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The University of Aalborg Study on Daytime Flashing Lights for Bicycles.
On Fri, 24 Mar 2017 13:57:48 +0700, John B.
wrote: On Thu, 23 Mar 2017 19:35:07 -0700, Jeff Liebermann wrote: I'm just trying to deduce or guess why there are no CF bicycle lights. I can get most everything else in CF but not lights. If the industry can produce CF water bottle cages, helmets, and bicycle pumps, why not lights? I suspect it is that thing called "demand". Practically every bike I see has a bottle cage on it and far less often do I see a light. That's because removable bicycle headlights are too easy to steal. So, the owner removes them before parking his bicycle. During the daytime, my headlight lives in my overflowing bicycle junk bag. The only time the general public is allowed to view my bicycle headlight is under cover of darkness. Of course, I rarely ride at night, giving the impression that I don't own a bicycle headlight. Given my speculation that a majority of the bicycling world follows a similar operating paradigm, the general impression would be that few riders own a bicycle headlight. However, I do agree that there is little demand for CF (carbon fiber) bicycle headlights. This is because few people buy CF bicycles just to win races. I suspect that the vast majority of CF bicycles are sold as a financial status symbol for the owner. Riding around town on a $4,000 and up machine is certain to gain the attention of other envious riders aspiring to own such an expensive machine. The problem is that one cannot show off such a machine at night, when nobody can see it. It must be shown during daylight hours when a bicycle headlight is not needed, thus explaining the lack of demand for CF headlights. Assuming a manufactory would accept my market analysis, the appropriate headlight would an "emergency" light, that would only make its appearance if the owner is caught after dark and without an audience. Wires would be aesthetically disgusting and detract from the spectacle. Therefore battery power would be acceptable. Light output should be on the dim side, so as not to blind anyone that might be impressed by the rolling status symbol. Temporarily clamping the light to aero handlebars might be awkward, but still possible. Of course, the price should be in line with the rest of the bicycle and seriously overpriced. But I suspect that with a intensive SAFEYTY! program it might be possible to change that. The problem with CF bicycles is that they tend to lack the structural integrity and safety margins needed to be genuinely safe. Judging by the numerous photos of CF stress and fatigue failures found online, riding near impending failure is considered normal. I've often suspected that this is to maximize the damage from a crash, thus inspiring a lucrative CF repair and frame replacement market. If riders were genuinely interested in safety, they would not consider a CF machine. I would guess(tm) that the prime motivations for purchasing a CF bicycle are high cost, sex appeal, looks fast even while standing still, very low mass, and speed potential. If I extended this list to include trivia, safety would be somewhere near the bottom. Calcium Carbide is also quite useful as a fishing tool. A screw top bottle or can, a bit of calcium carbide and a rock. Put the rock and the carbide in the bottle/can, add the cap, after punching a tiny nail hole in it, and drop in the lake. After a few minutes fish will start to float by. Belly up. I didn't know that was possible. If I ride my bicycle with an attached carbide lantern into a lake or river, will that also kill the fish? Kinda sounds like something that deserves a warning label on the lantern. When I went to the phone company and cancelled my account the nice young lady there asked me if I minded telling her why I wanted to cancel my account and I related my little story. She smiled and replied, "Yes, some people do notice" I had a similar experience with my Verizon cell phone bill. I had 3 of my friends on a "family plan" from Verizon. It saved them quite a bit of money on their cell phone bill, as long as the total number of minutes per month was under some maximum. Over the years, prepaid rapidly became cheaper, while monthly plans increased in cost. I finally noticed when I compared bills with a lady friend and discovered that I was seriously overpaying. Currently I am looking for a small talk only phone. I can buy a brand new phone for about $20 but I really want one of the tiny phones like Nokia used to sell. Remember when phones used to be advertised as small and petite? Well, if you want small and cute, try a Samsung Juke (SCH-u470) or https://www.google.com/search?q=samsung+juke&tbm=isch I wasn't terribly impressed with the range, battery life, construction, survivability, picture quality, and overall design, but they are small and cool looking. In public, it looks like you're talking into the palm of your upraised hand which attracts onlookers wondering "where's the phone?" -- Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558 |
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