Strobe as bicycle light

Kalpn

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Something's bothering me. I wonder if this happens in other places.

I live in the city area. It is well lit at night so it is kinda rare to see people using any form of light on their bicycle.

Recently, I noted that people are using strobe as their bicycle light. :eek:

At a closer look, it is those cheap lights that costs 10 bucks or less, with strobe function.

Initially, I would ignore them. Later, I started to get annoyed after getting strobed daily.

When I bumped into them while taking a stroll in the park, they get to 'eat' my 1000 lumen strobe (when it is safe to do so). :naughty:
 

Amelia

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I'd have a talk with them. Ask them how they'd like an epileptic losing control and plowing them down after a strobe induced seizure! Tell them to at least put some red cellophane over it.

No shortage of fools in the world...
 

Ladd

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Something's bothering me. I wonder if this happens in other places.

I live in the city area. It is well lit at night so it is kinda rare to see people using any form of light on their bicycle.

Recently, I noted that people are using strobe as their bicycle light. :eek:

At a closer look, it is those cheap lights that costs 10 bucks or less, with strobe function.

Initially, I would ignore them. Later, I started to get annoyed after getting strobed daily.

When I bumped into them while taking a stroll in the park, they get to 'eat' my 1000 lumen strobe (when it is safe to do so). :naughty:

I seriously hope I am misunderstanding what you have written. Surely you are not going around pointing a 1000 lumen strobe at people because you are annoyed.


I would think a safe and sane way to deal with the situation would be to ask them to redirect their "see and be seen" light to a proper position.
 
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Lou Minescence

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The bicyclists are probably using strobe because they don't know about beacon mode and the cheap flashlights they are using only offer strobe.
It is annoying.
I've recently started biking again. I picked a Nitecore with a 2 second beacon as my attention getter. I don't think it is annoying like some of the other strobing bike lights.
As far as strobing the bike riders, they probably don't get it. At least they will know where you are and hopefully won't run into you [emoji38]
 

R.W.D.

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I am an avid mountain and offroad cyclist and personally wouldn't use strobe on a bike. When I'm biking in the city I still don't use it I think it's an ignorant thing to do. A rear red flashing light is fine but forward facing light is always at a downward angle when in the city. Off road sometimes 2000 lumens if its an open area but if there are trees nothing higher than 600 mule power so a tree doesn't blind me.
 

Kalpn

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I seriously hope I am misunderstanding what you have written. Surely you are not going around pointing a 1000 lumen strobe at people because you are annoyed.


I would think a safe and sane way to deal with the situation would be to ask them to redirect their "see and be seen" light to a proper position.

It's just a quick strobe at them to warn about it. It only applies to those cyclists, using strobe at front light.
 

more_vampires

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It's just a quick strobe at them to warn about it. It only applies to those cyclists, using strobe at front light.

I had a nice conversation with a cop in just this way when he flashed me while I was walking one evening. We kindly ran my ID and spent a pleasant 45 minutes while I was photographed repeatedly.

You wouldn't believe the look on his face when the radio casually mentioned I had a valid permit. He seemed rather unhappy that I had no outstanding warrants.

Surprisingly, he wasn't enthralled by my Overready/Surefire hybrid.

Hitting street people with 1000+ lumen strobe is a nice way to meet friendly police officers. They look like everyone else at a distance in the dark. Your mileage my vary, offer void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply.
 
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lampeDépêche

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I never use a strobe--on rear or front--at night time or around twilight. It is too disorienting and unpleasant for all concerned--even me, if I go down a dark street and the world starts strobing back at me. For night, use a steady light.

During the day, however, I think strobes are fair game. People's eyes are adjusted, the world is full of lights coming at them from all angles, and my strobe is a small percentage of the light they are taking in.

Honestly, in a crowded city on a sunny day, nobody is going to see my steady light even if it's 1000 lumens. (Lots of car lights are at least that bright, and they hardly make an impression on other drivers). So the strobe is something I can do to make myself more noticeable in all of the light pollution.

If you really want to be visible to cars--and your visibility is absolutely vital to your survival if you are on a bike--then the best thing to do is invest in bright tops and vests with reflectors. I have noticed when I am out biking that I see another biker's bright yellow top long before I see their lights, even when their lights are pretty good ones.

It's a bit of a shame, because I think LEDs are awesome, and I don't care much about yellow clothes. But in my own experience, I consistently notice yellow clothes quicker, and at a greater distance, than I notice LED lights.

Edited to add: strobes and flashers are illegal on bikes in some countries, e.g. the Netherlands:
http://www.holland-cycling.com/tips-and-info/safety/traffic-rules-and-regulations-for-cyclists
 

R.W.D.

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I still use a light while biking during the day in the city because I was hit and run once mid day right after work messed me up pretty bad next month a friend of mine got hit and run just crossing the road and she died.

During the day I will poit it at the car I'm trying to get to pay attention to me and it has saved my *** a few times. At night I wouldn't point it at a car but during the day in jax you get a ton of idiots and we use to be high in the hit and run area. Seems like the two places I'm around are bad for cyclists jax Florida and southern Cali.

For anyone who rides bikes don't assume someone's watching you, make sure you see them looking back at you. Same with motorcycles I occasionally ride my friends BMW In jax and its the same deal nobody's looking out for you that's your job.
 

more_vampires

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BMW rider here, too. Some people take a fancy to a "daytime headlight modulator." It pulses the headlight, with the intention of day use only. That device would wreck me at night. Pulse light and me don't get along well. I'm susceptible. Lucky me.

Controversial device, and banned in some areas.
 

lampeDépêche

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BMW rider here, too. Some people take a fancy to a "daytime headlight modulator." It pulses the headlight, with the intention of day use only....Controversial device, and banned in some areas.

