Comments for Stack Exchange Bicycles Blog

Comment on Winter cycling links by Don

Don — Wed, 09 Dec 2015 18:46:46 +0000

Hi, I'm in Upstate NY and have been bike commuting since last March. Since then I've learned a ton and can't wait to do my winter bike commutes for the rest of the year. We normally get our fair share of snow and subzero days here. (Luckily it's still in the 50F's somehow) As long as you're prepared you can have a great time on the ride. For gloves I've found that the lobster style mitts give great warmth and still give you all the needed movement. Way better than a traditional glove. Keep it up great work on the site.

Comment on The Best Bicycle Taillights of 2013 by Jon Clay

Jon Clay — Mon, 11 May 2015 20:44:00 +0000

Using a Yamaha VStar 650 to ride when I can with Patriot Guard. Preparing to do a Funeral Escort they ask for "flashers on" which the Harleys & some higher end bikes have. My 2002 bike does not. Have 2 Solas 2-watt flashing red strobes for back, need 2 AMBER flashing battery powered strobes for the front. Any suggestions?

Comment on The Best Bicycle Taillights of 2013 by CyclingFool

CyclingFool — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 18:00:28 +0000

Issues with the old Planet Bike Superflash are quite annoying. The switch cover on the back of mine had cracked and part of the plastic was missing. I spent half an hour trying to jury rig some sort of DIY solution/fix. Then I remembered that Planet Bike is good about selling small replacement parts. I just ordered a new back cover complete with rubberized switch for $5 w/ free shipping. Hooray for giving new life to an old and trusted light. I do love that about Planet Bike.

That said, for a few months I've had a PDW Radbot 500 I managed to pick up for cheap. I prefer it to the Superflash, though both are decent lights. I like the Radbot's reflector and flashing patterns more, plus with the screw that's incorporated into the design, I don't have to worry about losing the business half of a PB Superflash, something that did happen with my first Superflash - sadly.

Comment on The Best Bicycle Taillights of 2013 by titanmanus

titanmanus — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 09:01:48 +0000

I had the Mars 4 and also bought one for my wife. The problem that mine is broken after 7 months. Bad design because the switch is on a PCB but this quadrant to another PCB. Every time you turn off or on is a tiny breaking mechanism. Lifetime guarantee? They refused to repair. My wife didn't use it too much but after 14 months it also broken. No more blackburn. :) Bye

Comment on Review of the Best Bike Headlights in 2013 by E.E. Mort

E.E. Mort — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:38:44 +0000

I love the Blaze series for a number or reasons (bright, affordable, slick looking, great bracket) however the gasket shredded the first time I changed the batteries and the front continued to fall off after that (during commute - all the time) until the wires pulled off their points and light was just dead. Fatal flaw making it a bad buy in my experience!

Comment on The Best Bicycle Taillights of 2013 by nhinkle

nhinkle — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 18:36:52 +0000

Thanks for the comments Frank. I've since stopped using the hand-held light meter for measurements because it's difficult to get accurate, repeatable results, and the hand-held meter only measures at one point, not the total output.

If you check out my bike lights site that's superceded these blog posts, it has some more details. I'm currently arranging a collaboration with Light & Motion actually to use their integrating sphere to accurately measure the output of various lights. The data isn't up yet on the site, but hopefully will be by the end of the summer.

Comment on The Best Bicycle Taillights of 2013 by Frank

Frank — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 18:51:38 +0000

Having currently owned several of the lights tested I have to say I disagree with the results. I own the Light & Motion Vis180 (not the Micro), Blackburn Mars 4, and Planet Bike Super Flash Turbo. According to the test results the brightest of the 3 they tested that I have should be the Blackburn Mars 4 with 13,700 followed by the PB SF Turbo at 12,000 and the least is the L & M Vis180 at 9,000, I did not see that as being the case whatsoever. When I turn all three to max settings and shine on a wall 5 feet away the VIS 180 completely overpowers the other two, and when I do it outside against my garage wall at 75 feet it's the same result with a very visible beam coming from the L & M but not so much from the others, and again shining them across the street to my neighbors house at about 200 feet away the only one that shows a red cast is the L & M! Another test I did was having all 3 lights mounted to my bike and had my wife come at me in the car from 4 blocks away, even she said the L & M was stunningly bright compared to the other two. So once I saw those results I kept the L & M instead of returning it if it had failed any of those tests.

Comment on McKenzie Pass Scenic Bikeway, Car Free! by PeteH

PeteH — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 15:15:51 +0000

Sounds like you had a great day out, and that Yurt looks awesome. If only al camping were like that I'm sure people would do it a lot more often.

Comment on Review of the Best Bicycle Tail Lights in 2012 by nhinkle

nhinkle — Mon, 30 Jun 2014 05:33:51 +0000

Jeff, make sure you're not riding with a white light facing back. This can be disorienting to other road users, and is illegal pretty much everywhere. It makes it appear as if somebody is going the wrong way, since white lights mean front.

Comment on Review of the Best Bicycle Tail Lights in 2012 by jeff

jeff — Sat, 28 Jun 2014 20:42:10 +0000

For a temporary fix for safety as I have purchased a new bike, two ordinary led no bigger than hand palm size flashlights. One is rubberband attached to handlebar, other seatpost bar. The two heavy rubberbands hold them in place great, they do NOT move at all out of place. I tested this attaching them to bike as stated, walked aways from bike, looking from the rear, and man! Talk about brightness! I know as I ride the vibration makes the lights " wiggle " so motorists see this flash affect taking notice. This works as a great temp solution to quick fix an illuminated light for safety to ride a bike right away, and they are super bright even in daylight.