Do you ride with light? Any recommendation?

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stockae92
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Joined: Fri Sep 25, 2015 5:13 pm

by stockae92

A little update:

I bought the Knog Blinder 1 front and rear. they are "ok" for being seen, but not great. I would put them on the bike when I want to *feel* light.

I ended up also buying Lezyne 600XL front and strip drive pro for the rear, for when i need more light than 1 LED :)

For the Kong Blinder 1 is actually a great running light. I wear the white LED one on my finger when I run at night.

Image

imbloke
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Joined: Fri Oct 06, 2017 12:39 am

by imbloke

I wouldn't go into recommendations yet (though I have some in mind which I've been using for the past 1-2 years and still going very strong).

Things to consider when you're making a purchase decision: LINK REMOVED
Last edited by imbloke on Wed Nov 29, 2017 6:16 am, edited 3 times in total.

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Boshk
Posts: 462
Joined: Wed Jul 19, 2017 2:59 am

by Boshk

Currently using
Front: Lezyne Volt 450XL......good, bright, usb recharge, several modes...
Rear: cateye cheap-ish 2 mode one, have a See.sense icon rear light in the post

If you are still deciding, consider..
-Flare R from Bontrager
-See Sense Icon....original or + model. around 190 lumens...basically, its bright even in daylight and is apparently smart, changes intensity and frequency when headlights strike it or it feels braking/cornering....
-Exposure Flare R...75 lumens
-most expensive...Cycliq Fly6....30-40lumens but has a in built 720p camera....

30ish lumen isn't quite bright enough in daylight according to some but more than enough at night.

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kdawg
Posts: 194
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by kdawg

Lugan wrote:Some of these little cheap lights for daytime use are useless because they cannot compete for brightness against full summer sun. For that condition, I use a Dinotte Quad Red rear (mounted on my helmet in a visible way so I can bring it with me on every ride across 4 bikes) and a Quad Amber front on my main summer road bike. I run both at full blast in midday sun, and lower settings in lower light conditions. The goal for me is to be seen, for example, by someone pulling out of a driveway or street when I am hurtling down a curvy road at 40 MPH (front light), or to wake up a teenager coming up behind me on a climb while (s)he is texting on a mobile device and coming up behind me (rear light). For that, you need a super bright light that can compete with sun and catch attention through peripheral vision.



To be fair there aren’t many lights that can compete with the sun...
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markyboy
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TonyM
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by TonyM

kdawg wrote:
Lugan wrote:Some of these little cheap lights for daytime use are useless because they cannot compete for brightness against full summer sun. For that condition, I use a Dinotte Quad Red rear (mounted on my helmet in a visible way so I can bring it with me on every ride across 4 bikes) and a Quad Amber front on my main summer road bike. I run both at full blast in midday sun, and lower settings in lower light conditions. The goal for me is to be seen, for example, by someone pulling out of a driveway or street when I am hurtling down a curvy road at 40 MPH (front light), or to wake up a teenager coming up behind me on a climb while (s)he is texting on a mobile device and coming up behind me (rear light). For that, you need a super bright light that can compete with sun and catch attention through peripheral vision.



To be fair there aren’t many lights that can compete with the sun...


I use the "Lupine Rotlicht".... 160 Lumens :mrgreen:
http://www.lupinenorthamerica.com/rotli ... llight.asp
http://road.cc/content/review/139414-lu ... rear-light

deltree
Posts: 196
Joined: Mon Apr 23, 2012 10:21 pm
Location: London, UK

by deltree

stockae92 wrote:A little update:

I bought the Knog Blinder 1 front and rear. they are "ok" for being seen, but not great. I would put them on the bike when I want to *feel* light.

I ended up also buying Lezyne 600XL front and strip drive pro for the rear, for when i need more light than 1 LED :)

For the Kong Blinder 1 is actually a great running light. I wear the white LED one on my finger when I run at night.

