Serious lights

In article <[email hidden]>, spam.trap100 @btinternet.com says...

Quoted message said:

The group of guys I cycle with on Sunday Morning (52 weeks a year plus Boxing day: Rain or shine
-No excuses!) and Summer Wednesdays are considering keeping the Evening cycle up through the
winter. Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely unlit. Unlit cycling
time is around 1 hour. Any advice on serious lights to make this possible? pk

id also be interested in this but from a 'be seen' point of view as most of my commute route will be
lit but as a fairly main A road i want to be very visible morning noon or night - 15 mile each way
and when we get the dark nights / mornings .... i work 9-6pm so i'll prob be out the door approx
6:45am and heading home just after 6pm

front/rear lights - which are best for purpose? hi vis jacket, is yellow the best colour?? do they
do hi vis socks (wearing shorts until it gets really cold) hi vis lid or rear hi vis stickers on
back of lid?

anything im missing or being over the top?

doobrie said:

In article <[email hidden]>, spam.trap100 @btinternet.com says...

Quoted message said:

The group of guys I cycle with on Sunday Morning (52 weeks a year plus Boxing day: Rain or shine
-No excuses!) and Summer Wednesdays are considering keeping the Evening cycle up through the
winter. Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely unlit. Unlit cycling
time is around 1 hour. Any advice on serious lights to make this possible? pk

id also be interested in this but from a 'be seen' point of view as most of my commute route will
be lit but as a fairly main A road i want to be very visible morning noon or night - 15 mile each
way and when we get the dark nights / mornings .... i work 9-6pm so i'll prob be out the door
approx 6:45am and heading home just after 6pm

front/rear lights - which are best for purpose? hi vis jacket, is yellow the best colour?? do they
do hi vis socks (wearing shorts until it gets really cold) hi vis lid or rear hi vis stickers on
back of lid?

anything im missing or being over the top?

There's hi vis stickers I've seen (scotchlite stuff) and also I have a pair of high-vis one side,
scotchlite the other, ankle bands. LBS for both. Red jackets disappear at night, I'd go with yellow.

Velvet

"Paul Kelly" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

The group of guys I cycle with on Sunday Morning (52 weeks a year plus Boxing day: Rain or
shine -No excuses!) and Summer Wednesdays are considering keeping the Evening cycle up through
the winter.

Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely unlit. Unlit cycling time is
around 1 hour.

Any advice on serious lights to make this possible?

pk

You could try these:

Cateye ABS 20 Rechargeable Light System, currently £69.99 at wiggle (save 30% if you
believe the hype)

might be able to get away with 1 battery for your 1hr ride. The problem is you want to actually see
not just be seen. I've never tried these lights, but I've seen a couple of sets about and they
certainly seem bright enough.

max.

"Paul Kelly" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely unlit. Unlit cycling time is
around 1 hour.

Any advice on serious lights to make this possible?

Limicycle are the dogs danglers. Cateye etc are cheaper but OK. Smart are cheap and pretty good.
Being a tight fisted git I use Smarts.

The difference is in the battery technology -- less dosh = more weight and less light time.

T

"Tony W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Limicycle are the dogs danglers.

Or even Lumicycle

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, spam.trap100 @btinternet.com says...

Quoted message said:

The group of guys I cycle with on Sunday Morning (52 weeks a year plus Boxing day: Rain or shine
-No excuses!) and Summer Wednesdays are considering keeping the Evening cycle up through the
winter. Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely

unlit.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Unlit cycling time is around 1 hour. Any advice on serious lights to make this possible? pk

id also be interested in this but from a 'be seen' point of view as most of my commute route will
be lit but as a fairly main A road i want to be very visible morning noon or night - 15 mile each
way and when we get the dark nights / mornings .... i work 9-6pm so i'll prob be out the door
approx 6:45am and heading home just after 6pm

front/rear lights - which are best for purpose? hi vis jacket, is yellow the best colour?? do they
do hi vis socks (wearing shorts until it gets really cold) hi vis lid or rear hi vis stickers on
back of lid?

anything im missing or being over the top?

