Lights are surely on your bike so people can see you. Lots of scatter at big angles - more chance that you will be seen.
They are there for two purposes: so that you can see, and to compensate for the fact that few drivers actually drive within the distance they can see to be clear. I generally ride with three lights at each end, at least one of which is there solely to make me more conspicuous.
This is only partially successful, as apparently I vanish from the face of the earth as soon as I am out of their central field of vision, allowing them to pull back in when overtaking at about the point their front wheel passes me.
Eeek - I nearly hit someone coming home tonight (I was driving for the first time this week). Busy roundabout, cyclist with front LED and no reflective gear, only saw him at the last moment and just managed to pull up before the stop line - ABS is a wonderful thing.
Doesn't help straight line stopping distance, though.
Depends on the individual circumstances. In some cases it may reduce it, in others it may increase it. It's nearly *always* beneficial tho, as if the brakes have locked up then it attempts to retain control in the hands of the driver and allow him to concentrate more on other things. It also depends on the application to a large degree as well. There's quite a variance in ability on the systems out there - some manufacturer's employ better systems that others (in my experience Vauxhall's is usually pretty dire).
Unfortunately there are always drivers who claim that they are 'superior' in that they are unlikely to 'panic brake' and can probably out cadence brake the automated systems. I find these people to be idiots usually tho :/
"Ray Vaughan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
I was thinking about getting the Cateye EL300 - has anyone any views on this LED (its the one with 5 LEDs)
I've been using one for about three weeks now. I think it's great for my commute on lit urban roads. It's bright enough to make me seen (I hope) but I don't think the beam would be any good to actually light my way on unlit roads. I can't be sure of course, never having tried. The angle the beam is thrown out to the sides seems pretty good to me, judging from the way it illuminates road signs etc. further up the street - it's much better in this respect than the rechargeable I've used for the past two winters. I left mine switched on all day once so had need of a little of the alleged 180 hours back-up on the way home - compared with the full strength light it was pathetic. I now treat it as a 25-30 hour light and carry spare batteries. It's a bit bulkier than other lights I've used so if your bars are cluttered already you might have to squeeze everything up a bit. Er.. thats about all I can think of right now, hope it helps,
Also consider the EL200 which has a flashing mode. I reckon this makes you even more visable on urban streets (and that plus fewer LEDs also makes the batteries last longer).
Doesn't help straight line stopping distance, though.
Possibly not, but it stops you going sideways - as I discovered in a crappy Corsa hire car once, when a taxi cut across four lanes without looking (he actually said SMIDSY!) and I ended up doing a graceful 90 degree pivot on a wet road.
Lights are surely on your bike so people can see you. Lots of scatter at big angles - more chance that you will be seen.
They are there for two purposes: so that you can see, and to compensate for the fact that few drivers actually drive within the distance they can see to be clear. I generally ride with three lights at each end, at least one of which is there solely to make me more conspicuous.
This is only partially successful, as apparently I vanish from the face of the earth as soon as I am out of their central field of vision, allowing them to pull back in when overtaking at about the point their front wheel passes me.
Also consider the EL200 which has a flashing mode. I reckon this makes you even more visable on urban streets (and that plus fewer LEDs also makes the batteries last longer).
I hope my front dynamo lamp is better, otherwise I'm seriously scared to ride at night.
That rather depends on the lamp. However most modern ones give a broad spread of light while keeping a concentrated beam to illuminate the road adequately where there are no street lights.
The Lumotec ones with what looks like a BS standard reflector as part of the lense are very good at being visible - not much of a patch on the road in comparison with some, but clearly visible from a car.
Whats this about a legal maximum power for cycle lights?
- Richard
-- _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ Richard dot Corfield at ntlworld dot com _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ _/ Time is a one way street, _/ _/ _/_/ _/_/_/ Except in the Twighlight Zone.
Doesn't help straight line stopping distance, though.
Possibly not, but it stops you going sideways - as I discovered in a crappy Corsa hire car once, when a taxi cut across four lanes without looking (he actually said SMIDSY!) and I ended up doing a graceful 90 degree pivot on a wet road.
I hope my front dynamo lamp is better, otherwise I'm seriously scared to ride at night.
That rather depends on the lamp. However most modern ones give a broad spread of light while keeping a concentrated beam to illuminate the road adequately where there are no street lights.
The Lumotec ones with what looks like a BS standard reflector as part of the lense are very good at being visible - not much of a patch on the road in comparison with some, but clearly visible from a car.
Whats this about a legal maximum power for cycle lights?
- Richard
-- _/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/_/_/ Richard dot Corfield at ntlworld dot com _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/ _/ _/ Time is a one way street, _/ _/ _/_/ _/_/_/ Except in the Twighlight Zone.
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
"Ray Vaughan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I was thinking about getting the Cateye EL300 - has anyone any views on this LED (its the one with 5 LEDs)
I've been using one for about three weeks now. I think it's great for my commute on lit urban roads. It's bright enough to make me seen (I hope) but I don't think the beam would be any good to actually light my way on unlit roads. I can't be sure of course, never having tried.
I have one and can confirm that it isn't really up to lighting the way on unlit roads unless I'm going really slowly and even then the light distribution isn't good enough.
What's all this talk about lights on bikes? In Milton Keynes I'd be surprised if more than 10% of cyclists have any
working
Quoted message said:
lights, front or rear, after dark.
Surely not? Tha vast majority of cyclists are law abiding, and would never dream of riding without lights. I hope you have some cast iron statistics to back up that claim!
In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...
Quoted message said:
"Ray Vaughan" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
I was thinking about getting the Cateye EL300 - has anyone any views on this LED (its the one with 5 LEDs)
I've been using one for about three weeks now. I think it's great for my commute on lit urban roads. It's bright enough to make me seen (I hope) but I don't think the beam would be any good to actually light my way on unlit roads. I can't be sure of course, never having tried.
I have one and can confirm that it isn't really up to lighting the way on unlit roads unless I'm going really slowly and even then the light distribution isn't good enough.
What's all this talk about lights on bikes? In Milton Keynes I'd be surprised if more than 10% of cyclists have any
working
Quoted message said:
lights, front or rear, after dark.
Surely not? Tha vast majority of cyclists are law abiding, and would never dream of riding without lights. I hope you have some cast iron statistics to back up that claim!
Whats this about a legal maximum power for cycle lights?
Old German Customs prevented manufacturers from fitting lights with more oomph than 6V/3W, hence that became the de facto standard. AFAIK fitting more powerful lights was not illegal in the UK, otherwise it seem unlikely that anyone would have made, sold or imported illegal lights.
The Germans now permit more powerful lights - 12V/6W systems - one such dynamo is available, for a Several of Gettys, from Bush & Müller.
