E-Bike Visibility And Safety at night

[LI-ghtcycle]

I had an interesting point made to me the other night, a friend of mine mentioned that it is normal and common for a car driver in poor visibility to assume a red light on the back of a bike is a tail light, and to follow it.

I have been thinking of having some form of the slow moving vehicle triangle on my bike for at night since it would hopefully not be mistaken for a tail light.

I have also considered using multiple flashing amber lights, but I am curious what other people have used for visibility on the back of their bikes other than the traditional blinking red tail light.

Thanks!

 

[Ykick]

The blinking bicycle light implies its not a regular vehicle taillight. Don't think I'd bother with a triangle but to each their own.

Main reason to post is tell an old story from a trucker friend up in Michigan. During white out conditions he began following what he assumed were tailights of a car. He wound up in a ditch when the two snowmobiles left the road and took off across a field.

 

[dogman dan]

Flashers for sure. The trend seems to be larger and larger ones, as led takes over the market. I don't think anybody mistakes the flasher for something on a car.

I had a large flat space on the back of my battery box on the rear rack. So I covered the whole space with reflector tape. The idea is to have something bright, but also large enough to see.

Teeny tiny flashers common on road racers in training can be too hard to see till you are going, " did I just hit something?"
I think for sure, you want whatever you have to be bigger than a quarter. Or have several of them. A farm vehicles triangle reflector is a bit overkill though.

 

[Ypedal]

Adding some of this stuff to your bike helps greatly

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=fujifilm+f200&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=219l5595l0l5845l15l11l1l2l2l0l266l2218l0.3.7l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1350&bih=653&wrapid=tlif132645916901410&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=JikQT8LRJoHiggf9nKjMAw#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=reflective+tape&oq=reflective+tape&aq=f&aqi=g9g-m1&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=512615l514380l0l514567l15l13l0l2l2l0l172l1231l5.6l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1162f24231a38678&biw=1350&bih=653

reflective tape, i have oodles of it at home... not too obvious during the daytime but at night it reflects like crazy.

 

[BATFINK]

I added a few things to my bike recently, I got a magic shine headlight 1000lumens, I bought. Few lights that go in the spokes for side visibility and I bought a rear flashing light called a fibre flare.

Spoke/wheel light: http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=290644358850&index=13&nav=SEARCH&nid=98352924278

Magic shine headlight: best light I've ever had, I also bout a head mount for it if I'm out in the hills walking:
http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=140635939771&index=19&nav=SEARCH&nid=96185650409

Fibre flare, looks like a flashing glow stick: can be seen from pretty far:
http://www.fibreflare.com/

And I would also invest in a rucksack cover by respro, there's one with buil in flashing chevron shapes: http://m.gizmodo.com/5863824/respros-waterproof-backpack-cover-is-an-led-disco

ALSO you could make your own flashing wire shapes, with Electro Luminescent wire. There are kits on eBay for this. I think I am going to order some and wire it to the frame of my bike or make up reflective cycling vest. Something like this:

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.co.uk/viewitem?itemId=130621677022&index=5&nav=SEARCH&nid=09301020635

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[BATFINK]

Glowing bikes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbxSjyDnBLY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

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[LI-ghtcycle]

Adding some of this stuff to your bike helps greatly

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=fujifilm+f200&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=219l5595l0l5845l15l11l1l2l2l0l266l2218l0.3.7l13l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1350&bih=653&wrapid=tlif132645916901410&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=JikQT8LRJoHiggf9nKjMAw#um=1&hl=en&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=reflective+tape&oq=reflective+tape&aq=f&aqi=g9g-m1&aql=&gs_sm=e&gs_upl=512615l514380l0l514567l15l13l0l2l2l0l172l1231l5.6l11l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=1162f24231a38678&biw=1350&bih=653

reflective tape, i have oodles of it at home... not too obvious during the daytime but at night it reflects like crazy.

Yeah, I love this stuff!

I think I will try and find some at harbor freight that has similar coloring to the "farm tractor" triangle, just want to get people the idea that I am NOT a vehicle they want to follow in the poor visibility conditions.

At the same time, I don't want to have something that is just a flimsy cloth deal that will wear out and fall apart ... hmmmm.

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Well, on the trailer I still think the triangle is going to be a good thing, and I just happen to have one of these:

So I plan to take it off the weighted base and attach it on the back.

And HF has these:

They are really decent, they have peel and stick backing, and holes for screws, so I can do both if needed, and place them on the back and sides of the trailer.

I already have reflective silver and red strips on strategic places on the trailer, but I think the amber stuff will be good too to give them an idea that they are not just following another vehicle on the road, and hopefully keep them from following me into the bike lane in the fog! :lol:

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

The blinking bicycle light implies its not a regular vehicle taillight. Don't think I'd bother with a triangle but to each their own.

Main reason to post is tell an old story from a trucker friend up in Michigan. During white out conditions he began following what he assumed were tailights of a car. He wound up in a ditch when the two snowmobiles left the road and took off across a field.

