njkayaker

It's not "nothing". And, it's not like being passed by a truck going 25 mph. Especially, if it's a new experience.

jadmt

pretty sure you have no idea what kind of rocks I am talking about. I am talking about the rocks that are the size of softballs and get caught between the dullies. not sure if are familiar with logging trucks....but your tips did make me laugh so they were worth something..

Eyes Roll

To be honest, I never rode in a similar road conditions, I do not think I ever will.

What precautionary measures do you take? Do you simply do nothing and allow rocks come flying and hit you, causing injuries and bleeding? Just curious.

jadmt

no, you hope they are cleared out of their wheels before you meet them..or you hope they are conscience and have checked before heading out on the highway. I wear a helmet and glasses for the little stuff.

Tourist in MSN

Depends on the wind direction, sometimes you almost do not notice it, sometimes it really wants to push you around. You learn quickly if you have a frame that handles like a wet noodle.

The air blast can want to throw you to the right, then after it has passed, then the vacuum behind tries to suck you in behind it. The worst trucks I have experienced with that were logging trucks, not sure why but the air blast and suction off of them seems to be much greater.

Also depends on how wide the shoulder is, the shoulder in the photo below was so narrow that I tried to ride on the loose gravel instead and got off the first exit I could and then rode a couple extra hours on side roads (lots of big dogs) to avoid this heavily used highway.



But 75 mph is rare, in most places a semi driver that gets a few such tickets will have such high insurance costs that they are out of business. That said, if you have a 15 mph headwind, you would feel an air blast similar to if they were doing 75.

unterhausen

A friend and I used to call trucks going 75mph "tailwinds" -- you get pulled along for a while after they pass.

Calsun

Our eyes have evolved to notice moving objects which may be predators. Best is to have reflectors on pedals and spoke that move as you ride. A light on the rear can't hurt but the flashing one as not bright enough for daytime use.

I noticed someone riding yesterday who was not taking any chance and wore a bright orange shirt and had an orange bandana that was attached to the helmet and flapped about as he rode. Seems like a good approach in areas where motorists are prevalent.

noglider 

Get the best of both: use at least two taillights, and set one to steady and another to blinking. I do that sometimes. At other times, I run two blinkers, blinking in different patterns. I don’t know if this works, but if it ever fails to work, I will know.

canklecat

Sunday I had an opportunity to see the effect of taillights in bright daylight. Basically, I think some of us underestimate how much light is needed to be more visible in daylight.

I rode a formerly lightly traveled two lane blacktop, what used to be called a farm to market road here in Texas (hence the FMxxx designation). These were originally built for sparsely populated counties with farms and ranches, towns that had populations of 500 or fewer. Families usually had only one or two vehicles, typically a work truck and a family car. It was expected that tractors and other farm equipment would be using the roads at slow speed. And we expected to see a few people on horseback even into the 1970s.

But most of those old farms and ranches are long gone, sold to developers who are contributing to population explosions. Now the same two lane blacktops are expected to safely convey thousands of vehicles a day, rather than dozens.

Fortunately this particular stretch of road is still fairly lightly traveled on Sunday, so I ventured out there for the first time in a year. I used to ride it a few times a week, before long-haul COVID symptoms in late 2021 smacked my energy down to a fraction, and my cycling mileage from 5,000-6,000 miles a year to less than 1,000 the past couple of years. Overall the road and traffic were the same as ever, although dramatic shifts in weather the past couple of years -- deep freezes in winter, protracted weeks of 100+F summers -- have caused severe pavement damage along the shoulders as the black gumbo soil base cracks and shifts.

Along this 6 mile roller coaster route there's a segment that's about 2 miles long and very straight, other than some roller coaster dips. I could see -- just barely -- some shapes about a mile ahead. As I gained on them I realized it was a pair of recumbent cyclists, one very low to the ground, barely higher than a skateboard, the other a bit more upright. I lost sight of them in the dips. Eventually I saw some red blinking lights, but even as I was within 100 yards of them their multiple blinkies were not nearly as visible as I'd have expected. I finally joined up with them and chatted for awhile, and realized both were riding hand cycles -- that wasn't immediately apparent from a distance, and their speed was pretty good considering that challenging roller coaster route, about 15 mph. I didn't notice the specific brands or models of lights but they had typical brightness.

