Question on cycling on the roads (turns)

[H]

As a note, here we more often refer to 'pavement' as a general term for the covering on the street; vehicles are generally prohibited from the (pedestrian's) 'sidewalk' and specific 'walkways' (last year I saw a bicyclist zip by a toddler, known to trip when there's nothing to trip over, on a sidewalk). There are biking and hiking trails, usually wider, which accomodate both.
The frustration in these parts is that, even though in the Driver's Manual from which comes the written exam, many drivers don't seem to know the hand signals even if they do see the bicyclist. That's a major part of the reason I've wired on a tail lamp, front running lamp, directionals (front and rear), a brake lamp (engaged by either front or rear brake) as well as a seperately switched 20w headlamp. Of course, I also tend to bicycle after dark which makes the illumination more important.
As eno, I sometimes find it simpler to become a pedestrian and walk my bike across the street. Auto drivers, however, should acknowledge that, in most places, the slower-by-design vehicle (like a bicycle or horse) generally has the right of way -- just as pedestrians have the right of way even respective to them.

8-)

[machineman9]

I've heard of people putting indicator and brake light kits on their bikes before.... It might be an interesting project to do at home! Get some electronics together and build a lighting system.

I would love to get dynamo lights, but they always seem to be quite expensive.

[ViperPilot]

[quote]ViperPilot, your statement about "some properly outfitted bicyclists being the worst offenders" is something I'll now keep in mind.

[H]

I've heard of people putting indicator and brake light kits on their bikes before.... It might be an interesting project to do at home! Get some electronics together and build a lighting system.

I would love to get dynamo lights, but they always seem to be quite expensive.

[color=#003300]My home made system is expensive enough. The two 6v series-wired (=12v) lithium batteries cost about $40 per the pair at the time but the price is now about half again as much. I made my own battery box which is mounted on the lower front frame strut where the water bottle mount normally is. Directional, brake and tail lamps are automotive LED running lamps (~ $9 each). The directional blinking is caused by a blinking LED per side (~ $4/pair) which I've inserted in my main running lamp/headlamp switch mount (near the center of the handle bar to visibly help save me from the 'old-lady-continual-signal-syndrome'). My headlamp was made from a hacksaw-shortened metal flashlight casing (covered the back end with a vitamin-bottle cap) but I wired in a new 12v conical bulb and it has its own switch so it doesn't have to be on when the main switch is on (lithium batteries hold up better, recovering much faster, than a motorcycle battery but 20w is a bit of a draw during charging; I made a special recharging cable -- using a Nescaf

[Hagar]

I've heard of people putting indicator and brake light kits on their bikes before.... It might be an interesting project to do at home! Get some electronics together and build a lighting system.

That's a good idea.

I would love to get dynamo lights, but they always seem to be quite expensive.

I wouldn't bother with dynamos. They have one big drawback. They only work when the wheels are turning. Unless you have some sort of battery back-up the lights go out just when you need them most, like being stationary in the middle of the road waiting to turn right.

[machineman9]

I wouldn't bother with dynamos. They have one big drawback. They only work when the wheels are turning. Unless you have some sort of battery back-up the lights go out just when you need them most, like being stationary in the middle of the road waiting to turn right.

Hmmm...  A hybrid system. Well, it exists for cars.

I don't see why I couldn't convert a dyamo kit into a recharger, and use batteries too. My knowledge of power supplies is a tad weak, but I have a good deal of practise with electronics. A simple bistable circuit.


I just need to watch out in case my bike starts to look like a Delorean time machine 

[Fozzer]

When it comes to bicycle lights, the choice is endless!...>>>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_lighting

Take your pick!

Paul...shedding a little light on the subject!... ...!

High brightness LED lights are all the rage now!

[ViperPilot]

Paul's right; high intensity, high tech lighting systems have been out on the market for quite a while, and are used with great reliability in a lot of different situations. The popularity of 24 hour mountain bike races and ultra marathon running events were possible due to efficient lighting systems that were light, recharged quickly and easily, and had burn times that lasted for three or four hours of constant use.

