Daniel: I’m not sure I agree that flashing lights are such a bad idea, but I *do* agree that the super-bright lights that the cycling industry has been rolling out in recent years can be a hazard. However, in my experience, it’s not a distant, super-bright taillight that causes problems, but the light on the bike right in front of you. Some of these lights are so bright that the limit the following rider’s view to nothing but a red haze. (Note: Don’t try to tell these riders that their lights are too bright—convinced that brighter is better and brightest is best, they invariably react badly to my suggestion that they’re causing problems from anyone behind them.)
I agree generally with Jan that super-bright rear lights aren’t necessary. As I asked a friend on a recent ride, “Do you really need to be visible to a car that’s five miles behind you?” My hope is that there will be a moderation in coming years as riders go back to slightly less bright lights with longer run times. I don’t agree that reflective gear is bad. One hopeful step in the illumination arms race is Portland Design Works’ new “Daybot” taillight, which offers a choice of daytime (100 lumens) and nighttime (20 lumens) brightness levels. The latter is adequately visible, but in a follower-friendly way. Their “Fenderbot” is also notable for being bright enough without being too bright. As a randonneur who occasionally rides through the night, I appreciate the long run times offered by slightly less bright lights, since a taillight that has run out of batteries doesn’t do a bit of good. Regarding the Toplight—I have one, and it’s great, but from even a short distance it’s going to look pretty much like a smaller light. Depth perception is hard to gauge when you have just one point of light. The best solution would be two taillights even a short distance apart, but that’s hard to do on most bikes. FWIW, Lee Mitchell, a famed sag driver here in Northern California who spent thousands of hours over many decades following cyclists in the dark, once said in an online discussion of this topic that the most valuable piece of nighttime gear in his opinion is reflective ankle bands. Their motion attracts attention and helps identify you as a bicycle. --Eric Norris campyonly...@me.com @CampyOnlyguy (Twitter/Instagram) > On Dec 4, 2017, at 7:36 AM, Daniel M <dpmay...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > Jan’s opinions about visibility make about as much sense to me as Grant’s > notions about diet. Some nuggets of wisdom in both cases, with extreme > conclusions drawn that I disagree with in the end. Jan dismissed reflective > tire sidewalls as ineffective out of hand and thinks a single red dot, which > gives other road users no depth perception whatsoever, is preferable to > additional reflective surfaces. He mentions the very real effect of target > fixation on bicycles and police cars, without calling the strobing lights > into question in both cases. > > I feel very strongly that using flashing lights on bicycles after dark is a > really really bad idea. A bllinding, strobing dot in the distance dazzles > other drivers and cyclists, gives no depth perception, and makes it harder to > see anything other than the flashing light itself. A solid rear light that > illuminates a larger area like the Toplight Line Plus, etc, coupled with > reflective leg bands, vest/harness, reflective tire sidewalls and/or > reflective tape on the fenders, gives other road users a steady image which > conveys the size and distance to the bike and rider they are passing or > overtaking without dazzling them with a strobing light show. > > Daniel M > Berkeley, CA > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
