CityCyclingEdinburgh was launched on the 27th of October 2009 as "an experiment".
IT’S TRUE!
CCE is 15years old!
Well done to ALL posters
It soon became useful and entertaining. There are regular posters, people who add useful info occasionally and plenty more who drop by to watch. That's fine. If you want to add news/comments it's easy to register and become a member.
RULES No personal insults. No swearing.
" I also don't want to go down the dynamo route just yet."
Time travel hasn't been invented yet, but it will be. Beano's going to forget his password in the future, so he asked me[or is going to ask me, these things depend on your frame of reference] to say from himself: yes you do.
I found myself becoming uncharacteristically vocal on my ride home along the canal towpath last night. I started by congratulating a cyclist's rear lights/reflectives as I passed by; they were very visible, yet not dazzling. I then called out a couple of oncoming cyclists closer to town, one whose bright flashing light was "too flashy" (I hope that he took that as intended) and another whose twin front lights were simply way way too bright. I also chastised a cyclist for turning off without indicating.
I lost count at around twenty too-bright-too-high on the NEPN on Monday evening. Hasn't been so bad since.
@wingpig they must have moved to the Innocent - lots of over-bright lights the last few evenings. Maybe I'm over-sensitive, but a couple were so bright that I had to stop, as I couldn't see in front of me.
Had issues trying to see anything last night at various points heading Leithwards on the NEPN in the gloom and heavy rain, as some oncoming cyclists had retina-searing lights which blinded me. May become more vocal about it soon if it continues :-(
(Having said that, I'm having to be very careful as the brighter of my own lights is attached with those thick rubber bands, and starts to point upwards with each bump in the road or path. Spent most of my time pushing it back down again before giving up and turning it off - must try to find a way of making it immobile on the bars!)
May become more vocal about it soon if it continues
i tend to skip the polite discourse and head straight on to outright verbal abuse.
no one changes their behaviour willingly anyway, they either care about the visibility of others or they don't give a monkeys.
but if they get enough verbal they might seek to avoid it.
My mountain bike like is so antisocial i'd never consider using it outside a trail centre or at least sufficiently deep in the hills as to be away from as many people as possible. >1000 lumens in a wide beam designed to light up an off road route. Having said that were I to use it on a path I'd not be alone...
BUT what really bugs me is folk with bright flashing lights on paths, it doesn't help you stand out against the generally background illumination and surely it makes it more difficult to see where your going.
those path flashers are just energy misers
without the wit to go dynamo
I stopped a bright flasher and asked him to reconsider last week. He said the light didn't have a dim setting so I'd just have to look away when passing him over the winter. Having said that I've not seen another flasher since so perhaps he's just leaving it turned up bright now.
I then called out a couple of oncoming cyclists closer to town, one whose bright flashing light was "too flashy" (I hope that he took that as intended)
I'm now imagining him cycling on thinking - "Well that's just your opinion. I thought they were quite tasteful."
"I'd just have to look away when passing him over the winter."
and hope you don't steer into the canal/off the side of the path as a result, (although I find the solid ones worse.)
twq said "Maybe I'm over-sensitive, but a couple were so bright that I had to stop, as I couldn't see in front of me."
really relieved its not just me that does that.
I highly recommend a cycling cap to take the visual sting out of oncoming bright lights. Dip head slightly and shade your peepers.YMMV.
@SRD - about your earlier point about not being able to see. I seem to recall that you are a spectacle wearer - could it be the fault of the anti-reflective coating on your glasses? I had a pair where the coating got lots of tiny cracks in it (which I could see if I peered at the glasses at the right angle and in the right light). The effect of this was that it created a bright halo around any points of light and made it really hard to see in the dark. In daylight it was fine.
Maybe if most oncoming bike lights are presenting you with a wall of white light then it could be your glasses rather than the lights? If it's only the occasional one that gives the wall of light, then it's probably the light...
I then called out a couple of oncoming cyclists closer to town, one whose bright flashing light was "too flashy" (I hope that he took that as intended) and another whose twin front lights were simply way way too bright. I also chastised a cyclist for turning off without indicating.
Not a joke... you should consider seeing your GP to have your blood pressure etc. checked out, if you are going to spend so many hours over the winter wound up this high!
I too sometimes have days where everybody I see is doing everything wrong. But it's best to be philosophical about it, you aren't really making anyone unhappy but yourself :)
FWIW I find a cycling cap effectively blocks out all oncoming lights, while still allowing me to see far enough ahead of my own bike that I can negotiate the paths. No particular eye issues though.
@jdanielp
Please don't label me a madman, but I have to say I rarely signal on a bicycle. I found it just gave people ideas.
I'll signal a right turn across traffic if there are no traffic lights, but otherwise my flippers stay on the bars, two claws on each brake lever ready for action.
