Strobe tail lights

[Joe]

I've begun to consider better tail lighting after being right-hooked by a van last month on a quiet
country road. Fortunately there was only a few hundred dollars worth of damage to the bike and some
scrapes and bruises on me.

Although the accident occurred in sunny daylight I've been thinking that if I had a daylight visible
tail light perhaps the driver would not have forgotten my presence so quickly. Afterwards he stated
that he thought that he has passed me a while back.

The lights that I have been considering for daylight tail visibility are the Lightman Xenon Strobe,

http://www.lightmanstrobes.com/bike.htm

and the more versatile Sparky 3 Way Xenon Strobe light

http://www.eryderusa.com/SP_main.htm

They’re both priced about the same, and I’m leaning towards the Sparky with its greater lighting
versatility; 3 xenon lights in a small package, AA cells, and lighting/flashing that can be set in a
variety of ways. Do any of you commuters have experience with xenon tail lighting or either or both
of these units.

It appears that in some states the color blue is reserved for emergency vehicles. Are any of you
running blue tail lights?

I would also appreciate your comments about xenon strobes for
daylight bicycle tail lighting; their limitations, advantages, etc.

Thanks!

 

[Bill Davidson]

Joe wrote:
> It appears that in some states the color blue is reserved for emergency vehicles. Are any of you
> running blue tail lights?

California is one of those states:

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc21201_3.htm

Only cops are allowed blue lights (flashing or not) on the road.

--Bill Davidson
--
Please remove ".nospam" from my address for email replies.

I'm a 17 year veteran of usenet -- you'd think I'd be over it by now

 

[Michael]

Joe <[email protected]> wrote <snip>
> Do any of you commuters have experience with xenon tail lighting or either or both of these units.

I can't comment on these units, but I've used VistaLite Xenon taillights for years (they look the
same as their 1x2 inch LED models but have a much brighter Xenon bulb). Alas they don't seem to make
them anymore, and both of mine broke this spring....

By the way, it's been my experience commuting as far as 20 miles at night for the past 9 years that
one or even 2 of the little blinky lights sold for cyclists are totally worthless in the dark. OK,
not totally worthless, but not very useful - drivers need to see much more than a little red LED
that blinks once in a while while they're approaching at 30 or 50 mph in the dark. Specifically,
they need to see the size and dimensions of the cyclist and bike. I add large swaths of reflective
tape, like 2-inch wide bands of sew-on Scothlite reflective tape, to the back of my backpack, jacket
and helmet, and use 2 of the brighter Xenon taillights. John Forrester in Effective Cycling also
recommends mounting automobile reflectors to the back of the bike. I plan on getting a couple of
these from an auto-parts store this fall.

Bottom line - I find that the wider I make my reflective "signature", the more room drivers give me
when passing. With just one blinky LED light I get continuously near-sideswiped.

On the lens question, I found (subjectively) that the yellow lens worked best - it's brighter than
the red lens, and I feel safer with the yellow than a clear lens - to me, yellow says "warning"
better than any other color. I think I would use a blue lens if I had one though - nothing like
implying "cop" to motorists to get respect.

I'm also interested if anyone has comments on the Xenon models mentioned by the OP since I have
to replace my VistaLites, and I've been putting it off because I don't find the LED lights
bright enough.

Michael

 

[Werehatrack]

On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 17:42:21 GMT, Joe <[email protected]> may have said:

>I've begun to consider better tail lighting after being right-hooked by a van last month on a quiet
>country road. Fortunately there was only a few hundred dollars worth of damage to the bike and some
>scrapes and bruises on me.
>
>Although the accident occurred in sunny daylight I've been thinking that if I had a daylight
>visible tail light perhaps the driver would not have forgotten my presence so quickly. Afterwards
>he stated that he thought that he has passed me a while back.
>
>The lights that I have been considering for daylight tail visibility are the Lightman Xenon Strobe,
>
>http://www.lightmanstrobes.com/bike.htm
>
>and the more versatile Sparky 3 Way Xenon Strobe light
>
>http://www.eryderusa.com/SP_main.htm

They both look like good suggestions to me.

In my van, I've carried a pair of compact Xenon strobes with magnetic bases for years, to use as
emergency markers in the event of a night breakdown in a poorly lit area. I've had to use them
several times, all but once on someone else's vehicle, and found that they work quite well in the
dark. In daylight, I'm not sure that the short flash would be all that effective, but I would
certainly say that it might be worth a try. the w=two you cite seem better suited to that duty than
the ones I've got.

Frankly, though, there will still be idiots out there who will be able to ignore anything in their
way. I saw a brilliant example of this yesterday; a driver yakking away on a cell phone plowed into
the back of the wrecker that had the bad luck to be the last one to arrive at a fender bender just
south of Dallas. He apparently saw the wreckers just in time to slam on the brakes and haul the
speed down to around 20 before he impacted. (Air bags deployed, car *bent*.) I stopped just long
enough to tip the cop on the scene to the fact that the guy had come past me with the phone glued to
his ear several miles earlier; he said he'd seen the phone laying on the dash with the call still
connected moments after the hit, and was aware.

