Get yourself seen

[gairym]

Both mine were flashing and fully charged before leaving the house.

[PaulB2]

My knog blinder mr chips has a slow flash mode that should last all night (official time is 54 hours). I've not used it all night but can confirm it has lasted for 8 hours of daylight running with no issues. I've also carried a 30g lezyne femto drive as an emergency (non-rechargable) backup though that has the flaw that it's easy to accidentally turn it on in your bag.

[gairym]

After a bit of investigation it seems that not all flashing settings are alike.

The ones I regular choose (for getting to/from town) are not the most efficient.

I now know which settings will last 30+ hours

[BigdummySteve]

Cat eye do some drop bar bar end lights

I’m a huge fan of these little things, as mentioned before they provide much needed visual width and seem to encourage wider passing, they also provide extra side illumination which is often overlooked.
Although they may be considered uncool 3M spoke reflectors ( the type which clip onto individual spokes) are extremely effective and weigh nowt.
If you have some spare led flashers one thing I used to do is point them at the ground, a white one on the down tube illuminates the whole of the front wheel and provides a pool of illumination directly around the bike, the rear is harder to position effectively but serves the same function for the rear end. The effectt when the led’s flash out of sync is like something out of Close Encounters and far more effective than using the extra flashers normally.

I did a lot of experiments when I had my bigdummy, a lot of the time I had my Son on the back deck, you suddenly realise just how vulnerable you are.

The other thing for car drivers is to bank what you see out in the car, obviously as cyclists we are hopefully on the look out but we learn, if someone was harder to spot why? If someone stands out what are they using?

I think bikepackers can be especially vulnerable, often our bikes are fairly drab and we don’t have road riding as a big factor in our kit choice, our Stu may have done us a favour in that respect with the new BB jerseys, but once it gets dark reflectives are probably the lightest and easier option for increasing visibility, as a driver I particularly notice spoke reflectors and the rim tapes on Schwalbe tyres, pedal reflectors (or ankle wraps) and helmet mounted lights.

[techno]

Although they may be considered uncool 3M spoke reflectors ( the type which clip onto individual spokes)

https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-reflect ... 5230604500

[lune ranger]

For folk with helmets with rear vents the B&M Topfire is a great rear light.
Multiple separate LED's sit in the slots connected to a button battery switch housing that sits on the straps. A bit of a faff to fit but a nice bit of kit.

[Lazarus]

[quote]Any recommendations for something that could be relied on for a full nights riding?[/quote

I never found any that were not very pricey and quite bulky - you will need branded stuff to get that IMHO

Personally I just use my Lummicycle rear light of my battery back and have had all night of that with a front light
YMMV

[benp1]

I look like a christmas tree. My commuting set up is

Exposure Strada on bars, usually on low, sometimes pulse
Exposure Joystick on helmet, usually on pulse, sometimes on low
Exposure red eye micro on helmet, on solid
Smart R2 USB, on solid
Third rear light on flash, spare rear light as a back up

Reflective spokes. Gilet or windshirt with reflective bits (R@pha usually). Often reflective ankle straps, respro ones are excellent. Plus in winter I'll have overshoes on with reflective bits at the back. Plus my rack pack has lots of reflective bits

It's not offensively bright, but it's very visible. I still get people missing me. But if they can miss a car...

[jameso]

Did anyone ever try those lights that cast a pool of red light below and around the bike? I forget the name but remember thinking they looked like a good idea.

No, but I had a rear Sigma battery LED that did that really well. Fully diffused LED output, circular lens and the red glow on the rear end of the bike and tarmac seemed to work well, used it a lot for rides at night on a road I really dislike in the Cirencester area and felt that it helped with space generated. 2 of them failed after a few wet rides each so I stopped using them. Inclined to say the theory works though, similar to the bar streamer effect - create a wider area that's referenced from the corner of the driver's eye as they judge overtaking distance, gains a foot or 2 on average?

as a driver I particularly notice spoke reflectors and the rim tapes on Schwalbe tyres, pedal reflectors (or ankle wraps) and helmet mounted lights.

Agreed, big fan of all those. Anything that reflects and moves is a winner, particularly when you think of the near-weightlessness of RF details.

[johnb]

Partially spurred on by this thread I've been looking at USB rechargeable rear lights - the small, silicone strap type. I'm surprised at the low run times though. Any recommendations for something that could be relied on for a full nights riding?

I've found a big difference in run-times between "constant" and "flashing", a couple of hours for the former compared to best part of a day for the latter.

