Vantage wrote:I'd be wary of fitting a light to the fork legs. The reason being, as I discovered before getting my dynamo, is that at certain viewpoints from the motorists seat, the front tyre can obscure the light. I narrowly missed being hit on a roundabout because of this.
I very much doubt that was the reason for your near miss. A bicycle front wheel, especially whilst circling a roundabout, does not maintain the same orientation for long enough for the tyre to obscure the lamp sufficiently consistently from any angle for this to be a plausible excuse for the usual dozy driver (who isn't really looking for anything other than other cars) except by an incredibly improbable fluke.
By the way, I don't mean unjustly to pillory "the usual dozy driver". Cycling is at a such a vestigial level in this country that sometimes when I'm cycling I forget that anyone else might be doing the same, fall into the trap of not really looking for anything other than a motor vehicle and once or twice have almost (but never quite) pulled into the path of another cyclist.
It likely wasn't the sole cause of the near miss, but I'm sure that as a lot of drivers rarely give more than a quick glance around before making a stupid manoeuvre, my light being obscured for a brief moment or so was more than long enough for him/her to assume the way was clear.
Bill
“Ride as much or as little, or as long or as short as you feel. But ride.” ~ Eddy Merckx It's a rich man whos children run to him when his pockets are empty.
I use a Topeak bar extender as Mike suggests. It does the job, though it adds a bit more junk to the handlebars and throws a distracting amount of light on the bar bag.
In the last year or so I've started using a helmet mounted light and have really noticed how effective it is at getting you noticed by drivers about to pull out of side roads or across your path. Mostly you can tell when someone hasn't clocked you. Many times pointing your helmet light at them directly does the trick and you see them do a double take. I use mine pretty much all of the time now, in the daytime also as motorbikes do. It can be expensive having a light that is small enough to fit on a helmet but bright enough to be seen in the daytime but I think that it's definitely worth it. I have an exposure joystick, at the moment the 8th gen model is £65 (using the code you are given when you enter the website) with bar mount and helmet mount. http://www.rutlandcycling.com/280640/pr ... wgodmXcAVA What is also noticeable is that the number of occurrences of drivers pulling out on you when they've already seen you but go for it anyway is reduced, you somehow become more of a physical object to be factored into the equation. Of course you have to be a bit mindful of where you point the light, but it's something you learn fairly quickly to avoid being unsociable.
Brucey wrote:f To my consternation a few years ago I found myself in danger of causing such an accident for a while when I'd just bought a new car; the new car had much thicker windscreen pillars and I found it was easy to lose a motorcycle behind them.
These days I am becoming less and less keen on motorcycling because most motorists simply are not paying attention to what they are doing. Between the sat nav and the smart phone they are badly distracted much of the time. I'd ban 'em, or make them so that they wouldn't respond at all to new commands when the vehicle is in motion....
cheers
I agree entirely - It seems in the 'interests of safety' because of the (statistically small) chance of a car rolling over, the pillars are made much bigger than previously, thus increasing the chances of an accident! The office-bound regulators idea of making things safer! As for phones being used in cars...... makes my blood boil - If I made the regs it would be 1 month ban for first offence, then if caught again a lifetime ban. Lets face it, no phone call is that important, and they have a handy feature whereby if you ignore them until it's safe they retain the caller's number. Ooer there I go.... rant over.
alexnharvey wrote:I put mine right out the front on my high rider front rack. Looks cool rather than weird, if you ask me.
Pictures please!
I'm still flexible. Although at the time I thought out front wasn't great, never is a long time. Besides: I can only load up on top of the front panniers, not the rack itself. I can, but only if I'm not planning on having my lamp in use. It also can only be soft luggage which won't damage or scratch the glass of the lamp while bouncing down the road...hc
Mistik-ka wrote:I use a Topeak bar extender as Mike suggests. It does the job, though it adds a bit more junk to the handlebars and throws a distracting amount of light on the bar bag.
I use one when I don't have a handlebar bag on, but don't like the area's not covered when the bag is attached. As mentioned elsewhere I have a light on my helmet which I like to point at cars at junctions, but also want a good light on the bike highlighting all the potholes out in front of me.
Newton's first law; Large body mass and weight equals fast going down hill but slow going up, So blame Newton not me when you're bored waiting at the top of the hill.
