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nighttime commuting concerns

6K views 76 replies 34 participants last post by  mechBgon 
#1 ·
I have been riding to work a lot lately and I would like to make riding to work something I do every day except for extreme weather. as the days have gotten shorter, especially after the daylight savings change, I have to ride home completely in the dark. it's only 3 miles total each way along busy city streets but i don't feel safe on these roads, even when I have my body and my bike lit up like a Christmas tree. anything else I should consider to make my ride home safer? I cannot seem to find an alternative route that does not involve tripling my commute distance.
 
#32 ·
^^ Ha Ha. Very funny. I wish. :) Here I was wondering if you'd taken a wrong turn in Montpelier and ended up here in SE Indiana. Then I remembered, my headlights don't pulse. Maybe it was variable cloud reflectivity. :)

A pulsing headlamp would be good.True flashes leave you unmarked for too long. The guy who builds the electronics I used for my light periodically upgrades the software. That will be a request from me.

BrianMc
 
#33 ·
The Magicshine flash setting is more like a pulse. If you look at the light head, it is somewhat seizure-inducing. But if you look down range from it, the light output appears more consistent. This is why I use that setting on my commutes. Pedestrians hate it, but as long as it's aimed down a little bit, no cars have had an issue. I have also been mistaken for a motorcycle at times.
 
#35 ·
My MS headlight has five settings, three steady modes and two flash modes. The fifth mode has an interesting flash pattern, which I don't think is very optimal. It has a few quick flashes followed by a few slow fashes. I use this mode for daylight riding. The pulsing flash that sort of resembles "slow motion" lighting that one might see at a concert is what I normally use for night riding. I never bothered to look at it head on, but I think I will just to see if I have the headlight at a safe angle so that it won't bother people. As you said, it doesn't bother the eyes when looking from the cockpit. I would normally use one of the steady modes fpr night rides, but the headlight is sharing the battery with an MS taillight, so I want to make use of battery power.

Btw, speaking of the MJ-818 taillight, does yours seem to change settings by itself during operation? It has three modes: steady, flash1, and flash2. Say I set it to flash1 (main central LED flashes) and later when I look at it I see that it is on flash2 (with the auxillary LEDs flashing). Is this normal?
 
#34 ·
My Dinotte headlight has a very distinctive flash pattern...the light never goes completely off, it flashes from the low setting to the highest setting five times. It takes about two seconds to get all five flashes out. Then it pauses on the low setting for a second and starts over. It's a real attention getter.
 
#40 ·
Lots of good ideas in this thread. I have a Planet Bike Superflash on my rear rack, a high-vis vest/gloves/ankle strap and a Niterider Mininewt up front. Not quite as much illumination as I want (need moar $$$) but I feel safer at night than in daylight.

I guess if people have my blinky lights to focus on, they realize I am a live thing they should avoid. knock on wood...

Also, on days that I ride in, I wait till 530pm to leave as I find it avoids a lot of the crazies.
 
#41 ·
I've been using a Bike Glow in blue as as 'light me up' light, along with a 7" long red tube shaped light I just got (forgot the brand) that straps to the downtube. That gives me side lighting. Also Nathan reflectors and LightWeights on the wheels, but lights don't require the correct angle to a light source to function as reflectors do.

In back, I just got a new Serface strap-on red blinkie that is very bright and USB rechargeable, the Thunderbolt. It is awesome. Use that and a Magicshine rear light, and a Denotte 300r. (Is this overkill??) I am contemplating getting another Thunderbolt and retiring my Magicshine, as it weighs a lot less and is self contained. The Denotte is daylight visible so I use it on my ride home, as it is still light when I leave work. I highly recommend it for daylight commuting, those superflashes really aren't so super until the Sun goes down.

Up front, I use a NR mininewt 600 on the bar and an L&M Stella 150 on the helmet in blink mode. Having a helmet light is really useful. Up high, you can shine it into a driver's eyes over the top of parked cars, say if someone is exiting a parking lot on the right and is just not paying attention. If I think someone is not noticing me, I just look at them :D.

Of course, those reflective leg bands and a reflective jacket and vest. and reflective tape on the helmet round out my holiday light parade. It's part fun and part serious, and I usually get odd looks and people making comments as I wait at the light so I am getting noticed by drivers.
 
