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news
Bristol sofa flashing light message (cropped, picture courtesy Steven Russell).PNGBizarre rant against flashing front bike lights scrawled on abandoned sofa in Bristol
Flashing front lights, like helmets, team kit or which groupset to use, is one of those subjects that polarises opinion among cyclists. Some swear by them, others insist you should only use a solid beam. But one Bristol resident – it’s not clear whether he or she rides a bike – is seriously agitated by them, and scrawled a message on an abandoned sofa to let the world know just how much.
The message, written on the underside of the sofa, reads “Cyclists of Bristol pls may you turn your over bright lights down + stop them flashing it hurts my eyes. Ta. Anon BS7” and was spotted by cyclist Steven Russell.
He told road.cc: “I found it odd, for obvious reasons … and luckily for the author there was a fly-tipped sofa lying around just when they needed one. Unless they brought it from home.
“But I saw it out of the corner of my eye and was the only cyclist to stop (at least in those 5 minutes) and actually read it.
“Whilst the medium of the message may be odd, the message is a valid one.
“So I was bemused and pleased at the same time!”
Steven, it turns out, falls into the camp of cyclists who prefer to use a solid beam.
“I don’t actually use flashing lights, largely because I don’t like them on other cyclists coming towards me,” he explained.
“They’re not ideal for the darker segregated cycle lanes I use in North Bristol, where they can easily dazzle you.
“In truth, I don’t think they are ideal for road cycling either.
“Cars don’t have flashing headlights and, in striving where I can to inhabit the road much as a car would (taking the lane, signalling, obeying traffic lights etc., for the safety of all), I won’t use flashing lights either,” he added.
We know plenty of cyclists who feel the same, but equally many others will always have their light in flashing mode, and pretty much most front lights we see nowadays have at least one of those.
Some switch between the two – for instance, a flashing light can be particularly useful when riding down a country lane at dusk and can warn drivers behind you of your presence due to the pulsing reflection of the beam off road signs.
Where many cyclists find them especially annoying is not when they are used on the public highway, but on separate cycling infrastructure – it’s easy to have your vision temporarily wrecked by a flashing light coming towards you.
One solution is to angle the light slightly downwards so they aren’t shining straight at people – but that gives rise to perhaps one of the biggest problems some people find with them.
That’s where the light comes with a basic O-ring mount, making the light liable to tilt up or down when you hit a bump on the road – and a surprisingly large number of even mid-to-high-end lights have exactly those mounts, something for brands asking what can be considerable sums for their products to address, perhaps?
Where do you stand on the issue? Let us know in the comments below.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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75 comments
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGOypgYRtnk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1a_4CN4onA
Don't these newbies get it? The point of cycling is that smug feeling of being better than everyone else. But for that you actually have to act better.
Zzzzzzzzzzzz...
No, the point of cycling for this 'newbie' is to commute 5,000 miles a year without dying.
Amazing how many people on here need mega bright lights and strobes to survive. Just fit a dynamo light, no stress, no blinding, everyone can see you front and back.
Add a small flashing helmet light if you use a lot of roundabouts and want to look people in the eye before they pull out.
hhmmmm .... I live in bs7 and haven't seen this yet .... must have a "prowl"
exposures front and rear - both on pulse (and yes, the front is aimed at the road !!)
In winter I travel through a large park, along a river and by a canal. All of this is unlit and all of this is part of the national cycle route. I have had major issues with over bright and badly possitioned rear red lights (whether blinking or not) that have caused me to not be able to see ahead of the cyclist in front which can be very dangerous. I have also had major issues with other cyclists coming towards me with over bright and badly possitioned front lights causing temporary lack of vision which has on a few occasions caused me to almost crash into what was behind them (Another cyclist with sensible lights/unlit dog/jogger/walker/debris). Over bright and flashing lights may be suitable in some situations and circumstances but at night on the unlit National Cycle Network is not that situation, it is extremely dangerous then!
It's pretty annoying when lights aren't positioned downwards to be fair, loads of cyclists I see are 'guitly' of this crime, I say one dark night in the not too distant future, we set out in gangs of no less than five, round em all up and one by one we point 1000 lumens cree lights in their faces until they beg for mercy, whilst shouting 'how do you like it', 'av that' and 'in your face stinky'.
I've tried a few combinations (flashing and steady beam) and still they pull out of side streets. During busy commuting times, I think the combination of two lights, one flashing and the other steady seems to work best, both medium intensity. On the rear, I go for a low power steady light on my helmet, and a reasonably bright flashing light on my seat tube.
Strada 1200 with the remote button is perfect. Main beam for country lanes and dip the same time as cars coming towards you do so. I found the cars seemed to slow down more when they saw a light that had been dipped, maybe they think it's a motorcycle. Flashing only in daylight or urban on the front, and aimed down so not to dazzle. Rear is always flashing for me, unless on club run.
The whole 'annoying lights thing' is just another supposed justification to rant against the cyclist.
I was riding home a few weeks ago on an unlit cycle path with my 360 Lumen front light on constant mode at about 200 lumens setting. Adult chav walking towards me shouted 'That's a bright light you got there mate'.
Sensing his latent aggression and not averse to hearing it in its full glory I replied:
'Yeah, and I can turn it up even brighter if you want'.
To which,inevitably, he replied:
'Yeah,I hope you have a crash on the way home and get killed'.
To which I replied:
'Yeah, and I hope your prostitute mother dies of cancer...'
Definitely no love lost between the two of us.
when two chavs meet!
Only one chav in actual fact .
Who was dealt with in the only way he understands.
of all the things that happened, this happened the most.
Maybe this is a parody account, but that's two posts from you this week where you've unnecessarily escalated a trivial encounter into one that makes it way easier for non-cyclists to class us all as dicks. Good work fella...
