safety on bikes-lights/reflective vests etc

Bontrager Ion 200 RT/Flare RT Light Set
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/...t/flare-rt-light-set/p/23710/?colorCode=black

From Trek.com :"A powerful and compact bike light set with multiple flash patterns for daytime visibility from up to 2km away."




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None of those helmets has a chin guard. In 62 years of bike riding, I've never hit the top side or back of my head. I've hit my chin on pavement 5 times. Last time at 25 mph I broke it. Was unpowered but downhill. I ride a yellow logo Fox Rampage helmet now with chin guard. Not MPS but why should I worry about the top, back or side of my head?
I wear a green reflective striped vest, and after dusk or in fog or riding into the low sun use >100 lumen front & back flashing lights. My brother the bridge inspector say red is brighter, but people with color blindness see red as grey, so I'm sticking with green.
 
Bontrager Ion 200 RT/Flare RT Light Set
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/...t/flare-rt-light-set/p/23710/?colorCode=black

From Trek.com :"A powerful and compact bike light set with multiple flash patterns for daytime visibility from up to 2km away."




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ye p Iahve these and they are great. I had to buy a headlight so I bought the garmin headlight and it works the same. I turn on my gps and al lthe lights turn on. you can also have them change brightness with light change.
 
I have seen the LIGHT! Funny I was at the local REI right about the time this firt posted yesterday buying this ....
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Here is the latest from Cygolite... extremely bright and very visible with 7 adjustable modes. ;)

 

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We always use lights, HiViz/reflective vests and other reflective gear when we ride. Can't think of any reason not to. I see people riding without any such and I don't know why they want to take chances. Like the OP said, you can get a vest for under $10. Cheap insurance. Not idiot proof -- the supply of idiots exceeds the demand -- but when I'm driving a car, cyclists with this gear stand out way better than those without. Got some good suggestions from the links provided. Bought one and put several on my wish list. Thanks, everyone.
 
Everyone says it’s crazy expensive, but I think it’s worth it. I have a Supernova m99 pro on my Juiced Bike. The daytime running light is a good brightness, similar to a car LED daytime running light, but the m99 has a switch that you can use to active a high-beam. It’s useful for blinking a couple times while coming up on intersections and is a good warning for traffic to not dart out right in front of your path.

I still use a white LED blinker, a Cygolite HotRod and two Cygolite Hotshot 250 and and a red HotRod in the rear. High visibility gear is a must, you don’t want to give drivers and other road users the excuse that they didn’t see you.

One other thing that I have found is this bike safety wing. It sticks out from your rear rack about 12” and helps show how wide you really are. I don’t really have any proof other than my own observations, but most drivers will lean more toward the center line and give a bit more space when I’m riding on a shoulder.


Bike Safety Wing

Cygolite:


Supernova M99 Pro:
 
Great links etc on here guys

Like the safety wing

I have had great usage on my cygolite and niterider lights and the companies have both been great to work with for parts etc


Another I like is having a niterider lumina on my helmet I addition to the lights on the lumos

Anytime I am crossing where a car can make a right hand turn in front of me I turn my head to look that way, feel like this should make a major difference in them seeing me
Again it always seems safer to ride at nite with all the lighting than during the day
Probably going to get those Bontrager flare 200 lights For more daytime flashers
I do run flashing lights front and rear during the day but think bright clothes and bright colored bikes are the most help for daytime...


Something that bugs me a lot are these road bike jerseys, they often have some bright colors in them but really do not show up like reflective vests, but people probably think they are more visible than they really are

A lot of the biking clothes seem to look stylish and make a light to medium effort to be visible
I like to wear nice clothes like the next person but on the bike all I care about are having fun and not getting hit by a car lol

One of the biggest disadvantages I have with this , is in flagstaff I ride the dirt roads mostly and want to be seen, lots of people fly down those roads, so I use the vests and lights off road too
But the deer and elk I would like to get pictures of also seem them, don’t know if it is the colors or the reflective tape but they see me and leave from a long way off :(
 
Here is the latest from Cygolite... extremely bright and very visible with 7 adjustable modes. ;)

I'm using a micro(30) so all I can say is holly mackerel(350)😮
 
I'm with everyone on this forum in that you can NEVER be too visible on a bike. Drivers are far too distracted and not paying attention enough to see bikers so you have to get there attention with bright colors and flashing lights. I'd also recommend a great rear view mirror if you do right in bike lanes or the side of the any street because it's easy to see if cars approaching are not paying attention.

What I find interesting is that I rode motorcycles for about 20 years and never had an accident because I was always looking out for cars cutting me off and it happened enough that I finally decided my luck was running out and sold my loved Honda V65 Midnight Blue metallic. I had friends that were in accidents and it was always the same - a car turning left either cut them off and turned into them. While not their fault, I have always believed that 95% of these are avoidable because when you are on a motorcycle you have to anticipate some moron doing just that at every intersection. It doesn't matter if it's the car drivers fault because the motorcycle rider always looses. Same goes for bikers - expect drivers to do stupid things and you can be a whole lot safer.

Sadly I went down on an icy bridge last year and went head first into a fence post at like 22mph and severely fractured 3 cervical vertebrae. 100% my fault and I was lucky that I didn't suffer permanent paralysis but a year later I'm just getting back on the bike and still need neck surgery to fix my posture. Just a reminder that even when you think you are good rider you can mess up yourself.
 
I'm with everyone on this forum in that you can NEVER be too visible on a bike. Drivers are far too distracted and not paying attention enough to see bikers so you have to get there attention with bright colors and flashing lights. I'd also recommend a great rear view mirror if you do right in bike lanes or the side of the any street because it's easy to see if cars approaching are not paying attention.

