And just a note about front lights. White lights in the front are necessary for biking in low-light conditions. AND cyclists need to be considerate of one another. Having a super bright or blinky front light when you are biking on the bike path can BLIND oncoming cyclists. I've been simultaneously awed, impressed and BLINDED by the lights of my fellow commuters.
It is possible to direct a front light so that it is visible to oncoming cars and other cyclists, but is not directly pointed into the sight-line of other cyclists.... the best way to check is to have a friend bike towards you at night while your light is on and give you feedback on how the light affects them. It's an extra step, but will be oh so appreciated by your fellow bikers. -India *********************** India Viola Stretton Lab Zoology Research Bldg. 1117 W. Johnson St. Madison, WI 53706 608.262.3336 *********************** "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge them?" -Anonymous "We exist in the bacterial world, not bacteria in ours" -Stuart Levy ----- Original Message ----- From: John Martin <[email protected]> Date: Thursday, December 11, 2008 12:18 pm Subject: Re: [Bikies] Finding opportunity from crisis? (Bikie attack) To: Eric Westhagen <[email protected]> Cc: "Meiers, Steve" <[email protected]>, BikiesSubmissions <[email protected]> > Topic: bike lights > > I agree with Eric about the cost of "cheap" bike lights. They used to > > be a pain because the batteries would drain quickly, but with LEDs, > even the cheap ones seem to be getting expensive. > > My question is whether bikes actually need to be "focused" and > "white." In my experience, the "cheap" LED lights offer next to > nothing in terms of helping me see where I'm going. If anything, > they're distracting. What I want from them is that cars see me from > the front, so I'd rather have a bright unfocused light that flashes in > > all directions (except at my eyes). If I recall (someone correct me > please) front bike lights need to legally "be visible from x-distance" > > rather than "light the path for x-distance." > > So, are there cheap *unfocused* front lights? Any recommendations? > > On Dec 11, 2008, at 12:05 PM, Eric Westhagen wrote: > > > We have discussed bike lights from all sides in previous years. And > > > nobody should venture out at dusk or later without a red light for > > > their own protection. But the lack of a focused white light seems > > > more of a question as far as bike to bike accidents are concerned, > > > and these white lights seem not as cheap as has been implied here. > > > Maybe there are cheap white lights, but I have not seen them > > myself. I do know that my model of light, the Cateye Opti-cube is a > > > $30-$40 light, depending on where one buys it. Are there actually > > > cheap focused lights for sale at Madison bike shops? My Cateye, > > cost $30 something at a Seattle bike shop and it was in the $40 > > range listed "on line." Before one promotes white lights at a give > > > away status, some cheaper source of reliable, well focused lights > > must be found. Does anybody have a suggestion? > > > > Eric Westhagen > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
