http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Topic: When were flashing LED bike lights invented? en Thu, 16 Apr 2026 21:01:45 +0000 http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300631 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 17:31:32 +0000 sallyhinch 300631@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I recall some time in around 1992/3 that mountain bikers had taken to mounting car reversing lights to their bikes but that this was illegal because they were too bright. At the time I had one of those Eveready ones that was so dim I had to shut my eyes if a car approached me without dipping its headlights to preserve my night vision (I was cycling along rural Derbyshire roads) and I thought then that in that case the law was an ass (as in a donkey, not contravening Rule 2) </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300628 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 15:58:28 +0000 SRD 300628@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>When I moved here in 1994, I remember being told that 'blinking lights weren't legal' which suggests that they existed back then. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300618 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 11:35:05 +0000 neddie 300618@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I think I bought my Vistalite in 1991 in New Zealand - they are early adopters out there, at least for tech </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300614 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 11:00:29 +0000 Arellcat 300614@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>@rbrtwtmn, perhaps an early adopter; I was working in bike retail/workshop back then. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300608 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 09:56:01 +0000 wingpig 300608@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>Illegal to use in isolation attached to the bike - prior to that, law-abiding people would attach them to their person. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300607 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 01:49:20 +0000 rbrtwtmn 300607@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm pleased that my "about 1995" guess seems to be proving reasonably fair for the 'became popular' measure. </p> <p>The Sheldon Brown article asserts "LED taillamps were quite common already in 1997." </p> <p>Clearly there's a fuzzy date range involved here - but 1992 (mention in chdot's pdf - clearly new) and 1994 (Arellcat, were you a trend leader?) to 1997 (Sheldon Brown "common already") all seems pretty clear.</p> <p>It was only 2005 that they were made legal. That's a full 10+ years of already-popular use while they remained illegal, which is what I was angling for really. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300606 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 00:51:06 +0000 I were right about that saddle 300606@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I remember seeing my first Cateye Opticube and stopping the rider total medieval peasant seeing a mobile phone style. 1973 i THINK BUT i HAVE BEEN DRINKING AGAIN. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300605 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 00:41:11 +0000 chdot 300605@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>“because we didn't know how to make white LEDs yet.”</p> <p>A scientist friend of mine told me around 2001 that it would impossible to make practical light white LEDs - something to do with chemistry... </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300604 Sun, 03 Feb 2019 00:37:48 +0000 chdot 300604@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>See P10</p> <p><a href="http://mirror.thelifeofkenneth.com/sites/www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Today/90s/Electronics-Today-1992-09.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://mirror.thelifeofkenneth.com/sites/www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Electronics-Today/90s/Electronics-Today-1992-09.pdf</a></p> <p>I can’t remember if I ever knew that Vistalites were Exide</p> <p>Exide was the replacement name for Ever Ready.</p> <p>They produced all sorts of rubbish lights. Many destroyed on Edinburgh’s setts. </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300603 Sat, 02 Feb 2019 23:55:40 +0000 Arellcat 300603@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>The Exide Vista Lite was the first LED rear light that was available in any numbers, and came out in 1991. It had 3 LEDs, but I don't think it had a flashing mode. Most of us were still using good* old Ever Ready Nightriders back then.</p> <p>By 1993 Vistalite was making four different LED lights, and all but one (the red Cuelight) had a flashing mode; green LEDs behind a white reflector were used for front lights because we didn't know how to make white LEDs yet.</p> <p>I still have my 1994 Vistalite, and it works fine.</p> <p>* I mean rubbish </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300602 Sat, 02 Feb 2019 23:36:22 +0000 rbrtwtmn 300602@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p><a href="https://www.sheldonbrown.com/marty_light_hist.html">Sheldon Brown to the rescue</a> </p> http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/topic.php?id=19433#post-300599 Sat, 02 Feb 2019 23:14:54 +0000 rbrtwtmn 300599@http://citycyclingedinburgh.info/bbpress/ <p>I'm chasing up some facts. I remember that it took a huge length of time for flashing (red) LED back lights to become legal in the UK... with the law having to catch up after everyone ignored it.</p> <p>I know (<a href="https://www.cyclinguk.org/lighting-regulations">from here</a>) that the law changed in 2005.</p> <p>I can't find information about when the lights first became popular. I'd make wild guesses at "about 1995" (plus or minus 5 years) - but can anyone narrow it down? When would I have started to see these on the streets? (despite the title of this post it's not really the 'invention' date I'm after) </p>