Hi all,

Just a quick question from a new member. Do any of you have indicators fitted to your bikes? Are they useful? I can see the benefit in poor light conditions, but what about bright sunlight. Do other road users heed them.

The reason I ask is I will be using my bike all year round. I sometimes start work at 4am,and sometimes finish about 1am,depending on my shift patterns (I'm a bus driver), or would a smart helmet be the way to go. Any opinions will be valued

no all you need is decent lights.

i use a Magicshine smart helmet and tend not to rely on the indicators as i do not trust that they will be seen by other road users and they can not be seen in sunshine (confirmed by my brother riding behind)

I've got a couple of handy attachments for indicating my intentions, they go by the name of "hands". ;)

On bikes indicators won't be taken seriously as moton's won't understand or recognise their use on bikes, better to stick with old fashioned arms and eye contact.

Edited January 21, 20206 yr by Nealh

No not at all,.….

 

Just make yourself very visible and ride defensively as you should normally.

These must be worth a punt...

LINK

Indicators could be very useful on a small wheel bike. They don't have the gyroscopic stability of a bigger wheel, and removing an arm to indicate, can cause wobbling.

So I really truly believed they would help me and provide safety over the years. I have tried

 

1. a panel style located on seat post with a swicth on bars

2. Early version of Wing Lights

3. Homemade glove indicators similar to a o e post in concept

 

The best? Winglights

 

Do I still bother? No, all of the above have flaws and frankly drivers pay no attention. Just have decent reflective strips on your gloves and take advice Flecc has give before ie no namby pamby vague arm waves. A proper 90 degree, arm extended fully "This Is Happening" is the most effective in my view

 

I have cycle commuted for over a decade every day all year round. So have some relevant experience I think

I should add I just find the photoreflective material you can buy these days astounding.

 

Wear a jacket made of that and any signals will be more powerful in terms of message given than any light signal

The indicators that I have seen are so close together that many drivers won't really notice what they mean unless they are paying attention - A clear and assertive hand signal seems better to me - also arms don;t run out of battery!

also arms don;t run out of battery!

unlike legs at the end of a long ride.

The indicators that I have seen are so close together that many drivers won't really notice what they mean unless they are paying attention - A clear and assertive hand signal seems better to me - also arms don;t run out of battery!

I recently saw a large led indicator on someone's back with very clear moving arrows that really did indicate turning direction. I saw it at night, but I think it would have been pretty clear in all but the brightest sunlight. I didn't see it very close, but I suspect it wasn't any bulkier to wear than a standard visibility belt or tabard.

Fit some e-bike trafficators

 

I agree that arms are best during daylight - but what have been the results of indicator lights used at night?

 

Any used them at night & have real world experience?

I agree that arms are best during daylight - but what have been the results of indicator lights used at night?

 

Any used them at night & have real world experience?

I have used the three types I mentioned previously when commuting in the dark.

 

And don't bother anymore.

 

Quality reflective materials and solid arm gestures are better imho and experience

 

Annoying as I love a tech solution and yet another thing to charge !

Fit some e-bike trafficators

 

 

had to check trafficators was a real word! Which it is according to the webernet

 

I thought George W was haunting the forum for a second....

had to check trafficators was a real word! Which it is according to the webernet

 

Yes, the word goes right back to the 1900s when they were invented, almost at the same time as the car!

 

They were operated by pulling a cable back then, internal lights were added in 1908, arm motor in place of cable in 1918 and then finally solenoid operation in 1923.

 

Neither the motor nor solenoid operation were reliable though, so as drivers after switching on the right one we commonly thumped the B pillar to bounce the arm out when needed. Often though we just left the driving door window open and hand signalled. Hand signalling to right or left turn or slow down were compulsory parts of the driving test years ago.

 

Read left instead of right for Americans.

 

Canadians, especially the taxi drivers in their cold climate, didn't want their window left open of course, so they used a different trick when turning left. They just flung open the left door to indicate the intended left turn, the door immediately closed again by the wind pressure, losing little heat from the car!

.

Edited March 6, 20206 yr by flecc