I'm beginning to think that the number one car-driver hazard to cyclists in city traffic may be
cell phones.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

 

[Ron Hardin]

The lightman strobes are not bright enough to see in sunlight.

What you want is a slow-moving vehicle triangle; either a ***** bumper you wear or, if you have a
milk crate on the rear rack as I do, a real farm-vehicle triangle on its flat rear surface.

The large day-glow orange triangle is highly visible a mile away, and it gets more effective in
twilight. On the other hand it's completely worthless at night because it responds to UV light and
headlights have no UV. Many have a reflecting strip around the edge for night.
--
Ron Hardin [email protected]

On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

 

[Richard Ney]

Joe writes:

> I've begun to consider better tail lighting after being right-hooked by a van last month on a
> quiet country road. Fortunately there was only a few hundred dollars worth of damage to the bike
> and some scrapes and bruises on me.
>
> Although the accident occurred in sunny daylight I've been thinking that if I had a daylight
> visible tail light perhaps the driver would not have forgotten my presence so quickly. Afterwards
> he stated that he thought that he has passed me a while back.
>
> The lights that I have been considering for daylight tail visibility are the Lightman
> Xenon Strobe,
>
> http://www.lightmanstrobes.com/bike.htm
>
I use the lightman. It's bright, water-resistant, and consumes batteries fast.

It's good, but expensive to use.

 

[John Albergo]

Joe wrote:

>
>Although the accident occurred in sunny daylight I've been thinking that if I had a daylight
>visible tail light perhaps the driver would not have forgotten my presence so quickly. Afterwards
>he stated that he thought that he has passed me a while back.
>
I use a strobe taillight but it doesn't really stand out in full daylight.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Fri, 22 Aug 2003 22:23:36 GMT, Ron Hardin <[email protected]> may have said:

>The lightman strobes are not bright enough to see in sunlight.
>
>What you want is a slow-moving vehicle triangle; either a ***** bumper you wear or, if you have a
>milk crate on the rear rack as I do, a real farm-vehicle triangle on its flat rear surface.

Or a roadside worker's orange safety vest. Or, for that matter, the ones made for hunters. (All of
this presumes that the drivers are paying attention and just need a little more of a target to see.
I fear that beyond a certain point, diminishing returns limit the success of this quest.)

Strobes made for forklifts might be effective, but they'd go through batteries like mad.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

 

[Jeff Wills]

[email protected] (Michael) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> Joe <[email protected]> wrote <snip>
> > Do any of you commuters have experience with xenon tail lighting or either or both of these
> > units.
<snip>
> Bottom line - I find that the wider I make my reflective "signature", the more room drivers give
> me when passing. With just one blinky LED light I get continuously near-sideswiped.
>

I'll ditto Micheal's comments: the more visible you make yourself, the less likely you'll be
swooped. I use a ton of reflective vinyl, light colored windbreakers, and a *big* blinky like the
one Sheldon sells: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/reallite/index.html

Jeff

 

[Mark Wolfe]

There was a cyclist killed here in San Diego a couple years ago. From what I understand, a lady was
on her cell phone not paying attention and drifted in to the bike lane. The road it was on has a
HUGE bikelane, and is more 4 lane highway with full shoulder. Still she took him out. I've had to
educate a few people who yap on the phone while riding. I've almost been to the point of snagging
the phone and riding off with a few times.

Werehatrack wrote:
> They both look like good suggestions to me.
>
> In my van, I've carried a pair of compact Xenon strobes with magnetic bases for years, to use as
> emergency markers in the event of a night breakdown in a poorly lit area. I've had to use them
> several times, all but once on someone else's vehicle, and found that they work quite well in the
> dark. In daylight, I'm not sure that the short flash would be all that effective, but I would
> certainly say that it might be worth a try. the w=two you cite seem better suited to that duty
> than the ones I've got.
>
> Frankly, though, there will still be idiots out there who will be able to ignore anything in their
> way. I saw a brilliant example of this yesterday; a driver yakking away on a cell phone plowed
> into the back of the wrecker that had the bad luck to be the last one to arrive at a fender bender
> just south of Dallas. He apparently saw the wreckers just in time to slam on the brakes and haul
> the speed down to around 20 before he impacted. (Air bags deployed, car *bent*.) I stopped just
> long enough to tip the cop on the scene to the fact that the guy had come past me with the phone
> glued to his ear several miles earlier; he said he'd seen the phone laying on the dash with the
> call still connected moments after the hit, and was aware.
>
> I'm beginning to think that the number one car-driver hazard to cyclists in city traffic may be
> cell phones.