What I find interesting is that I rode motorcycles for about 20 years and never had an accident because I was always looking out for cars cutting me off and it happened enough that I finally decided my luck was running out and sold my loved Honda V65 Midnight Blue metallic. I had friends that were in accidents and it was always the same - a car turning left either cut them off and turned into them. While not their fault, I have always believed that 95% of these are avoidable because when you are on a motorcycle you have to anticipate some moron doing just that at every intersection. It doesn't matter if it's the car drivers fault because the motorcycle rider always looses. Same goes for bikers - expect drivers to do stupid things and you can be a whole lot safer.

Sadly I went down on an icy bridge last year and went head first into a fence post at like 22mph and severely fractured 3 cervical vertebrae. 100% my fault and I was lucky that I didn't suffer permanent paralysis but a year later I'm just getting back on the bike and still need neck surgery to fix my posture. Just a reminder that even when you think you are good rider you can mess up yourself.
I hope all goes well with your surgery and things will be 100%
 
I hope all goes well with your surgery and things will be 100%

I got the ebike to get in better shape because I had an 8 year old son and I was 56. I had over 6,000 miles in and lost 40 lbs and was feeling great. Strange chain of event put me on the Platte River path that morning at that that time. I left much earlier to make a few stops on an entirely different route and realized I left my phone at home. I had promised I let someone into the warehouse at noon. I went home to get the phone, charged my ebike for a bit and then headed in but now had to make better time. It was the week of Thanksgiving so chilly. On the way in a light drizzle started but I never minded the cold or rain while riding. I noticed about 5 minutes before the crash that my coat was literally icing over (surreal frosty coating). There are wooden bridges on that trail - the concrete path was fine but the wood had coated with ice and I should have known. I was cruising at 22-24mph and as soon as my wheel hit the bridge the biked was gone. Would have just been a slide out but there were fence post on the side of the bridge and that where my head it.

I was so dazed I didn't even remember that I now had my phone. I knew I was messed up but my bike was also not ridable (carbon handlebar snapped on the fence post my head hit also). Probably a good thing or maybe I would have tried to ride to help. I couldn't really hold my head up but adrenaline is amazing because I made it a couple miles with my head resting on the bars as I pushed it. Spent the next 5 days in the hospital finding out how badly I was hurt but also how lucky I was it wasn't much worse.

What really hurts the most is that I've hardly been able to do anything really active with my son since the accident. My goal now is just to repeat getting back to that condition...I'm still not right but well enough to start full activities to get back in shape and get the surgery when I'm less concerned about it messing me up.
 
I got the ebike to get in better shape because I had an 8 year old son and I was 56. I had over 6,000 miles in and lost 40 lbs and was feeling great. Strange chain of event put me on the Platte River path that morning at that that time. I left much earlier to make a few stops on an entirely different route and realized I left my phone at home. I had promised I let someone into the warehouse at noon. I went home to get the phone, charged my ebike for a bit and then headed in but now had to make better time. It was the week of Thanksgiving so chilly. On the way in a light drizzle started but I never minded the cold or rain while riding. I noticed about 5 minutes before the crash that my coat was literally icing over (surreal frosty coating). There are wooden bridges on that trail - the concrete path was fine but the wood had coated with ice and I should have known. I was cruising at 22-24mph and as soon as my wheel hit the bridge the biked was gone. Would have just been a slide out but there were fence post on the side of the bridge and that where my head it.

I was so dazed I didn't even remember that I now had my phone. I knew I was messed up but my bike was also not ridable (carbon handlebar snapped on the fence post my head hit also). Probably a good thing or maybe I would have tried to ride to help. I couldn't really hold my head up but adrenaline is amazing because I made it a couple miles with my head resting on the bars as I pushed it. Spent the next 5 days in the hospital finding out how badly I was hurt but also how lucky I was it wasn't much worse.

What really hurts the most is that I've hardly been able to do anything really active with my son since the accident. My goal now is just to repeat getting back to that condition...I'm still not right but well enough to start full activities to get back in shape and get the surgery when I'm less concerned about it messing me up.
While the story about the accident makes me cringe. I'm glad I got some Schwalbe studded tires coming on saturday:)
 
I got the ebike to get in better shape because I had an 8 year old son and I was 56. I had over 6,000 miles in and lost 40 lbs and was feeling great. Strange chain of event put me on the Platte River path that morning at that that time. I left much earlier to make a few stops on an entirely different route and realized I left my phone at home. I had promised I let someone into the warehouse at noon. I went home to get the phone, charged my ebike for a bit and then headed in but now had to make better time. It was the week of Thanksgiving so chilly. On the way in a light drizzle started but I never minded the cold or rain while riding. I noticed about 5 minutes before the crash that my coat was literally icing over (surreal frosty coating). There are wooden bridges on that trail - the concrete path was fine but the wood had coated with ice and I should have known. I was cruising at 22-24mph and as soon as my wheel hit the bridge the biked was gone. Would have just been a slide out but there were fence post on the side of the bridge and that where my head it.

I was so dazed I didn't even remember that I now had my phone. I knew I was messed up but my bike was also not ridable (carbon handlebar snapped on the fence post my head hit also). Probably a good thing or maybe I would have tried to ride to help. I couldn't really hold my head up but adrenaline is amazing because I made it a couple miles with my head resting on the bars as I pushed it. Spent the next 5 days in the hospital finding out how badly I was hurt but also how lucky I was it wasn't much worse.

What really hurts the most is that I've hardly been able to do anything really active with my son since the accident. My goal now is just to repeat getting back to that condition...I'm still not right but well enough to start full activities to get back in shape and get the surgery when I'm less concerned about it messing me up.

Good luck with your recovery and surgery! ;)
 
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