Sorry Paul, can't offer any suitable advice, but there will be plenty....Nicely hijacked thread
doobrie ;-) Just remember, you can never be 'over the top' when making sure that the demons behind
the wheel can see you. There's a cloak of invisibility and a red mist to penetrate before you
register on their retinas.... Make sure the hi-viz jacket has reflective strips on. Hi-viz,
fluorescent material is good for daytime, attracting attention. Yellow works best as cagers perceive
this as (potentially) being the police, therefore suddenly on 'Best Behaviour' (tm). The reflective
strips obviously work better at night, in headlights (allows them to get a better fix on you when in
their sights ;-). I spent several days in March riding into dusk / early evening with broken lights,
just with loads of reflective gear on. Very busy roads but not one driver hooted to let me know I'd
got no lights. I reckon they didn't even realise as I'd have been lit up in the headlights like a
Christmas tree!! - See photos of Guy on recumbent at Chapmancentral for effectiveness of reflective
material. Cheers, Dave.

Quoted message said:

Sorry Paul, can't offer any suitable advice, but there will be plenty....Nicely hijacked thread
doobrie ;-)

why thank you 😉

wasnt my intention, humble apologies paul!

now whilst i think about it ..... nah, only kidding!

"Tony W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Tony W" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Limicycle are the dogs danglers.

Or even Lumicycle

Yup, got a set, they are fantastic. I'm worried they'll make them illegal.
🙂

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

id also be interested in this but from a 'be seen' point of view as most of my commute route will
be lit but as a fairly main A road i want to be very visible morning noon or night - 15 mile each
way and when we get the dark nights / mornings .... i work 9-6pm so i'll prob be out the door
approx 6:45am and heading home just after 6pm front/rear lights - which are best for purpose?

For a commuting bike you can't do better than a Bisy dynamo headlight with 3W halogen lamp (the SON
E6 is similar, slightly more robust body, significantly more expensive, easier to source - SJS
cycles stock them). For best results connecto to a SON hub dynamo, but the Shimano Nexus is Pretty
Damned Good as well. I believe both will carry a two-light 12V set if you want.

I use a Busch & Muller 4D Toplight rear light plus at least one Cateye TL-AU100 on flash; I also use
a RealLite reallite.comreallite.comOpen ↗ - check that warranty!

I have a backup front lamp which is a white LED, Cateye EL100, which is a get-you-home if the dynamo
set packs up.

I have used rechargeable lights for commuting, I didn't get on with them. Some people do. I prefer
the dynamo approach: forget recharging, forget battery life, forget removing the lights when you
park. I have had days when, without advance notice, I've ended up leaving the office at 10:30pm on a
July evening. I am completely comfortable with the small weight penalty of carrying a dynamo
lighting set wherever I go because it means I always have lights on the bike.

Quoted message said:

hi vis jacket, is yellow the best colour??

Any colour you like, as long as it's got some Scotchlite on it. The Technicolour Tyre Comapny
advertises in CTC mag and elsewhere, they will sell you Scotchlite cloth you can sew on cuffs, the
backs of gloves, stick on your saddlebag, whatever.

Quoted message said:

do they do hi vis socks (wearing shorts until it gets really cold) hi vis lid or rear hi vis
stickers on back of lid?

See above.

Over the top? Almost certainly. You'll look a complete spanner - see
chapmancentral.comBike Optima StingerOpen ↗ for evidence. I like
reflective tape, me :-)

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Or even Lumicycle

Quoted message said:

Yup, got a set, they are fantastic. I'm worried they'll make them illegal.

I'm hoping they'll make them legal...

chapmancentral.comrvlrOpen ↗

--
Guy
===

WARNING: may contain traces of irony. Contents may settle after posting.
chapmancentral.comchapmancentral.comOpen ↗

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yup, got a set, they are fantastic. I'm worried they'll make them illegal.

They are already contrary to British Standards in that they put out too much light.

Still, you can see, be seen and insist the [censored] dips his lights : )

"Paul Kelly" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

The group of guys I cycle with on Sunday Morning (52 weeks a year plus Boxing day: Rain or
shine -No excuses!) and Summer Wednesdays are considering keeping the Evening cycle up through
the winter.

Track is mainly gravel track through wood and parkland - completely unlit. Unlit cycling time is
around 1 hour.

Any advice on serious lights to make this possible?

If you want serious lights you need the (relatively) new HID lights made by folks such as Niterider
and Lumicycle. Not cheap but a lot of light.

