Help design a better bike light

+1 for proximity warning. Getting brighter or simple flash mode. Could be directional according to threat.

Guess you just don’t want anything that could distract or confuse drivers or other cyclists at critical moments like an overtake.

Related: Good to see more lights on the market with braking indication too (accelerometers)

I've got a lezyne Lazer drive rear as one of 3 rear lights and most of the time I think drivers give me a little more space since I've been using it. Apart from earlier when I was chopped by a 15 tonne bus which was nice. I have it angled slightly to the right so the lines point outwards slightly and often think it'd be good to have either a Lazer box or ring all the way around or a light under the saddle or stem that could put a beam under the whole bike looking a bit like a stage light. I think the bigger you can look the better. There's plenty of 3000 lumen front lights that help you see everything but being more visible from the back and side helps the most with safety. If this has a wider setting for the Lazers and 2 front projecting one's that should work right? It doesn't necessarily need to have solid ends but if it could give a footprint similar to a small car I that would be really good.

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Do you think it would help to humanize the cyclist to motorists?

Being in broad fucking daylight doesn't seem to change their attitude. I don't see why illuminating myself at night would change drivist attitudes.

I've had many lights over the years - replaceable and sealed and I prefer batteries that are basically sealed like Exposure lights (Exposure also do heaps of mount options). There charging cables are durable and they might not be user serviceable but they are serviceable. Very different price point to shitty commuter lights you'd pick up at Halfords though.

Is there any evidence these floor lights work to increase visibility to drivers? Is it more for peds? Because if not, it's a waste of battery power.

The simply fact is, most of the times I've been hit, the cunts weren't looking out their windows, they were looking at phones or something else in the car or just not looking at all before turning.

The problem is there will always be cunts not paying attention but it should help with spacial awareness for those who've upgraded from their mini/Fiat 500 to a Evoke/ML and their brains haven't caught up yet. My idea is definitely better than this

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There are some good points about replaceable batteries v sealed units but having just looked for a head torch which street mostly replaceable battery I found it’s really frustrating shopping experience.

You have to price up light plus battery, and often, plus charger.

Different lights using the same battery means run time changes as you change the light. Lots of brands have proprietary batteries and even batteries that are proprietary to models within the same brand. One brand sells their batteries and chargers separately, another bundles those two items together and yet another bundles it all with the light.

Bike lights are much easier to shop for

Rather than design a better bike light, I'd say launch a campaign to raise awareness of dynamo lights. IMO most modern LED cycle lights are pretty ok, the main barrier and safety issue is that its hard to remember to charge and put lights on your bike in the first place.

Because of cultural issues, most UK cyclists aren't aware of the existence of dynamos. I'd just encourage more people to use dynamos in everyday cycling.

I reckon most people outside of enthusiasts just want a light so they can ride when it's dark. They don't care what it is, cheaper is better hence the number of those shit silicone blinkies you see. The police were even giving them out at one point. It's a box ticking exercise.
I don't think we'll see widespread adoption of dynamos unless manufacturers start speccing them from the factory on bikes.
The lights are expensive, require wiring and a whole new (also expensive) wheel or at least wheel rebuild.
£200 minimum Vs £30 for battery lights

Muayed is proposing to design a better bike light, to reduce the risk of cycling.
I'm certain the hive mind here can offer him some suggestions based upon experience,
not just of cycling at night,
but also the demerits of those bike lights already commercially available.

tl;dr Aim: reduce the risk of cycling

Lots of good points have been made. A few have missed the stated aim imo.

The most important aspect is having lights for which the hurdles as I see it are:

1. Rider memory (fixing, using and charging)
   
2. Theft
   
3. Cost
   
4. Attachment
   
   
   

IME the following give best visibility:
2x body front and rear
2x body front and rear
Pedal reflectors/lights

Therefore I am sceptical that a light can offer a solution. On balance I think that an incredibly cheap light that everyone knows is cheap so won't steel with excellent mounting options is best.

From a drivers pov I'm not at all convinced that lights need to be amazing, just not shit and visible.

Pedals reflectors are by far one of the best ways at night to identify cyclists and £10 says that only 1% of people on here will have them on any of their bikes. I have only ever added black reflective tape to one set of aftermarket pedals.

Alternatively design a new charging system like in a kinetic watch so you have a permanent integrated battery in a light that can be removed / placed anywhere and doesn't rely on a moderately priced wheel that weighs a tonne/expensive wheel that's moderately heavy.