Hope the canal is keeping you as chilled as it did me in 2014.
@greenroofer no, that's not the problem. just that the glare dazzles me and - at best - makes my eyes water terribly.
I may try a cap, but can't see how it would make that much of a difference. as far as I'm concerned, the problem is that people have lights mounted on head and handlebar pointing at horizontally, which seems to be straight at my eyes.
I mostly just cycle with an arm in front of my face - as I recall last winter someone on here said something snide about such behaviour, but that's my only survival strategy at present.
If they'd dip them towards the path, the worst would be resolved.
I was brought to a halt this evening by a staggeringly bright light on the towpath that was probably 100m away when I first saw it on the long straight by the Bridge 8 Hub. The trouble was that just after I'd seen it, I saw a person on foot silhouetted in the beam, so I knew they were somewhere in front of me, but had no idea where. I had to stop and wait for the light to pass because it was impossible to see anything at all. It was a dual beam thing and totally unsuitable for the towpath.
The cyclist who had to wait behind me (who I knew to be jdanielp from his melodious bell) also remarked on the brightness, and I was moved to comment to the lights' owner that it was too bright.
@Dave @IWRATS don't worry, I'm usually fairly chilled out on the towpath although I can get somewhat irritated when somebody does something that I would consider compromises my or anyone else's safely. I suspect that Greenroofer and I encountered the same cyclist with the twin front lights that I spoke to last night around the Calder Road bridge area this evening. Clearly he actually had his lights set relatively low last night because they were substantially brighter tonight, something more along the lines of what steveo described above. I hope that he gets the message.
+1 for @earthowned's suggestion of a cap to shade the eyes. I've been doing the same thing.
I haven't yet had to stop due to an oncoming blinding light but I probably should have. There've been a couple of 'nnnggg' moments when I've just had to pray that the space to the left of the oncoming dazzler is actually empty. Not wise.
Part of me is tempted to put my antisocial lights on my helmet and set them up with a handlebar switch to flash irritating light users much as one would a full beam driver on a back road.
@srd you can set your cap so that it intersects the ground a bit in front of you. Then, bright lights some distance away aren't a problem for a while however they're pointed. I typically just nod my head down (or to the side) for the last couple of seconds...
Had this on the work's BUG from someone just starting out on commuting...
"Tuesday morning....got the husband and kids ready, got my high vis on and off I went. I must say the morning cycle was enjoyable, however, the thought of cycling in the dark on the return route filled me with a little fear! For those who know the route to Fife you will know that there is a portion of the route that is not light. To say I didn't enjoy it was an understatement! Cars coming towards me not dipping their lights, lots of leaves and debris on the route made it a tense cycle home. I got back onto lit paths in South Queensferry, there was a definite sigh of relief and then....as I turned the corner of the cycle path another cyclist came towards me with an extremely bright light! It dazzled me and as I slowed to nearly a stop he continued to head straight for me! I ended up in a heap on the ground as I couldn't get my feet unclipped quick enough. I landed in nettles, the stings cleared up quickly, however, I also injured my pelvis. My husband had to collect me as it was too sore to continue.
'Why are you telling us?' I hear you say! Please when you are out be careful, make sure you are as visible as possible however, please also think about other cyclists. Use appropriate lights in the correct position when in light up areas and think about those less confident than you. Unfortunately, this incident has really knocked my confidence and I won't be cycling to and from work during the winter months :(
"
I hope she recovers from the experience quickly enough to get back on her bike in spring.
It would be great to do a lights test thingy at the next PY. It's much better to hear that your lights dazzle from a friend rather than a stranger in a crumpled heap.
There is only one real solution to this. You need to wear polarising sunglasses at night and then increase the lights on your bike to at least a few thousand lumens. Works a treat!
So has anyone got any reccos for decent, affordable lights? The ones I have are pretty bobbins and, even though most of my commute is on the path between Broomhouse and Leith, I figure now would be a good time to sort that.
So something that'll be noticeable by the inattentive commuters, but I also don't want to be *that* guy on the paths blinding everyone.
What I do is have a small button cell LED for the handlebars and use a helmet light. This set up relies on me having enough sense to direct the helmet light down in front of me when passing other people
TK, although the sunglasses idea seems logical it surely also restricts your night vision to an extent. The real solution is to try to educate other cyclists who seem to not realise or even care about dazzling others. The manufacturers/retailers are also very much to blame for not giving out advice on proper/safe fitting of such lights- it's left to individuals to throw the lights onto handlebars without considering the optimum angle. LEDs are far more directional (ie laser-like) than filament bulbs and so the angle of lights , and that includes rear lights too of course , is as important as brilliance.
I was cycling up Yeaman place, looked down at the canal path, and was dazzled by a helmet mounted light heading townwards....
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