Not sure anyone is interested but I thought I’d post our experience with some fantastic new pedals that light up when you pedal - white in front and red in back.
The pedals know their orientation, which is very cool, and turn off automatically when you stop pedaling for a bit. The light units also pop out of the pedals for easy recharging.
They’re heavy, as pedals go, but on a e-bike this is less of concern. We’re going to be living - and commuting - in Paris for 5 months starting in October, so safety is our number one concern.
The other product we are planning to purchase are Hiplok D1000 U-locks (Hiplok D1000: Anti-Angle Grinder bike Lock) These are specifically made to defeat angle grinders, which will go through just about any other lock in a few seconds.
Has anyone had a bike stolen this way?
Would love to hear about any other safety/security products people have experience with.
That is a really good idea @ScottLeMagicien, I don’t ride or drive at night anymore but I do ride my trike in narrow lanes in wooded areas and always have my front and rear lights lit.
Not sure how they know which way is forward though, do the lights change colour themselves or are the pedals weighted in such a way that they always face in the right direction?
Be sure to let us know how you go on with them. Also how and where you buy them, I see the price of 140 is in dollars. Do they have to be imported?
Just had another thought, my son visited last year and I rented a bike for him locally but it didn’t have lights on it so he had to make sure of leaving us in the evening back to his digs before the light went. These would have been very handy at the time, and for the next time.
There’s a very old bicycle safety device that very few riders around us have, and that’s a bell.
One of our favourite walks is along a few kms of a riverside footpath that’s shared with bike riders, They approach silently from behind, often at speed seldom shout a warning - have had a few near misses and wonder why, when they spend so much money on other cycling accessories, they can’t be arsed to fit a bell.
But it also applies to people on scooters, skateboards, rollerskates, and just those walking if you ask me.
P.S. We also have a normal bell and we let walkers know as soon as we can that we are approaching. Even the bike racers I know who don’t want to have a bell to save weight tend to click their brake levers or announce their presence verbally. Why other cyclists don’t do this is beyond me…
Its high time indicators were mandatory IMO, the rare occasions where an arm is outstretched often only lasts a short time and is useless in the evenings.
I used to sell brake lights for bikes, 30 years ago!
There was a company that made indicators that mounted on your helmet. A bluetooth device on the handlebars turns the lights on and off. Very cool idea!
I was surprised that lights were obligatory in daylight, might have a word with our local bike shop that rents them out without them.
Pleased to see that hats are not obligatory though, if they were I would have a serious problem with that but ultimately would have to obey, or stop riding.
That’s an urban problem, but many urban cyclists also wear headphones which seems a far more dangerous practice
That is illegal, came in at the same time as the law prohibiting anything stuck in the ears of vehicle drivers I believe. Much ignored, as you say, sadly.
Why when head injuries are a major issue in cycle accidents. When I was in hospital years ago a young lad was bought in after he was riding to Biggin Hill aerodrome to take his pilots licence at age 21! Bought in vegetative would never be able to manage life on his own. So sad but a helmet would have helped.
" That is illegal, came in at the same time as the law prohibiting anything stuck in the ears of vehicle drivers I believe. Much ignored, as you say, sadly "
better stop driving then having to wear hearing aids:smiley:
Sorry, misunderstood, I thought you had read of my hearing problems and assumed. But have you been told that wearing a hearing aid is illegal under that law? When it was first announced I remember thinking surely there must be an exception in such cases, after all, the purpose of the law was to stop people hearing, and being diverted by, music or phone conversations, not by preventing an apparatus that’s specifically designed to help with hearing.
Hearing Aids are NOT illegal for cyclists… (just as well for many of us…)
What is illegal is anything in the ears which “carries a sound” (music/speech) ie earbuds/earphones etc
and no mobilephones are allowed while cycling… no receiving or sending…
whether or not they’re “handsfree”…
“Il est interdit de porter à l’oreille tout dispositif susceptible d’émettre un son (écouteurs, oreillettes ou casque audio). L’usage du téléphone tenu en main est également interdit. Il n’existe pas de dispositif permettant aux cyclistes de téléphoner en route à ce jour.”
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