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Informal Survey about Blinky Lights

Do you one one? Front / rear / both? What brand / model(s)? Where is it mounted / attached? Use during daylight or dark only? Thank you for your replies!
ericf
2013-11-06 09:06:14
Planet bike Superflash, back, mounted on my helmet. I use it whenever it's dark enough to be visible. Since people are also posting about steady lights -- I have a PrincetonTec Remix steady white light on my helmet in front, and a Dirk Strothmann red MagnicLight on my rear wheel.
jonawebb
2013-11-06 09:20:53
Avenir Panorama (planet bike superflash ripoff) Tail light zip tied to my backpack light strap - Used at dusk or night only. Avenir Panorama (planet bike superflash ripoff) head light zip tied to my backpack arm strap - Used at dusk or night only. Knog blinder on my seatpost - Used when it's dark or low light or on country roads. Cygolite Metro 350 on handlebars- Used in Day light on flash (as needed), at night on solid.
benzo
2013-11-06 09:32:41
Front: Planet Bike Blaze 0.5 watt blinking daylight only 300 lumen front light at dusk/dark on solid Rear: Superflash mounted to helmet on blinking no-name mounted to seatpost on solid (both used in low light including grey days) Ps. I also where a safety vest and have reflective tape on helmet, bags, etc. I am a dork you can not miss!
marko82
2013-11-06 09:47:59
Rear: Planet Bike superflash mounted on the back of my rear rack. Front: Light & Motion Urban 500 mounted on the handlebars. I use these 90% of the time, the exception being <10 min rides in daylight.
dmtroyer
2013-11-06 09:49:40
On my seat post I use the planet bike super flash (very bright.. Have you ever ridden behind someone who is using one? It is blinding) with rechargeable AAA batteries, 800 lumen cygolite on my helmet (so i can direct my beam into the faces of drivers who are trying to pull out from side streets and may not be paying attention). During the day when it is sunny I won't use the cygolite but probably should. I use the steady beam with a pulse setting at night. I tend to use the rear blinky all of the time. I have small planet bike spok blinkies mounted on my helmet as backups. I have killed a few planet bike superflash blinkies because I got caught in a downpour for 4 hours or so at a time. I guess if water gets in them, they get messed up. They will just cycle through the settings on their own and even turn off and on while just sitting around. That can be solved with a plastic bag I suppose.
stefb
2013-11-06 09:51:14
I run a nite ize 5 led rear light mounted to my back basket another cheap blinky and a planet bike flashlight up front on handlebars. also wear petzl on my helmet . I have one rear binky on at all times when on the road , at dusk i run them all ! one small bilinky in back and the bigger one on solid red . Everyone who rides at night should run lights with 2 in back so you have a back up !!!
cowchip
2013-11-06 09:54:49
Yet another planet bike superflash. On back of helmet and used consistently as light wanes, less consistently otherwise. Tiny little no-name keychain-ish blinker facing forward from helmet. Absurdly bright magic-shine headlight used in non-blink mode only as light wanes. Lots of retroreflective tape, the part of the frame not obscured by panniers, fork, and helmet.
byogman
2013-11-06 10:00:31
Back: A Planet Bike Superflash on my rack, a Blackburn Flea on my pack. Front: NiteRider 650. Ridiculously bright. All lights in flash mode regardless of daylight conditions.
ajbooth
2013-11-06 10:07:46
Four (when I'm in traffic, always) two red on each side of the rear rack: Cygolite hotshot and a Planetbike. one red Bell on the back of the helmet. one white on the handlebars. I use a non-blinky headlamp on the fork too... so I guess that makes 4 blinkies and one non-blinky. I'm a bit of a spaz when it comes to wanting to 'be seen' when riding in traffic. I'd put a disco ball on there if I could. For trail riding, I only use the steady headlamp and one rear red blinky, sometimes, I don't in bright daylight.
rustyred
2013-11-06 10:14:15
Four blinkies - 2 on front, 2 on back One on the front is a Cateye Volt rechargable. The other is a cheap AA battery blinky. On the back I have a Cateye Reflex Auto, which comes on by itself when it's dim/dark and moving. The other is a Planet Bike helmet blinky. I run all four all of the time, unless it's crazy sunny, and then I only run the front blinky.
pinky
2013-11-06 10:28:32
I’d put a disco ball on there if I could.
