Slighty off subject but for all of us riding out on the roads with cars, this is an interesting tid bit of information. New for some, a refresher for others:
I had to link to the cached version, but Trek has a decent guide on the issue of visibility:
Along the same lines, I enjoy watching cycling vlogs from the UK, but find it hard to understand why everyone is wearing black kits in the typical low light conditions.
Because when you’re pro, you don’t have to worry about visibility, duh!
I drive in to work pre-dawn…I often see runners on the shoulder wearing black without a single piece of reflective clothing or light…only thing reflective is on their shoes…stupid.
I don’t care how big of a dork I look like, there is a FLARE RT on the back and an ION800R on the front of my bike and they are always on high strobe. I do turn the strobe to a lower setting at dusk to avoid blinding and annoying motorists but these lights have been a great peace of mind for me. I’ve even had motorcyclists tell me at intersections “holy hell that light is bright I saw you from a half mile away”
Completely agree. I have two sets of lights. One set for my winter bike and one to interchange between my other bikes.
I’m pretty sure that no road user wants to cause us harm. This time of year in the UK, the early morning light can be really tricky so having a working set of lights on my bike gives me piece of mind.
I was once crewing a team of riders in Florida in the summer. Somehow, magically, you can see those blinks in the noon brightness LONG before you could even see the flouro jerseys. They’re basically magic.
This is super smart.
A beloved, experienced member of my local cycling community was killed after being hit by two cars on Monday. Investigation is pending.
Be careful and watch out for yourself everyone … there are many dangerous drivers out there
In anything else than bright daylight, I run with a headlight (which also has a blinking row of red LEDs in the back). It really is a magical wand. Cars that would go out of their way to near-miss me give me almost too much room now. Haven’t had a close call when wearing it.
Yep. As a motorcycle rider I assume no one sees anything smaller than a car. Hence, I light myself up like a Christmas tree:. Bontrager ion 700 and ion pro up front, two flare Rs and a fly6 in the rear.
I highly suggest you all run front and rear strobes all the time, even daylight where drivers could get blinded and not see you. The Bontrager strobe pattern is irregular so it’s easy to spot because it’s so distinct: I can spot a Bontrager light by its flash pattern from way away. The Garmin Varia is also a great one from what I hear
A lot of cheap lights look good from a few feet away but don’t do anything at a distance and the whole point of it is to be noticed from far away. If I see something blinking a half mile away then I’ll know to be alert for something.
I love the Garmin varia. Not only a good light (bright and good strobe) but I couldn’t ride without the radar now. It’s amazing
This right here. There’s a reason cars all have daytime running lights and your dash is brighter during the day then at night. The sun and its reflections can make anything hard to see, plus human attention is attracted to light.
I use the Bontrager Flare and Ion lights and it’s amazing how much more I get noticed by drivers. It helps protect against distracted drivers, those that only glanced quickly enough to see a car but not a cyclist and people turning or coming out of driveways.
I especially recommend (or “rate” for you UK folks) having the flashing lights on the top of your helmet. It was fairly common for me to have people coming out of side streets or driveways not see me, especially in the few areas where I ride the sidewalk. With the lights on my helmet, I can look to the side and the light flashes at them to get their attention before they are crossing my path. That’s something I couldn’t do with it mounted on my bars.
Having the lights up high also makes it less likely that something blocks the driver’s view of them. Lights are so lightweight nowadays that there’s no reason not to put them on your helmet for that extra safety.
Actually… I would say as a pro you very much want to be seen, how else are you gonna represent your sponsor? (also getting run off the road as a pro can have permanent consequences for your career)
I’m sorry for your loss.