Hoping to increase driver passing distance at night, I've glued front and rear reflectors to my wing mirrors.

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
My 15 inch lurid orange lollipop penetrating their soft personal space gives me pleasure, especially when it's a tight fit.

You shouldn't be discussing the particulars of your privates on here man!

Good grief!

I'm writing to the Lord Chamberlain to get this place shut down.

Link
I'm as happy as Larry the dog with two lollipops. The other lollipop is useless - if the handlebar mounted one hadn't been effective, I'd have moved it to my left handbar-end, for extra uncomfortably wide vibrating penetration of soft yielding driver personal space. To experience more riding pleasure, and for an even tighter fit to make their eyes water, I might thrust my two violently vibrating lurid orange lollipops into soft yielding personal spaces of drivers at scary fast large busy multi-lane roundabouts. When it's a tight fit, they don't zoom past close anymore at roundabout exits - they tend to slow down and hang back, rather than have their personal space penetrated by 15 inches of lollipop, to my right at least. I shall continue to mercilessly experiment on these poor pitiful easily influenced masochistic creatures, until they all surrender to my authoritarrrggghh! My invincible lollipops will hold dominion over all roads! MUWAHAHAHAHAAA!!


60423
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
Why do indicator maker dudes always use night photos in their advertising? Because they'd be invisible in daylight! I wouldn't risk my turning life with those either, day or night TBH. Although there's wider separation, they're too ickle and puny! Look, the ninja in black is indicating with his arm because he knows he had useless ickle puny headlights and indicators. Dim puniness of bike lights most people use depresses me. So sad and unsafe. I fear this ninja is heading for an early grave. Expensive for what they are, but cheaper than Dignitas.





Lights on short lollipops either side a bicycle helmet fashioned after a SR-71, where the engines are, would solve the separation problem. Winged lollipops would provide lift to for the helmet to glide over potholes. Strong chin strap.


 
Last edited:
  • :D
Reactions: MikelBikel

MikelBikel

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 6, 2017
737
307
Ireland
Does do a comparison, instead of just "Brightest, Only 500bucks!".
Seems a "fast, irregular flash, is most likely to get one seen", for rear. But not so useful for front in country! :cool:
 
Last edited:

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
1,329
562
White light is so passé

Go green
 

MikelBikel

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 6, 2017
737
307
Ireland
Yes, Green light, why not? and perfect for St Patrick's night too at *€333.95*, eek!
hehe, I'll have 2 :cool:

Fiddly, but 2 ways of mounting. And batt is replaceable. There's not enough room for switch and plug. So they've angled the plug rather than make the housing bigger.
mmm, interesting.

1. Walmart
2 & 3 "Brightz" bike lights
How about that funky psychedelic projector light? Batt must be big?
green bike lights.jpggreen bike light2.jpgBritz proj bike light.jpg
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
White light is so passé

Go green
Interesting. If there are indeed advantages in going all Green Lantern, I would if legal for road use - it'd be a simple matter of inserting green heat resistant acetate sheet behind the glass of all my headlights. I was thinking of replacing the in-fork light with a much brighter one, because a bright beam shone at a low angle should make potholes show up in starker contrast... and I could, if I made an in-fork bracket for yet another 1800LM = 7800LM up front in total. But there's no need at the mo, I can see the bloody potholes all over the fscking place just fine...
 
Last edited:

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
Yes, Green light, why not? and perfect for St Patrick's night too at *€333.95*, eek!
hehe, I'll have 2 :cool:

Fiddly, but 2 ways of mounting. And batt is replaceable. There's not enough room for switch and plug. So they've angled the plug rather than make the housing bigger.
mmm, interesting.

1. Walmart
2 & 3 "Brightz" bike lights
How about that funky psychedelic projector light? Batt must be big?
View attachment 60485View attachment 60486View attachment 60487
Judging by reactions of drivers and pedestrians as I pass by, the Aldi spoke lights on both wheels are deffo noticed. They increase side visbility at night, but don't increase driving passing distance. The shutter speed of the camera is too fast to show the patterns, which appear to human vision when at 20mph+ allegedly. Batteries last many hours, so I keep them on constantly day and night. Surprisingly, despite tiny and dodgy looking USB charging flaps, water ingresss hasn't killed them off - I expected rapid rain death.