I love that mental image. We need that kind of crazy for the bikes with menorahs (and without, I think a disco ball would be awesome) join the cars on Chanukah parade! Any chance I can drag you in?
byogman
2013-11-06 10:30:21
Do you use one? Yes. Front / rear / both? Both What brand / model(s)? 2 up front, both "be seen" lights, one on steady and one blinking. When it gets real dark, I'll deploy the Magicshine clone I use for riding singletrack at night, but it hasn't been necessary yet. When it is necessary, I use it on steady when used on the road. -Planet Bike Super Spot (discontinued) kinda sucks http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Super-1-Watt-Bicycle/dp/B000793NXA/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t/190-7675594-3176643 -Cateye HL-EL220 (it's m'eh) http://www.cateye.com/en/products/detail/HL-EL220/ 1 in the rear, old Planet Bike Superflash, happy with it. Where is it mounted / attached? Headlights are both on the handlebar, one to the left of the stem, one to the right. Superflash mounted to the rear of my rack. Use during daylight or dark only? Cateye and Superflash, I run at all times. Super Spot, only when I deem the visibility to be poor(er).
ka_jun
2013-11-06 11:48:06
I'm in transition, due to my older lights not fitting on the oversized handlebar. Before: two cheap cateye lights on front. Now: a light that straps around the head, worn around the neck. Eventually: waiting for a good deal on an Expilion 350. Long term: building a wheel around a generator, adding a B&M. Flashing during the day if I ride in traffic. Always during low or no light. Rear: Current: 5 led cateye on seatpost, 3 led cateye on belt, I also had a serfas seat stay light (brightest of the three) but the band snapped and it fell off. Some dick intentionally ran it over before I could pick it up as it was laying in the middle of a crowded intersection. Near Future: PDW radbot on the seatpost and cateye reflex on the back of the rack. Rear lights are just about always on. I also have some of those nite ize spokelits (red and multi-color), I'm going to swap them out for all blue or all green, which are notably brighter than the red version. I also want to add some fik's to my wheels... but they won't fit on my current wheels which are box shaped and have no usable mounting surface.
headloss
2013-11-06 12:23:29
When commuting... Front - A generic front white light. Rear - Planet Bike Super Flash on the seat post and a Planet Bike Rack Blinky on the cargo rack. My commutes are typically low or no light. I run all lights on blink regardless of how dark it is. I find that the headlight doesn't give me much benefit on steady since I typically have street lighting on my routes. On weekends, I typically ride in a group but still early morning. I tend to have only the Super Flash running on blink. Traffic is allot less and I feel safer in a group. I never really thought of the redundancy for rear lights. I just want to be seen. I guess that is a bonus.
awallrider
2013-11-06 12:31:51
Front: Cygolite Metro, standard handlebar mounting. Use on blink at twilight and steady/low at night unless in a dark area in which case steady/high. Rear: Cherry Bomb. Mounted on one bike via a hose clamp to the seat tube and on my other bike I have one hose clamped to a hex standoff on the top left corner of a cargo bin that I attached on the rear rack. Use on blinking mode from twilight onward. My additional 2 ¢: Using a blinking front light on a trail is obnoxious.
andyc
2013-11-06 13:05:57
I use a bright steady light on the back of my rack and a blinky on my seat post. The blinkie catches the eye and the steady light makes for better tracking. Once, after cruising Rt 51 on a Saturday night, I discovered my back light was simply not functioning. It was working when I left home aand I had no reason to think it wasn't just fine. Now I go for redundancy. Dusk/dawn or heavy overcast, I blink my front light.
mick
2013-11-06 13:20:51
i used to rock dual bonfires (hated carrying all that wood around and had horrible durability in the rain). then i upgraded to gaslamps (but it kept exploding when i smoked). I tried using a lighthouse on a trailer (but the foghorn kept outblasting my ipod). Currently running a quad setup. Two up front: Cateye Nima on the headtube Knog Boomer on the fork Two in the back: Knog Blinder 4 (circle) on the seatpost Cateye Omni 5 on the rear triangle.
pbeaver
2013-11-06 13:23:42
I use a bright led flashlight in front, flashing when I have decent visibility and solid on dark roads. Cheap Zefal blinkinking on the seatpost. A side note...I have been attempting to have my kids bike to all of their cub scout meetings with me. They typically end (and now start) after dark. They each have a few different bikes and it was a pain to switch the taillight holders back and forth and they do not always have something to clip onto, so I took a piece of elastic and put a buckle on it and affixed the light to it. Now they just put the strap around their chest with the light in the back. It is easily adjustable and has worked great so far.
the-beast
2013-11-06 15:21:43
Blaze 1/2 Watt & Superflash Light Set http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3040.html Usually rear is in blinking mode, front one also in usually in blinking mode. In addition I have Nathan rear light which I usually put on a pocket of my jersey and a chinese light similar to Magic Shine but I acquires it before Magic Shine became popular. It's 900 chinese lumens (in reality 700+) with three modes: low, high, and blinking high (4 hours, 20 hours and 20 hours of work correspondingly on 4 18650 elements).
mikhail
2013-11-06 15:34:23
pbeaves wrote:i used to rock dual bonfires (hated carrying all that wood around and had horrible durability in the rain).