Oh yeah, I have seen those while driving on the interstates. As a car driver, I say: it's okay with me. I want to make sure I see the motorcycles, just like I want to make sure everyone sees me when I'm on a bike. In the day-light, that strobing effect really helps.

Of course where they are banned, you shouldn't use them. But otherwise? Strobe away in the daylight, brother.
 

R.W.D.

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I think beacon is fine just not for me. I don't think strobe was made for the same reason beacon modes were. If its a dim strobe I guess it could be justified but when it get up in lumens I feel like its way too distracting. I know two bike shop owners one in FL one in CA and neither of them sell strobe for bike only beacon lights.
 

idleprocess

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A common feature of many bike headlights is a slow strobe (peaking at perhaps 4 Hz), intended for daylight use only. It really helps a cyclist stand out in a cluttered daytime environment on the road - especially if the pattern has some variation to it. But using those modes at night is a Bad Plan™ due to the pedestrian / motorist aggravation factor. A fast strobe is reallt stupid since it seems apt to cause target fixation rather than recognition and avoidance. Strobing or blinking the light will surely do weird things to your vision, making you a hazard to yourself.

Blinky red tail lights on the other hand are a good idea if you prefer not to be introduced to a very disadvantageous flavor of e = 0.5*m*v² by a motorist that "didn't see you".
 

Jiri

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Something's bothering me. I wonder if this happens in other places.

I live in the city area. It is well lit at night so it is kinda rare to see people using any form of light on their bicycle.

Recently, I noted that people are using strobe as their bicycle light. :eek:

At a closer look, it is those cheap lights that costs 10 bucks or less, with strobe function.

Initially, I would ignore them. Later, I started to get annoyed after getting strobed daily.

When I bumped into them while taking a stroll in the park, they get to 'eat' my 1000 lumen strobe (when it is safe to do so). :naughty:

Thank you very much for this thread. I really hate when cyclists use a strong STROBE while cycling on a bike. And I tend to see this more and more (in the Czech Republic.) These people are completely stupid, and don't understand what is the strobe mode for. I am cyclist by myself, but I don't ever use strobe mode while cycling. Especially not at night. Actually I have seen one cyclist recently riding in the oposite direction to me, and he was using strobe mode of some new Fenix flashlight... I had to scream at him, SWITCH OFF THE STROBE MODE IDIOT, BUY A REAL BIKE LIGHT!! Why I don't like it so much, is because it is really annoying not to mention dangerous to car drivers and other people. Strobe mode is a tactical mode of tactical flashlights and should be used only if necesarry in certain type of situations (emergency situations, tactical usage of LEO etc.) Not a bike light for godsake.
 

KeepingItLight

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Don't know much about this. I did read that blinking lights, be they front or rear, can make it harder for a motorist to judge how far away a bicycle is. Drivers will see you sooner, but they might mistake your distance.

The other thing I want to mention is the bicycle mode built into the new BLF A6 Special Edition. It does not strobe on-and-off. Rather it flickers about once a second. Most of the time, the light is constant, but at one-second intervals it flickers briefly between two different levels. It does not ever go dark. The UI notes say the flicker uses a 1kHz rate. I count about 5 flashes before output becomes constant again, but there may be more. This is intended for the forward-aiming light of a bicycle. The idea is that on-coming drivers will notice the flicker, but won't get strobed.

I do not know of any literature that discusses this. Have any of you ever used a bicycle light that does this?
 

more_vampires

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Don't know much about this. I did read that blinking lights, be they front or rear, can make it harder for a motorist to judge how far away a bicycle is. Drivers will see you sooner, but they might mistake your distance.

The other thing I want to mention is the bicycle mode built into the new BLF A6 Special Edition. It does not strobe on-and-off. Rather it flickers about once a second. Most of the time, the light is constant, but at one-second intervals it flickers briefly between two different levels. It does not ever go dark. The UI notes say the flicker uses a 1kHz rate. I count about 5 flashes before output becomes constant again, but there may be more. This is intended for the forward-aiming light of a bicycle. The idea is that on-coming drivers will notice the flicker, but won't get strobed.

I do not know of any literature that discusses this. Have any of you ever used a bicycle light that does this?
I mentioned this in post #11. Daytime headlight modulator. The critical thing is that it isn't for night time use! :(

As far as literature goes, it's kind of gray area. I am aware of zero areas requiring a DHM and heard of several that have banned them.

If it's banned on a motor vehicle at night, I can't see the reasoning in doing it for a bicycle.
 

Skimo

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If DHM is what some motorcycles use, this makes sense. Even in daytime they are simply annoying, along with the motor cyclists riding the line.
 

alpg88

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some bike lights are really annoying, i have one like that too, however, in a city, a steady light will not get you noticed, and when you drive on the streets with cars, you want to be noticed, or you will get hit, in a park i really see no reason for strobe. btw i use maglite xl200 as my bike light, i can adjust strobe intervals, i usually set to 2hz or so. also aiming them down to the ground, make al that light reflect into riders eyes, that is why people do not aim the down.
 

Wrathbringer27

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I had a nice conversation with a cop in just this way when he flashed me while I was walking one evening. We kindly ran my ID and spent a pleasant 45 minutes while I was photographed repeatedly.

You wouldn't believe the look on his face when the radio casually mentioned I had a valid permit. He seemed rather unhappy that I had no outstanding warrants.

Surprisingly, he wasn't enthralled by my Overready/Surefire hybrid.

Hitting street people with 1000+ lumen strobe is a nice way to meet friendly police officers. They look like everyone else at a distance in the dark. Your mileage my vary, offer void where prohibited. Some restrictions may apply.

What? You need a permit to carry lights???
 
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