It persuaded me that I'm doing the right thing by using a Cygolite Hotshot Pro 150, set to the brightest and most visible/annoying setting in daylight. Even it has limitations. To get that piercing light, the Hotshot uses a narrow aperture reflector. So while it's very visible when viewed from directly behind, visibility drops off dramatically from the sides and is barely visible from either side view. And I use a Cygolite Hotrod on my helmet, usually on steady low at night, rapid blinking in daylight. And now I'm considering adding a second Hotrod to attach to one of the seatstays.

If I were riding a low slung recumbent, I'd use a minimum of two of the brightest blinkies I could afford, and a hi-vis color triangle. That might have improved the distant visibility of the two handcyclists. I've seen some recumbents with flags on flexible poles. One of the fellows told me his partner's flag had been snatched away by a pickup truck of rowdy teenagers. Can't do much to discourage antisocial and hostile drivers, other than hope law enforcement or a single vehicle wreck that injures nobody else gets them off the road.

john m flores 

Added a second red blinkie today and drivers seemed to give me more space than usual.

SpedFast

I noticed the same thing when I upgraded to a daylight visible nite rider light.

SJX426 

I use a Garmen Varia with the radar and light. The light changes frequency of pulses based on the distance of the car to my back side.
A buddy rode with me and stated that he has never seen a rear light as bright. It will vary from solid on to higher frequency flashing.
The benefits for me is the notification on the Wahoo Roam with sound, variation in color of the bar based on car speed and if single or multiple cars. It also turns green and beeps when clear of cars. It measures rate of speed and distance turning from yellow to red. Fast cars generate a sound and turns the notification barred.
This has changed my attitude on busy multiple lane roads with a bit more awareness of what is behind me.

Multiple mounts on bikes make moving it from bike to bike easy along with the Roam.

Price has dropped a bit, but it is worth the $150 for me since it is compatible with the Wahoo.

urbanknight

Someone suggested running one of each for the reason that flashing gets attention and solid is easier to judge placement/distance. I have no idea if that's true, but I started putting a flashing one on my helmet and a solid one on my seatpost from then on. I now see lights with "breathing" mode and wonder if that takes care of both. Still like two lights anyway just in case one stops working or runs out of juice.

For daytime, I feel a singly blinky is fine.

Troul 

IMO, the "darth vader" or "breathing" setting is less effective at doing the job of the two lights being set up as mentioned.
What I found is that people need that sudden attention grabber pulsing light, followed by that reassuring solid beam as the attention span for most is that much shorter nowadays.

In the day light I am running the rear light[s] on the full 'send it' setting. Less light is needed in the nighttime.

Just had a rear light go "MIA", so I'm going to *see* how effective the Bryton Radar/Tail Light is as well as holds up. The runtime & USB-C had my attention as most rear lights don't stay alive as long, & if they do the effectiveness is poor.

SpedFast

I run the DVF (Solaris 250) on the seat bag and a breather on the helmet now during the day. At night I run solid on the helmet and breather on the seat bag (mounts are interchangeable between helmet and seat bag) Definitely don't want to blind people at night. But that DVF (Daylight Visible Flash) sure gets attention from cars during the day.

NoWhammies

I run my rear light in blink mode. I figure the flashing light will set me apart from just another red light on the road. Or at leas that is my hope.

10 Wheels

I thought it was Fun.

Leisesturm

The rear flasher (singular) I am using now, runs on two AAA batteries. In steady mode, I get five 9mi round trips. Flashing? IDK like 16, more? I lose count. For that reason alone, I flash. Keeps those AAA cells out of the landfill. I have flashing (or steady) side lights. They are USB recharged. I've never even tried them on steady, but flashing they only last two round trips before needing a recharge. I'm not even going to bother finding out what their steady range is.