Burning torches are handy! Not just for visibility - you can through them through the windows of miscreant drivers! You can get together with the other villagers and storm the castle.
mick
2013-11-06 16:15:29
Mick wrote: Not just for visibility – you can through them through the windows of miscreant drivers! You can get together with the other villagers and storm the castle.
My pitchfork doubles as a tire-lever and air-pump. It was uncomfortable as a saddle&seatpost combo. *rim-shot*
headloss
2013-11-06 17:28:43
I have a Cygolite Metro 300 which I'll flash around dawn/dusk. Rear is a Planet Bike Binky 5 which I run at low-light. Various coin cell lights as backups.
renny
2013-11-06 18:15:49
Two Planet Bike Super's on my backpack and one Planet Bike 2 watt for my headlight. I feel my headlight could be a bit better. The older I get the more I seem to want. lol Those PB super lights are VERY bright. Any more than that I think you would have drivers wanting to kill you out of spite. Oh and dusk/dark only. In daylight I just wear bright clothes. My backpack is bright orange and in winter I wear a bright jacket. In fall I wear a red one that I think you know what it looks like. Yep, it is well used. :)
gg
2013-11-06 20:38:14
Planet bike super blinking on rear seat post, Light In Motion Urban 500 on front on bars. I blink in rear if it is dim or dark (dusk, rain, etc), blink in front at dusk and keep front beam steady when it is dark.
neilmd
2013-11-07 08:28:57
On the front I use a Cygolite something high, like the 750. I put it on blinky mode and people get really confused and must think for a second I'm a cop or something, because I've had people slow down, move over, etc. etc. Very nice for night riding. Plus, during the day people actually assume it is a video camera, which makes people think twice before they act like a jerk. For the back, I saw this really cool thing in the NY Times Ny Times Article It is totally nerdy but also super cool to have lines on the street next to you at night. The 2 AAA batteries last surprisingly long. the only drawback is that the screws are super-duper tiny, meaning that you need a crazy small screwdriver (and good eyes) to change the batteries.
edronline
2013-11-07 17:54:17
-Yes -Both -Front = Manta Ray D003: http://www.kaidomain.com/product/details.S021404 -Rear = Xeccon Geinea Super Bright Micro Rear Light (check out the videos on the attached link): http://www.mtbrevolution.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=174 - Front light is attached to bars, rear light to my seat post. - I always run both lights in flash mode day or night. Just to add, I have seen most of the lights mentioned on here and I feel that most people (and manufacturers) significantly overrate the brightness of their lights. Times have changed people. Your biggest threats are texting and distracted drivers. In my opinion you need powerful bright flashing lights to combat the distracted texting driver, day or night. Be as visible as you can - it's your life.
unrealmachine
2013-11-07 17:56:03
One and one, but I am about to upgrade and run two and two. One on the handlebars, one on my helmet. One on my seat post and one on the back of my rack. Currently, planet bike with AAA batteries on the back and USB rechargeable sunlite on the front.
faunaviolet
2013-11-07 20:10:22
Oh, and I use in low light, dawn and dusk and night time. Usually not during bright daylight.
faunaviolet
2013-11-07 20:11:05
I will operate at least one front and one rear light whenever I think anybody might kill me, which means on-street in anything other than ideal conditions. If I'm going to be dealing with crossing or overtaking traffic in a busy visual field, I'm going to be lighting up to make sure I'm barking for my share of their limited processing capability. On the front: handlebar mounts: PlantBike 2W led (on, either blink or steady, opposite the MagicShine) MagicShine knockoff (either blink or steady, opposite the PlanetBike) Cheapo headlamp on the front of my helmet On the rear: (orange reflective slow-vehicle triangle) rear rack mounts: Cateye TLD-1100, usually off (in case of an outage) Portland DesignWorks RadBot1000 usually blinking DesignShine rear tail light (usually blinking) (some of yinz have seen this) small rear blinky on helmet I have one of the dual-laser lane projectors but I find it's not very pragmatic. Generally, to import a laser for this use into the US, it has to be sub-1/2 watts (iirc), and there's just not much output at that level; it washes out real easy in ambient urban light.
