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cheapskates's helmet light



 
 
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  #11  
Old September 29th 03, 06:01 AM
Dan Daniel
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Default cheapskates's helmet light

On Sun, 28 Sep 2003 03:36:33 GMT, Werehatrack
wrote:

On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 19:27:04 -0700, Dan Daniel
may have said:



Just curious; if you had ignored trying to get the various drivers'
attention, would the helmet-mounted light have been better for picking
out the pothole? I get the impression from various posters that the
helmet-mounts are a mixed bag in this area.


I wasn't using a serious lamp like a NiteRider or what the OP
described. So I don't think that I am a good person to talk about this
in many ways. My limited experience showed me that I am moving my
*eyes* a lot. Having a small beam on the helmet was difficult because
rather than moving my eyes at times, I had to keep my eyes
'stationary' and focus on moving the helmet to illuminate specific
spots.

Funny how something like this made me more aware of how I actually use
my vision when cycling. I found it disconcerting all in all. With time
I could probably have made it work and made it seem natural. Then
again, I would have probably looked like a bobble head doll going down
the road, even in daylight, as I kept my eyes stationary and used head
movements all the time....

I've sometimes run with
two bar-mounted lights so that I could have one aimed low for small
obstacle avoidance, and another aimed higher for general visibility
and large obstacle spotting.


That's what I did when I was commuting through some very dark suburban
side roads, and it worked well.

Like you, I move my head around a lot,
and it strikes me that having the light's spot follow my attention
might mean that there'd be no light dead ahead when I needed it unless
I combined the helmet light with a handlebar unit.


I haven't done night mountain biking, but I think this is the basic
setup for that- stationary and helmet mounts.

So now I use handlebar lights, and I assume that I am invisible and
expect the worst from cars.


That's probably prudent anyway. Too many car drivers are able to
blithely ignore other cars and even large trucks, which are much
bigger and easier to see.


I have found that adding a blinking front light has led to fewer close
calls with autos at night. The Trek single white LED light is small,
bright enough for the blinking action, and doesn't eat batteries.
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  #12  
Old September 29th 03, 12:52 PM
john cop
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Default cheapskates's helmet light

How does velcro work for the large light that you described in the
beginning of this thread? I've had problems with velcro having a bit
of wobble in many instances, which would bother me with a helmet
light.



Surface area surface area - why you need the strap formed to to the
helmet shape. For the big light, I used some heavier strength velcro
(I believe it comes in 3 shear strengths and I used the middle one for
this - McMaster-Carr if you have trouble finding it). There is a
little wobble, but not much. The real problem was getting the velcro
to stick to the helmet.
  #13  
Old September 29th 03, 03:52 PM
Rick Onanian
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Default cheapskates's helmet light

On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 19:27:04 -0700, Dan Daniel
wrote:
Did that. Not a Niterider, but a strong flashlight strapped to the
helmet. Made me aware of just how much I move my eyes and my head when
riding. The period of time that I would keep the center of the beam
aimed at, say, a driver coming into the road from the right to be
certain that they saw me was far longer than I am used to not moving
my head and looking around to remain aware of other hazards. After
hitting a pothole and almost falling during one of these brief periods
of getting a driver's attention was when I gave up the helmet idea.

So now I use handlebar lights, and I assume that I am invisible and
expect the worst from cars. Subjectively, of course, I am still alive.


Why not separate the functions of illumination and visibility?
If the helmet light seemed like a good idea except for the
issue of remaining visible to other drivers, then a handlebar
light (maybe just a good rear blinkie) would work for being
visible, and a helmet light for seeing where you're going.

Of course, if you've become happy with both aspects of
the system you use now, no need to fool with it; and it is
indeed a good idea to assume invisibility and expect the
worst, or at least prepare for the worst.

Trail or country road riding would seriously change the math for me.


Of course; one size does not fit all.

--
Rick "Light up my life" Onanian
 




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