michaelm101

Preferably fork mounted, plz.

I own two EXCELLENT road-friendly lights with cut off beams. I typically use both, one above the tire and one above the handlebars.

They light up the road in front of me very well, but because they direct everything onto the ground and are designed not to be un-intrusive, they’re not very visible to others on the road.

Can someone suggest a light, or lights that are designed just for visibility and not really made for illuminating the road and everything else?

BTW, I've owned standard "flashlight" beam Niterider, Cygolite and L & M lights and although they are VERY visible and also light up the road very well, the light is not constricted and BLINDS ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

Thanks very much in advance!

Leisesturm

There isn't any chance that your excellent shaped beam headlights "are not very visible to others on the road". Why would you work so hard to be "one of the good ones" by buying quality lights only to waste money on lights to shine in everyone's eyes. What's going on?

michaelm101

??? Sorry, I've read several times and am not understanding what you're saying. Could you please clarify or re-word?

BTinNYC 

I use this light set to blinking
Cygolite Dice HL– https://a.co/d/9yrMPPF

Tourist in MSN

I think you just want a very low power blinker. Something similar to a low power taillight, but with white instead of red light. In other words, a blinker to get peoples attention, and then they will also notice your constant on lights.

Over the years I have owned a couple such lights that were very cheap, but all eventually died due to water intrusion. So, I have no suggestions for brand or model. The ones I had came with a handlebar mount.

One with a wide but flat horizontal beam would be best since the LEDs would be dim enough to avoid blinding anyone. Wide enough to alert traffic in driveways and side streets that are not directly in front of you.

If you do not find something you like, forward facing reflectors may suffice, down low where their low beams would still provide some light, perhaps axle height. Or pedal reflectors.

Trakhak

Living in a city, I settled on a helmet-mounted light for my night riding. It has a moderately bright constant front light and a blinking rear light. It points where I look, and its movement makes me instantly identifiable as a bike rider. I can turn my head to sweep the front light in the direction of an oncoming car so the driver knows to be cautious. Always there no matter what bike I choose to ride. Works great.

2 in 1 Bike Light USB Rechargeable Cycling Helmet

tcs

You want flash? Flashes for 320 hours:

https://www.cateye.com/intl/products...ghts/HL-EL135/

You want steady? This Knog Big Cobber looks promising:

https://us.knog.com/products/big-cob...ont-bike-light

SpedFast

For Day visibility or Night visibility?

michaelm101

I like to use flashing for daytime, non flashing at night.

It would be great if my fork tubes appeared as fluorescent light tubes...

Tourist in MSN

Amber or white reflective tape should work well at night.

On some but not all my bikes I have put some reflective tape on the front fork (amber) and on the seat stays (red).

michaelm101

That would be great for cars with headlights.
However, I've had many close calls with other non-lighted bikes and non-lights motorized scooters.
In one incident, I veered so instantaneously to avoid a "head-on" that I was thrown and suffered injuries...
I'll have to additionally mount some lights!

noglider 

I'm not convinced that a to-be-seen light has any advantages over a to-see light except for cost. I have a German-made shaped beam headlight, and I get compliments on how visible it is from far away. The actual output is low. The beam shaping makes it look sharp, and I don't have it pointed too high.

canklecat

I've done a lot of night rides, solo and groups, and by far the best to-be-seen lights are spoke/wheel mounted LEDs. Nothing else comes close. When I've been in a car at night watching for cyclists it's often easy to overlook cyclists passing broadside if they have only front and rear facing lights. But spinning wheel mounted LEDs pop out of the dark like nothing else, and are visible from any angle of view.

For awhile I used older style clip-on LED/reflectors that were pretty visible as well, but heavier than new style LEDs and could arguably unbalance the wheel slightly. Not a big deal on my commuter/errand bike though.

Otherwise, the Blackburn 2'Fer and Grid 2'Fer are excellent values and very versatile. They can be switched from white light for the front to red for rear, multiple modes, and can be mounted on the bike or helmet. I used one for years before losing it, and it retained almost full runtime per charge even after five years. Only weakness was the pocket clip -- it popped off my running shorts while I was jogging and I never found it again. But the provided mount held securely to my bike or helmet for years, even on gravel rides.

The Cygolite Dice HL-150 someone else suggested looks good too. I put that on my list.