Have you noticed? Even CARS flash (the center taillight) these days. It flashes for a few seconds with every fresh application of the brake pedal before it settles to steady mode. Motorcycles have done this for decades. Decades. Njkayaker is about the only one here (besides moi) who really gets it. What is so hard to understand? He is not the only one saying flash. He is the only one being rational about it. Some of you are flashing advocates and it is driven by such overblown paranoia that you have to run three of the things at once. Not necessary. One is sufficient.

Then there are the hedgers that think running one steady and one flashing is needed to do it. As NJ said, what is important is that a driver registers that a bike is ahead. Exactly how far ahead is UNIMPORTANT. The important information is that a vulnerable road user is AHEAD. Somewhere. But, is it really as bad as that? I don't drive a lot but I do drive. I'm damn sure y'all drive a LOT more than I do. And at night too. I haven't been able to drive at night for 10 years at least. But I am sometimes a passenger in a car at night and I see cyclists and they are flashing and I am able to tell pretty accurately where they are. Try it yourself. See how easy it is. Enough with the "flashing lights don't convey distance or speed". BS. It absolutely does.

Everything that doesn't want to get hit by something else in the dark, flashes its lights. Certainly the rear lights. If that's too good for you then you are not having a quality experience. Chances are good you can get away with several Ninja mode night runs without incident. But this is not a best practice. Nor is it legal. The law doesn't insist you flash only that you have lights, but you may as well flash. The law only insists you have lights at night. I repeat: the law only insists that you have lights at night.

Powered lights are absolutely not needed in bright, clear daylight! When low slung, background colored, motorcars are hurtling towards each other at closing speeds of 150mph, daytime lights are, no doubt, of benefit. Does that sound like the kind of scenario a bicycle would be involved in? Not to me either. A White (white is a hi-viz color) or Neon helmet plus a Hi-viz jersey/jacket don't have any 'runtime' limitations. It's all you need when the Sun is up. FWIW.

njkayaker

Being a “Christmas tree” with lots of lights might reduce the recognition. If the driver registers you as a bicyclist​, they can start treating you like a bicyclist. Seeing a light show, they might just be confused and not do anything.

More is not necessarily better.

Troul 

but i dont want to be ran over!!!

#identifies as a lamp

Calsun

50 years ago I used a simple flashlight that formed a Tee and the two ends had red lamps and reflectors and used 2 C size batteries and the device had a strap to attach to my leg just above the calf. As I rode the light went up and down with each rotation of the pedals. Very simple and as effective as one could get. These went off the market in the USA and now all we have available are reflective leg bands which are no where near as noticeable and protective.

We are conditioned to notice moving objects and to ignore stationary ones. When approaching a harbor the navigation buoy lights flash on and off so one can distinguish between them and city lights. It would be very difficult to do so if the lights were a steady red light.

Lights that move or reflectors that move will be most noticeable to approaching motorists. Small blinking red lights provide no real protection for the rider, especially in our overly bright suburbs and cities.

njkayaker

These were probably dim compared to more modern lights. (I remember them. They didn't seem very popular at all. They might have been too big and bulky.)

One problem with these is that they might bob in random directions or be obscured by other things. But something like this might be a good addition.

BS. The lights work fine in dark places. They might have more trouble in cities.

Lights attached to your leg are going to have the same problem.

SpedFast

A neighbor kid with a 20" bike has some blue/green motion activated lights taped to his pedals. He's very noticeable and distinguishable from all the other kids on bikes that keep riding past at night, most of which you can't hardly see. The lights weren't intended for bike pedals, but I'm giving him kudos for ingenuity and creativity.

Calsun

I found a variety of small bright LED lights meant to be strapped to an arm or leg and available in red or orange. Orange is associated with warning lights for parked vehicles and so may be better than red lights to alert motorists. These can be set to flash or be a solid light. More important is having them attached at the ankle or above the calf so there is a great deal of vertical movement when pedaling along.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088Z1LM68...lig_dp_it&th=1

Studies involving motorcycle riders found that those with white helmets were in 24% fewer collisions with motorists than those with darker color helmets. So for night riding a white bike helmet would be a wise investment.
https://helmetsadvisor.com/best-moto...-helmet-color/

PeteHski

A Garmin Varia on “Day Flash” mode is plenty bright enough in any conditions.