Bikes, scooters, etc - alt. forms of transpiration

When "bugging out" or "getting home" Most people think of either driving or walking -- both good but what about other ideas; a bicycle, electric scooter, public transit, canoes etc.?

I personally, keep a small pair of bolt cutters in my E&E Bag. A master key can be a wonderful thing to have on oneself.

Wildman800: your bolt cutter comment raises an interesting issue. My EDC/GHB is a kit for a city pedestrian, 11lb.s., all up. Limited tools due to security searches, but I keep a LM Blast, most of the time. In my car, I have a much larger 72hr. pack and vehicle based tools, ax, shovel, Ti pry bar (21") and a 24" bolt cutter. That's a master key, but heavy as hell. I also keep a Channelock 369, 9.5" linesman pliers, with added silicone tape for cushioning & insulation. That small master key will cut fence wire and the like. I can add it to my bag in a walk-out situation. But it weighs more than a pound. Where did you draw the line in weight vs. limited utility in your E&E kit? Do you propose to walk-out with your bolt cutter?

I include a bicycle in my evacuation plans primarily because I have done a fair amount of bike touring and I have good equipment readily at hand. Traveling by bike, I can slip through traffic jams, take routes not available to larger vehicles, and even lug gear over obstacles.

My bicycle is a Surly LHT, currently with 32mm touring tires (37mm are recommended - much more versatile) with front and rear racks, and low gearing(although not low enough - the next time in the shop I will go even lower, if possible).

The load on the bike is basically light weight back packing equipment, stuffed into front and rear panniers. Included is a lightweight backpack which would allow me to abandon the bike and continue on foot, if necessary.

This works fine for one person, but I have a wife and daughter, non-riders both, so the bike won't work in all situations.

I can easily travel 75-80 miles a day, fully loaded, and can exceed 100 miles if necessary.

Acropolis5... a lightweight alternative, but slower would to be a hacksaw blade.. in the simplest version, a split key ring and a stick the ring could slip over with a sawn groove would work as a handle... a pocket knife clip is my probable go to... if you practice with this, cover the teeth of the blade or it will eat up the knife scales

If you are more limited on weight and size for your tools, here is an option for serious cutting:
Stanley Carbide Grit Rod Saw

This will cut chains and other difficult metal objects. Just tie a loop of cord into each end as a handle.

Usual disclaimer, no affiliation.

Here we are talking about bikes for bugging out, and you guys bring up bolt cutters and hacksaws. this definitely makes bike owners like me very uneasy!

I plan on walking out with my bolt cutters. I debated about 6 months whether it was worth the weight or not. I finally decided that because of the distances involved, that it is worth the weight. It is about a 12" pair. The tool that lost the internal debate was a fencing tool which has many uses but it doesn't do anything as well as the actual tool could except for the staple puller. I don't see a big need for it's staple pulling or hammer capability. The wire cutter is only good for cutting wires up to a barb wire size.

Be afraid, young Hikermor, be very afraid!

When I worked downtown and depended on commuter rail to get there, I had myself a think about hoofing it home 40 miles.

I stashed a good pair of broken-in boots and some other gear in my office, but I didn't have a place to store a bike.

Assuming that the commuter rail was down and it didn't make sense to stay somewhere downtown, my preferred options were as follows:

• Hop in a taxi and go
• Rent a car and go
• Buy a bicycle and go
• Hoof it

Towards those ends, I always had credit cards and plenty of cash on hand -- enough to buy a decent hybrid bike, which was more than enough for a 40-mile cab fare. I also knew where the car rental places and bike shops were, and where cabs could be successfully hunted.

Barring massive loss of infrastructure, taxis, buses, and privately owned vehicles are still viable. Paper bus schedules and taxi listings, cash on hand, good shoes, and a comfortable pack will handle most situations. The snag will be that with an unexpected large area event (i.e. 2011 Southwest Blackout), everybody will be scrambling for the same limited resources at the same time. Since these events commonly involve loss of power, you will not be able rent a car, get cash from an atm, or use a credit card.

That is where bikes, scooters, etc. will come into play. With your office space constraint (I'm assuming you're cubical rat like me), a folding bike or scooter stored under your desk may be a good solution. The downside is that these are not cheap (~$300), and the increased speed translates to increased risk of injury.

[quote=Mark_RWith your office space constraint (I'm assuming you're cubical rat like me), a folding bike or scooter stored under your desk[/quote]

There are scooters small enough to fit under a desk? Are we thinking of Vespas or Razors? I've seen a Razor equipped with some sort of motor, but I don't think it's got much range or speed.

In almost every picture and film clip of refugees that I can remember,bicycles.If they are not being riden they have everything possible tied to it pushed along by the family.I was going to suggest a folding bike but,Mark R beat me to it.....
BOATMAN
John

I was. A folding bike or scooter would not have been safe to leave there -- I guess I could have ridden it to and from the commuter rail station. My current job rarely requires me to go to the office; when I do I have my car. I've got much better preps in my car than I was able to have in my laptop bag and my desk at my old job.

I still want a folding bike though .

