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Main
Date: 15 May 2007 15:05:51
From: Doug Smith W9WI
Subject: Staying in motels: where to go with the bike?
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I'm planning my first overnight trip in a few weeks. Which brings up a
bit of a logistical question: when you take an overnight trip, where do
you put your bike while you're sleeping? Are most motels OK with guests
bringing bikes into their rooms?
FWIW I'm not looking at high-end lodging (I'm looking at Red Roof, Super
8, place like that) and the destination city is Madison, Wis..
==
Doug Smith W9WI
Pleasant View, TN EM66
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Date: 16 May 2007 17:00:11
From: Alan Hoyle
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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In rec.bicycles.misc SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com > wrote:
> Ben Pfaff wrote:
>> A few weeks ago an old woman in a sedan bumped into the back of
>> my bike while I was stopped at a red light (fortunately not
>> enough to damage me or the bike). This was in broad daylight. I
>> don't think any amount of light on my bike would have helped.
> You could use a flashing xenon strobe, which is very visible in
> daylight, much more so than an LED flasher in the daytime. Maybe if I
> lived in an area with a lot of older drivers I'd turn on my rear light
> in the daytime.
Xenon strobes are bright (and I own one), but have the distinct
disadvantage that they don't strobe quickly enough for someone to
actually know where you are all the time. I have one of the ones you
recommended on your web site, and I never use it. Anecdotal reports
from fellow cyclists that I've ridden with at night (and asked) report
that the blinkies are better at making me visible.
LED blinkies also give much more continuous report of location. My
strobe only goes off every 1/2 second when the batteries are fresh
(slower as they discharge), but blinkies flash way more frequently
than that. The strobe says "I'm here.... now I'm here ... now I'm
here..." while the blinkie reports "IIIIII''''mmmmm
hhhheeeerrrrreeee...."
Personally, I like the Planet Bike SuperFlash: it's almost as bright
as (if not brighter than) the strobe, has a "steady" mode, and the
flashing mode uses both a bright LED and less bright LEDs in a high
frequency display. It is also more compact, weatherproof, less
fragile, includes dedicated bicycle mounting hardware, and has way
better battery life: 60-100 hours on 2xAAA for the PBSF vs. 10-20
hours on 2xAA for the strobe.
http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3034.html
This blinkie is better than a xenon strobe in almost every way. Even
if it is slightly less lumens per flash, the fact that it flashes way
more frequently and with less upkeep makes it superior.
Even less bright blinkies that I've used my cohorts say they're more
visible/better than the strobe largely because of frequency of the
light.
-alan
--
Alan Hoyle - alanh@unc.edu - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.
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Date: 18 May 2007 07:43:27
From: dgk
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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On 16 May 2007 17:00:11 GMT, Alan Hoyle <alanh@unc.edu > wrote:
...
>
>Personally, I like the Planet Bike SuperFlash: it's almost as bright
>as (if not brighter than) the strobe, has a "steady" mode, and the
>flashing mode uses both a bright LED and less bright LEDs in a high
>frequency display. It is also more compact, weatherproof, less
>fragile, includes dedicated bicycle mounting hardware, and has way
>better battery life: 60-100 hours on 2xAAA for the PBSF vs. 10-20
>hours on 2xAA for the strobe.
>
> http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3034.html
>
>This blinkie is better than a xenon strobe in almost every way. Even
>if it is slightly less lumens per flash, the fact that it flashes way
>more frequently and with less upkeep makes it superior.
>
>Even less bright blinkies that I've used my cohorts say they're more
>visible/better than the strobe largely because of frequency of the
>light.
>
>-alan
Someone on the Icebiking group recommended those, and one has been on
the back of my pack during the winter commute. I can report that I did
not get hit once. It really is a great light. I think I only changed
the batteries once.
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Date: 17 May 2007 08:46:39
From: Michael Warner
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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On 16 May 2007 17:00:11 GMT, Alan Hoyle wrote:
> Xenon strobes are bright (and I own one), but have the distinct
> disadvantage that they don't strobe quickly enough for someone to
> actually know where you are all the time.
I sometimes ride with someone who has one - it has three tubes
which seem to fire at random, but sometimes there's a second or
so between flashes. IMHO that's too long for safety.
--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
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Date: 16 May 2007 16:29:49
From: SMS
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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Michael Warner wrote:
> On 16 May 2007 17:00:11 GMT, Alan Hoyle wrote:
>
>> Xenon strobes are bright (and I own one), but have the distinct
>> disadvantage that they don't strobe quickly enough for someone to
>> actually know where you are all the time.
>
> I sometimes ride with someone who has one - it has three tubes
> which seem to fire at random, but sometimes there's a second or
> so between flashes. IMHO that's too long for safety.
The one I use fires about 120 times per minute. I've never tried it with
a battery that was almost dead, but I guess it would fire less often.
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Date: 16 May 2007 12:55:39
From: SMS
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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Alan Hoyle wrote:
> Xenon strobes are bright (and I own one), but have the distinct
> disadvantage that they don't strobe quickly enough for someone to
> actually know where you are all the time. I have one of the ones you
> recommended on your web site, and I never use it. Anecdotal reports
> from fellow cyclists that I've ridden with at night (and asked) report
> that the blinkies are better at making me visible.
I think 120 flashes per second is sufficient. Certainly the hazard signs
on roadways, slow moving trucks, etc., that use strobes are not flashing
any faster than that.
I'd augment it with an LED blinker, but not one of the el-cheapo models.
There are some good LED blinkers such as the Cateye LD1000 (which really
is visible in the day as Cateye claims). I guess there's always the
DiNotte Ultra-Tail light as well,
"http://www.dinottelighting.com/DiNotte_Lighting_Ultra_Tail_Light.htm".
