Get Some F**king Lights

Anyway I am off for a bath. Let's hope I don't trip over in the hall with it's lousy 40W bulb.

It's 'its', not 'it's'.

Don't forget behind your ears.

when i can, i've been stopping people riding without lights and giving them a pair. however the other night stopped to help someone pump up their tyres and give them a pair of lights, and i managed to accidentally leave my whole tool bag on the side walk. crap.

bought a few new tools today which was nice.

I have 1 in front and 2 in the rear

Keep talking.

@ TS

If only I could wash off the shame I now feel.

In London, once a light is bright enough (which they are even at the bottom of the range) then spending the kind of money that could buy you a decent second-hand bike for an even brighter light isn't going to help. And is actually really fucking annoying for other cyclists. I think some people just suffer from lumen envy.
Scoot, if there is a dark section of road with cars approaching from behind then maybe add some Scotchlight to your bag or bike or round your ankles.

it is quite true that there are light that are way too bright and often annoyed other commuter, I myself was the victim of that (especially during the dunwich dynamo).

Having said that, a light bright enough to be mistaken as a motorised vehicles is a good thing, drivers are much more likely to take greater care around you, I have less drivers pulling out in front of me when I was using the Hope Vision 1 light at the lowest setting, it's bright, but it's on par with a car headlight when slightly dipped.

When the battery die and I used the small flashing light, I was surprised by how many drivers pulled out in front of me, let alone peds walking across the road without much care, the blinking light is a tiny little dot however bright they are.

I have a Light& Motion Vis 180 back light, it's very bright but it pulse instead of blink, and despite looking bright, it didn't dazzled other cyclists at all, I rode behind a friend who have one and it was surprisingly fine.

I'd says go for a good light (but not one that cost as much as a good hybrid) whose brightness setting is enough to light up the countryside road to see properly, dipped it down a bit, and run it at the lowest setting.

Having said that, Dancing James, please for the love of God, run that light of your at the lowest setting, it's very disconcerting having that bright Exposure light blinking.

By the way, you don't need to spend £150 on an Exposure just to get a good bright light, the £50 Lezyne is just as bright for a lots less, it's also usb rechargeable with removable battery;

Anyway I am off for a bath. Let's hope I don't trip over in the hall with it's lousy 40W bulb.

Will sits shivering in the tepid inches of grey water, the steady drip, drip, drip of the verdigrised taps echo from cracked tile, mould mottled ceiling, dead spider plant, bare boards. He sighs heavily, luxuriantly, as his spare frame slides further beneath the greasy scum lathered from the smart price soap-on-a-rope, a gift from a maiden aunt, long since deceased.
Flashes of amber sigh across the cracked walls, headlights heading for warm homes that are foolishly overheated, recklessly lit, hazardously upholstered.
Will smirks mirthlessly, almost reptilian as he peers across the sluggish surface of the bath towards a punctured plastic duck, listing slightly to port, as he contemplates the fools who allow light into their world with such mad abandon.
"Martha!" he cries. Martha! Bring me a Jacobs! And not one of the fresh ones, mind..."
His ageing acolyte looms into view, dragging her built up shoe behind her, and wordlessly passes him his desired flaccid cracker.
In the stygian gloom, with eyes like glistening saucers, Will gums his meager feast with barely contained glee, savouring the soft stale crumblings and yeasty perfume of the tired treat, whilst mumbling softly to himself, reprimanding errant forumengers, correcting youngsters, negatively repping fools...

Ed disagrees with me, so there! Not feeling so clever now are you Mr Pinter?

Will sits shivering in the tepid inches of grey water, the steady drip, drip, drip of the verdigrised taps echo from cracked tile, mould mottled ceiling, dead spider plant, bare boards. He sighs heavily, luxuriantly, as his spare frame slides further beneath the greasy scum lathered from the smart price soap-on-a-rope, a gift from a maiden aunt, long since deceased.
Flashes of amber sigh across the cracked walls, headlights heading for warm homes that are foolishly overheated, recklessly lit, hazardously upholstered.
Will smirks mirthlessly, almost reptilian as he peers across the sluggish surface of the bath towards a punctured plastic duck, listing slightly to port, as he contemplates the fools who allow light into their world with such mad abandon.
"Martha!" he cries. Martha! Bring me a Jacobs! And not one of the fresh ones, mind..."
His ageing acolyte looms into view, dragging her built up shoe behind her, and wordlessly passes him his desired flaccid cracker.
In the stygian gloom, with eyes like glistening saucers, Will gums his meager feast with barely contained glee, savouring the soft stale crumblings and yeasty perfume of the tired treat, whilst mumbling softly to himself, reprimanding errant forumengers, correcting youngsters, negatively repping fools...

tl;dr: weird man eats biscuit in dirty bath

and goa trance

In.

You can keep your fucking may flies though.

By the way, you don't need to spend £150 on an Exposure just to get a good bright light, the £50 Lezyne is just as bright for a lots less, it's also usb rechargeable with removable battery;

£150 Exposure Joystick is 325 lumen High (3 hrs)

£50 Lezo High (150 Lumens) / 1hr

So, it's not 'just as bright' and the run times are nothing alike. Exposure Flash is 110 lumen, 3hrs, £30 btw

There's a difference between what it said and what it show.

I've taken them off the shelf, turn it on side by side with my exposure, and the beam appear to be the same brightness despite stated differently.

Will take a photos of the beam tomorrow at work.

You do that.

Thanks Will, Scotchlite looks like just the thing I need, plus I just found these on Amazon

MOGLO REFLECTIVE CHEVRON stickers (48") * 7 colours: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

I think my rucksack is going to get a makeover very soon

You can buy an A4 sheet of 3M reflective stuff.