No parodies in my posts. Entirely truthful accounts both of them.
But I'll re-phrase your somewhat groundless accusations as, worryingly, you appear to be encouraging cyclists to be timid and feeble when faced with aggression on the roads.
Here you go:
<< That's two encounters I've had this last couple of weeks with ignorant dicks who have threatened or verbally abused me just because I'm a cyclist. Two dicks who learned not to make the mistake of assuiming that all cyclists are necessarily going to cry and run home to their mummies at the first sign of provocation. Two dicks who will never think any better of you no matter what you do or say.>>
There. That reads much better now.
Right. There's only one solution to this. Cyclists need to start dumping beds at the side of the road with 'dear motorists' messages. That'll show them.
We will win this fly-tipping war of attrition!
At least Anon of BS7 was polite in their request.
Must admit the local canal path is not pleasant at night if you're going against the flow of commuters. High power flashing lights on helmets the worst.
My commute is on a mix of urban lit and semi rural unlit roads with some urban dual carriageway and speed limits of 30, 40 and 60 mph so lights to see and be seen by are essential. On some route planning apps the traffic conditions are described as "hostile."
Exposure Toro on its brightest setting of 700 lumens is good for the darkest of winter nights. On its medium setting it is not quite bright enough to see the edge of the carriageway in some places and in the worst conditions.
Daylight = flashing front and rear.
Night = steady front and rear plus flashing rear
I don't care if they flash or not, like others it's the retina burning intensity that is the problem.
Put it this way.
As a fellow road user, I can not see you if I've had to shut my eyes/look away/am temporarily blinded.
I've done quite a number of events on the continent and it seems that only UK riders feel the need to have lights.
So- the U.K. is a reasonably large place, right? With 65M people? Because if I only read Road.cc I'd think it was a village, where every piece of roadside debris was worthy of discussion. (This is meant affectionately, before I get flamed)
you commented so you're one of us now!
you might wanna try pretending to be a bit more autistic, just to blend in like
I can understand the person's point of view, as some riders use almost laser intensity flashing lights right into my eyes. Too much is too much, just like leaving your high beams on when driving.
I ride with a blend of both flashing and solid lights. I use a lower wattage flashing unit aimed at head level about three metres in front of me; that's to get general attention. The higher wattage solid light I aim at about 2 metres ahead of me, which not only illuminates any crap or holes in the road, but puts some light around the pedestrians that I'm coming up behind to let them know I'm coming.
I have less issue with blinking or steady lights - rather the use of over bright lights in well lit/urban areas and badly adjusted lights working like full beam on a car. Lights that have been designed for riding cross country in the pitch black being used in urban situations is not the right thing to do
Use appropriate lights for the context and recognise that blinding everyone including other cyclists can be counter productive.
Being seen is not the same thing as seeing in the dark.
The counterpoint is obviously urban commuters who think that because they have badly adjusted barely perceptable feeble lights they are doing something positive to be seen. Finding the right balance is key. blinking or steady is not the issue.
Up front on the road at night:
Cateye 300 on hyper-constant to get seen by others (on with a 1 second pulse) & Cateye 700 on full beam so I can see.
Daytime: all front lights on hyper-constant, often leave the 700 at home and just use the 300 here.
Rear on the road at night:
Pulse mode Cateye rapid x light on seat stay (30 lm), plus Bontrager flare in night mode flashing (on with a pulsing flash).
Daytime: the same but use the Bontrager's flashing daytime mode (65lm).
Cycle paths at night:
Front lights all full beams, no flash, cover the 700lm with my gloved hand when passing PEDs/bikes.
Rear lights the same as the road.
Helmet lights, Cateye Loop white and red pair: flash at night/dusk. Daytime summer often not bother as they aren't powerful enough to be seen.
I can't see you
I can't see you
I can't see you
too bright you knob
I find the only way to get drivers to dip their lights is to use overbright lights. No bike light has yet dazzled me as much as a car on full beam.
Whatever stops me getting killed. If that annoys a pedestrian, that's a much lesser worry in the grand scheme of things.
Exactly - if I've been seen enough to cause annoyance, at least I know that I've been seen.
Think that one through a bit more, and try to include more than just pedestrians in your equation. If it annoys an oncoming motorist, and he/she decides to give you some notice/payback via a serve of main beam, it'll be you getting annoyed/dazzled/blinded. Or, if your 'annoying' light distracts the driver of a motor vehicle enough to cause a collision - whether with you or someone else (with you potentially caught up in it), it doesn't necessarily help you.
This is a real problem that the cycle industry will have to grip at some point. There's something of an arms race to produce more and more powerful bike lamps, and there is almost no regulation either of the lamps themselves, or, crucially, in their fitting and use. There's little question that flashing lights are attention-grabbing - that's the whole point of making them flash. And unfortunately the bulk of these things seem to be set up in a way other than how they should be (where they dazzle and distract far too far away).
Motor vehicles have their lamp aim tested during the MOT and cars with powerful HID/LED systems must have self-levelling and lens washing to reduce dazzle. Overly powerful bike lights are, right now, a niche problem. However as more and more people commute, and more of these powerful lights are sold and misused, the powers that be *will* eventually cotton onto it.
And it'll probably happen for a relatively 'random' reason. Like when a certain part of the media grabs hold of an emotive story about a dead kid whose death was allegedly the result of a cyclist's mis-adjusted/non-road legal light and an MP in turn picks it up and runs with it.
You know, this "story" was in the Bristol Post a couple of days ago...
I find it's not uncommon these days to be dazzled by both very strong front and rear lights. The (more common) front ones at least pass you quickly. There's no need for mega bright rear lights.
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