vannever
2013-11-07 21:47:59
Forgot to mention, on the other bike... Basta Riff dynamo-powered tail light on rack (European market, came on the Focus). The front headlight is the B&M Lumotec LYT (attached at fork crown). It also has a cheap cateye blinky on the handlebar and a pair of Nite Ize spoke lights.
headloss
2013-11-08 01:22:03
Two fore, two aft. Aft, one on helmet, one dangling very loosely under the seat. I have had very bad luck with taillights snapping off if mounted securely to any part of the bike, one time on the way home from the store where I bought it. The other aft one is on my helmet, but even that one wants to fly off at odd times. I don't know a good way to secure it. Both aft lights are fairly standard Planet Bike blinkies that take two AAAs. Fore, one is a USB rechargeable that I can pop on and off very easily. The charge typically lasts about 20 miles, so comes off with me and goes on the computer once a day. I think the brand is RavX, maybe? The other is a fairly typical Planet Bike that uses two AAs. I only use rechargeable cells. I keep one charger on my desk at work, one at home, swapping out cells on one of them about once a week. My old helmet also had a yellow blinkie mounted on the fore-right side, which I think helped in being seen by people pulling out from right-side entrances, and additional small fore and aft blinkies that took 2032 button cells, but I only used them on occasions where I didn't think the other two were enough, such as going up Perry Highway after dark.
stuinmccandless
2013-11-08 09:12:57
One thing that gets pounded into your head around motorcycle-worlds is that it's really hard for other drivers to judge distance when there's a single source of light. In a car/truck, there are two headlights, and as you get closer to an observer, the lights will "get further apart" due to perspective. With a single source of light, it's a million times more difficult for someone to judge how far you are and how fast you're going because that single light doesn't really "grow" as you get closer. The most common multi-vehicle accident is when other drivers turn left across the path of travel of a motorcycle. Same principle applies on bicycles, except your closing speed usually isn't as great unless you're bombing down a hill. A single solid light is probably worse than a flashing one at night IMHO, a flashing one adds a component of uncertainty and makes the driver pause and reconsider your distance and closing speed. Anyways, I ride w/ a triple Cree XM-L light (unbranded) w/ a wide beam lens and usually a MC-E in a flashlight to supplement in blinky mode, PB Superflash rear or a Magicshine MJ-818 if I feel like running the cables. For my MTB, I have a Lezyne Mega Drive on the bars and a single XM-L for the helmet (though I'm considering a Lezyne Super Drive since external batteries are becoming a pain).
rice-rocket
2013-11-08 09:15:27
I have a related question. I use a Light In Motion Urban 500 and have been generally quite happy with it, but from time to time it doesn't seem to charge up correctly. Recently, I decided that it might be that I did not DISCHARGE it enough, so I decided to let it run out before plugging in the microusb charger at work. The blasted thing blazed away at 500 lumens for about 4 hours. I rode home the next night with nice lights, but the following night (last night), it blinked off about 20 sec after I started my ride home. This has happened a couple of other times. Right now I am looking at a red blinking led on the back because I forgot to plug it in earlier today when I got to work. Ugh. I've bled in about 2h worth of electrons, and I'm going to head home with it on blinker mode mostly to conserve power (it uses vastly less average power when blinking). Anybody had these issues??
neilmd
2013-11-08 19:34:38
I added two more red blinkers to the back of my commuter. Very effective!
ajbooth
2013-11-10 00:01:58
ajbooth wrote:I added two more red blinkers to the back of my commuter. Very effective!
What on earth mars is going on with your rack??
headloss
2013-11-10 01:05:12
I have a NiteRider MiNewt 250, that I run in blinky mode day and night. From the responses I get from other riders / drivers, this borders on too bright. I also have a 2w PlanetBike SuperFlash as a backup. On the rear seatstay, I run a Cygolite HotShot, also blinking day and night, along with a PlanetBike Turbo on my helmet. In the woods, I run 2 magic shines, 1 on the bar and 1 on the helmet. These lights are hard to beat for the price, although their real output is more like 600-700 lumens, not the 1000 that they advertise. I really like the self contained rechargeable lights, my next mtb light will probably be a Lezyne Megadrive.
ericf
2013-11-11 10:48:27
Drewbacca wrote:What on earth mars is going on with your rack??