 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: MikelBikel

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
I can vouch for this being pretty bright for a cheap discrete headlamp, also functions as a power bank. IIRC about two hours of run time at high brightness. Probably contains a couple of cheapo 18650s, which may be easy to desolder and replace when the time comes? Dunno, haven't needed to open it up yet. I have doubts about the water ingress resistance of the rubber flap over the USB charging and discarging ports, but no problems yet... mind you, I don't use this much because it's intended for my as yet to be re-assembled 26" wheeled Dahon Espresso acoustic...


60491


Could possibly replace with better cells from Amazon or elsewhere.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/SAM-INR18650-35E-Rechargeable-Cigarette/dp/B0D846TTQJ
 
Last edited:

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
I ordered this last night for my backward facing cheapo Crosstour Action 4k second camera, to more completely document the total absence of close passing by drivers; their effective repulsion by my lollipops. Looking at the measurements it'll be a tight fit on the pneumatic Lidl Air Comfort Saddle, or I may have to file away some of this metal bracket. Or I could use it for my GPS tracker light, repositioning it from it's current low location on the pannier rack, it has a GoPro mount - more visible higher up. I could buy a dual GoPro mount adapter, for both camera and GPS light. Or I could attach long GoPro arm extensions either side, for wide separation of indicator lights someday if needed. On ball joints they could fold in.


Silvery is more reflective.

60492

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204892068744


https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/385874213983


 
Last edited:

AndyBike

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 8, 2020
1,329
562
Interesting. If there are indeed advantages in going all Green Lantern, I would if legal for road use - it'd be a simple matter of inserting green heat resistant acetate sheet behind the glass of all my headlights. I was thinking of replacing the in-fork light with a much brighter one, because a bright beam shone at a low angle should make potholes show up in starker contrast... and I could, if I made an in-fork bracket for yet another 1800LM = 7800LM up front in total. But there's no need at the mo, I can see the bloody potholes all over the fscking place just fine...
I wonder if it wouldnt be that far out of an idea for cycling lights to be green.
As it is, small lights seem to have a tendency to blend into the background of other road users at night, namely cars with their big lights, the small ones just arent noticeable, and flashing seems to make little difference as for example in a line of cars, that are changing position, their headlights can appear to flash as they move in and out with the cars in front body blocking and unblocking the view of anyone in a side road waiting to join the carriageway.

Or even perhaps amber, as seen on bike wheels and pedals. Either green or amber would stand out more from the other lights around them.

*Potholes
Potholes are there to give a bit of interest in an otherwise boring and tedious ride. That sudden rush of excitement(or should that be excrement) as you suddenly see a big pothole in front of you and make the swerve to avoid it.
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,252
3,195
As it is, small lights seem to have a tendency to blend into the background of other road users at night, namely cars with their big lights, the small ones just arent noticeable
I agree, it's insane that bicycle lights are tiny invisible and easily vanished by the glare of car/bus/lorry/etc. headlights! What are bicycle light size supposed to be proportional to anyway and why? Speed? Size of bike vs cars? Weight? What? As the one of the most vulnerable classes of road users, our lights should be bigger and brighter than anyone else's! We have much more to lose in a collision with metal boxes, than occupants protected by metal boxes, when their box hit us and/or other large heavy metal wheeled boxes. Up to a point at least, I think size and brightness of headlights should be ordered by vulnerability, with the most vulnerable road users having the largest and brightest headlights. Car/lorry/bus etc. headlights are so bright these days, they make my eyes hurt, and they're becoming brighter, making us cyclists increasingly invisible.


Nationwide Vehicle Contracts takes a look at car headlights after a study shows most drivers think headlights are too bright

RAC Study into The Issue of Headlight Glare



flashing seems to make little difference as for example in a line of cars, that are changing position, their headlights can appear to flash as they move in and out with the cars in front body blocking and unblocking the view of anyone in a side road waiting to join the carriageway.
Just one flashing headlight could be less noticeable, but the flashing rates of my three bright 2 X 1800LM + 2400LM headlights are all ever so slightly different, even after I switch them all on at the same time, so in daylight (the only time I ever keep up to three on flashing mode [I usually have one or two on flash mode, one constant], because they'd cause accidents flashing madly like this at night - see vid) they are deffo well noticed, even at a quick glance with human eyes, there's very high probaility of at least one being on at any given time. Cars never pull out in front any more at junctions, and pedestrians complain sometimes because they're pointed more toward them than at oncoming traffic.

(I've arranged my headlights as a centrally clumped triangle since this vid.)
 
Last edited: