I bought a Cateye Triple-Shot light. Rode with it last night.

[Garry Lee]

I used to train at night in winter, with older lights which would only
give you an hour and a half at full power. A Cateye system. I stopped
night training after a well-lit acquaintance of mine was killed on a
busy road doing so, some years ago.
Result.
I got a bit fat.

I've resolved to restart this year as I've only been doing weekend
rides during the winter.
Bought above system.
Used last night for hour and a half ride. Left them going when I got
home. Went out at four and a quarter hours (3.20 claimed by
manufacturers).
I was impressed.
Good system, simple to fix to bike.
Light is well distributed. You can see a good wide section of the road
clearly for 20-25 metres. They don't suddenly cut out like the older
systems. Battery is smaller (a Nimh or NIcad pack) and lighter.
Price is saucy. I paid 270 euro. But worth it to me. I actually like
night riding and will stay on the quietest roads I can find.

 

[tiborg]

After my Topeak Moonshine HID failed for the second time in as many
years, I took a look at how well LEDs had advanced since I last used
them (a pair of Cateye EL300s). The TripleShot along with a DoubleShot
looked like it might compare to a small HID, but in the end I decided
to go with an Eclipse 30W HID system. That monster competes fairly well
with motorcycle headlights and gives you full confidence to ride at the
same speed as daylight even on completely unlit paths (which is what I
have to deal with for more than half of my 20km commute). I'm hoping
that by the time the Eclipse fails, someone will have a reasonably
priced triple or more 5W LED system. That's about the level of light I
would be comfortable with.

 

[[email protected]]

Garry Lee wrote:
> I used to train at night in winter, with older lights which would only
> give you an hour and a half at full power. A Cateye system. I stopped
> night training after a well-lit acquaintance of mine was killed on a
> busy road doing so, some years ago.

You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
riding at night and not seen. I'm well lit enough at night that cars
do see me and swing wider than they would in daylight. Lots of
blinking rear lights and several bright front lights make you far more
visible to cars than in daylight. And reflective ankle bands and
reflective vest. It could be the person you speak of was killed
because he was run over. Whether well lit or not made no difference at
all. Daylight or night made no difference at all. Maybe the fact it
was a busy road as you state was the reason. Too many cars and drivers
looking at the other cars and everything else to bother looking for
bicycles whether lit up or not. I try not to ride at night, or
daytime, on busy roads. Whether the cars see you or not, its not safe.




> Result.
> I got a bit fat.
>
> I've resolved to restart this year as I've only been doing weekend
> rides during the winter.
> Bought above system.
> Used last night for hour and a half ride. Left them going when I got
> home. Went out at four and a quarter hours (3.20 claimed by
> manufacturers).
> I was impressed.
> Good system, simple to fix to bike.
> Light is well distributed. You can see a good wide section of the road
> clearly for 20-25 metres. They don't suddenly cut out like the older
> systems. Battery is smaller (a Nimh or NIcad pack) and lighter.
> Price is saucy. I paid 270 euro. But worth it to me. I actually like
> night riding and will stay on the quietest roads I can find.

 

[[email protected]]

tiborg wrote:
> That monster competes fairly well
> with motorcycle headlights and gives you full confidence to ride at the
> same speed as daylight even on completely unlit paths (which is what I
> have to deal with for more than half of my 20km commute).

An oft cited comment by people who apparently do not ride at night.
The darker the path, the less ambient light, the less light you need.
If the road is 100% black, a match will light up the road well enough.
But if there are car lights, street lights, house lights, sign lights,
etc. Then your lights have to be powerful enough to cut through the
other lights and still light up the road well enough to illuminate
potholes, cracks, etc. My dual Schmidt E6 lights mounted at front hub
height driven by a Shimano generator hub do very well in most
situations except when trying to compete with lots of other lights like
cars, street lights, etc. They are great when there is no other light
to compete with. When its the darkest, they are the brightest. Thus I
like to add a NiteRider 15 watt helmet light to the dual Schmidt E6
lights when going through towns when there is lots of ambient light.
The dual Schmidt E6 lights can't compete with extra ambient light as
well as the NiteRider 15 watt light. Combine both and you can compete
with with almost anything. Almost.

