Visibility

[Dogtrousers]

It's not something I feel terribly strongly about.

I stick a couple of back lights on my bike. Super power isn't necessary in back lights, they just need to work reliably. On the front I have a couple of lights, normally one one and one (smaller one) just in case. I try not to dazzle people and I keep the power as low as conditions allow in order to save battery.

I put reflective bands on my ankles in winter. That's about my only bit of hi-vizzery. My favourite winter jerseys are yellow ones with reflective stripes, from Aldi. But I like them because they are warm, and very long rather than their visibility powers. I do sometimes wear other colours, including black. I think my winter boots have retro-reflective details too.

Edit: I put some red retro-reflective tape on my rack and rear mudguard too. This is mainly because the colour scheme of my bike is black with red details, and it's just to add a splash of colour, rather than for particular safety reasons.

 

[wafter]

A head torch ???

So not legal lighting on the bike. Good luck if you get hit. And having a light on so high gives the impression of a bike further away. Unless you move your head and then nobody would take you as a bike anyway.

Just get a standard bike on the bars please.

A head torch as the sole front light is not legal for riding after sunset or before sunrise.

You must legally have both font and rear lights attached to the bike when riding at that time.

You can use a head torch as an additional lamp, but not as your only one.

It also isn't sensible, for the reasons outlined by cougie uk above.

Indeed... a decent front light is on the "to do" list; along with many other things I can't apply myself long enough to research sufficiently to feel confident buying (and nothing on the market appears overwhelmingly worth having, from what I've seen).

While I appreciate the legal position and ideally would run both, I'm not sure I accept the suggestion that the head-mounted light implies that I'm further away. In addition it does have its benefits since it gives more control over the beam's direction - allowing you to illuminate where you're looking / going rather than where the bike is pointing, as well as being able to direct the beam directly at the odd oncoming driver who refuses to dip their headlights.

All largerly a moot point currently in any case, since I've not been out on the bike for months and (especially in light of the points raised in my earlier post) I have very little desire to be out after dark!

 

[Ian H]

I'm not really in favour of dazzle-camouflage on a bike. What I have is decent front & rear lights, rear reflector, and probably something approximating to pedal reflectors. Winter clothing generally has some kind of reflective detailing, which I don't particularly object to.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Indeed high viz is far from necessary and over rated.

 

[BoldonLad]

.........

Ultimately as a driver, under these conditions I can't say that I'd be able to identify and avoid a poorly visible cyclist 100% of the time.. and (as much as I'm the first to put the boot in when a motorist is at fault) as others have said this shouldn't be about blame / "us and them"; it's about sensible, responsible precautions for everyones safety.

Nice bit of honesty there, very rare I find

As an additional point (not directed at your post, in particular). Personally, I think it wise not to dress head to toe in black or dark colour, in dark conditions, or, poor visibility. It would suggest to me, a desire NOT to be seen, rather like a Special Ops Soldier, say. There is a happy medium, no need for head to toe hi-viz either, just keep a sense of perspective.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Typically my attitude to visibility has been "minimalist" - usually a single rear light and a head torch of decent brightness; with no specifically-chosen bright or reflective clothing to improve my visibility.

That said my riding at night used to be nearly all within the city (where there's usually additional lighting / generally better visibility and the traffic is slower) or on very quiet roads in good conditions outside of rush hour.

Having recently begun to suffer my first winter in a long time as a car-based-commuter I'm frequently extremely concerned by the potential lack of visibility of cyclists on my route, and the very real danger of spotting a poorly-illuminated rider in less-than-favourable conditions - dark, narrow, potholed and poorly-sighted country roads with lots of vegetation that serves to break up / conceal shapes, the sensory overload of oncoming headlights / those in the rear view mirror (and how these dominate your attention and distract from less obvious hazards), the constant need to be aware of the poor conduct of other drivers for your own safety..

I can see so many opportunities for poorly-visible cyclists to be hit - from behind, when passing stationary / slow traffic at lights or attempting to filter in, being turned across at junctions.. and under the circumstances described above I can completely see the argument for going all-in to make yourself as visible as possible.

Ultimately as a driver, under these conditions I can't say that I'd be able to identify and avoid a poorly visible cyclist 100% of the time.. and (as much as I'm the first to put the boot in when a motorist is at fault) as others have said this shouldn't be about blame / "us and them"; it's about sensible, responsible precautions for everyones safety.

One has to ask whether you introducing that danger to unsuitable roads is wise. That your thought process ought to be about changing your route so that you aren’t driving down potholed, narrow, poor sight lined roads where you are likely to hit something

 

[Alex321]

I'm not really in favour of dazzle-camouflage on a bike. What I have is decent front & rear lights, rear reflector, and probably something approximating to pedal reflectors. Winter clothing generally has some kind of reflective detailing, which I don't particularly object to.

I'm fairly similar to that, but without anything approximating pedal reflectors.

I should get some ankle band reflectors to sort of do that job.

I do find it surprising that most clipless pedals are sold without even the facility to become legal. Not only sold without reflectors, but with nowhere to attach any post-market. If it is a legal requirement to have them, you might reasonably expect it to be a legal requirement to be able to fit them.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I do find it surprising that most clipless pedals are sold without even the facility to become legal. Not only sold without reflectors, but with nowhere to attach any post-market. If it is a legal requirement to have them, you might reasonably expect it to be a legal requirement to be able to fit them.

