Blinking lights on Group rides

[dantelman]

Not to start a Dumpster fire here, but I find the flashing/strobe lights when used in the paceline on a group ride very distracting.

The flashing mode tends to make a rider behind fixate on the light (when you don't want to fixate on any one thing in the paceline, it's better to keep your eyes moving). Some of the lights that emit a very bright (laser?) light can be blinding for a following rider.

If people agree, I'd like to recommend the following:
1. If your light has different modes put it on the steady (not flashing) mode, when you're riding in a paceline.
2. If your light has different brightnesses, use the lower or lowest setting.
3. If it's not dark/overcast or low light, I don't see a reason to use these lights in a group.

I do see the benefit of these lights when you're out riding alone, I just find them annoying/distracting when I am in a paceline.

[pace21]

Ha! You won’t want to join an early season pre-dawn Bullet Train, it’s potentially seizure-inducing

[J.Brodie]

Not to start an argument on this one, but I didn't think I would need lights either until I got wacked by a car in the middle of the day and enjoyed more than a year off the bike cept for countless hours of indoor trainer time...There's a good chance I'm going to have one of those little strobe lights for now on. Roads around MA have tight shoulders and drivers straight up aren't paying attention. On a shadowy road, even before dusk, it really helps to stand out.

Flashy lights > dead

[peterkuhn]

Ha! You won’t want to join an early season pre-dawn Bullet Train, it’s potentially seizure-inducing

they're great on the BT though because they help me avoid plowing into people when i get racebrain

[dantelman]

Not sure what the "bullet train" is, but if it starts in the dark and its below 32 degrees, it's unlikely you'll find me there ;P

I agree with using lights, but the ones that are so bright that they literally blind you, or you see spots, not so much. I will say that as you age, the eye becomes more sensitive to glare. I seem to be blinded by the cars blue HID/LED headlights.

We can't change the roads... they are narrow, winding etc. Still amazes me when drivers pass around curves, not being able to see ahead. That and MA still allows ppl to use handheld cell phones (most neighboring states require hands free, even for talk).