I have an old Nite Rider dual beam halogen system with a 12 volt NiMh battery. It puts out 32 watts of light max. with both beams, has a Hi and a Low Beam, and has a matching tail light that plugs into the battery. It's shaped like a water bottle, weighs about a pound and a quarter, and fits in the WB cage on the down tube. It takes me about a minute to put the light on, recharges in about 5 hours, and lasts for 4. I've used this in the 24 Hours of Moab off road race and wouldn't ride at night with anything else.

They are kind of spendy, though, but well worth it if you commute by bike regularly and come home after dusk.

http://www.niterider.com/

Alan

[H]

They are kind of spendy, though, but well worth it if you commute by bike regularly and come home after dusk.
http://www.niterider.com/

From what I see, those are only headlamps?
The 12v/20w halogen lens cost me $6 on sale (the 12v/35w lens I had on the previous bike was a $3 closeout).

As indicated above, my battery pack is fairly narrow and there's no interference with legs/pedals; it can, obviously, be wired as a backup to a generator system but I suggest a surge diode be employed as a safety measure.

8-)

[hyperpep111]

I really am kind of lost here.
But I used to cycle every day after school with my neighbours and we always used to cycle on the road. There weren't many cars that used to pass by there because
a) We would cycle at dusk
b) We lived in an area which was far away from the cities.
But I never cycle in an area where there is lots of traffic and that's like the Platinum rule of Jogging and Cycling here.
As for speed limits, my best friend and i let it rim once we get to the downhill . No police tell us jack (well partly because we do that in little known backroads) 8-)

[ViperPilot]

Here in Denver we have a pretty extensive network of Bike Paths, which are off street multi use paths that run along two of our waterways; Cherry Creek and the So. Platte River. Intersecting that are Bike Routes; low traffic streets that also intersect, allowing a cyclist to make their way around town pretty easily. The routes and paths have been around since the 70's; I've ridden them back and forth, and most times I can get from my house to Downtown (about 7 miles) in about 25 minutes... just as fast as a car!

Unfortunately, that isn't the case. People who ride will choose the most direct route to their destination, and that sometimes means riding on high traffic streets and thoroughfares, which also means conflicts with drivers. We also have a City ordinance that prohibits cyclists from riding on the sidewalks, except within 500 feet of their destination or if the 'sidewalk' is part of the Bike Path.

Even with all of that, we're still considered one of the top 10 bike friendly cities in the US.

[machineman9]

We have quite a few cycle lanes, but they're not exactly safe... I was going down a cycle lane in the main road, and a bus was literally inches from knocking me off. So we do have cycle lanes, but we are not required to use them... In that case it was probably safer to not use the cycle lane and just cycle in the road - the bus would have not been able to chance it that way. The cycle lanes on the pavement take some interesting routes, and rarely take you where you want to go 

However, on my way to work, there is a lovely long country lane with a 60mph zone which I must navigate, and then cross over the road to get into the driveway at work. It's rarely busy down there, but it's kinda scary. I pretty much bought a new super duper helmet just for the task

[H]

High brightness LED lights are all the rage now!

Just to note...
when choosing lights it depends upon the intended usage. When seeking a headlamp, one is concerned with the amount of light that will be reflected back (the darker the color, the less reflected) which, of course, means more must be emitted to begin with since there will be considerable loss with the return. As for directional and indicator lighting, this is for the observer who needs only see the light coming directly from the lamp, which will thus shine much brighter in the eyes with much less emitted.

A single high brightness LED is not, currently, equivelent to a high brigtness halogen bulb. That is why LEDs are ganged in lighting units such as flashlights. LEDs are usually rated by mcd and the most common highest brightness LED I've found in stock is 28,000mcd; a 1w halogen is ~ 17 lumen; 17 lumen is equal to @ twenty-five of those 28k mcd LEDs. That means you'd need @ five-hundred of them to equivelate a 20w halogen headlamp.

8-)