[bikebum1975]

If this is in the wrong forum please move to the appropriate one. I wanted to know if anyone here has used one of these turn signal lights are they worth it? Reason I ask I am planning to turn a bike into a motorized bicycle and want to add a bit more safety to it as I want to make it a commuter bike. Any thoughts on it though are appreciated thanks
Jim


Amazon.com: Bicygnals Indicator Bicycle Light: Sports & Outdoors

 

[Gomez]

It looks like a UFO! which is cool, but the price is a bit steep for me. Hopefully others will comment....

 

[froze]

Gee, how homer looking do we have to get? Just combine that light with a rider wearing bibs and off we go. Not sure why after 100 years of bicycles being around, after 35 years of personal riding without an incident that a signal light would have prevented, after another 100 years of most motorists in cars failing to use the signals they have, that suddenly the call for having signal lights on a bike is necessary. Now let the fireworks begin.

 

[photosbymark]

Well its not the bike, but the driver that has changed. The traffic levels 35 years ago were no where near what they are now in most places. There are more cars on the road, and frankly as the safety of the car gets better I think the drivers get more complacent. Add to that new distractions like text and cell phones and the problem is far far worse.

Now when I started riding, a headlight needed a big 6 volt battery to get half the light for a few hours instead of at least 40. More lights would have meant more batteries. Then such a system would have been totally impractical. That doesn't mean we don't need to consider it now. The op said they were planning to motorize it so speed would be higher for longer than normal.

Now would it be effective??? The answer I come up with is maybe. Some studies have been done with scooters and such that says the distance between the lights can make a big difference in how they are perceived and interpreted by other drivers. Too close together and it can cause confusion. Add to that the fact that this type of system is new and unusual could also add to a wt* factor.

On the plus side is that the lights are flashing and that typically draws attention. Ever notice that most of the most serious warnings that need immediate attention in almost any form of transportation, flash??? Airplanes, cars it doesn't matter. That flashing makes you see it at once. Other lights can be on some time before it gets noticed. Still in an urban environment with heavy traffic and so many lights, these flashing lights could also just blend in with the other lights. Certainly not full proof, but better than nothing.

Should such a system be mandatory? Absolutely NOT!!!. That is a decision the owner should make. Its their backside on the bike.

 

[froze]

I was just thinking about this. I have bar end lights. Why not just press the left light to flash when you want to turn left and the right one when turning right? It seems the answer is way more simpler then we're making it. Of course that wouldn't do anything for the car coming at you, but since most problems lie with the person behind then they would see which ever light your using.

By the way, I use my rear Blackburn Mars 4 in the steady mode instead of flash mode because I believe, as do some countries, that people get confused in depth perception with flashing lights and cars and motorcycles all use a steady light so why not us? With a steady light on, then comes the left or right bar end light to make a signal that would look somewhat normal to a driver.

 

[Gandalfe]

Because of the high volume traffic in my part o' town, I don't ride the bikes or scooter at night. But then, maybe that's because I'm an old fart. If I were to be required to (DWI or some such reason), I think I'd consider this or a like light set a good investment.

 

[froze]

Because of the high volume traffic in my part o' town, I don't ride the bikes or scooter at night. But then, maybe that's because I'm an old fart. If I were to be required to (DWI or some such reason), I think I'd consider this or a like light set a good investment.

I'm an old fart as well, I actually like riding at night especially during the summer time. Cygolite makes a fantastic light...at least so far I've only had it for about a month when my MagicShine broke after 6 months of use and I had to fix the connector at 5 months into it, and the warranty was only good for 90 days so I was screwed, this was by far the worst light for reliability I ever had. Anyway, it's the Cygolite ExpiliOn 250. As the name suggests it puts out 250 lumen, it's not as bright as the MagicShine is on full power but I thought the MagicShine was too bright anyways at that setting and ran it most of time on the lowest 200 setting, but the Cygolite seems almost as bright as the MagicShine was at 500. But the great thing about the Cygolite is that there is NO external battery! It uses a self contained rechargeable bats. The light is fairly small, light weight, and costs $119.

I combine my front headlamp with a amber Xenon flasher, along with an older BLT Ultra Doppler attached to the helmet.

 

[photosbymark]

I too enjoy night riding and am quite the old geezer. I use 2 different headlights, 2 tail lights, one on each pannier, and a 5 buck light from harbor freight on a headband. One can fail on either end, and I can still be seen. Texas summer heat you either ride early morning or night, and I am not a morning person.

 

[CycleJunkie]

Looks pretty cool. Just don't use them like some motorcyclist do and leave one blinking.
Could cause you more trouble than no signal light at all. Could be distracting with one more gadget to turn off and on. I love night riding and all the lights that go with it.