I have a pair of 2 bolt SPDs with reflectors. The fact that I find this noteworthy shows how unusual it is.

 

[wafter]

Nice bit of honesty there, very rare I find

As an additional point (not directed at your post, in particular). Personally, I think it wise not to dress head to toe in black or dark colour, in dark conditions, or, poor visibility. It would suggest to me, a desire NOT to be seen, rather like a Special Ops Soldier, say. There is a happy medium, no need for head to toe hi-viz either, just keep a sense of perspective.

Thanks and yes; I agree. In the past, in reasonably-well-lit city streets I've been very much of the opinion that lights should be enough and I've never gone out of my way to alter my clothing to make myself more visible.

Given my more recent experiences I can fully appreciate the need to dress a bit more "defensively" but I agree with your point about excess - a case in point being that I sometimes find retro-reflective road signs excessively-so to the point of being dazzling / distracting; with cyclists dressed in a similar manner not much better I'd imagine!

I quite like the idea of reflective bits on the parts of you that move most (i.e. feet) as striking a decent balance between appropriate visibility and practicality

One has to ask whether you introducing that danger to unsuitable roads is wise. That your thought process ought to be about changing your route so that you aren’t driving down potholed, narrow, poor sight lined roads where you are likely to hit something

Unfortunately it's unavoidable - all the roads round here look like a 1990's Bagdad airstrip and I already go out of my way on a longer route to get to work in order to avoid some of the most abhorrant roads.

Of course the ideal solution would be to live and work in Oxford and commute by bike.. however beggars can't be choosers.

 

[cougie uk]

I'm fairly similar to that, but without anything approximating pedal reflectors.

I should get some ankle band reflectors to sort of do that job.

I do find it surprising that most clipless pedals are sold without even the facility to become legal. Not only sold without reflectors, but with nowhere to attach any post-market. If it is a legal requirement to have them, you might reasonably expect it to be a legal requirement to be able to fit them.

You can just stick some reflective tape onto your pedals or cranks or maybe just have reflective shoes.

There are some good cycling tights around with a lot of reflective on the lower leg. They stand out really well under headlights.

 

[cougie uk]

Indeed... a decent front light is on the "to do" list; along with many other things I can't apply myself long enough to research sufficiently to feel confident buying (and nothing on the market appears overwhelmingly worth having, from what I've seen).

While I appreciate the legal position and ideally would run both, I'm not sure I accept the suggestion that the head-mounted light implies that I'm further away. In addition it does have its benefits since it gives more control over the beam's direction - allowing you to illuminate where you're looking / going rather than where the bike is pointing, as well as being able to direct the beam directly at the odd oncoming driver who refuses to dip their headlights.

All largerly a moot point currently in any case, since I've not been out on the bike for months and (especially in light of the points raised in my earlier post) I have very little desire to be out after dark!

I'm glad you're not currently riding at night without the front light - but I don't think you need fret over getting the perfect light - anything will be better than the head torch. From my experience of them - you will be looking all over and up and down and the actual time your light is pointing in the right way and visible to motorists looking to pull across your path will be minimal. If you look away - he's not seeing any light.

 

[Threevok]

It's always good to stand out, both in the day and at night.

Trouble is, you can be lit up like a Christmas tree, but nobody is going to see you, if they don't look.

This poor lad was driving home on a moped

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59596579 😢

 

[T4tomo]

You can just stick some reflective tape onto your pedals or cranks or maybe just have reflective shoes.

There are some good cycling tights around with a lot of reflective on the lower leg. They stand out really well under headlights.

3M reflective tape is great. I have / had bits stuck on pedals that lacked reflectors and on back of mudguards, on cranks and round fork legs & seat stays on my London commuter bike. Great for all round visibility, rear/front on and side on (for junctions etc)

 

[cougie uk]

It's always good to stand out, both in the day and at night.

Trouble is, you can be lit up like a Christmas tree, but nobody is going to see you, if they don't look.

This poor lad was driving home on a moped

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-59596579 😢

Bloody awful. She had defective headlights so no amount of reflectives would have helped him.

I hope she never drives again. There's no way I could if I had killed.

 

[Fredo76]

Does anyone hesitate to use attention-getting flashing lights for fear of drawing too much attention? I have a blinking bright light that I only turn on in certain circumstances, such as heading into the setting sun on a two-lane highway with no shoulder. Cycling is somewhat an unusual pastime where I live, and I sometimes wonder whether a lit-up rider who is otherwise easily seen might arouse an "Isn't HE special?" resentment...

Do you regard drivers who won't move over an inch when passing, when they easily could, as aggressively insisting that you don't belong on the road? I do, and it's maybe one out of fifteen here. They typically get no reaction from me, in the land of the locked and loaded, and I hesitate to provoke them with lights, unless the visibility situation is really marginal.

I also believe that cyclists, motored or not, and pedestrians need EXTRA visibility to even get noticed, and am against competing sources, such as 'lights on in the daytime' behavior from motorists and their vehicles, and the flashing lights on school buses trend. Aren't THEY special? Grrr..