Wow, that must have sucked! :lol:

I used to drive a Peterbuilt Semi-Truck in straight truck form, (no trailer, just a class B CDL truck, much like driving a high seated moving truck with double axles, so just like a tractor trailer rig in cab height) and I can see that happening pretty easy, when you're up that high, you can see farther ahead, but you have a harder time especially in bad weather seeing things closer up!

 

[amberwolf]

you can make your own slow-moving vehicle triangle light and/or reflector easy enough, possibly stearting with that roadside thing. wouldn't hurt to make it flashing, too.

i keep pondering putting one on my bikes.

also keep intending to add diagonal alternating stripes on my boxes in back so they look like the roadside signs indicating DON'T DRIVE HERE like for ditches and guardrails and such, because people know to go around those. :lol:

i hacve some ofd 3M school-crossing-green, yellow/amber, white, and regular red reflective sheets to use for it, scraps donated by others that didn't need the leftovers.

 

[dogman dan]

For side view visibility, and some rear visibility, the spoke reflectors work great. I've also used the fireflys. Led flashers that screw to the valve stem. When working, they really show from the side.

 

[auraslip]

Like this?

Cost me $3 and an hour of work. Hopefully the 5 layers of clear coat on it will keep it waterproof....

 

[BATFINK]

Top work great stuff, what type of LED's did you use? get a bunch of those cree LED's on there

 

[John in CR]

My answer is simply to avoid riding at night.

 

[Alan B]

My answer is simply to avoid riding at night.

Have to quit ebike commuting totally in winter, days are too short so one commute or the other will be in darkness or nearly so.

 

[John in CR]

My answer is simply to avoid riding at night.

Have to quit ebike commuting totally in winter, days are too short so one commute or the other will be in darkness or nearly so.

The length of the day varies only a little here. Commuting infers a JOB anyway, which is the acronym for Just Over Broke, so no thanks.

 

[sangesf]

ELwire works...

You can buy 20' of it for like $50

You can wire up your entire bike..
(The video about the "glow bikes" is bubkis, because it's not new, it's been done again and again.. The batteries for those lights works for about two hours and then done.)

 

[LI-ghtcycle]

Like this?

Cost me $3 and an hour of work. Hopefully the 5 layers of clear coat on it will keep it waterproof....

Great job!!

I love that set-up, I'm thinking a string of those lights in the right shape & color would be great on the back of my trailer, and possibly the tail-box. 8)

I wonder how much wattage those lights take? I'm going to finally have something to install my solar panels on with my trailer, and eventually I might even have a set on the tail-box too.

 

[itselectric]

I had an interesting point made to me the other night, a friend of mine mentioned that it is normal and common for a car driver in poor visibility to assume a red light on the back of a bike is a tail light, and to follow it.

I have been thinking of having some form of the slow moving vehicle triangle on my bike for at night since it would hopefully not be mistaken for a tail light.

I have also considered using multiple flashing amber lights, but I am curious what other people have used for visibility on the back of their bikes other than the traditional blinking red tail light.

Thanks!

I have use similar product as Auraslip or TheBriteBike. You can see the different between LED light rope and bike flasher. I ride my ebike at night in cold weather on a bike path, it's completely darkness without any street light. Without it, you are just a red dot.

[youtube]ltHCHNTgk3Q[/youtube]

I now upgraded using a flasher module, and work very well.

I have also tried use EL wire, it looks very cool, but not no as bright as LED, and it operate in AC (yes, it come out as 125v), you need addition driver to run the light. It also had some length restriction, it was just much simple with LED light at 12v, just plug and play.

Ken
[youtube]437XPUupGo4[/youtube]

 

[Kingfish]

Related threads:
LED Lighting: Accent Coloring
DOT Vehicle Lighting

I went down the path of DOT Moped-style lighting with headlights, turn indicators, and brake-taillights, in addition to the have two Blinkies mounted behind the seat.

Side-reflectors should be amber forward and red at the back so that drivers know your orientation.

I also used high-contrast faring colors: Yellow & Black, or White & Black (at present). The White faring parts also have white reflective tape forward and on the triangle-sides.

Taken before I added the front/rear black Townie Balloon fenders.

My bike is in this gray area where it's more moped than bike, and I need to be a bit careful about adding bike-centric lighting add-ons other than Blinkies. I don't see a problem with the illuminating options of LED tapes and so forth so long as these bikes don't try to be mopeds.

Overtly visible, KF

 

[auraslip]

The LEDS are from hobbyking. Cheap too!

They aren't water proof though. Motorcycle stores do sell strips of waterrpoof leds that are functionally the same as the LEDS I used. I got some for christmas. It was $20 for about a foot. Expensive.

 

[Joseph C.]

Magicshine 1400 lumens front (800 in reality), and Magicshine rear on flash mode. The rear light bounces off the Aluminium trailer and lights up the ground.

The Veltop also has a 3M reflective strip and I wear a Hi Vi vest courtesy of a friendly Garda.

 

[BATFINK]

nice LED front lights http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OLXzt48FzQ