2 then, one flashing one constant. One of the problems with rechargeable is the lack of warning that it is about to run out of power. Using 2 would probably solve that. Up to now I have always gone with disposables simply because of my inability to remember to recharge them but actually arriving home with the constant not working would be an obvious reminder!

[whitestone]

Yesterday morning when I posted about the run-time in flash mode I set mine going. I've no idea how much charge was in it but it was still going thirteen hours later when going to bed. This is the model - https://www.evanscycles.com/fwe-recharg ... n-EV244786

[BigdummySteve]

King of hi vis....

https://open.spotify.com/track/28uFnR70 ... cMu6ewpENg

Just because

https://open.spotify.com/track/1Ztx8USN ... NBdf3d46Wg

[Al]

Not able to commute by bike to the new job, but when I did I used these sealskinz halo overshoes with a red led in the heel. Work really well as they move about when you pedal.

https://road.cc/content/review/144907-s ... -overshoes

[AlexGold]

Not able to commute by bike to the new job, but when I did I used these sealskinz halo overshoes with a red led in the heel. Work really well as they move about when you pedal.

https://road.cc/content/review/144907-s ... -overshoes

These look great, any feedback on sizing or likelihood of getting SPD shoes with tread under them?

[Wilkyboy]

Partially spurred on by this thread I've been looking at USB rechargeable rear lights - the small, silicone strap type. I'm surprised at the low run times though. Any recommendations for something that could be relied on for a full nights riding?

The Lezyne Femto lasts for an age on flashing — https://www.lezyne.com/product-led-sport-femtorear.php

I ride audax more than bikepacking, so 200km+ rides all year round are the norm, often well into or through the night. Dynamo on the road bike, fixed-gear usually, with B+M IQ2 USB front and B+M Topline Plus rear, which is a large-area light + reflector attached to the Carradice Bagman frame. I pair the rear with a Lezyne Femto Drive on slow flash on the seat post, visible underneath the bag from behind — I think a flashing light says "bike" as much as pedal reflectors (I use shoes with big reflective areas, or else ankle bands). And the Femto is "bright enough" without being "laser beam" to everyone behind and I tend to use it all day as well as at night.

Anyway, I was out for 14 hours on Saturday and thought the Femto had died, but it was still going when I stopped to check and it lasted to the end. I am pretty sure I used the same batteries for the last four rides, so something like 50 hours on flashing. And that's from two CR2032 button cells, which weigh almost nothing and I always carry spares, as they are also useful for Garmin sensors. (I wrap up pairs in insulation tape, so I can tell the new from the used, and to stop them shorting and flatting themselves.)

I probably do now need to change the batteries — Lezyne claims 60 hours on flashing and this seems to be true, or at least true-enough for multi-day events.

In addition, black 3M reflective tape around the cranks, and on the rims — almost invisible by day, but reflective at night; probably useless on the MTB in muddy conditions. And usually a reflective gilet at night.

And I ride with a mirror. I can't understand why "proper" cyclists despise them; the mirror has saved my life more times than the helmet it's attached to (although I snapped it off when I face-planted on BB200 last year )

FWIW, on the [non-dyno] MTB I use a Cateye on the rear, which has a large reflector with LEDs behind it, so another large-area lamp+reflector, on the seatpost, visible above the 'guard and below the pack; that gives about 20 hours' runtime on 2x AAA on solid. And I mount a Femto or similar blinky from the CamelBak. But I've found with bikepacking that traffic's not really an issue — Wales is empty, and much of the night-riding is either off-road or when everyone else is in bed; and there's not much call for riding a proper mountain bike in Cambridge.

Now, if only I could get 650B+ tyres with a reflective band around them ...

[SeannyD]

Not able to commute by bike to the new job, but when I did I used these sealskinz halo overshoes with a red led in the heel. Work really well as they move about when you pedal.

https://road.cc/content/review/144907-s ... -overshoes

These look great, any feedback on sizing or likelihood of getting SPD shoes with tread under them?

I have a set of these, I couldn’t get them over my spd shoes with tread so bought some base model shimano road shoes and they are still a tight fit, lights are good though just a lot of faff getting them on.

[Al]

Not able to commute by bike to the new job, but when I did I used these sealskinz halo overshoes with a red led in the heel. Work really well as they move about when you pedal.

https://road.cc/content/review/144907-s ... -overshoes

These look great, any feedback on sizing or likelihood of getting SPD shoes with tread under them?

I used to wear them with Specialised Comp MTB shoes, they do have tread but not very vicious. They always went on ok - little bit more fiddly with the the boa dial and a side zip but very doable.

Ive got a pair of pearl izumi alp-x enduro, not tried wearing the overshoes with them but happy to have a go and let you know if you want.