Bad idea? Tail light as head light

[doughpat]

I was very impressed with a fellow cyclist's Planet Bike SuperFlash Turbo (https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Superflash-Turbo-Taillight/dp/B004U5PV5A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1494910083&sr=8-1&keywords=superflash+turbo+bike)

I don't yet have a front-facing light, and I got to thinking...why not just use one of these facing forward as well? Is there any good reason not to use a red/white front facing light?

This light is purely for safety/visibility, not for riding at night....seems like it'd be very attention-getting. But maybe drivers associate red lights with things moving away from them?

If anyone has a 48V front-facing (with flash modes, preferably) LED they'd reccomend in the 20-40$ range, I'm all ears. Having a hard time finding ones that don't come with a battery, but that do have a strobe/flash mode.

 

[The fingers]

I see more white flashing lights on the rear of bikes, than red flashing lights on the front. Dunno why. :?

 

[amberwolf]

Is there any good reason not to use a red/white front facing light?

Two points to ponder:

--what does everyone else on the road (cars, cyclists, etc) and near it (pedestrians, cyclists, etc) expect lighting colors to be? (what have their eyes/brains been trained to look for) What might happen if they judge incorrectly due to seeing the "wrong" color light?

--what are the laws about lighting colors in your area? What is law enforcement likely to do about it?
(here in AZ, it'd be illegal to do what you want, and local police do sometimes stop cyclists and even ticket them for no or incorrect lighting *if* it endangers them or others).



Regarding lights that would run right off your bike battery--why not just use a DC-DC converter to run the battery-powered lights? If the lights have a USB-charging input, then it's even easier--just find a USB charger that will run off your ebike battery; hook it's AC prongs to the batery + and -, and ithen just leave the light plugged into the charger's USB port. Not only will it keep the light charged/running, having the battery in the light means that even when your bike's battery dies unexpectedly, you'll still have your lighting.

 

[rojitor]

A red light at front is a direct full stop and ticket here. It would look like a bike riding on the wrong side of the road. Since it is confusing it makes Sense the penalty. Do not do it. It is Plenty of cheap lights on the web

 

[dogman dan]

If you went all the way to an automotive 12v led, maybe the old school 12v flasher would work?

They are made for two 12v incandescent turn signals, but wouldn't a single led fog light draw less than that?

won't run on your 48v pack of course.

Also another separate battery idea, I have an led camp lantern, which has a flash mode.

 

[anth_85]

Bike lights are something of a pet annoyance to me. Red lights facing forwards, white lights facing backwards look ridiculous, just don't do it. Secondly flashing lights, no just no. Most cyclists seem to use flashers thinking they are more visible but they are terrible, your eyes cant pip point where the person is because there isn't something fixed to focus on. Do lights properly have a solid rear red and a solid front white, or if you have any sense have two of each for redundancy, preferable matching for better aesthetics.

this is my setup on my old bike, it wasnt expensive


on the front
two 18650 powered cree led flashlights, can dip them when on coming traffic and easy to power up when on unlit roads
on the back
1 cateye AAA powered seatpost red light
2 fibre flares on the seatstays

 

[fechter]

Red light facing forward would get you a ticket in most places. Only emergency vehicles are allowed to have them. It might be fun to try and see how many cars pull over.