Cyclists who use strobe lights are...

[classic33]

To save myself a lynching I've edited out the nonsense. Forgive my ignorance.

You shouldn't have had to do that, or even felt like you needed to.
There are plenty of people out there that are ignorant of the condition, and I'll include myself in that group. I live with it and have had just about every test for it done to date. I'm aware that mine are not caused by flashing/flickering/strobe lights or lighting effects. Trigger remains unknown for me.

For me its the fact that flashing lights & seizures go hand in hand for all who suffer from/live with epilepsy that annoys me.

I'm sorry if you felt the need to edit what you'd posted, because of what I'd posted. No-one should have to feel that way.

 

[Black Country Ste]

You shouldn't have had to do that, or even felt like you needed to.

Not at all, I'll happily stand corrected after a hike up Mount Stupid, it's just my strange sense of humour at play.

 

[classic33]

Not at all, I'll happily stand corrected after a hike up Mount Stupid, it's just my strange sense of humour at play.

You weren't the only one to say it.

 

[Grendel]

I don't mind most flashing lights. What I mind is the ones with a LOOOOOOONG pause between flashes.

 

[Crankarm]

All flashing bike lights, front or rear, flashing at whatever frequency should be BANNED. The inconsiderate tossers who use them on the GBW where there is NO traffic and they are riding toward you in total darkness in the middle of nowhere are total selfish muppets.

 

[phil-b]

I have a Chinese bright light as described in page one. It has 4 modes. 1 led, 2 led 3 led and 3 led strobe light . It is bright and on full brightness it is great for off road use. the lowest setting is ok (not too bright) for road use. I did use it on strobe setting on Wednesday during the day when it was foggy. After seeing this thread I wont be using the strobe function again. I did make sure it was pointing down to the road and at the time thought "I will be seen and safe like this" but now I can see it may be a distraction.

I also read on this forum a tip saying keep lights on the bike even during the day as they can help in low vis weather such as rain.

I am willing to learn and this forum means I can learn something's before I make mistakes rather than learning from them

 

[the_mikey]

I don't mind flashing lights, or even super bright deal extreme death ray lights, I prefer that people use these on our poorly lit and ever more poorly maintained roads and trails than the barely twinkling lights sold in the supermarket. I can guarantee when I'm in my car I won't see your lights unless they're bright.

 

[the_mikey]

You are fit to drive though?

Regrettably so! (I am not implying that there are any consequences arising from me not seeing a cyclists lights, but just suggesting that brighter lights are a great utility to other road users when it comes to identifying a cyclist on the road from a distance)

 

[RHC82]

I find my flashing light very useful as I’ve had a number of near misses with drivers looking the opposite way when turning out of junctions on cycle lanes – it’s the only thing that will get me noticed in the evenings. Very unnerving to see a car edging out of a junction whilst looking in the wrong direction. Thankfully, my light isn't offensively bright or on hyper flash, although out of courtesy I do put my hand over it if I’m stuck behind stationary traffic.

 

[Spokesmann]

I have a Moon 700 with this function, I never use it - epilepsy inducing flash. I thought it was banned in some parts?

 

[winjim]

Not as annoying as hearing someone say "sorry mate, I didn't see you" though.

Sorry mate, I didn't see you... because I was temporarily blinded by that joker's front light.

 

[ufkacbln]

I have a Chinese bright light as described in page one. It has 4 modes. 1 led, 2 led 3 led and 3 led strobe light . It is bright and on full brightness it is great for off road use. the lowest setting is ok (not too bright) for road use. I did use it on strobe setting on Wednesday during the day when it was foggy. After seeing this thread I wont be using the strobe function again. I did make sure it was pointing down to the road and at the time thought "I will be seen and safe like this" but now I can see it may be a distraction.

I also read on this forum a tip saying keep lights on the bike even during the day as they can help in low vis weather such as rain.

I am willing to learn and this forum means I can learn something's before I make mistakes rather than learning from them

DRL (Daylight Running Lights) are a matter of contention.

As my hours are unreliable, (often requiring me to stay late to deal with a patient or a problem), I always carry lights around with me.

My "guide" is to watch other vehicles and road furniture.

If there is a significant visual gain to using lights, then I will, but otherwise they stay in the bags.

The downside is battery life. My lights will all do a round trip, but some of the smaller batteries only have an hour's life... so if you do use them more than planned - beware of this

Use your own judgement as to when lights would benefit you

 

[ufkacbln]

The real problem with cycle lights across the board is in fact poor design.

Car headlights are focused and filtered to give a bright lower bhalf to th ebeam to see with and an upper part that can be seen without blinding others

This is the standard for the MOT:

Bicycle lights just throw out an unfiltered and unfocussed fully rounded beam... hence most of the issues. Most bright bicycle lights would be more friendly if there was a requirement for this shaped and filtered beam ... or even if manufacturer's would make it available and let cyclists choose to buy them.

 

[downfader]

The real problem with cycle lights across the board is in fact poor design.

Car headlights are focused and filtered to give a bright lower bhalf to th ebeam to see with and an upper part that can be seen without blinding others

This is the standard for the MOT:

Bicycle lights just throw out an unfiltered and unfocussed fully rounded beam... hence most of the issues. Most bright bicycle lights would be more friendly if there was a requirement for this shaped and filtered beam ... or even if manufacturer's would make it available and let cyclists choose to buy them.

As far as I can tell only Busch and Muller have attempted to do this with cycle lights, with some like Exposure having had a small attempt (eg the Strada). Its one of those things that (along with pedal design) will only change if consumers kick up a bit of fuss and ask imo.

 

[moo]

I recently ditched my Chinese clones for 2 B&M Ixon IQ Premiums after a friend rode my bike towards me. I couldn't see anything past the glare and was seeing stars for at least 5 minutes. This was with the lights pointed down and fitted with wide angle lenses. With the B&M lights there is no glare and no seeing stars while still providing more than enough to see and be seen light for road use. Not cheap tho at £55 each. The Philips SafeRide 80 (gen 2) is another option if you only want 1 light, but runtime is a shade under 2 hours on high. I opted for the Ixons due to the 5 hour runtime on high.

The german standard needs to be adopted in more countries. Only then will we finally get high powered safe for road use lights at reasonable prices.

I also have a SolarStorm X2 mounted to the helmet. I have fitted custom diffused lenses (cut the tip off a ping pong ball and place behind the metal plate). This removes all of the glare and generates 360 degree near field lighting - an excellent compliment to the B&M lights. It's also perfect for flashing mode during the day - I've done the friend riding towards me test on this. As soon as it gets dark the light goes into steady mode.