Image



I have the 600XL too but found mounting it underneath my bars meant my knee hit it climbing out of the saddle. Lezyne do a little GoPro adapter that replaces the rubber mount and attaches to my K-Edge Garmin out front mount. Really clean.

http://www.lezyne.com/product-led-acc-g ... dfWpVtSyJA

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Conza
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by Conza

kdawg wrote:
Lugan wrote:Some of these little cheap lights for daytime use are useless because they cannot compete for brightness against full summer sun. For that condition, I use a Dinotte Quad Red rear (mounted on my helmet in a visible way so I can bring it with me on every ride across 4 bikes) and a Quad Amber front on my main summer road bike. I run both at full blast in midday sun, and lower settings in lower light conditions. The goal for me is to be seen, for example, by someone pulling out of a driveway or street when I am hurtling down a curvy road at 40 MPH (front light), or to wake up a teenager coming up behind me on a climb while (s)he is texting on a mobile device and coming up behind me (rear light). For that, you need a super bright light that can compete with sun and catch attention through peripheral vision.


To be fair there aren’t many lights that can compete with the sun...


:o :lol:
It's all about the adventure :o .

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

I recently added the Ion 800 RT and Flare RT to my setup. They power on automatically when my Garmin 520 powers on, they switch to full headlight in dark situations (as determined by my Garmin) and have a functional side light. Also, they alert me on my head unit when they're going low.

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Mr.Gib
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by Mr.Gib

FWIW I have noticed a massive difference in the behaviour or automobile drivers when I use daytime lighting. Just a front white flasher and a red rear flasher - doesn't matter how good. Whereas cars used to start to pull out and then see me and hit the brakes, now they see me from the get-go and never even start to pull out. Also cars approaching from behind seem to give me a wider berth. This kind of response could be life-saving.
wheelsONfire wrote: When we ride disc brakes the whole deal of braking is just like a leaving a fart. It happens and then it's over. Nothing planned and nothing to get nervous for.

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TonyM
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by TonyM

Mr.Gib wrote:FWIW I have noticed a massive difference in the behaviour or automobile drivers when I use daytime lighting. Just a front white flasher and a red rear flasher - doesn't matter how good. Whereas cars used to start to pull out and then see me and hit the brakes, now they see me from the get-go and never even start to pull out. Also cars approaching from behind seem to give me a wider berth. This kind of response could be life-saving.


Also my experience over here in Canada/ BC! :thumbup:
I always ride now all the time, even in the summer at lunch with 200% sunlight, with the rear light flashing (Lupine Rotlicht) und also with the front light flashing when I am driving trough a city or where there are more cars and intersections.

Stickman
Posts: 75
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 1:58 am

by Stickman

Fly6 and Fly12, every time I ride. The front light is very bright (I run fast strobe during daytime), the rear is okay, but having the video recording gives me (and my wife) peace of mind.

angrylegs
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:32 pm

by angrylegs

I ride with the Bontrager Flare R and Ion 800. I can do fast training night rides with the Ion 800 in the front of my road bike and I also run the lights in strobe during the day. Not terribly heavy (they're lights and you're training, so weight shouldn't matter too much, but I didn't want to do something like run a battery pack), bright and small enough with a low footprint (my Ion 800 sits on a K-Edge pro Garmin mount underneath the Garmin because you can hook an Ion to a GoPro mount with a little adapter). Great lights.

angrylegs
Posts: 166
Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 2:32 pm

by angrylegs

Mr.Gib wrote:FWIW I have noticed a massive difference in the behaviour or automobile drivers when I use daytime lighting. Just a front white flasher and a red rear flasher - doesn't matter how good. Whereas cars used to start to pull out and then see me and hit the brakes, now they see me from the get-go and never even start to pull out. Also cars approaching from behind seem to give me a wider berth. This kind of response could be life-saving.


I have noticed this also. It's why I am a convert to daytime running lights.

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digitalnorbs
Posts: 441
Joined: Mon Jul 31, 2006 6:49 pm

by digitalnorbs

kdawg

thats how i got hit few weeks back, so much glare from sun that the drive
didn't see me. Im running lights on my bikes from this day forward.
I would say that you want a day light that is bright enough to catch
some ones attention (dual led blinking). Definitely not a night time light, but something
with a punch to be noticed.

my 2 cents

ns

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