Visibility.
ajbooth
2013-11-11 10:51:15
@neilmd - Is your problem related to cold? Do they work better if it's warmer, poorer when it's cold? Anyone else run into this? This is essentially the same problem I have with the helmet cam battery. The damn thing wants to shut off about 15 minutes into a ride, no matter how well it was charged.
stuinmccandless
2013-11-11 12:39:48
ajbooth wrote:Visibility.
I was referring to it not being attached to your bike on the right side, not the lights... or not attached at all? Light setup is good, I'd do the same if I had another pair of blinkys laying around.
headloss
2013-11-11 12:58:08
A seat post mounted rack. Hence the anti-gravity appearance.
edmonds59
2013-11-11 15:05:56
StuInMcCandless wrote:@neilmd – Is your problem related to cold? Do they work better if it’s warmer, poorer when it’s cold? Anyone else run into this? This is essentially the same problem I have with the helmet cam battery. The damn thing wants to shut off about 15 minutes into a ride, no matter how well it was charged.
Battery electricity is based on chemical reaction. Colder -> slower reaction and exchange in chemicals are much slower. LiIoon, LiPo especially sensitive to temperature. But NiMh also sensetive but less. That is a reason I prefer to have battery connected to my light through long wires -- I can put battery in my pocket.
mikhail
2013-11-11 16:31:16
Drewbacca wrote:I was referring to it not being attached to your bike on the right side, not the lights… or not attached at all?
Sorry, missed this completely. Yes, Detective Edmonds is correct, seat post mounted rack. About 90% of the time, I don't fold the panniers down, so the pannier racks are mostly decorative. I had a driver tell me tonight that my lights are "so damn bright." I said, "Yup. That's the point."
ajbooth
2013-11-14 20:18:02
Just ran across these. Kind of pricey, but think of the possibilites.
jonawebb
2013-11-26 16:55:34
I have an older/lower tech set of those... They are cool but I wouldn't want to ride around with them all the time, they're heavy. Also one of them broke its mount and ejected itself from my wheel when I was bombing Negley - I'm probably lucky it didn't send me OTB.
salty
2013-11-27 00:53:29
BTW, I really like this PB helmet blinky due to the self leveling feature: http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3010.html I also have a super flash on my rack. I usually run one solid and one flashing. I decided two lights were better than one after I got home to discover my single light gave out sometime on my trip home, which of course involved riding on fun roads like Penn and 5th around midnight.
salty
2013-11-27 00:58:33
I have that PB helmet blinky. I love having it as part of my light setup because it switches with me when I switch bikes. The self-leveling thing gets stuck because my helmet has a pointed back, but otherwise I have no complaints.
pinky
2013-11-27 08:26:35
I have added a front blinky to my helmet, a Petzl MYO XP. It has a separate battery pack, so the weight on the helmet is minimal. If they can't see me now, I don't know what to do.
ericf
2013-11-27 10:09:22
I use front and rear lights during nighttime/dusk. Both are USB rechargable and waterproof, which is awesome. My front light is a Blackburn Flea and it's mounted to my stem. My rear light is a Knog Blinder and it's mounted to my helmet. The Blackburn Flea is better to be seen than to see, so I plan on mounting a headlamp to my helmet at some point.
littleyellow
2013-12-03 10:18:06
StuInMcCandless wrote:I don’t know a good way to secure it. Both aft lights are fairly standard Planet Bike blinkies that take two AAAs.
Here is what I came up with, using a smallish sheet metal screw and a drop of superglue on the threads. My helmet already had a hole for a goggle clip, but a small drill bit would work if you don't have a hole. The key to securing the Planet Bike Superflash, no matter where you mount it, is this zip tie trick that I picked up from Chris at Thick Bikes (he has a lot of good tips)
ericf
2013-12-04 09:21:46
That looks great! I'll probably see if I can do something like that with my helmet too. Right now I loop wire around and clip over the wire, but it looks lousy and doesn't hold the blinky terribly straight. Recalling rice rocket's note about the importance of multiple lights to aid depth perception (and since I'll have a LOT of lights to spare once Chanukah is over), anyone have any ideas for mounting lights to panners? Without adorment, it's trivially easy, but they droop like crazy.
byogman
2013-12-04 09:39:27
byogman wrote:anyone have any ideas for mounting lights to panners? Without adorment, it’s trivially easy, but they droop like crazy.
Can you post a pic of your setup, from behind?
headloss
2013-12-04 11:05:24