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Date: 17 May 2007 14:46:14
From: Alan Hoyle
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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In rec.bicycles.tech SMS <scharf.steven@geemail.com > wrote:
> Alan Hoyle wrote:
>> Xenon strobes are bright (and I own one), but have the distinct
>> disadvantage that they don't strobe quickly enough for someone to
>> actually know where you are all the time. I have one of the ones you
>> recommended on your web site, and I never use it. Anecdotal reports
>> from fellow cyclists that I've ridden with at night (and asked) report
>> that the blinkies are better at making me visible.
> I think 120 flashes per second is sufficient. Certainly the hazard signs
> on roadways, slow moving trucks, etc., that use strobes are not flashing
> any faster than that.
I know you meant "120 flashes per minute."
Hazard signs, slow moving trucks, etc. don't steer nearly as fast as a
bicycle. Emergency handling is way better on a bike (especially when
compared with the handling on hazard signs ;-). It's pretty trivial
to move 2-3 feet laterally in less than 1 second on a bike.
Strobes are great for slow moving, not quick things: signs, trucks,
horse & buggy, traffic signals, someone walking, etc. They are not
nearly as useful for fast and/or quick things: cars, motorcycles,
bicycles, runners, etc.
If you tell people they need a blinky anyway to augment a strobe, you
should tell them to go ahead and buy a nice bright blinky anyway and
not bother with a strobe. People can buy a nice bright blinky for
~$20. Xenon strobes are a waste of time, money, and batteries for the
cyclist.
-alan
--
Alan Hoyle - alanh@unc.edu - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.
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Date: 16 May 2007 07:51:13
From: Peter Cole
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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SMS wrote:
> Ben Pfaff wrote:
>
>> A few weeks ago an old woman in a sedan bumped into the back of
>> my bike while I was stopped at a red light (fortunately not
>> enough to damage me or the bike). This was in broad daylight. I
>> don't think any amount of light on my bike would have helped.
>
> You could use a flashing xenon strobe, which is very visible in
> daylight, much more so than an LED flasher in the daytime. Maybe if I
> lived in an area with a lot of older drivers I'd turn on my rear light
> in the daytime. Sometimes when I'm leading a ride of family members in
> an area with a lot of bicycles, I'll turn on the rear strobe so they can
> follow the right person more easily.
I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
action with the "what if everybody did it" question. I'm afraid your
solution flunks this test.
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Date: 16 May 2007 07:22:20
From: SMS
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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Peter Cole wrote:
> I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
> action with the "what if everybody did it" question. I'm afraid your
> solution flunks this test.
You mean like all those vehicles that are using the high beams lamps at
reduced brightness as daytime running lights in order to be more
visible, and annoying other drivers (and cyclists).
Just because someone else does something, or doesn't do it, shouldn't
affect your own behavior when it comes to ensuring safety.
A good deal (in the U.S.) would be for automakers to drop DRLs (or adopt
the European standards for them), for states to require driver training
and testing at least as rigorous as the UK test, for states to require
retesting for drivers over 65, and for states to enforce the traffic
laws as they relate to vehicles not properly yielding the right of way
to a bicycle in the same way they would to another vehicle. In return,
I'll stop using bicycle lights that make me visible (actually I would
not do this unless the lights were illegal, so I guess the deal is off).
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Date: 16 May 2007 10:31:51
From: Peter Cole
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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SMS wrote:
> Peter Cole wrote:
>
>> I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
>> action with the "what if everybody did it" question. I'm afraid your
>> solution flunks this test.
>
> You mean like all those vehicles that are using the high beams lamps at
> reduced brightness as daytime running lights in order to be more
> visible, and annoying other drivers (and cyclists).
Those don't annoy me, strobes do.
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Date: 16 May 2007 08:29:58
From: SMS
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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Peter Cole wrote:
> SMS wrote:
>> Peter Cole wrote:
>>
>>> I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
>>> action with the "what if everybody did it" question. I'm afraid your
>>> solution flunks this test.
>>
>> You mean like all those vehicles that are using the high beams lamps
>> at reduced brightness as daytime running lights in order to be more
>> visible, and annoying other drivers (and cyclists).
>
> Those don't annoy me, strobes do.
The DRLs annoy a lot of people:
"After receiving hundreds of complaints, NHTSA acknowledged that the
intensity limits were too high and proposed reductions in DRL intensity.
NHTSA cited a study by Kirkpatrick, et. al. (1989), that said that at
2000cd, the glare from DRLs was rated at no worse than "just
unacceptable" in 80% of the responses. At 4000cd, the glare was rated no
worse than "disturbing" in 80% of the responses. These subjective
ratings are based on the DeBoer scale. Corresponding to these ratings,
they found that at 4000cd the probability that the rearview mirror would
be dimmed was about 70%. At 2000cd the dimming probability was 40%. At
1000cd, the dimming probability dropped to 10%.”
As to strobes, they're no more annoying than the strobes widely used on
barricades. They achieve their purpose of making you visible to
automobiles, and drivers are trained to avoid these flashing amber lights.
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Date: 16 May 2007 22:49:27
From: Michael Warner
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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On Wed, 16 May 2007 07:51:13 -0400, Peter Cole wrote:
> I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
> action with the "what if everybody did it" question.
So that rules out sex with your wife, I guess.
--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw
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Date: 16 May 2007 22:41:42
From: A Muzi
Subject: Re: Good website on bike headlights
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> On Wed, 16 May 2007 07:51:13 -0400, Peter Cole wrote:
>> I was taught very early in school to consider the consequences of any
>> action with the "what if everybody did it" question.
Michael Warner wrote:
> So that rules out sex with your wife, I guess.
Is the best reply, "damn."
or "family newsgroup, buddy"
?
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
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