Education education education

EuanB said:

I had a B double toot me as he was overtaking me on Centre Dandenong road this morning. I had a chat with him at the next lights.

Used to deal with B-doubles when working down at Port Melbourne, never had one toot at me. Some of the best conversations I've had about traffic interactions were out in the yard when the subbies were having a smoko/meal break. Plenty of stuff about cyclists should assertive and hold a line, don't wobble all over the road, make signals/eye contact, wear reflective clothing and lights. Lights on the helmet, since from a rigs perspective they find it very hard to view flickies on the seat post/pannier rack.

cfsmtb said:

Used to deal with B-doubles when working down at Port Melbourne, never had one toot at me. Some of the best conversations I've had about traffic interactions were out in the yard when the subbies were having a smoko/meal break. Plenty of stuff about cyclists should assertive and hold a line, don't wobble all over the road, make signals/eye contact, wear reflective clothing and lights. Lights on the helmet, since from a rigs perspective they find it very hard to view flickies on the seat post/pannier rack.

zackly! that's why the LEDs on yer front/rear of helmet are (should be!) mandatory.

F"preachin to the converted"Dutch

flyingdutch said:

zackly! that's why the LEDs on yer front/rear of helmet are (should be!) mandatory.

F"preachin to the converted"Dutch

I was very taken with your arrangement last night Dutchy and plan to set up the same for my commutes, rather than just have the whiteys on the handlebars.

flyingdutch said:

zackly! that's why the LEDs on yer front/rear of helmet are (should
be!) mandatory.

Mind you last week, while driving at night I noticed a few cyclists with
single LED tail-lights, and they were noticeable by their lack of
noticeability. One tiny LED, flashing or steady really does not stand out ,
especially in the crowded lighting of an inner suburban street. You really
need extra lights as well.
--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

I prefer to use two tail lights, mounted on the bike, one is 7 LEDs, the
othe 5 LEDs. The volume of light is much greater, and can be seen readily
even from an angle.

Favourite is the Vistalite Super Nebula 5 LED that bolts to the rear of my
rack, incorporates a red reflector and is very bright. Unfortunately my LBS
tells me that Vistalite are no longer making this light :-( So if anyone
knows of a source for a few of these in Melbourne, let me know. I'd love to
stock up for the future.

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

Quoted message said:

I had a B double toot me as he was overtaking me on Centre Dandenong
road this morning. I had a chat with him at the next lights.

Nutshell version: he understood that it was legal and correct for a
cyclist to ride on the road but thought `common sense' would dictate
I'd prefer to ride in the service road.

I explained to him that uncontrolled intersections are one of the most
dangerous constructs on the road for a cyclist. One second he's got a
clear road, the next second a cyclist pops out. If I stay on the road
he's got much more time to see and react to my presence on the road.

He understood that, in fact you could see the light bulb of
comoprehension going off.

Next lights I'm filtering right so I give him the big thumbs up as
he's heading straight on and get a `toot toot' in return :-)

--
EuanB

Always nice to see people actually being amenable to the idea of changing
their worldview when relevant information pops up. So many people seem to
see that as some sort of admission of defeat or something. Here's hoping he
spreads the word.

EuanB said:

Next lights I'm filtering right so I give him the big thumbs up as he's heading straight on and get a `toot toot' in return :-)

It's great to see that sort of positive communication going on. He and you probably felt a lot better for it.

It's very unlike my last dealing with a truck driver with a single front tooth missing (sexy) from Lamanna Bananas. Still sends shivers up my spine.

Lotte

It's hardly worth stocking up on old lights. As LED technology improves, newer lights are just as bright and cheaper. Eg. I have an old one LED white front light that is less bright than a Basta X-Light.

Having said that, I'm still using the same Vistalite as yours Peter plus a Basta 7 LED flasher. The button light on my helmet I got at the Kona last year is heaps brighter than the original Basta X-Light it replaced - that is in both the red and white version.

BTW, Kathmandu have bike lights and gloves on sale at the moment. Button lights are about $10 each. Ebay has heaps of lights, very cheap from Hong Kong too. I got a 14 LED head lamp for about $13 including batteries. It's as bright as a dynamo light. You can now get 28 LED and Luxeon models for $20 or so.

Wooo hooo - did someone say ***Luxeon***?