3.0. Aggressive flash and rhrythm modes are incredibly dangerous to all other road users, especially at high lumen. Distracting and dazzling is not "seen".

100%. The best rear light I’ve used has a mode where the LEDs go round the edge of the rounded rectangle shape, so it’s on constantly, but moving, so it’s easier to track where a rider is. About a quarter of the radius is lit up at any one time, and it kind of fades in/out as it moves around. Annoyingly though the charging was a nightmare.

2.1 Secondary downlights or floor marking on front lights are unecessary and distracting for riders and drivers alike

This also seems like a great idea, never used that style of light though so can’t really say how effective it might be.

There is no antidote for cuntily not looking, but also not sure it tracks to be fatalistic about things that help mitigate risk in other circumstances.

What evidence do you need to see? Subjectively,I find the downlights on my Seemee work better than single source lights as they reflect on bike + me as well as demarking road space under the bike. Harder to miss is harder to miss, and I'm pretty confident this gives drivers more readily visual information about a cyclist (size, speed, direction, etc) but also is more obvious / discernable at distance and in peripheral views, at a glance, etc. I do not need a flawed study to tell me that.

For me, I just don't want to sacrifice battery life and/or my own night vision. I don't know if either of these are really an issue, having never used "down lighting" but I also don't see how they couldn't be to some extent.

Also, electric bikes. Everything is heading to ebikes. The future bike light design should probably factor in the massive batteries you're going to have attached to bikes. I mean, all the delivery guys are on ebikes and everyone I see MTBing these days is on an emtb. They could be used with e scooters too.

I recently switched to a Cube Nuroad with factory dynamo, including the essential rear stand light. Wouldn't go back to battery lights apart from a good Exposure or Leyzyne rear light to supplement.
We always overlook side visibility though, that could be worked on.

Disco ball + lasers. Sorted.

Drivers don’t look, don’t care or are just bad drivers.

Unless your light has a way of physically stopping a car that is.

Solid point, the 'risk' of cycling is often not the responsibility of the cyclist.

The main thing I struggle to find is lights with a really wide beam, like full 180 and fit in a place that isn't blocked by handlebars or whatever so you can be seen from the side.

For the model of Seemee I have (300) the downlight is an optional mode, and there's a multitude of mode options for various degrees of power saving and rear / down light. Max run time is listed at ~200hrs which I've not been close to testing the limits of. They even have a little matrix for you to work out whats what (attached).
Re: night vision. My experience of this light is that positioning is down and behind enough that it's out of sight. In pitch darkness out in lanes or similar I'm sure it would be more noticeable. Kind of by the by ...red light is notoroiously A-ok for preseving night adjusted vision which is why a lot of modern head torches have red light modes.

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I've found the Seemee is pretty good for this. And on front I use a wide bar style lamp rather than direct beam as they usually cast wider (more obvious) and less direct (less blinding). Sometimes I have another beam out front if I know I'm going somewhere with no road lighting or low traffic.

No new tech bike light will ever make riders safer.

Seems like a dubious claim... Anyone seen those laser bike lane ones? Surprised they didn't become more of a thing.

They don't achieve anything. Same as the silly green laser projection of a bike that the London hire bikes have

A hill I’ll die on.
The only thing that will make riders safer are safer drivers. That’s it end of.
As an example when you are learning to drive you check to see if anything is coming at a junction, if there is you stop. If you were checking to see if the road way clear, so that you don’t have to stop the roads would be safer. Drivers are programmed to keep moving, don’t hold up others etc etc if the default was stop not go the roads would be safer.
Another example is when a driver has their full beam on and are driving towards you and they don’t dip the lights it’s not because they haven’t seen you it’s because fucks given none.
They can all see you when you don’t have any lights on at all, just look on mumsnet etc for countless reports of seeing seas of riders wearing black with no lights on their bikes.
Those laser lane things only work if drivers aren’t on the phone, on gas, pissed, thinking I’ve got 129 deliveries to make before I can finish my shift what’s that postcode, will the kids still be up so I can tuck them into bed when I get in.
NOBODY GIVES A FLYING FUCK ABOUT YOU ON YOUR BIKE.
Yes all drivers. And I say that as a driver.

I had my Exposure 1200 whatever light on flash coming home today it was 2pm someone pulled out as I passed them I swore they said they couldn’t see because of the low sun. They couldn’t see but still pulled out…