I did this. Then made 'moons' for my bag by drawing around round things – then cutting them out.

Creative fun and road-safe.

^ Hells yes!!!

i have no lights on the rear :/

Get one two NOW!

The last week of cycling home in pitch black along a minimally lit road in Hyde Park at around 5ish in the evening has scared me a bit, it's a long straight road with only two sets of traffic lights between the Royal Albert Hall and Hyde Park Corner so cars, mainly taxis, tend to really bolt down it, and there's lots of dark shadows from the trees so I feel like my visibility is poor. I have front and back knog lights which are fine for most roads, but I'm thinking of getting something else, but I don't know what would be the most effective. Any suggestions? Should I go for some reflecto gear or more lights?

I drive loads, particularly in the London rush hour and see more than a few cyclists. The lights that stand out from the crowd are flashing and with good batteries. Reflective gear stands out from a distance and more so in unlit situations but IMO lights are more important in London.

Will sits shivering in the tepid inches of grey water, the steady drip, drip, drip of the verdigrised taps echo from cracked tile, mould mottled ceiling, dead spider plant, bare boards. He sighs heavily, luxuriantly, as his spare frame slides further beneath the greasy scum lathered from the smart price soap-on-a-rope, a gift from a maiden aunt, long since deceased.
Flashes of amber sigh across the cracked walls, headlights heading for warm homes that are foolishly overheated, recklessly lit, hazardously upholstered.
Will smirks mirthlessly, almost reptilian as he peers across the sluggish surface of the bath towards a punctured plastic duck, listing slightly to port, as he contemplates the fools who allow light into their world with such mad abandon.
"Martha!" he cries. Martha! Bring me a Jacobs! And not one of the fresh ones, mind..."
His ageing acolyte looms into view, dragging her built up shoe behind her, and wordlessly passes him his desired flaccid cracker.
In the stygian gloom, with eyes like glistening saucers, Will gums his meager feast with barely contained glee, savouring the soft stale crumblings and yeasty perfume of the tired treat, whilst mumbling softly to himself, reprimanding errant forumengers, correcting youngsters, negatively repping fools...

Ha! Have some rep.

What if its a case of you took your lights out with you in the morning but they switched themselves on all day in your bag (a feature of Knog's) so when you came to put 'em on your bike the batteries are dead and your bank card got cloned so you cant get money out for new batteries without id which you didnt bring with you as you didn't know your card got cloned, as happened to me two weeks ago?

You know leaving Knog's in your bag can switch them on, but yet did it anyway ?

My point is I'm bitter about the overwhelming slant in street cops targeting cyclists when really a crack dealer is far more dangerous a threat overall to society to a cyclist without lights.

It's the motorists response innit. Why give me a parking/speeding/mobile phone use fine when you could be out stopping Paedo Bears ? Just becuase there is naughtier people out there doesn't excuse you from breaking the law.
Besides, they probably have to stop a number of lightless cyclists before they can afford to arrest your local menace to society. Think of the fine as contributing to the safety of London.

Yeah, and the next time I slap some fuck that's given me grief on the road, I'll look forward to the coppers handing me a couple of eccys and telling me to "be happy!".

If I was running the show, thats how we'd roll. Free eccys and bike lights for all.

and maypole dancing.

I'd fucking love some eccys right now.

In London, once a light is bright enough (which they are even at the bottom of the range) then spending the kind of money that could buy you a decent second-hand bike for an even brighter light isn't going to help. And is actually really fucking annoying for other cyclists. I think some people just suffer from lumen envy.
Scoot, if there is a dark section of road with cars approaching from behind then maybe add some Scotchlight to your bag or bike or round your ankles.

Just to chuck my 2p in as well.

I use two of the clear ones here on my bag for the front and a cheap wiggle on the rear:

Sometimes one sometimes both, but always one flashing.

From a drivers POV it's actually really annoying when people have lights that are too bright. Especially if they point up, or are helmet mounted. They are distracting, and given that my eyesight is fairly good, I'm sure for older drivers or those with poor eyesight it's even worse.

Obviously out on country roads where [i]you[i/] need to see that's different. But I think that a decent, normal 'visiblility' light and reflective stuff is much better. Those floro reflective ankle straps and reflective/scotchlite on clothes or bags is [i]much[i/] more effective.

I do think a lot is to do with 'lumen envy' and general kit fetish. Out of curiosity, how many people riding in London with very powerful lights wear reflective clothing?

good lights make make you much more visible than hi viz, which only really works when you are in the line of the cars lights

road positioning is more important than hi viz clothing

hi viz clothing vs lights - I would take the lights any day

ok back to Plod who does want to reach your dotage in one piece- if the fine was raised to say £200 or more it'd have some respect for a different reason, and I reckon sure as eggs is eggs lights would be present and correct.

Really the fine should be in line with the cost of clearing up the aftermath of a cyclist being knocked off through having no lights...............

You can get reasonable lights for not a huge amount- e-bay has many, yes for the better lights they do cost more, and yes back ups are required, and yes lights can be a proverbial pain in the arse when they fail- it would seem reasonable to make them waterproof, maybe the Kite mark, as was, should have covered that aspect as well as the candle power/lumens

If riding round like a Christmas tree will help save my life then so be it.

edscoble makes you much more visible than hi viz, which only really works when you are in the line of the cars lights

edscoble's rational is more important than hi viz clothing

hi viz clothing vs edscoble's lights knowledge - I would take ed's lights any day

The sooner London takes this on board the safe we'll all be.

Wwsd?

You lots are incorrigible slag.