#49 ·
Here is what I have done.



Note that I am wearing a reflective vest and have reflective tape on the wheels. I am in a parking lot with some lighting. There are some head lights and tail lights to compare them to.

Most of the parts to make the wheel lights came from hobbypartz.com

LED strips

11.1 volt 800mAh Li-Po battery O-ring mounted to the hub.

Battery charger

Connectors

I used a carbon arrow shaft to wrap the LED strips around, if you are careful you can get the LEDs to line up in a row. The shaft mounts to the spokes using zip ties.

I feel that it is important to introduce a color other than red or white, because of all the light pollution in an urban setting.
 
#52 ·
I thought the front wheel may be too distracting for me, but after using it I think it would be OK. Most of the mass, (the battery) is located on the hub so it does not take much extra effort to spin it up. I can't tell the differance at all. On a down hill going over 35 MPH I did not feel an imballance. The run time is over 2 hours, I have not tested it longer.
 
#56 ·
I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread for their input. While we all take a casual attitude here on the forum, this subject is quite serious. The improvements made on someone's bike due could possibly save their lives. Not only that, this forum appreciates input from all sources . +1

On a more on topic note, I've been commuting by bike for about 3 years, but only in the last 1.5 years have I had to do serious night time commuting (9+ miles one direction in the dark, sometimes both ways). Amazon had some engineering grade reflective tape for pretty cheap so I picked up a few colors. BikeTiresDirect had a sale for Black Friday so I also scooped up some m232 Monkeylectric spoke lights.

Previously I used the cheapy NiteEze lights on my spokes due to the concerns I had with night riding so often, but they used watch batteries that didn't last more than a week or two with all the burn time they had. I discontinued their use after many frustrating battery changes.

I hope these improvements will not only get me noticed but redirect drivers thoughts from "damn bike on MY road" to "that's a damn cool bike" and improve the attitude from my fellow citizens towards me.
 
#57 ·
I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread for their input. While we all take a casual attitude here on the forum, this subject is quite serious. The improvements made on someone's bike due could possibly save their lives. Not only that, this forum appreciates input from all sources . +1

On a more on topic note, I've been commuting by bike for about 3 years, but only in the last 1.5 years have I had to do serious night time commuting (9+ miles one direction in the dark, sometimes both ways). Amazon had some engineering grade reflective tape for pretty cheap so I picked up a few colors. BikeTiresDirect had a sale for Black Friday so I also scooped up some m232 Monkeylectric spoke lights.

Previously I used the cheapy NiteEze lights on my spokes due to the concerns I had with night riding so often, but they used watch batteries that didn't last more than a week or two with all the burn time they had. I discontinued their use after many frustrating battery changes.

I hope these improvements will not only get me noticed but redirect drivers thoughts from "damn bike on MY road" to "that's a damn cool bike" and improve the attitude from my fellow citizens towards me.
What reflective tape did you buy? I bought some "stealth reflective tape"...it sucks. Barely reflects at all. I want the best/brightest tape on my gear.
 
#58 ·
#64 ·
I use a bright 700 lumien light mounted to my helmet and a cheap flashing strobe on the bars. I like the strobe because it has cutouts on the side which allows it to be seen from the side. Its gives me a little more confidence traveling through intersections that I'll be seen from traffic entering the roadway.
 
#62 ·
absolutely.

Visibility is only the first part of it (what you should figure out before you leave the house).

Riding predictably and on the quietest routes with the most space you can find is going to be at least as important, if not more important like jeffscott says.

Predictable riding is huge, though. Weaving all over the place and rapidly jumping across lanes and such will make all your other safety measures useless. You need to be constantly aware of your surroundings, signal every time you intend to make a move, and make motorists feel comfortable driving around you. Being visible is only a subset of that.
 
#66 ·
Apologies to those who have seen these videos before.

I use some reflective tape and items and have seen my brass fenders return almost as bright a return.

