Cycling in Melbourne Australia
lighting
I ride with two lights on the front, two on the back. This is why http://ajenningsfrankston.blogspot.com/2011/03/two-lights-at-front-...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Chris Harris on -
I have an alomst identical setup for the same reasons.
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Permalink Reply by Geoff Rehmet on -
3 on the back, 3 on the front. Spare batteries in my pack. Call me paranoid.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on -
I used to, in the days of sealed lead acid and 10 watt halogen, have a complete system of headlights, tail lights and indicators. Was quite proud of it as I built it myself for a fraction of the cost of those early Nightsun systems. It added 2kg to the bike, and when one of the first LED systems came on the market, I dumped it for a more "normal" system.
As most LED lights have multiple luninaires, take millions of hours before they fail and the circuitry is even more reliable, I only have one headlight and one tail light. I do carry spare batteries, though. Never had a bicycle light fail electronically, and the one time I had one fail mechanically, it was the bracket, so I rode the rest of my trip with the lamp in my mouth.
There is an excellent reason, other than for reliability, for running two headlights, but mounting them close together undermines it. If you have a headlight mounted on each side of your handlebar, as widely as you can, when you're riding straight ahead through an intersection, motorists turning right across your path are more likely to give way (as required of them) because they unconsciously identify 2 lights as a car. (Or at least as 2 cyclists - favourable witness, safety in numbers.) I suspect that mounting 2 tail lights as widely as practicable also would encourage motorists to give a wider berth when passing, for similar reasons.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on -
My setup is a 'do it yourself project' consisting of 2 lights, 27 Watts LED each, quite bright, 1500 Lumens each. The first light is fitted on the handle bar and the second light is a removable option on my helmet. I run a cable from the back of my helmet to my backpack. So there's not too much weight on the helmet to carry batteries. Then I carry a reasonable battery in my backpack which also doubles as an external laptop battery. I find the bike helmet and handle bar light combination quite useful, e.g. I still want to make eye contact with motorists to ensure they don't push in front of me. I know these lights are quite bright but I use discretion. e.g. look another way instead of blinding drivers approaching me. Then it's always helpful to have a spotlight on the road when looking sideways. There's almost no difference between riding in daylight versus night time. The setup cost me a fraction of the price than commercially available products.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on
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Ah, you're one of those people with little regard for the retinas of others coming the other way, regardless of their transport mode ;-)
In general I'd advise against wearing anything on the helmet, especially large lighting appliances. Land on them and they'll split your helmet wide open and may drive into your brainbox.
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Permalink Reply by Adrian Tritschler on -
Mounting anything on a helmet makes it no longer comply with the Aus. standard for helmets and thus no longer legal to wear on the road. I'd be completely amazed if anyone has ever been pulled up for it though!
I'm with Steve Jay on this one though, helmet mounted lights are great for the person wearing them, but 99% of the time they're damn anti-social to other road users and the equivalent of driving around with your car headlights on high-beam. Amazing the number of people who wouldn't dream of doing that in their car, but quite happy to do it to you when they're on a bike. Then out come the "blame the victim" responses of "Just look the other way" or "Just close your eyes until I go past".
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Permalink Reply by stib on -
I'm not sure of the logic behind that. I aim my helmet light away from oncoming riders as they approach, I can't do that with my handlebar mounted lights which just blast them regardless (however I aim it AT the car drivers though, that's the whole point. If they're dazzled by you there's at least a slim chance that they've seen you).
Agree wholeheartedly about mounting too much hardware on your head though. I'm kinda amazed that people are allowed to sell helmet lights that are firmly attached to your helmet. My helmet light is a very small flashing one, made from lightweight plastic, and I attach it with velcro, for the very reason that I want it to fall off if my helmet hits the road. Also stops it getting caught on low hanging tree branches etc, which could be a real hazard at speed.
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Permalink Reply by Andrew Jennings on -
A real "day for night" experience. I must investigate. It would be useful on that stretch from Carrum to Dandenong in the middle of winter.
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Permalink Reply by Nick Biker on
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Hi Andrew, the bike helmet and handle bar combination works like a charm for off road riding, works perfectly for that part of the bike path.
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Permalink Reply by John E. on -
Don't forget reflective strips, particularly on moving components ie pedals, ankle straps, & very important - on the side! All those lights pointing forwards and backwards leaves you hard to see from the side. I've had a car turn from a side road on the other side of the road I was in, turning the direction I was going without seeing me as I was side on, it was only when I thumped on the bonnet that they realised I was there. Strips of reflective stuff down the side of the bike; there is no such thing as too many lights or too many visibility enhancing steps.
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jay on
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High visibility good, retina burning lumen output bad.
There is some conflict regarding the value of side visibility, that if a driver has time to react to it, they were never going to hit you and if they're going to hit you, they'll hit you before they see you. Frankly, I prefer to err on the side of caution and wear (key work "wear", wheel reflectors are useless and slow the bike down) side visibility stuff in the form of ankle and wrist reflectives. Like a flashing headlight, reflective ankle strips say "BIKE!" pretty clearly and wristies help make hand signals visible.
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Permalink Reply by Jack on -
Last winter we read the report about Michael waking up in hospital. http://www.melbournecyclist.com/forum/topics/crash-report?xg_source... When he finally got back on the road he really did a good job of the visibility problem most obvious were the LED rings on the wheels. Michael is a serious commuter, easily beating me from Vermont to the City and I am in a car. I would be nice to see a photo of his current setup.
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