Light up this Winter

Whilst the act of cycling seems agreeable to most, the cyclist seems to divide opinion like no other.

"Public enemy no.1?" ran a Venue headline last year. A Daily Mail headline in 2009 went with "There's no stopping the Lycra lout".

What's been done to provoke these headlines? If you read the articles you'll notice that it's down to the antisocial activities of a minority of cyclists - activities like cycling on pavements and riding without undue care and attention.  

And if there's one main activity to irk motorists and pedestrians at this time of year it's cyclists riding without lights.

It's easy to get caught out and I'm sure we've all done it. You unexpectedly have to work late and you're either faced with a long walk or a cycle home without lights.

Admittedly in a city it's relatively easy to cycle in the dark without lights - it's easy to see because the city's street lights and shop fronts illuminate the way but it's a lot harder to be seen.

More often that not, you need lights for safety than for showing the way. However, it's illegal to ride without lights and you could end up with a hefty fine. What's worse, if you do have a crash with a motor vehicle and you don't have lights, you're likely to be liable for the damage.

Pop along to your local bike shop and check out some of the latest gear for night time riding. You'll be doing your bit to reduce those negative stereotypes of cyclists, not to mention keeping yourself safe.

Below we've listed the most common types of lights available to help you decide which ones to invest in:

Battery powered LED lights

Light Emitting Diodes (or LEDs) became popular in bicycle lighting from the late 1980s. These diodes require a very small amount of energy to emit directional light. Standard units can operate for upwards of 100 hours on a single set of batteries.

Flashing sequences help make these lights popular with commuters (due to their ability to attract motorists' attention), often being used as secondary lights where an additional light is needed.

Coin-sized LED units, which can be quickly clipped to helmets or jackets, can help with extra visibility.

The versatility of a front light unit that can clip onto both helmets and handlebars give the commuter an extra option. Helmet lights are particularly helpful when cyclists need to focus on something away from the direction of the handlebars.

Prices for battery powered LED lights tend to range from £5 - £30.

Rechargable cell powered LED lights

These units tend to cost considerably more than battery powered LEDs, but they use a cell that can either be recharged by plugging it into the mains electricity or, more recently, into a USB port on a computer.

Battery packs tend to be bulkier than a couple of AA batteries but more expensive models come with light weight packs which can be strapped onto frames or sit in bottle cages.

Prices for these lights start from £50 for budget units and can cost as much as £500, although at this extreme these lights are best used for fast, off-road mountain biking, where the spread, distance and brightness of light will be most useful.

(picture credit: Light & Motion)

Dynamo lights

Simple dynamo lights use a 'bottle' that rubs against the sidewall of a tyre. The light output produced is fairly low and the friction of the bottle can reduce the speed that the wheel turns round, but these lights are always ready to use and they'll never need replacement batteries.

Whilst these are still used on some bikes, especially in Europe, a new dynamo system using wheel hubs (which is the part of the bike that connects the wheel to the forks) or bottom brackets (which sits at the point where the pedals meet the frame) has recently become popular. 

These dynamo types produce no noticeable drag and often come with a short 'standby' mode, offering light for a short time even when the bike has stopped moving.

Fitting these requires rebuilding a wheel or bottom bracket so it's most cost effective to purchase these units when also purchasing a new bike (especially if you are building one up to your specifications). The hub system costs around £75 and bottom bracket systems tends to be £100 upwards.  

(picture credit: Clever Cycles)

Home made kit

If you've a penchant for electronics and a creative brain, there's no limit to the ways you can wire yourself and your bikes up, as the examples below show.

If you're not quite so handy with a soldering iron, you could always take some scissors to a roll of Scotchlite and cut off strips to fasten to your bike or to the arms, legs and lower back of your cycling jacket.

(picture credit: www.agitprop.co.uk)

Other accessories

Reflectors and reflective tape do provide additional visibilty but it is illegal to use these in isolation.

Pedal reflectors are provided with most standard pedals but they are rare on SPD pedals (ie pedals that clip to the soles of shoes).

Spoke reflectors come as standard on all new bikes but there's no reason why these can't be upgraded for some more adventurous options, such as this idea (pictured right) by Monkey Lectric (costing around £40) or the Down Low Glow light (available from Rock the Bike).

High visibility trouser bands, jackets and Sam Browne belts provide extra lighting options, although it can be hard to incorporate these into smart office attire.

However, some smart cycling jackets are now available that feature inconspicuous dark coloured panels that 'light up' when car headlights hit them. These are available from most large bike shops, costing upwards of £40

(picture credit: MonkeyLectric)

More information

More about bicycle lighting, including more about lamp choice, battery choice and measures of light output can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_lighting

Do you have an alternative way of keeping bright? If so, add your comments below (you must be signed in).