Last week I got some money, and invested it in some new lights for my bike. Raiding Thinkbike in Rathmines (formerly Commuting Solutions [formerly the Rathmines Bike Shop]), I picked up a replacement simple rear red light, a dangly sort of flashing red medallion thing that hangs off your backpack, and a 5-LED white lamp for the front handlebars. Previously I’d been getting through the winter with a couple of old LED lights that, in hindsight, were pretty weak – and most likely not really visible in lowlight conditions. I’m most excited about the front light: its beam is strong, which probably means being able to see the road when cycling down unlit lanes and the like.
I’ve always deplored late night cycling without any lights (and have only done it once or twice when I’ve left lights behind or they weren’t working) but really what makes you visible – the first thing a motorist sees – late at night are hi-vis jackets. Those things really leap out in low-light conditions. Obviously, the ideal is to combine all the visiblity measures.
So I’m all prepared – the only problem is the evenings aren’t quite dark enough yet. Soon.
3 Comments
September 10, 2008 at 6:35 pm
“but really what makes you visible – the first thing a motorist sees – late at night are hi-vis jackets”
Lights are far more visible to all road users in more conditions. Lights are clearly more visible to pedestrian and other cyclists. While maybe seen as a lesser danger than motorists, hitting a ped or a cyclist could turn out to be bad for them or you.
Furthermore, lights identify you carriage way user , while builders and a ton of others now wear high vis. And I think there’s a lot of situations where motorists would see light first. I’ve asked a few friends who drive (yeah, yeah, not very scientific) and they always say they see lights first over high vis.
Worse still, lately I’ve witnessed a worrying amount of people who seam to think high-vis is a replacement for lights (admittedly they are better than the fools without anything, but if you’re going to wear high vis buying a set of lights wont cramp your style any more and/or they don’t cost the world) .
Anyway, a good tip with lights is always keep an eye every so often to see if the batteries need replacing (it’s easy to not notice as they start to dim over time).
September 11, 2008 at 1:26 pm
I think I’ll have to get me a nice, powerful front light before too long. It’s difficult, though, to find one that will still be visible when you have a basket on the front of your bike (as I do).
Also, I saw a guy in Rathmines last night who was taking no chances whatsoever with his lighting set-up. He had THREE front lights on his bike – one regular one, one fairly strong one, and one in a sort of amber/yellowy colour. Fair play to him, but he was like the cycling equivalent of one of those trucks with all the white lights on the front of the cab.
September 19, 2008 at 12:47 pm
I’ve now joined the ranks of those with the swanky lights. Hello, CatEye HL-EL520 (or something like that) and CatEye TL-LD600. Mmmmm, brightness. As Karl pointed out, the tail light is pure KnightRider.