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Light up!
October 30th, 2006 by Fritz 
With Daylight savings time having ended on Sunday, that leaves a lot of commuters riding in the dark. There’s a misconception that reflectors, which are mandatory in most states, are enough for us to be seen. I usually turn to www.sheldonbrown.com, one of the most complete websites about bikes and cycling for information. He has an interesting article on why riding with reflectors alone can be hazardous to your health. (Click here for the article).
As for me, I ride with a Lightman rear blinkie
AND a Cateye LED Safety Light attached to my helmet.
On the front, I ride with the Princeton Tec Corona Extreme
and a Cateye EL410 safety light.
Do I look like a geek with all them lights? If it gets me home safe, who cares…
October 30th, 2006 at 11:48 pm
I just got the sweetest new bike lights. They were $1.69 a piece. They’re halloween safety lights, their a 1.5 inch orange reflector with a blinking red LED on them. And they’re xtra cool because they come with a cool jack-o-lantern decal on them. They have a plastic clip on the back and I can attach them to my panniers or on the bag clips of my brooks seat. They weigh next to nothing and you can see them for about a thousand feet. Btw I have 2 headlights and i haven’t been hit yet with almost 2 years of daily riding.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:03 am
How did you attach the Lightman below the saddle? A u-clamp attached to the post? I don’t see the mounting hardware on their website.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:20 am
The lightman came with mounting hardware for the seatpost and to attach to a backpack, panniers, and helmet.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:27 pm
This reminds me to buy new batteries for my lights, they both happened to die at about the same time. Night riding now requires me to be even more forward looking and alert!
Does anyone have any recommendations for a front light thats easy to install on two bikes? One that just clips into something thats wrapped around the handlebars, instead of the whole unit wrapping around. The Serfas light I have now is bright enough, but it’s a pain to take on and off my bike.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:33 pm
Check out the Princeton Tec EOS
http://www.princetontec.com/products/index.php?id=37&type=0&use=4
October 31st, 2006 at 3:38 pm
Marshall, Check the beamer from PlanetBike. A quick-release bracket attaches to the bars, allowing you to attach the light in the same fashion as a bike computer. http://www.planetbike.com/frontlights.html#
That’s what I use in the front, with red LEDs in the back.
You may want to build your own lights. Check how others have done it: do a search for “bike light” on http://www.instructables.com !
October 31st, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Marshall, check the Beamer headlight on planetbike.com. If you want to build your own light. See how others have done it: do a search for “bike light” on instructables.com
November 1st, 2006 at 12:04 pm
[...] -Lastly, my light up post brings DIY ideas on rear and front lights. As long as you are lit, I mean, safe, who cares if you look like a Christmas tree? [...]
November 2nd, 2006 at 2:58 pm
That Cateye EL410 is a good one for switching from bike to bike. It attaches with a rubber strap and a clip, so it’s the right size for all different sizes of handlebar, and can also attach on a helmet.
November 2nd, 2006 at 3:04 pm
Monax: Not to mention that its waterproof to 50 meters!