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
8C71 "Your fault: core dumped" -- MegaHAL

 

[Mark Wolfe]

No matter how visible you make yourself, and I make myself visible too. You are always going to be
invisible, so you should ride like they don't see you. Expect that car to turn in front of you, even
if he looked right at you, you don't register as a threat, so you aren't there.

Jeff Wills wrote:

> [email protected] (Michael) wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
>> Joe <[email protected]> wrote <snip>
>> > Do any of you commuters have experience with xenon tail lighting or either or both of these
>> > units.
> <snip>
>> Bottom line - I find that the wider I make my reflective "signature", the more room drivers give
>> me when passing. With just one blinky LED light I get continuously near-sideswiped.
>>
>
> I'll ditto Micheal's comments: the more visible you make yourself, the less likely you'll be
> swooped. I use a ton of reflective vinyl, light colored windbreakers, and a *big* blinky like the
> one Sheldon sells: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/reallite/index.html
>
> Jeff

--
Mark Wolfe http://www.wolfenet.org gpg fingerprint = 42B6 EFEB 5414 AA18 01B7 64AC EF46 F7E6 82F6
8C71 http://www.linux.org - Escape the Gates of Hell Opening Windows lets in bugs.

 

[Jeff]

"Werehatrack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]... ...
> Or a roadside worker's orange safety vest. Or, for that matter, the ones made for hunters. (All of
> this presumes that the drivers are paying attention and just need a little more of a target to
> see. I fear that beyond a certain point, diminishing returns limit the success of this quest.)

Any idea where one would buy such a vest? I cannot recall having ever seen them on sale. Since I
expect to be biking to school next month, and in the dusk hours at that, a reflective vest would
probably be a wise idea.

 

[Werehatrack]

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 13:26:21 -0500, "Jeff" <[email protected]> may have said:

>"Werehatrack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]... ...
>> Or a roadside worker's orange safety vest. Or, for that matter, the ones made for hunters. (All
>> of this presumes that the drivers are paying attention and just need a little more of a target to
>> see. I fear that beyond a certain point, diminishing returns limit the success of this quest.)
>
>Any idea where one would buy such a vest? I cannot recall having ever seen them on sale. Since I
>expect to be biking to school next month, and in the dusk hours at that, a reflective vest would
>probably be a wise idea.

Any industrial safety supply house (Vallen, if they have an outlet in your area, is probably a
good place to start), a military surplus store (I get Navy surplus flight deck vests there;
incredibly durable, and very reflective, in several primary colors), a lawnmower store that
caters to professional yard service companies, a farm supply store, and if all else fails,
there's always eBay.

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail. Yes, I have a killfile. If I
don't respond to something, it's also possible that I'm busy.

 

[Joe]

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 13:26:21 -0500, "Jeff" <[email protected]> wrote:

>"Werehatrack" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...

>
>Any idea where one would buy such a vest? I cannot recall having ever seen them on sale. Since I
>expect to be biking to school next month, and in the dusk hours at that, a reflective vest would
>probably be a wise idea.

Here is a nice one I came across the other day:

Illuminated Safety Vest

http://www.safehomeproducts.com/SHP/SM/Safety_Vest.asp

Joe

 

[Frits]

"John Albergo" <[email protected]> schreef in bericht
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Joe wrote:
>
> >
> >Although the accident occurred in sunny daylight I've been thinking that if I had a daylight
> >visible tail light perhaps the driver would not have forgotten my presence so quickly. Afterwards
> >he stated that he thought that he has passed me a while back.
> >
> I use a strobe taillight but it doesn't really stand out in full daylight.
>

test

 

[Steven Scharf]

Joe <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...

> The lights that I have been considering for daylight tail visibility are the Lightman
> Xenon Strobe,
>
> http://www.lightmanstrobes.com/bike.htm
>
> and the more versatile Sparky 3 Way Xenon Strobe light
>
> http://www.eryderusa.com/SP_main.htm

<snip>

When I was manufacturing bicycle lighting systems, the poor tail lights of the commercial systems
were very annoying. I used only Xenon strobe tail lights on my systems. All my systems were 12 volt,
so I had a good selection of Xenon strobes from which to choose. These were massive systems, with
big 6.5AH 12 volt sealed lead acid batteries, but the best comment was, "from the front I look like
a motorcycle, from the back I look like a construction zone."

I was glad to see that finally there are Xenon strobe tail lights available; even Nightsun is
reselling the Lightman strobe now.

Either of those units sounds okay, though I would lean toward the Lightman as I have more confidence
that it is sturdily constructed.

If your regular lighting system is 12 volts then you can buy an amber Xenon strobe for $9 from:

"http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=605&item=STROBE-3A&type=store"

Red is at:

"http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=605&item=STROBE-3R&type=store"

A long time ago there were good strobes available, though not Xenon. They were called Belt Beacons.
Far better than the toy LED tail lamps.

Above all, don't fall for the well-meaning, but uninformed statements against using flashing lights.

Steve http://nordicgroup.us/s78 (Bicycle Lighting Web Site)