Originally Posted by
Leisesturm
Very good to ride with a strobe light. You can't be serious advising otherwise. Billions have been spent R&D'ing bicycle stobes and they have persisted in the marketplace for decades. Bad? Define bad in that context.
I am serious and don't call me surely. I am sure plenty of money has been spent putting strobes on bicycle lights and yes something has remained on the market for a long time. That doesn't make it a good thing it just means it has stayed around or they know they can market it at people and those people will want to use it because they don't have to be on the receiving end of it. When ever I am confronted by a flashing or strobing light I have to close my eyes and look away which could lead to a crash on my end because I can't see. Thankfully I haven't ever had a seizure but know people who do.
I get it we like to think they work better because they are flashing and flashing things can grab attention. Some guy walking down the street with a closed trench coat doesn't really make you look twice but when his ding-a-ling is hanging out you notice. But unlike with the genitals which won't cause much harm if you look at them, a flashing light in your eyes can, especially white light (and non-warm light) which is more damaging to eyes.
Keep in mind we used DDT for around 30 years, Cocaine started life out as legal and sold in lots of places for health purposes, Informer by Snow spent 7 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard music charts. The point is we sometimes do things for long periods of time that may not always be right or good but if you market it correctly people will go for it.