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Are strobing bike lights problematic?

Posted Jan 11, 2015 at 9:43 pm by
Categories: Cycling

This post by my esteemed colleague Andrew Sarkarati was the first I’ve heard of it:

I’m not really buying it. (Sick comeback though, Sark!)

Now let’s boogie:

15 comments

15 Responses to “Are strobing bike lights problematic?”

  1. salsa says:
    January 11, 2015 at 9:59 pm

    Until there are regulations about strobing… wait, a guy on rollerblades?! Whatever…

  2. ct says:
    January 11, 2015 at 10:04 pm

    I’ve only encountered them once or twice, but bright strobes fuck with your eyes pretty bad.

  3. Jamin-Time says:
    January 11, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    Did his parents have sex because of strobe lights? Rollerblades suggest they were related.

  4. michael says:
    January 11, 2015 at 10:42 pm

    strobe lights should not be used on the front. they distract oncoming traffic and drivers ahead. a strobing rear-facing, red light does aid in visibility without being as distracting. front lights are to help light your path, not to induce epilepsy or to blind traffic ahead.

  5. A bicyclist who has been hit by a car at dusk says:
    January 11, 2015 at 11:08 pm

    if and when car drivers see and pay attention to steadily on front bike lights, I will stop using the stone mode that makes me much more ‘annoyingly’ visible to them.

    • GG says:
      January 12, 2015 at 5:51 am

      Yeah, screw those other cyclists and pedestrians that your light is distracting drivers from noticing.

    • Leary says:
      January 12, 2015 at 10:03 am

      Well, except, of course, that you’re making everything and everyone else on the road less visible to drivers as a result. But hey, what could possibly go wrong?

    • Yat says:
      January 12, 2015 at 6:50 pm

      They might help you, but they’re dangerous for the cyclists behind you who are at risk because you’re blinding drivers with 2000-3000+ lumen strobe lights. 1000 lumen lights are annoying enough. If you want to be safer (and less annoying), tilt your lights towards the road instead of directly at on-coming traffic.

  6. Herr Doktor Professor Deth Vegetable says:
    January 12, 2015 at 3:36 am

    Are “strobe lights” in this context the same as normal blinking bike lights? Or are you talking about some kind of a special high-power super-bright blinky light?

    • DomPara says:
      January 12, 2015 at 11:12 am

      Sounds like a bright LED headlight, which would be pretty annoying in strobe mode. It results in a stop-motion effect, obviously bad for travel at speed. As much as it pains me to say, that guy in rollerblades yelling at strangers on the street was right.

  7. Pacific Standard Simon says:
    January 12, 2015 at 10:25 pm

    My problem with these things is that they make it difficult to judge distance and speed. When a steady light is coming towards me, I can tell how far away it is, and how fast it’s moving. With a pulsing light, I frequently misjudge both distance and speed, which could cause an accident.

  8. Travis says:
    January 13, 2015 at 1:03 am

    Speaking as a daily bike commuter, there’s definitely some lights people are using now that are way scary distracting. Much brighter than a headlight and blinky in such a way that you feel like you’re being trailed by a cop car.

    You can see them flash the street signs three SOMA blocks away.

  9. Oyster boy says:
    January 13, 2015 at 3:42 am

    I am in a country where front white lights are legally required, though not always necessary (some laws are designed by industry lobbyists). Many people have minimal white strobes to meet the requirement and maximize battery life – I was thinking this is where the notion came from.

    It sounds like some enterprising individuals have taken the notion to the extreme, as well as “this is all about me and saving my life” – not unlike people with loud motorcycle exhaust pipes who will claim “loud pipes save lives!” uh, how about you’re just being an ass? But hey – I’ve never seen one with disco intensity – are you sure those aren’t just low-flying UFOs looking for fresh meat?

  10. jb says:
    January 13, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    nothing says Fuck Off Epileptics like riding around town shining a bright ass strobe light in everyone’s eyes