and one for closer.

Having redundancy is good: everything breaks down sooner or later. If all else fails, I always keep a small (one AAA) flashlight with a rubber band in my pack.

A "bike light" costs 3 times as much as an equivalent flashlight with fastener. This lets me know that you do NOT get what you pay for.

With the bike market getting bigger and for more utility riders out there, this is changing. Headlights used to be 5 times the price the equivalent flashlight.

Yes, the reflectors show up in flash photography much brighter than the blinkies. In "natural" light, that is headlights of cars, the light balance is a little more even but the flashing of the blinkies helps to bring out the bike better than just reflectors (although reflectors on the pedals can serve that role).

I like lights because, in the twilight hours or when its rainy a lot of people don't have their headlights on and thus the reflectors do no good.

I've been meaning to get some reflective tape to supplement the multiple lights on my bike because I don't happen to have any reflectors.

I've got a $15 ultra bright blinky on my helmet facing behind me. It's red and has four settings (one blink, double blink, constant blink, and constant on, I use one blink in daytime, constant blink at night). To be thorough (and potentially obnoxious, if they're not synchronized) I should have a second / third one on back for either MORE blinking visibility or constant on at night (per the law). Putting it on my helmet avoids the whole "where on my crate do I put this / oops I took the crate off and didn't transfer the light / awe man that part of the bike broke off" nonsense. It's always with me. Much like my headlight now.

I also wear an obnoxiously ORANGE! vest with reflective ribbon goodness on it. I wear it backwards so traffic behind me can see me (though it has a single reflective ribbon on the true back, there's more on the true front).

I just realized that since I often ride my bike while singing pop songs (off key with made up words) at the top of my lungs and wearing reflective clothing backwards, I probably seem mentally challanged, which may engender motorist sympathy and caution rather than (the more typical?) frustration and rage. I'll take it.

I also have reflective tape I plan on decorating the bike with, and a reflective anklet I wear. I also often tie a bright orange hankerchief to the inside handlebar end, on the theory that maybe people won't buzz me with that there.

I have seen in sports stores, for running I suppose, these ribbon like reflectors that clip on pretty much anywhere and just flap around in the wind, and they have led lights, so they light and reflect. Since they just flap it seems like they would be almost immune to breakage. You would look like a giant electronic fishing lure, which, most of the time, would be good.

Lots of info to sort through here, thanks everyone!

I don't necessarily have to go cheap. I'd be willing to spend $100+ if I could ride at night safely and confidently.

I'm not so worried about being seen--I have reflectors and a whole collection of blinkies I've collected from years of running on narrow country roads with no sidewalks before dawn--but rather seeing road hazards in front of me.

@jeg - pedal into the light, my friend, you'll be glad you did

If you want to see different headlight options, may I recommend meeting up with one of the Friday night rides, either riding with or at the end, and then actually seeing all the different lights people have? I like mine, but could understand if others might want more/less light, it's a very personal choice that is perhaps not easy to gage in a well lit store during the day.