Ok back on topic, the Basta X-Light is nifty little unit, but an absolute pain in the proverbial to replace batteries, the casing is a 'micromillimeter' too small. Got around that by putting it in the sun briefly to expand slightly.

quote='Peter Signorini''flyingdutch said:

zackly! that's why the LEDs on yer front/rear of helmet are (should
be!) mandatory.

Mind you last week, while driving at night I noticed a few cyclists with
single LED tail-lights, and they were noticeable by their lack of
noticeability. One tiny LED, flashing or steady really does not stand out ,
especially in the crowded lighting of an inner suburban street. You really
need extra lights as well.
--
Cheers
Peter

~~~ ~ _@
~~ ~ _- \,
~~ (*)/ (*)

[/QUOTE]

Driving home along the Boulie from last night's crit was a strong reminder how easily cyclists become invisible just around and after dusk. Lots of guys riding home, most of them barely visible with their single or paired flashing LEDS. Need more lights and reflective gear guys!!

warrwych said:

Driving home along the Boulie from last night's crit was a strong reminder how easily cyclists become invisible just around and after dusk. Lots of guys riding home, most of them barely visible with their single or paired flashing LEDS. Need more lights and reflective gear guys!!

Ah it's autumn & end of daylight savings (in Vic)

Probably a Cycling Promotion press release coming soon, BV already has something on their site.

warrwych said:

I was very taken with your arrangement last night Dutchy and plan to set up the same for my commutes, rather than just have the whiteys on the handlebars.

Aw shucks...

i should add a qualification that these are ONLY for 'Be-Seen' purposes and compliment other/stronger lights also.
The advantage is the added height they offer (and thus 'be-seen' value) whilst in traffic/over-distances
On the rear i also have clip on Cateye on the jersey pocket
plus on the commuter reflective rim tape on frame and wheel rims
(can be seen from miles away and makes lots of movement)

The 3 on the front also compliment my trusty (Halogen 🙁 )
Cateye NC200(?) Daylights. 10W+5W. Awesome and gets the occasional complaint to turn my 'headlights' down.

Oh, and lastly try and wear light coloured tops also (altho i cant face flouro 🙄 )...

Lotte:

Quoted message said:

It's very unlike my last dealing with a truck driver with a single front tooth missing (sexy) from Lamanna >Bananas.

I hope you told Lamanna that cyclists eat a lot of bananas! The company
is pretty big on image, so I don't think they would appreciate their
drivers bringing them into disrepute.
http://www.lamanna.com.au/

Donga

EuanB said:

He understood that, in fact you could see the light bulb of
comoprehension going off.

Hopefully it went on rather than off 🙂

Graeme

Donga said:

I hope you told Lamanna that cyclists eat a lot of bananas! The company is pretty big on image, so I don't think they would appreciate their
drivers bringing them into disrepute.lamanna.com.aulamanna.com.auOpen ↗

Hehe, good point. Hope you'll join us on the fat [censored] ride tomorrow.

Lotte

cfsmtb said:

Wooo hooo - did someone say ***Luxeon***?

Ok back on topic, the Basta X-Light is nifty little unit, but an absolute pain in the proverbial to replace batteries, the casing is a 'micromillimeter' too small. Got around that by putting it in the sun briefly to expand slightly.

I believe the standard measure for such things is the beesdick (bD).

Resound said:

I believe the standard measure for such things is the beesdick (bD).

Any relation to other units of measurements such as ankle biter (aB), back of bourke (boB), and bog standard (bS) ?

cfsmtb wrote -

Quoted message said:

Any relation to other units of measurements such as ankle biter (aB),
back of bourke (boB), and bog standard (bS) ?

I think its a scandal that the SI folk still haven't come up with a metric
equivalent for the 'British Standard Handful'

best, Andrew

Andrew Price said:

I think its a scandal that the SI folk still haven't come up with a metric
equivalent for the 'British Standard Handful'

While they're at it, they might add the Calibrated Gut Feeling (CGF)
and slightly less reputable Data-Free Observation (DFO).

Donga

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

Quoted message said:

cfsmtb wrote -

Quoted message said:

Any relation to other units of measurements such as ankle biter (aB),
back of bourke (boB), and bog standard (bS) ?

I think its a scandal that the SI folk still haven't come up with a metric
equivalent for the 'British Standard Handful'

best, Andrew

I thought that was the C-cup.

*r*ns away*