Troul 

when i read "to be seen" it comes off meaning "more affordable" when compared to a "to see" light.

If riding in the dark will happen & the whole cycling thing is a long-term thing to do, I'd invest in a long-term light that is "to see" . It will not be cheap if it's worth it's reputation.

BTinNYC 

The only advantage is on the MUP, so oncoming cyclists can see you without getting blinded. Some of the oncoming bike lights are like high beams in a car, blinding, even when blinking.

On the street, I agree, brighter is better.

tcs

Ah, you've added 'fork mount'.

https://problemsolversbike.com/produ...ut-light-mount

Couple of folks offer 'eyelet mounts'.



No eyelets, no quick release? There's the Cronometro Nob.

You could strap a light like the Cateye Omni 3 or Blackburn Grid directly to the fork.

Hmm. How about a Reelight Cio+?

michaelm101

I understand the spoke lights. However, I have all my (street) bikes outfitted with reflective sidewall tires. They're awesome.

I owned the Blackburn 2fer and they were great on the forks, but the little rubber straps kept snapping. The lights eventually fell off...

The Cygolite Dice is not rechargeable :-(

michaelm101

I owned a pair of Origin 8 eyelet mounts (with a pair of Niterider Mini 750s) and they were great, but they made me feel too wide and bulky. However, even way down there, typical standard beams are still offensive to oncoming traffic.

noglider 

@canklecat is right that a light in your wheel is a huge attention grabber. I've been complimented on mine. But I can't seem to keep it supplied with a fresh button cell battery. I can ride it in the rear wheel, but in the front, it distracts me too much.

@michaelm101, reflective stuff is not nearly as effective as something that emits light. You're not guaranteed light will hit you at the right angle.

I make these fork mount for my bikes. I usually use PVC, but sometimes I use copper pipe. Miter the inner end to match the curve of the fork. Cut a couple of slits to let the hose clamp through.

canklecat

Yup, I found the Cateye brand white spoke LED a bit distracting on the front wheel, so I moved it to the back wheel. The pair of lights on the same wheel balanced it.

I've ridden alongside several folks who use elaborate multi-color LED lights on both wheels of their bikes and was surprised to find those weren't distracting to me. Probably because they aren't excessively bright, just bright enough to be seen a long way off, and very visible due to the sheer number of lights, colors, and rotating wheels.

canklecat

I wouldn't depend too much on reflectors. I have 'em on some tires but I still prefer to add some lights. In my area driver compliance with traffic safety and just simple common courtesy has plummeted to near-anarchy since 2020. Something about the pandemic brought out the worst antisocial characteristics in some people, and it shows in the sharp increase in road rage crime incidents and avoidable fatality wrecks.

I walk a lot after dark and it's not usual to see about 10% of motor vehicles running without lights -- head or taillights. I don't know whether they've disabled the auto-on feature, but these aren't older cars on which it was up to the driver to manually activate lights. I'm guessing some people have disabled all lights because I've seen a few cars on which the brake lights don't light up when they slow and stop at traffic lights. And Texas is basically eliminating vehicle safety inspections so there's no practical way to improve traffic safety.

Regarding rubber band straps for bike lights, yeah, those tend to be a bit fragile. I have some Velcro straps and replacement rubber band straps for some of my most commonly used lights.

BTW, according to the Cygolite website the Dice HL 150 and TL 50 are USB rechargeable.

znomit

I use one of these on my front fork.
https://cygolite.com/product/hotrod-front-110-usb/

rekmeyata

Why waste your money on a third light when all you have to do is use the lowest setting on one of the lights and set it to flash? Is it because you're afraid of the weight of having one of your lights do that?

If all you want is a small strobe light, then get a Trek Ion 200 front light, it's very small and puts out up to 200 flashing lumens for 1 1/2 hours, or bring down the brightness for longer run time, the day flash mode will run for 12 hours.

zacster

I still swear by my dynamo powered CYO premium headlight. They light up the road with a cutoff beam but are still visible by everybody. I don't quite get what it is you are looking for though.

Rick_D

Very pleased with the Light & Motion VYA but have not tried fork mount, use mine from the bars. Also rotate it among bikes with drop and straight bars.

It's automated wrt powering on, and programmed to pulse/flash various patterns depending on ambient light and whether still or underway.