Riding roads and streets with little lighting other than from cars makes reflective components a lot less effective. The first video has a vehicle at right angles to the bike. The camera aimed tothe right as if the driver were looking that way. The street bends so the bike is seen first riding away then approaching, then coming from the blind side. The first pass is with about 100 lumen flashlight and the old outmoded Planet Bike Superflash. The second is my headlights and helmet on low power and more powerful tail lights, the last with lights on the ankles asa test to add more side visibility. The reflective bots show up about 1 second before the bike passes in front of the vehicle. Underwhelming.

http://img42.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Pbod
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

This is taken in a well lit parking low with a road extending 1/4 form it. I rode fist pass as if at the right side of the near lane,then two other distances and they away and back. Camera at driver height and vehicle lights on low beam as in the video above:

http://img508.imageshack.us/flvplayer.swf?f=Pzln
Uploaded with ImageShack.us

Again not too helpful. Better to see me late than never, but relying on reflective surfaces over much for safety is unwise.

Bear in mind that although this is a good camera for night videos it is not the average human eye. So most would see me a bit sooner/better. I suspect it is as good as many older driver's eyes, who have not yet given up night driving.

I am awaiting rim GLO tape to arrive soon. It phosphoresces with a frog light shining at one point as it spins by. So it is not dependent on car lights. I also have polished brass fenders and gold anodized bottle cages that have shone about as bright as reflective tape.It will be interesting. My errand bike is festooned in reflective tape with the ghetto panniers in place, another good comparison.

I find it helps me ride defensively knowing how I look from the driver's seat. Of course, as always, that assumes they are looking.

BrianMc
 
#67 ·
I encountered a poorly lit cyclist tonight as I drove. It was actually pretty shocking how late I saw him. He had a really weak non-blinking taillight and a reflective vest that barely showed up, maybe due to the giant backpack, or perhaps being old or grimy. He was on rte 302 (55mph there I believe), which has some shoulder but squeezes skinnier where there are guard rails, and really dark. When I passed his headlight seemed decent in terms of visibility in the rear view anyway. Charge up your lights, replace your batteries, have a backup, commuters! Hoping I don't read about him in the paper, I'm second-guessing myself for not stopping or something.
 
#68 ·
That's scary!

The most under illuminated commuter I saw was a person in a wheel chair wearing dark clothing, black chair/wheels, and absolutely zero reflectors or lights. I only saw a shadow like figure and slowed down thinking it was an animal.
 
#71 ·
I was amazed in a negative way that reflective vests and bright jackets only show when under street lights at night. In all but very overcast daylight, they are phenomenal. Partly that is a function of how erect a rider is for a behind view of light from low beams at night, No difference from the side.

Before the bright daytime lights and reflective vest, I frequently had drivers come on me too fast and get too close. Giving them more time or disturbing their phone calls has made such cases very rare. At night a well charged Superflash was almost adequate on the street. Not in a 55 zone, though.

A Ninja rider blew a 4 way stop and I did not see him until he was straight in front and me rolling. He was lucky I was slow to launch. So the reflectors add a sec (give or take some tenths depending on your speed). They help, but not as much as they look like they should from the side. They should flare for a driver to the rear.

BrianMc

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#73 ·
I was amazed in a negative way that reflective vests and bright jackets only show when under street lights at night.
I'll also note that the utility of reflective materials cannot be assessed with flash photography, as much fun as such images are to post (yes, I do it too).

But not realistic, unless you are absolutely sure that every motorist on your route will have clean, properly-adjusted headlights that are working, every time.

A lot of the cars on my ride, I'm lucky if they have one dirty DRL on.
 
#77 ·
Perhaps they're 3M Diamond Grade in the DG3 variant, which I hear is optimized for closer ranges. But a headlamp, meaning a light mounted on your head, will show reflection more strongly than a bar light (or a driver's auto headlights) because your headlamp is so close to your eyes.

That's why I rely mainly on my helmet light to spot deer on fast rural descents. Deer eyes are reflective, and the helmet light will show them much better than a bar light because the observation angle (angle between light source and my eyes) is very small. Trying to spot a brown deer in the dark by any other characteristic is difficult, them being a dull brown color on a black background.
 
#75 ·
^^ That would up the punch it up. Maybe the 3M stuff.The camera suggests the beam returns to the driver when the bike is about 45 degrees to either side. Narrower when the bike is on the other side of the road suggesting that the brightness factors in when the bike is not on the near side of the road.

Of course that assumes decent headlights reasonably well aimed, as pointed out. Reflectors are nice and part of a defense in depth. Just more of a last ditch effort.

BrianMc
 
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