 

[D Wells]

On 11 Jan 2007 08:38:08 -0800, [email protected] wrote:

>Garry Lee wrote:
>> I used to train at night in winter, with older lights which would only
>> give you an hour and a half at full power. A Cateye system. I stopped
>> night training after a well-lit acquaintance of mine was killed on a
>> busy road doing so, some years ago.
>
>You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
>riding at night and not seen. I'm well lit enough at night that cars
>do see me and swing wider than they would in daylight. Lots of
>blinking rear lights and several bright front lights make you far more
>visible to cars than in daylight. And reflective ankle bands and
>reflective vest.
>
>

In mid-December I had my first night ride. I had a rear flasher and a
headlight.

The thing that I noticed most about the ride (other than I really
needed better gloves) was that people gave me more room when they
passed.

During the day some people swing very wide, but some sort of edge by
me closer than is polite. That night everybody went wide when
passing.

 

[[email protected]]

D Wells wrote:
> On 11 Jan 2007 08:38:08 -0800, [email protected] wrote:
>
> >Garry Lee wrote:
> >> I used to train at night in winter, with older lights which would only
> >> give you an hour and a half at full power. A Cateye system. I stopped
> >> night training after a well-lit acquaintance of mine was killed on a
> >> busy road doing so, some years ago.
> >
> >You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
> >riding at night and not seen. I'm well lit enough at night that cars
> >do see me and swing wider than they would in daylight. Lots of
> >blinking rear lights and several bright front lights make you far more
> >visible to cars than in daylight. And reflective ankle bands and
> >reflective vest.
> >
> >
>
> In mid-December I had my first night ride. I had a rear flasher and a
> headlight.

I hope you've been night riding since mid December. The weather in my
part of the country has been very conducive to night riding. Not much
colder than upper 20s. Not too much snow or rain. I'm a firm believer
in the light up like a Christmas tree philosophy of lights. Get lots
of rear blinking flashers at various levels and a bike mounted front
light and a helmet front light. And reflective stuff everywhere. You
can easily create a rear helmet light by putting a zip tie through the
back vents in your helmet and hanging a red blinky from the zip tie.
Read that on the internet. If someone is going to run me over at
night, it will because they could easily see me instead of because they
could not see me.


>
> The thing that I noticed most about the ride (other than I really
> needed better gloves) was that people gave me more room when they
> passed.
>
> During the day some people swing very wide, but some sort of edge by
> me closer than is polite. That night everybody went wide when
> passing.

And last night four cars passed me in a row. First three swung clear
into the other lane. Fourth did not cross the center line. They all
saw me. But just like in daylight, some drivers will be polite and
some will be impolite. Being seen helps to eliminate the potential of
accidentally being run over. It does nothing for the people who don't
care if they run you over.

 

[Garry Lee]

> You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
> riding at night and not seen.

No, I don't. He was killed because an elderly lady was intimated by a
driver behind her and swung into the hard shoulder, of which she had no
vision because of the traffic in front of her.

I agree that busy roads are deadly. The international statistic in this
regard are there. They're 6 times as dangerous for cyclists per mile as
minor roads. However, I do think that night-time adds an extra danger,
lights or not. Can't prove it, but believe it.

 

[[email protected]]

Garry Lee wrote:
> > You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
> > riding at night and not seen.
>
> No, I don't. He was killed because an elderly lady was intimated by a
> driver behind her and swung into the hard shoulder, of which she had no
> vision because of the traffic in front of her.
>
> I agree that busy roads are deadly. The international statistic in this
> regard are there. They're 6 times as dangerous for cyclists per mile as
> minor roads. However, I do think that night-time adds an extra danger,
> lights or not. Can't prove it, but believe it.