Tony

"We haven't failed. We now know a thousand things that won't work, so we are much closer to finding
what will." Thomas Edison

"doobrie" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

id also be interested in this but from a 'be seen' point of view as most of my commute route will
be lit but as a fairly main A road i want to be very visible morning noon or night - 15 mile each
way and when we get the dark nights / mornings .... i work 9-6pm so i'll prob be out the door
approx 6:45am and heading home just after 6pm

front/rear lights - which are best for purpose? hi vis jacket, is yellow the best colour?? do they
do hi vis socks (wearing shorts until it gets really cold) hi vis lid or rear hi vis stickers on
back of lid?

anything im missing or being over the top?

For being seen the cheapest Cateye LED white light is best for the front -
wiggle.co.ukv2 product detail.aspOpen ↗ Very visible and the batteries last
a long long time. Not much use for seeing by though.

Tony

"We haven't failed. We now know a thousand things that won't work, so we are much closer to finding
what will." Thomas Edison

Tony W wrote of Lumicycles:

Quoted message said:

They are already contrary to British Standards in that they put out too much light.

That's not a problem if you use the h*lm*t mounting kit, in which case the lights aren't mounted to
the bike. Of course, you'll still need to use them in conjunction with a BS approved front light in
order to be legal.

I use a Schmidt SON hub dynamo with B+M Lumotec Oval Plus front light and D-Toplight Plus rear
light, both with standlights. I have them set to come on automagically when it starts to get a bit
dark, which is great when the evenings start to draw in.

But the Lumotec (with 2.4W bulb) only really gives out enough light to ride up to about 14 mph on an
unlit road or cyclepath, and even that's too fast to be sure of seeing something coming from the
side in time to stop. So I also use Lumicycles. The 10W spot allows me to go much faster, and when I
turn the 20W mid on as well I've got no worries.

The Lumicycles also have the advantage of being fantastic for Muni, and with the lid mount I don't
need to worry about mounting them to the unicycle.

Quoted message said:

Still, you can see, be seen and insist the [censored] dips his lights : )

Very true :-)

I'm not antisocial enough to use the 20W beam when there's anyone coming towards me, though.

BTW, no-one seems to have posted the url for Lumicycles. So for the benefit of the OP:
lumicycle.co.uklumicycle.co.ukOpen ↗

Yes they're expensive, but if you ride in the dark without street lights 5 times a week for 6 months
of the year (as I do) then they're well worth it.

--
Danny Colyer (remove safety to reply) ( juggler.netdannyOpen ↗ ) Recumbent cycle page:
speedy5.freeserve.co.ukrecumbentsOpen ↗ "He who dares not offend cannot be honest." -
Thomas Paine

Tony W said:

Being a tight fisted git I use Smarts.

Being a tight fisted git as well I made my own 🙂

alexpg.ath.cxindex.phpOpen ↗

--

-Alex

----------------------------------
[email hidden]

alexpg.ath.cxcycling.phpOpen ↗ westerleycycling.org.ukwesterleycycling.org.ukOpen ↗
----------------------------------

"Alex Graham" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony W said:

Being a tight fisted git I use Smarts.

Being a tight fisted git as well I made my own 🙂

alexpg.ath.cxindex.phpOpen ↗

I read your page previously, and was well impressed.

Lumi's are very simple lights, not difficult to replicate, I'd buy off them again as they do a
worthwhile job and need rewarded.

They were the leaders of their field, although the massive Halide 10W is far beyond my needs ...

"Danny Colyer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Yes they're expensive, but if you ride in the dark without street lights 5 times a week for 6
months of the year (as I do) then they're well worth it.

More than worth it. They've proved their worth more than once. They makes winter cycling a joy. (Am
I the only one who is looking forward to winter cycling again?). (Now is the best time of year to
get a bit of practice before the winter, and I'm very interested in how Lee gets on ... he's got to
do a couple of the full 6 miles in August IMO :-) )

Today, however, was a joy to cycle in .... I almost felt lighter ...

Nick 🙂

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Alex Graham" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Tony W said:

Being a tight fisted git I use Smarts.

Being a tight fisted git as well I made my own 🙂

alexpg.ath.cxindex.phpOpen ↗

Couldn't read this page though .. alexpg.ath.cxcharger.phpOpen ↗ 🙁