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Cycling: Difference between revisions
More waffle about bike lights
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[[Image:rockhopper.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A Bicycle]] | [[Image:rockhopper.jpg|right|thumb|320px|A Bicycle]] | ||
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Bells are useful to have and in fact are a legal requirement. They can be slightly dangerous though. You shouldn't rely on a person getting out of the way when you ring your bell, they tend to ignore em. Always be ready to brake when going through an area with lots of pedestrians, don't worry so much about making sure they know they have inspired your ire by ringing your bell furiously. | Bells are useful to have and in fact are a legal requirement. They can be slightly dangerous though. You shouldn't rely on a person getting out of the way when you ring your bell, they tend to ignore em. Always be ready to brake when going through an area with lots of pedestrians, don't worry so much about making sure they know they have inspired your ire by ringing your bell furiously. | ||
An alternative to a bell is an air horn. These could be of more use than a bell as they are so loud. To be used only in an emergency though. | |||
===Lights & Reflectors=== | |||
There are several requirements under law concerning lights & reflectors. | |||
up in Santry. | |||
Legal requirements are: | |||
* You are required at all times to have a rear reflector | |||
* From "''half an hour after sunset and ending half an hour before sunrise on the following morning''" you must have a front and rear lamp. Flashing lights are actually not legal. http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/travel-and-recreation/vehicle-standards/lighting_of_bicycles_in_ireland | |||
Broadly speaking, there are two types of bicycle lights. Those that allow you to see and those that allow you to be seen. For commuting through the city center, ones that allow you to be seen are usually enough. These are typically LED lights, running off AA or AAA batteries, usually with a flashing option. The other type of lights are for use on dark roads with no street lighting. These type of lights can be extremely expensive, come with their own powerpack. They are usually halogen, but increasingly more powerful LEDS are also being used. | |||
The best approach is to have a set of lights on the bike which are non-flashing. Then, on your person/bag, put smaller flashing lights. These can help if you come off your bike at night. Non-flashing lights make it easier for drivers to gauge your speed/distance. | |||
The best low range rear bicycle light is the Planet Bike Super Flash. http://ecom1.planetbike.com/3034.html | |||
There are a range of decent front lights. The one I recommend for serious visibility on a budget is a Fenix L2D. http://fenix-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=195 This is actually a handheld torch, but with twofish lockblocks https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=25_66&products_id=273 can be attached to a bicycle. This torch allows you to see on pitch black roads and be seen going through the city center. Get rechargable AA batteries, at least 2700mah. | |||
There are alternative ones, as bright, available at dealextreme. Anything that uses a Cree LED is going to be bright. | |||
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.7938 I haven't used these, so don't know how good they are. Substantially cheaper than the Fenix though. | |||
For flashing lights, I found these lights bought them off ebay. It's a LED Band. It's not one of the green reflective strips with 4 dim red leds in it. They are quite bright, glowing reasonably well for the whole length of the band. | |||
[[Image:Twinkle_amber_on.JPG]] | |||
A number of people seem to make them, Nite-Ize, Polybrite and a korean crowd do knocks off called Twinkler. | |||
I bought the Twinkler version off ebay from here | |||
http://stores.ebay.com/CycleJerseys-UK | |||
The delivery price ain't fantastic, but at least it's quick. I bought an Amber one and a white one. The picture on the website is misleading for the white one though, it's actually multicoloured, Red, Green, Blue lights. Looks a bit odd, but highly visible. | |||
I put the amber one on my ankle, it's easily spotted when cycling along. The other one goes on my arm. I found an american place on ebay selling the Nite-Ize ones a bit cheaper | |||
http://stores.ebay.com/Lights-and-Holsters-Plus | |||
Get a reflective, Hi-Vis jacket. If you're around DCU, head into Heitons up in Santry, a builders store with cheaper jackets. | |||
===In the rain=== | ===In the rain=== | ||