You crash from both ends !

Monkey Hanger <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Dave Larrington said:

And many people I see have gone to the length of getting a rear light
which they then attach to the strap of a courier bag, in such a position
that it would be most visible to the drivers of motorcars approaching from
second-storey windows on the opposite side of the street. What is the
matter with these people?

One of the best techniques I've seen is to affix a light to the back of a
helmut and then obscure it with a rucksack. Another one is to put it on the
seat post just under the seat and then wear some nice long flowing robes
(well, a coat) that completely covers it. What's the point?

Sticking the light in a mesh pocket in the rucksack also seems to be a
favourite technique. Sometimes the light is visible from as far away
as 30 feet.

--
Dave...

Dave Kahn said:

Sticking the light in a mesh pocket in the rucksack also seems to be a
favourite technique. Sometimes the light is visible from as far away
as 30 feet.

Followed one of them last night. Light in mesh pocket at the top of the
rucksack. Pointed vaguely backwards. Until he actually set off from the
lights, at which point the "leaning forward to place mitts on bars" business
resulted in the light being visible only to low-flying pigeons.

--

Dave Larrington - http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/
World Domination?
Just find a world that's into that kind of thing, then chain to the
floor and walk up and down on it in high heels. (Mr. Sunshine)

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Beware the Demon Metal Fatigue. I have lost two expensive lights due
to failure of folded aluminium brackets like these.

You are not the only one. I've had the aluminium plate that's part of my
touring pannier rack break in two within a few hundred miles after I
attached a light to it. Since that is what the plate seems to be there
for, and this was a particularly low-mass light (dynamo driven) I was
not chuffed.

These days I

Quoted message said:

either use an additional P-clip through the mounting bolt and looped
over the carrier (on the TopLights), or a safety wire (length of brake
cable with a loop connector crimped to each end, screwed to the
light), or whatever, to ensure that if the bracket fatigues I don't
lose the light.

Very sensible.

On Thu, 18 Nov 2004 09:27:45 +0000,

Just zis Guy said:

On 17 Nov 2004 23:24:45 GMT, Andy Leighton <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

been cut and folded at right angles, which the rear-light bolts onto.

Beware the Demon Metal Fatigue. I have lost two expensive lights due
to failure of folded aluminium brackets like these.

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Oh, and I make any folded brackets from stainless instead :-)

It is what I had to hand. I didn't have a thin enough piece of
any steel that I could use. Still it does a job.

--
Andy Leighton => [email hidden]
"The Lord is my shepherd, but we still lost the sheep dog trials"
- Robert Rankin, _They Came And Ate Us_

JLB said:

Just zis Guy, you know? wrote:

[snip]

Quoted message said:

Beware the Demon Metal Fatigue. I have lost two expensive lights due
to failure of folded aluminium brackets like these.

I had this happen to me. So I rummaged around and found a plastic bottle
with a rectangular base of about the same width as my rear light.

I made a triangular bracket out of this (imagine something the shape of
the triangular packs which supermarket sadnwiches come in).

Bolted one flat surface to the underside of the pannier rack, bolted
the lamp to the other (vertical, rear-facing) flat surface.

Flexible enough to survive everyday bouncing around, and no risk of
metal fatigue!

Simon Brooke said:

From the point of view of a driver, I am a *huge* fan of flashing
lights. They're immediately noticeable and recognisable as 'bike', at a
huge distance - just like pedal reflectors. Not merely more visible
than a steady light, but much more diagnostic. However, I should say I
only drive and ride on remote rural roads these days, so I'm not
familiar with how they perform in urban conditions.

Unlit areas are actually where I find flashing lights most irritating.
In an urban setting there is usually enough ambient light to track the
movement of a bike without needing to see its lights. In a rural
setting a bike lit only by a flashing light seems to keep appearing and
disappearing.

Tracking a moving, flashing light requires more processing power than
tracking a steady light, which I fear might make me less likely to see
any hazard that might suddenly appear between me and the bike (or at any
rate I'll probably see that hazard later than I would have done if I
hadn't been trying to track the movement of a flashing light).

Besides which, being stuck behind a flashing light on a dark road or
cyclepath gives me a headache.

I tend to regard the use of flashing lights without adjacent steady
lights as dangerous and antisocial, so I won't do it.

--
Danny Colyer (the UK company has been laughed out of my reply address)
<URL:http://www.speedy5.freeserve.co.uk/danny/>
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine