Cyclists who use strobe lights are...

[L14M]

I find those lights are a nightmare when driving, it's hard to judge any kind of speed or movement of the cyclist because the flash is too slow!

Good job I wear high vis reflective clothing and even better that i have a static light just above it on my rear and next to it on the front

 

[HLaB]

I admit after a series of SMIDSY's I've went a bit overkill on my lights, Smart 35 lux, a Cateye Volt 300 on the front two smart half watts (clipped on to the rear pockets), a seatpost flasher and a Mars 3 (clipped to my saddlebag) is my standard on the road bike for night rides. On the commute I'm a little bit toned down, a smart 25 lux and smart 7led on the front and at least one of the above rear lights perhaps a 2nd depending times.

 

[snorri]

I'd rather be annoying & seen than creased.

Great, let's do what we can to annoy other road users, it's bound to improve safety all round, not.
Annoyed road users are dangerous road users.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

[QUOTE 2938086, member: 1314"]I've got standard 'to be seen by' lights for the London roads which tend to be well lit and I can see by streetlight.

Couple of times I've taken a diversion home through RP at night, with no moon, and through the inside road, that goes past the ballet school. It's a 'mare with other cyclists who've probs got their C2W in, and have gone completely overboard with their front and rear lights, inappropriately positioned. When there's 2 heading towards me, for example, I can't see anything except a big blinding white concave cave of doom heading towards me, from which it takes donkeys to get the eyes adjusted again, before my retina is burnt hell-red by some middle-manager with rear red blinking lasers of death.

All repeated over and over for 2 or 3 miles until I'm back on the outer road.[/quote]
Oi! Who you callin' a mere middle manager?

Anyways, those rear lights are to discourage wheel huggers.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

More seriously. Being dazzled by the lights of cyclists would be a nice problem to have. For a start it would mean I'm not alone any more. And it would make such a nice change from having my eyeballs burnt out of my head by the full-beams of the local "comin' through" wankpanzers such that I have to stop due to temporary blindness.

 

[fossyant]

You ain't seen my rear lights. @potsy has (from a car), and he's not been the same since !

 

[Schneil]

There is a line to be drawn between being visible and causing a visual distraction.
For example I have my Magicshine MJ808 usually pointed slightly down, like a dipped headlight.
I never have it on flash. Too distracting for me on the bike, I'd hate to be in the oncoming beam on this setting. I do have a less bright lenzyne micro as a flasher though.

I think we all should get someone else to ride our bike round the corner, towards and away from us. That way we can get a good idea of how our lights look to another road user.
Please be aware as you get older, your eyes age.
So more lens opacities = light scatter at night and disability glare.
Also a much slower glare recovery time, so it would take a 70 year old much longer to recover from being dazzled than a 20 year old.

Bear in mind advances in LED technology have meant we can have crazy bright lights. Which are not always a good thing!

 

[Mr Peps]

Flashing (at any speed) plus lots of lumens I think is a bad combination. I have a high output front light and the flashing would send you into a trance ! I'm sure cars approaching such a lighting scheme aren't always able to concentrate on other aspects of the road even though they have seen the Blackpool illuminated bike.

I also tilt my front light right down or put my hand over it when cars approach.

Agree with you with one exception.
I have one of those T6 lights and will have it on flash when it’s gloomy / dusk when it gets you noticed a lot more than on steady and isn’t distracting or blinding.
In these conditions in towns or cities there is too much other light for a steady beam to stand out.
Yes it’s angled down and goes on steady as soon as it gets darker.

 

[numbnuts]

I like flashing

 

[Leodis]

Agree with you with one exception.
I have one of those T6 lights and will have it on flash when it’s gloomy / dusk when it gets you noticed a lot more than on steady and isn’t distracting or blinding.
In these conditions in towns or cities there is too much other light for a steady beam to stand out.
Yes it’s angled down and goes on steady as soon as it gets darker.

I disagree, the plonker this morning could have put me under a vans wheels because of his silly strobe front light. I tried using my strobe on my Fenix LD20 and I felt so anti-social I popped it back on full beam.

 

[fossyant]

A T6/U2 light is only OK when its a steady on/off flash. The disco speed is blinding !! Really, I own a few of them. Magicshine 808 and the Solar Storm 2xU2 are the only ones that flash at a reasonable speed. My T6 clone and Yinding 2xU2 strobe and you can't use it.

 

[classic33]

...Not very polite and are very anti social.

One oncoming today with a van behind him, I was trying to dodge pot holes, keep out of the door zone and watch what the van was doing whilst doing my best impression of Wiggins but was really distracted by this cyclist with a front on strobe flashing, not just blinking but full on '80s rave style, its a good job I am not epileptic.

Nothing wrong with flashers, its the Hiviz 80s rave style strobe which is s***e.

Speaking as someone who suffers with/from epilepsy, I feel you're misinformed over the effect of strobe/flashing lights and their effect on people like myself & the condition itself. Flicker epilepsy accounts for a small proportion of those with the condition. And even smaller percentage would be effected by the frequency used on bike lights.
Or are you just tarring all those with epilepsy with the same brush?

 

[Mr Peps]

I disagree, the plonker this morning could have put me under a vans wheels because of his silly strobe front light. I tried using my strobe on my Fenix LD20 and I felt so anti-social I popped it back on full beam.

Sounds bad.
Was it a stupidly powerful light or a really fast strobe effect?
I ride most days and see plenty of other cyclists and I can only think of one time last year when I had a problem before it was actually dark (very bright strobe straight in my face).

After dark I’ve had plenty of problems with them but not before apart from that once. Not sure what light that was but it was a lot more powerful than a T6 and the flash was quicker.

 

[Davidsw8]

Reluctant to criticise anyone for their lights given that so many have nothing at all, but a chap who overtook me last week had THE brightest helmet lights on ever. They seemed brighter than your average car light - when he'd overtaken and was in front (a good way in front), I had to look more towards the road because his back red light was at my eye level and just too bright.

 

[DWiggy]

I used to have a slow blinkey or solid rear light and had so many close passes it wasn't funny. I got my Moon Shield and have it on strobe (pointed slightly down) and get really wide passes now, and I have never had anyone shout abuse or complain and feel so much safer.
BTW My route doesn't take me into any major towns/city and most of my ride is in unlit country roads, and I very rarely see other cyclists.