options to make bike more visible to on coming traffic in foggy weather?

[mountainraine]

On my recently purchased Silvio I had a planet bike white tail light installed on the back, to the plate that neck piece is attached. Went on a bike ride today and it was extremely foggy so I was really delighted to know it was back there flashing away making drivers aware of me. I got to thinking it sure would be nice to have one attached on the front also for on coming traffic but I don't really see anywhere to attach one to. Does anyone have any suggestions on anything I can do to make the bike more visitable to oncoming traffic if attaching an additional flashing light is not an option? Raine

 

[Charles.Plager]

Hi Raine,
I think you're

Hi Raine,

I think you're exactly right.

I have a Cygolite Expillion 600 mounted on my handlebars. I find that cars are much less likely to pull out in front of me when they shouldn't when I'm running flashing lights during the day (I have a Cygolite Hotshot red flashing light for the back).

Cheers,
Charles

 

[MrSteve]

Fog

I run away from fog, I'm frightened by fog.

One day, riding in the Central Valley of California, I rode into a fog bank.
It looked pretty diffuse, from the sunny side,
but inside?
It was solid, dense, quiet fog: "tule fog".

I stopped.
Looking, I saw nothing but six to ten feet of grey-white stuff.
Listening, I could hear a few car tires, hissing on the roadway.

Waiting for all sounds to disappear, I turned 'round and crept
away from the death-trap/fog-bank, back into the sunlight.

I'm happy you lived to tell us your story, mountainraine.

I'm lucky to have survived my trip into the grey, to tell mine!

I guess my advice, concerning limited visibility conditions,
is to avoid them as too dangerous.

-Steve

 

[kenhardwick]

Mount light to front bracket

I recently mounted my light to the front bracket. Just had to modify a light mount to fit.

There are a couple of holes available as per 1st image below. 2nd image shows light mounted. Image is looking down from above.

 

[psychling]

A few years ago, in the flat

A few years ago, in the flat Illinois farmland, I was riding in the early morning fog. I got to a teeny rural town with a stop sign.

I put planet bike flashing lights on both ends of the handlebar.

At the stop sign a guy heading to church said "don't you know you're supposed to put those things on the BACK of your bike!"

My response: "Thank you for noticing."

 

[Andrew 1973]

reflective tape

While they provide a diminished effect in fog, adhesive reflective strips are cheap, work well in low-light situations and can add a bit of visual flair to your Silvio frame. As for lighting, I am still looking for the ideal solution. I am leaning toward a helmet-mounted kit from Light and Motion. Having a light on your helmet puts the light closer to the sightlines of motorists and there is the benefit of being able to illuminate where you look.

 

[mountainraine]

great ideas

Let me start by saying, Psychling, I loved your quick come back, I never come up with just the right response until it's too late! that was priceless. I hadn't thought about the handle bar ends!

Andrew Baloga~ I had thought about the reflective tape but haven't applied any yet, I'd think it couldn't hurt. I hadn't thought of the helmet light idea, I can see that being pratical. I'll check that out. I'm assuming the light isn't too heavy. I wonder if it can be taken on and off easily like an odometer? hmm....

KendhardwicK~ where you mounted your light was excately the spot I had been looking at until Cplager mentioned the handle bars however there's not much room on my handle bars with what's already mounted there and where the tape was wrapped on. Thanks for posting photos for me, good to know it's a possability in that location.

Cplager, that looks like a good one you went with I was checking it out.

Yakmurph~ your area has much worse fog conditions then here! like you my butt would be avoiding heavy fog like you described! yikes.

Thanks all for taking the time to reply to this newbie. Raine

 

[mickjordan]

Hi vis

One of my fellow San Francisco Randonneurs has really been pushing high visibility over the past couple of years, after two of our colleagues were killed by drivers hitting them from behind. We do a fair amount of night riding, but It's important to be visible in all conditions. You are definitely at a slight disadvantage on a 'bent compared to a DF bike owing to the lower seat.

I have a reflective triangle hanging of the back of the seat and a powerful flashing (red) Planet bike light also. On the front I have a small flashing white light on the bars, to try to catch the attention of drivers who might be pull out from a side road. Happens a lot on my commute owing to cars being allowed park to close to the junction. If I'm using my dynamo wheel, I'll sometimes keep the light on during daylight hours. However, I believe that flashing gets more attention than a steady beam.

On the other hand too bright flashing lights can be highly irritating to riders behind you. Many times I've been unable to ride behind someone who has one of those super flashing lights. I've also been blinded by riders coming towards me who have very bright flashing headlamp lights. So if we are riding in a group we usually switch from flashing to stable. A group is inherently more visible anyway.

I know that Dan has some creative visibility gizmos on his bike

Mick

 

[Velo Tobbit]

Strobe for better visibility

I have some interest in winter biking since I've lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. I once ran across the idea of using a strobe light for better visibility in snow fall. The idea is that the strobe will reflect off of the falling snow and create a "light ball" around the rider which will be highly visible to other traffic. I imagine the same effect could be achieved in fog. Here's the link for further information: http://www.icebike.org/Equipment/lights.htm This technique is described a little over half way down the page. Lots of other good information on this page too.