mshred

interesting idea. if you ride a lot at night it might be worthwhile.

https://www.cnn.com/2013/09/13/tech/t...html?hpt=hp_c4

JohnJ80

I don't get it.

What does this do that a very bright light won't do? And what about the bright light to see the terrain? I think I'm missing something.

J.

Crash_N_Carry

That's what I was going to say. I just did a ride today today using my new 2200 lumen light and someone highbeamed me because it was so bright. I think it's safe to say that the driver saw me.

rjones28 

But, it's got a frickin' laser beam.

mshred

right. i basically turns your bike into a shark with a laser beam on its head.

TrojanHorse

Now we're talking!

ttakata73

I have a tail light that puts down 2 laser lines.
I suppose it helps since most people don't see red laser lines on the road.
Nothing wrong with this guy's product but I think it makes more sense on the back of the bike or on both ends.

JohnJ80

I agree - back of the bike.

What I think might be interesting is a red laser line that shows the line that matches the minimum distance from the cyclists.

J.

Seattle Forrest

hhnngg1

Actually, if it's not too much weight and size, it definitely COULD be useful.

A 2200 lumen LED suffers from the big spill of a lot of the light - hence drivers high beaming you to 'tone it down.' It's really annoying as a driver to get beamed by that kind of light.

With a properly directed laser (not sure the bike-shape is the best solution, but same idea), you could get similar visibility at night, with a lot less annoying light spill.

And I agree that this would be far, far more useful as a rear-pointed laser than front-pointed one.

banerjek

A properly directed light with a decent beam pattern won't blind drivers. 2200 lumens is crazy bright so it needs to be aimed down.

If a motorist can't figure out you're a cyclist based on your body, reflective gear, and lighting, I'm not sure how projecting an image of a bicycle on the ground 15 feet in front of you is going to help. Are we now counting on drivers to stare at the ground in time to pick up a cyclist who will encounter that spot in a fraction of a second?

The inventions in that article looked pretty dumb. The one exception was the cyclist detection system by Volvo https://www.techradar.com/news/car-te...-brake-1141471

hhnngg1

Unfortunately, as is, there are very few bike lights that have a properly directed beam pattern.

I agree that the laser image in front of a bike doesn't seem like it'll help a lot, but it could help some. A rear image would definitely help, though, if used in conjunction with blinkies and clothing.

I'm in favor of anything that makes a driver think "wait - wtf is that?" for long enough to notice that there's a person/cyclist in the area. (Still won't help texting drivers.)

njkayaker

You don't need to have a 2200 lumen light to be noticed.

A flashing front or rear light would be visible from much, much farther away than this laser thing (which is pointed at the ground near the bike).

banerjek

Much better to have a setup that just screams CYCLIST! at them. As a practical matter, this means that you need lights and reflective gear that are visible that don't require thought to understand.

Getting weird with the lighting is asking for slow response times. Most people continue to do exactly what they're doing when they don't know what's going on so it's best to keep things simple.

hhnngg1

I never said I'd use this exclusively.

If possible, I'd like ALL options simultaneously. Clothing, lights, blinkies, and yes, a LED on the ground, as long as it's no hassle to carry and mount.

The LED also has the ?WTF factor, meaning it's more likely a motorist will take an active interest in both noticing and identifying the weird pattern on the ground.

And yes, I love my bright rear blinkies (PBSF and Mars 3.0) - keep those batteries bright and they're awesome. The LEDs would only be able to add a tiny amount of added visual features compared to a bright rear blinkie, but as long as it's no hassle, I'll take anything I can get.

banerjek

I still think you don't want to introduce a factor -- the drivers will just continue slack jawed while they don't respond. Or even worse, you increase the risk of target fixation. Until last year, I put thousands of miles in the dark on busy two lane highways every year in all conceivable weather and experimented with all kinds of lighting setups. IMO, the best way to go from the point of view of being recognized is a single but very bright rear tail light, a single bright headlight on the bars, and very simple reflective gear that helps keep you visible from any viewing angle. From the perspective of helping you see better, two lamps on front is useful -- one on the bars and one on the helmet that looks where you look.

When you start putting lots of blinkies on, mount them at heights or in locations where motorists aren't used to them, etc, you break up your form which makes you less recognizable. Yes people see you, but they actually have to think for an instant before they know how to respond. So even if two lights might be brighter than one, it doesn't help from the perspective of making people less prone to hit you.

hhnngg1

I see your point, but I still would rather have multiple options of visibility, and ideally, some 'weird' ones, to get attention.

Bright tail-lights are great, but they absolutely can blend into an urban environment - I've seen super-bright taillights in the middle of LA at night, that I didn't even realize were a cyclist since so many cars were buzzing about until much later.

I also recall some UCLA students who mounted some neon-like piping to their bike frames, in wacky colors, like neon blue and purple. Not super bright, but effective enough at night that as long as you weren't head-down texting, you would definitely pay attention to it just because it was so distinct from all the other white and red car-lights that were whizzing around.

njkayaker

It would be a tiny added visual effect (close to zero) and a hassle (to find space for and to keep powered).

Sounds like a gimmick to me.

banerjek

It's true that what works in urban environments where there is a lot of ambient light (and frankly a lot of small light sources of all colors) could well be different than on a highway. Stuff like neon colors is useless in a winter storm in a dark area but I can totally see it working in the middle of a city in pretty much any conditions.

jerrycan42

I want a tail light that projects a hologram of a cyclist (or maybe even a car) behind me and to my left so that motorists can give me a wider berth when passing.

And while we're at it, how about an autofiring/aiming with face detection paintball gun that shoots red paintballs at motorists when a collision is detected with said hologram...

merlinextraligh

Somebody already has come out with a virtual "bike lane" Projecting lane markings visible from behind you that look like you're riding in a bike lane.

Ray9

I ride with two 600 lumens cygolites on my handlebars and one 400 lumens cygolite affixed to my helmet with zip ties. I have two flashing taillights on each side of my frame and another flashing taillight clipped to the back of my helmet. Cars dim their lights when they approach me. No drivers honk their horns when they come from behind because I am easily visible from far away. I wear a bright, lime green jacket and my tights and over boots are loaded with reflective designs. I am visible, I am happy, I am alive.

Hiro11

The main thing is to put bright lights where people aren't used to seeing them. In that regard, I find a Cree on the helmet to be very effective. You can also nail drivers with it if they're about to pull out in front of you. This has saved my bacon many times. Also, I have a 1 watt blinky on the back of the helmet. People seem to notice lights more when they're up high.

f4rrest

Ooh, how about selectable images? Arrows, middle finger, etc.

JohnJ80

Actually, what I use that gets me serious concern from drivers. They give me more room and they typically slow down. I use a Dinotte 300R tail light that has something approaching a 300 lumen output. For some reason, it really works and I still chuckle after using it for three years, when drivers slow down and go way around. I'm not sure a laser would improve on this.

J.