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  1. How well do drivers see me & my bike lights in the dark?

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    Winter is definitely here but are my bike lights up to it?…..

    I know that because I am commuting less and struggling to set foot outside the back door when I do ride. Bike maintenance and cleaning becomes more frequent because of the conditions, something which costs time and money. Bike lights are a no-brainer, you must have them.

    I recently gave thought to the effectiveness of my bike lights and hi viz for rides to work; mornings are semi dark but the evening ride is completely dark. The last few commutes have left me feeling a little vulnerable, so I decided to look at my lighting from a driver’s point of view.
    My current lighting set up is:

    Front Lamp:

    • Cateye R2, rechargeable, twin LED Trail Light (around 450 lumens from memory).

    When I chose my front bike lights, my main criteria was to be able to see the road in front of me given its sometimes shoddy condition. The bike light has a high beam (rarely used) and a half beam; the lower setting adequately floods the road with light and is very visible to on-coming traffic. I recharge the battery every two commutes, apart from that it requires little maintenances except for drying it off after each ride if the conditions are wet.

    Front bike lights

    There is only one issue with this bike light; it can leave you, quite literally, in the dark when the battery goes. There is a small green/amber/red indicator on the switch which gives you an idea of battery life but if it gets to red, you know there are only minutes left and then it just goes out, quite dangerous if you are not expecting it!

    Rear Lamps:

    • 2 x Fibre Flairs LED (mounted on the seat stays).
    • 1x moderately priced Cateye LED light.

    These Flair bike lights look great and are very bright. They require AA batteries which power two LED’s, one at either end of the transparent silicon rod. The attachments are flexible, rubber-type straps that clip to plastic hooks. A lot of thought has been put into the design of these bike lights; there is even a small flap of the strap material to protect your frame from the plastic clips.

    I also have a smallish Cateye rear light attached to my seat pack, a more traditional location which I hope helps drivers to recognise a bike.

    The Flairs have two settings: flashing and solid. The smaller Cateye has 3 flashing settings and a solid mode.

    Rear bike lights

    Pack bike light

     

    Additional Lighting:

    • Helmet mounted front/back light

    The main candle power is attached to the bike, but I have a small light attached to my lid which lights up front and back. My thinking here was to give the approaching driver some sort indication that I am bike-sized and not another vehicle with some of its lights not working. If the driver identifies me as a cyclist from further back that can only be a safer situation?

    Rucksack Cover:

    • HUMP Delux

    It is unfortunate, but I need to carry a rucksack to work for my shirt, towel, lunch etc. The discussion about a pannier system v rucksack for commuting is a whole different blog for another time!

    My rucksack has its own integral cover which is now a dull orange, I’m not sure it’s even that visible in the daytime anymore. My main issue is the lack of reflective Scotch tape; this stuff really shows up in the dark when car lights shine on it.

    Having looked at various options (including covers with their own red LEDS), I went for the HUMP Delux. It fits securely, is very yellow for day time visibility and has plenty of reflective chevrons for night riding.

    Hump Cover

    My final consideration was clothing. An old school friend, Penny, had posted a comment on Facebook about cyclists wearing black; this prompted me to think about my visibility given the onset of winter.

    My bib shorts are black (sorry Penny!) but I do have options around socks and jerseys. My solution was simply, I landed a half price deal at Decathlon Sports on a plain white jersey at £4.99 (should have bought a few)! OK, the quality wasn’t great but then I am only using it for commutes and it saves my ‘nice’ jerseys for the weekend rides.

    I understand that white socks are the only acceptable colour for racers…apparently it’s an old school cycling thing. Again, a bit more white will help in the battle to be seen.

    In conclusion, I have spent the best part of £230 on the items above but I don’t begrudge a penny of it. At least I can know ride in the dark in the knowledge I have done my best to be seen, it’s only fair to other road users. This was spent over a period of time and will take just under 40 commutes to be repaid (savings calculated upon fuel and parking) – a nice incentive to keep riding to work!

    Lights

    I would be interested to know others opinions/set ups, please consider posting a comment or visiting my FB page https://www.facebook.com/philcoxlejog to start a discussion.

    Further reading…..

    If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

    Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

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