I second Robbies comments. I would recommend the brightest light you
can afford, especially if you travel busy well lit roadways. Hospitals
ain't cheap. I almost got picked off several times last year by drivers
turning right as I was about to pass in front of them. I wrote it off
to negligence till I almost pulled out in front of a biker one time I
was driving. Those $40 lights are fine if it's dark around you, but
they easily get lost in the other headlights and streetlights; a car a
block behind you is brighter and can make you all but invisible.
So I broke down and spent $130 on a helmet mounted NiteRider Newt. It
has a rechargeable battery that I can charge off my computer USB at work
and is light enough to mount on the helmet too, just took a little
getting used to. Don't have to worry about theft or forgetting, don't
have to move it between bikes, can "dim" it for oncoming bikes/peds by
moving my head a bit, can put the light where I want it all the time,
and can turn my head towards cars waiting to turn to make sure they see
me. I'm very happy with the light and with the guy at Budget Bicycle
for recommending it.
Doug Adler
Robbie Webber wrote:
The point here is that many bicyclists do not have any lights. They
obviously think they can see at night, but they do not realize that
they might not be seen.
I have actually observed this from my own experience. On the exact
same street, I can see perfectly well if I have no light (there have
been times when my light wire came loose or the light died, and I
didn't realize it for several blocks.) Yet when I am driving that same
stretch, I have a hard time seeing the bicyclists in front of me. I
have mentioned this to various people over the years, and gotten
various explanations from people with professional experience in the
way the human eye perceives things. I won't go into it, but it is a
real phenomenon that bicyclists truly can see better on the street
than motorists.
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