If anybody's interested in what the meta is for buying bicycle lights:
1. Reflectors are the best for baseline visibility, they cost nothing and are reliable.
2. The tail light is the important one.
a) Try to find ones with a pulsating mode, blinding other road users by shining bright rapidly blinking lights into their eyes is not good, actually.
b) If you've got the money, consider a radar instead.
3. For the front, decide if you *need* illumination strong enough for you to see where you're going in darkness, or if you can get away with just being seen by others.
a) For the former, make sure you get a front light that has a beam cutoff, preferably a lens-based solution. Then of course, install the light with a proper downwards angle, otherwise there's no point to the cutoff.
4. Side visibility is important, this is usually accomplished by some see-through parts at the business end of the light.
5. DO NOT use blinking modes at night. Blinking is for daytime, use only constant or at most, pulsating modes at night.
6. BTW, the 2nd most important piece of equipment after your tail light is a mirror (>=2inch diameter).
Some recommendations:
• If biking casually or without a need for strong front light, honestly just get the cheapest lights you can get + some reflectors. Having any light at all gets you 99% there.
• Magicshine lights in general, I myself have the EVO 1300 for front and the SeeMee 300 for back. Proper lensed beam cutoff for the front, pulsing modes for the back, and good side visibility for both.
• Bontrager Flare RT for the back — small but powerful thanks to its focused beam. They also seem to have a front positional version but I haven't tried it.
A bike radar alerts you about vehicles behind you. It does not replace a taillight, rather they always (I think?) have taillight integrated. For more details:
Radars don't save you nor do they tell you which motorist will run you over and which will not. So it doesn't help you take decisions on wether to take evasive actions such as jumping in the field next to the road.
Neither does a car's mirrors save you being run over by a truck
> nor do they tell you which motorist
They show the approaching car's speed and direction, which is quite handy to take an evasive action. Some also integrate an alarm and blink at highest intensity in case of an imminent danger. That won't stop the usual terrorist cab but might catch the attention of a distracted driver.
> a) Try to find ones with a pulsating mode, blinding other road users by shining bright rapidly blinking lights into their eyes is not good, actually.
Note that in some (at least European) countries, only steady light is legal.
Having steady rear lights mounted at the socks/ankles is the way to go. The movement of the feets makes you instantly recognisable and standing out from very far away. There is a (australian I believe?) company that sell pedals with integrated lights too but I can't remember the name.
I am still using a regular rear light powered by a dynamo hub though, as batteries can always die without warning.
Ironically one of the reflector on the set of pedals in my "town bike" fell off so it is not perfect on all models as far as reliability is concerned!
> company that sell pedals with integrated lights too but I can't remember the name
I use <a href="https://redshiftsports.com/products/arclight-pedals" rel="nofollow">https://redshiftsports.com/products/arclight-pedals - originally bought them on Kickstarter.
They're not super cheap, but I'm very happy with them. You can change the mode from always on to pulsing. They automatically turn off when not in use, and they sense the direction of the pedal so that the front light is always white and the back is always red.
Seconding point 3a. I think many people assume brighter is better and also assume they can't possibly be dangerously blinding bright compared to a car's headlights or even deliberately want to fight back against headlights. But despite how bright and poorly aimed a lot of headlights are, a small light with literally no cutoff can be even worse. You could make it so a pedestrian can't see a car, or make it so a driver can't see a pedestrian.
Plus it's annoying. I was in a French city a while ago with a very nice pedestrian area full of outdoor tables. It's so nice to sit for dinner and look out at the surrounding old buildings, canal, people going by. Unfortunately every 30s or so you get blinded by the lights of a cheap scooter.
Ive been using Costco headlamps as bike lights with the headstrap bracket ziptied to the handlebars. The usb-rechargeable light snaps into the bracket at whatever angle desired. When the 3-pack goes on sale they're $7 each, which is a small fraction of the equivalent made-for-bike lights I've seen around. Haven't found a use for all the headbands yet.
Mawr · · focus · HN ↗
• If biking casually or without a need for strong front light, honestly just get the cheapest lights you can get + some reflectors. Having any light at all gets you 99% there.
• Magicshine lights in general, I myself have the EVO 1300 for front and the SeeMee 300 for back. Proper lensed beam cutoff for the front, pulsing modes for the back, and good side visibility for both.
• Bontrager Flare RT for the back — small but powerful thanks to its focused beam. They also seem to have a front positional version but I haven't tried it.
layer8 · · focus · HN ↗
xp84 · · focus · HN ↗
Can you explain this? What is this and how does it replace a taillight?
happosai · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/best-radar-bike-lights-tested-and-rated#section-best-garmin-alternative" rel="nofollow">https://www.cyclingweekly.com/group-tests/best-radar-bike-li...
prmoustache · · focus · HN ↗
Radars don't push cars away from cyclists.
They are more a placebo than anything really.
aziaziazi · · focus · HN ↗
Neither does a car's mirrors save you being run over by a truck
> nor do they tell you which motorist
They show the approaching car's speed and direction, which is quite handy to take an evasive action. Some also integrate an alarm and blink at highest intensity in case of an imminent danger. That won't stop the usual terrorist cab but might catch the attention of a distracted driver.
julenx · · focus · HN ↗
prmoustache · · focus · HN ↗
Having steady rear lights mounted at the socks/ankles is the way to go. The movement of the feets makes you instantly recognisable and standing out from very far away. There is a (australian I believe?) company that sell pedals with integrated lights too but I can't remember the name.
I am still using a regular rear light powered by a dynamo hub though, as batteries can always die without warning.
aziaziazi · · focus · HN ↗
> pedals with integrated lights
Happy to discover those two ideas, thanks!
lrasinen · · focus · HN ↗
prmoustache · · focus · HN ↗
lode · · focus · HN ↗
I use <a href="https://redshiftsports.com/products/arclight-pedals" rel="nofollow">https://redshiftsports.com/products/arclight-pedals - originally bought them on Kickstarter.
They're not super cheap, but I'm very happy with them. You can change the mode from always on to pulsing. They automatically turn off when not in use, and they sense the direction of the pedal so that the front light is always white and the back is always red.
johnwalkr · · focus · HN ↗
Plus it's annoying. I was in a French city a while ago with a very nice pedestrian area full of outdoor tables. It's so nice to sit for dinner and look out at the surrounding old buildings, canal, people going by. Unfortunately every 30s or so you get blinded by the lights of a cheap scooter.
electroweak · · focus · HN ↗