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12-18-2004, 05:42 PM

On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:58:05 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote:

> Redundancy is good, but one needn't be paranoid about this.

Agreed. I currently ride in the city with one of the super mini CatEye
lights (looks like a red disc with a cord), reflectors on my rims,
reflective tape on my rear fender, and usually my Gill jacket with "safety
orange" back and reflective piping. I've never felt like motorists can't
see me. I've even had them thank me for taking time to be visible.

I've also been hit by a car from the rear wearing the same jacket and
running one of those Zefal tail lights with 5 LEDs, fresh batteries, and a
full 180 degree view, offering a sheer carnival of blinkage. The motorist
was laquered like a fine Japanese curio...no amount of blinkiness can
prevent that. :/

I do most of my night time riding in an old victorian neighborhood close
to my downtown. The traffic is leisurely and the lighting is good so YMMV.

The main problem with the LED lights I've found is people not replacing
the batteries a timely manner--they'll get dimmer and dimmer and you won't
notice. I make sure to lean my bike again something every few nights,
leave the flasher on, and step back a few meters to see if I'm low on
juice.

So redundancy is good, but I'm really more concerned about the 90% of
evening cyclists I see around here w/o lights or reflectors rather than
myself. I'd like to see the cops pull them over and give them a choice of
a $20 ticket or purchasing a basic quality Cateye flasher on the spot for
$10.

12-18-2004, 05:42 PM	#57 (permalink)
maxo Guest Posts: n/a	Re: OGC Optik7 Flashing LED Warning On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 10:58:05 -0500, Frank Krygowski wrote: > Redundancy is good, but one needn't be paranoid about this. Agreed. I currently ride in the city with one of the super mini CatEye lights (looks like a red disc with a cord), reflectors on my rims, reflective tape on my rear fender, and usually my Gill jacket with "safety orange" back and reflective piping. I've never felt like motorists can't see me. I've even had them thank me for taking time to be visible. I've also been hit by a car from the rear wearing the same jacket and running one of those Zefal tail lights with 5 LEDs, fresh batteries, and a full 180 degree view, offering a sheer carnival of blinkage. The motorist was laquered like a fine Japanese curio...no amount of blinkiness can prevent that. :/ I do most of my night time riding in an old victorian neighborhood close to my downtown. The traffic is leisurely and the lighting is good so YMMV. The main problem with the LED lights I've found is people not replacing the batteries a timely manner--they'll get dimmer and dimmer and you won't notice. I make sure to lean my bike again something every few nights, leave the flasher on, and step back a few meters to see if I'm low on juice. So redundancy is good, but I'm really more concerned about the 90% of evening cyclists I see around here w/o lights or reflectors rather than myself. I'd like to see the cops pull them over and give them a choice of a $20 ticket or purchasing a basic quality Cateye flasher on the spot for $10.