You opened up your post with the statement below.

"I used to train at night in winter, with older lights which would only

give you an hour and a half at full power. A Cateye system. I stopped
night training after a well-lit acquaintance of mine was killed on a
busy road doing so, some years ago."


And above you state you do not think he was killed because he was
riding at night and not seen.


In your first statement you say you stopped riding because the person
was run over at night while riding. And then in your second statement
you say riding at night had nothing to do with him being killed.
Please explain why you stopped riding at night?

 

[David L. Johnson]

On Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:37:00 -0800, Garry Lee wrote:

>However, I do think that night-time adds an extra danger,
> lights or not. Can't prove it, but believe it.

I wonder why. The big advantage of night riding is that all vehicles are
lit up, so you can easily see what is moving, rather than being distracted
by the surroundings. I find I am more visible, as a part of traffic, at
night than during the day. My wife doesn't much like me riding at night,
but it does has its advantages if you have good lights.

 

[Daniel]

..
> Please explain why you stopped riding at night?


Are you losing sleep over this sir? What difference does it make. He
was simply trying to give props to this lighting system of his. Drop
it with the "I'm a lawyer..I break every sentence down" buisness.

 

[tiborg]

The first time I was coming home at night with the 30W HID, I was
seeing features in the road I didn't see in the daytime because of the
different angle of light. I understand what you are saying about your
eyes being able to adjust if there isn't a lot of contrast in your
view, but not everyone's eyes work equally well at night, and sometimes
raw power is a good thing

 

[Anthony DeLorenzo]

On Jan 11, 8:58 am, [email protected] wrote:
> The darker the path, the less ambient light, the less light you need.

I'll second that, and add that riding on snow makes it even better.
During the winter, I commute to work on dark snow-covered trails with
nothing but a small LED headlight. THe snow picks it up nicely. On
clear nights with a lot of moonlight, even that light isn't really
necessary. One nice thing about living North of 60, along with the fact
that you'll never need lights in the summer!

Regards,
Anthony

 

[Werehatrack]

On 11 Jan 2007 13:37:00 -0800, "Garry Lee" <[email protected]> may have
said:

>> You make the assumption the well-lit rider waas killed because he was
>> riding at night and not seen.
>
>No, I don't. He was killed because an elderly lady was intimated by a
>driver behind her and swung into the hard shoulder, of which she had no
>vision because of the traffic in front of her.
>
>I agree that busy roads are deadly. The international statistic in this
>regard are there. They're 6 times as dangerous for cyclists per mile as
>minor roads. However, I do think that night-time adds an extra danger,
>lights or not. Can't prove it, but believe it.

I have to agree. I think that it's partly due to many drivers' habit
of chronically overdriving their headlights, and partly due to an
apparent assumption that after dark, there *won't* be any cyclists or
peddies along the side of the road, among other things. There's also
the increased likelihood (relative to daylight hours) that an
after-dark driver is at least partially plotzed, the fact that a
cyclist in the distance is far more visible in daylight and will
probably register as an obstacle sooner, and the general WTF-ishness
of the initial reaction that many dirvers seem to have when
encountering a bike blinkie in their darkened field of view.



--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Garry Lee]

> In your first statement you say you stopped riding because the person
> was run over at night while riding. And then in your second statement
> you say riding at night had nothing to do with him being killed.
> Please explain why you stopped riding at night?

God, are you on your high horse or what?

I think the reason why my acquaintance, with whom I had often cycled
was killed, or at least a factor in it, is that at night, where
cyclists are not commonly seen on the roads, the motorist just didn't
think that there could be a cyclist there.

A problem at night, which doesn't exist during the day, except at
sundown where the setting sun may have the same effect, is that the
motorist behind you may be temporarily blinded by the lights of
oncoming traffic.