I'm thinking of adult razor style scooters. The Xootr Street is 31x9x13 inches. The Micro Sidewalker is larger at 48x8x22 inches. As best as I can figure, cruise speed is about double walking speed.

You can get folding gas powered scooters (Go-Ped makes several adult models), but I imagine that storing a greasy two stroke under your desk is frowned upon.

I've been looking at these for recreation due to an old knee injury that makes any cycling incredibly painfull. It was never really diagonosed (idiot docs and tightwad HMOs), but was probably IT band syndrome with a lot of of scar tissue complicated by feet flatter then Kansas.

I've seen advertised and used on TV (I think on an episode of UK Top Gear and used by James May in one of their "races") bicycles that fold up or disassemble into a smallish suitcase that can easily be carried or stored. How useful they are is a different question, but they exist.

That reminds me of pictures of Vietcong pushing modified bikes loaded with 500 lbs of gear.
http://www.transchool.lee.army.mil/museum/transportation%20museum/vc-bike.htm

Not really relevant to a get home bag situation, but it demonstrates the amazing amount of stuff that you can transport if you don't have to lift it. I don't know what a stock bike can carry at walking speeds, but I'd be surprised if it was less then 300 lbs.

'Bike Friday' is one brand - they have very small wheels, so are not as smooth nor as efficient as a full sized bike, but are much faster than walking

Bicycles strike me as such a basic prep for anyone contemplating "bugging out" or staying in the neighborhood in a situation where gasoline could be in short supply. They can easily be found cheap or even free (ask friends and family if they have old dusty bikes they'd like to get rid of).

We've had on ETS a few good discussions on this subject. Here's one I dredged up. I need to update my equipment list as in the past year I've picked up another bike (hybrid), dog trailer-stroller (Doggyride Novel 10) and the Burley Travoy trailer/hand-cart. I use these items regularly in daily life and am mindful of how useful they would be in some dire scenarios.

Here's one of the old threads: "Bug-Out Bike"

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.ph...true#Post187987



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Montanero, believe it or not, I have this blade on a hacksaw frame in my car tool kit. However, I never thought to use it in the fashion you suggest. Your idea is terrific. Much better I imagine than a roll up wire saw. I'm going to have to buy another one and test it's "bendability ".

Les, you also have a great idea. I've seen a simple plastic handle/frame that will hold a hacksaw blade in the same configuration. Sort of like an old fashioned "key hole saw".

However, neither alternative is a quick way to cut your way thru a chain link or razor wire fence, to effect an "escape". And escape is the idea of a master key. I've read that the SOG multitool, with its ratcheting plier/cutter is the best multi for this duty. Anyone have any real life experience?

Very interesting...

For $4.00 I'll have to pick one up to try it out.
Thanks for the tip.

I'm confused by the hacksaws, bolt cutters, etc.

My bicycle is my main method of transport. It's quicker, faster, cheaper and more flexible than any other form of transport for me.

I'm not sure what the idea of all those hacksaw are, but proper bike locks take forever to saw through and small bolt cutters won't cut heavy duty hardened and squared off chains. Also if you are trying to saw my lock off, you might need to be able to run really hard and far.

You could also look for bikes locked with just cables (easy to cut) or U-locks (use leverage)...

a small section of hacksaw blade gives me options.. striker for a fire steel, metal or wood saw etc.. takes up very little space and not much weight

I hope no one is recommending tools to assist in theft of a bike during an emergency situation. Really bad form, the owner of that bike may be counting on it for the same situation.

Me too ... I don't see how they relate to the topic.


I'll second that, too.

Acropolis5.. the SOG power tool is highly recommended by Jeff Randall (Randall Adventures and Training).... his articles on EDC and BOBs are very well thought out, and he has a lot of third world experience... I have won several Leatherman models at various 3 gun matches, so that I what I carry

hiker,

Right there with you on the touring bike. Fortunately, wife also rides and has her own, but the 2 daughters are more of a problem. The 10 yr old can ride herself but lacks stamina and couldn't carry much. The 6 year old rides a Burley Trail-a-bike, which basically adds another 60 lbs to my ride.

If you have never read Joe Kurmanskie's books on touring while pulling his kids, they are hilarious and have some good ideas on transporting kids by bike. "In Momentum is Your Friend" he pulls his one son on a trail-a-bike pulling his younger son in a trailer. Something like 500 lbs and he rides across the country. Definitely an impressive feat...

If I had the money I'd by 2 tandems and use the girls for stokers. But those things are expensive!

I don't think the cutters are for bike locks, but for gates and fences. Depending on the emergency, cutting through fenced and/or gated property may be necessary.

As an example; At the time of the 07 wildfires, the only viable escape route from my apartment was to head east toward the fire and then north or south on the freeway. If (when) the fire jumped the freeway, the only way out without a bolt cutter was a single, chapparell lines, two lane road headed west. With a bolt cutter, there were several additional routes available through golf courses. Bicycles could easily navigate the golf cart paths, and the concourses themselves were considerably less flammable then the chapparell bordering them. The fire jumped the freeway 2 days after we bugged out.

I have a Mountain bike with a rear mounted rack. My E&E Kit will convert to saddlebags in seconds and my poncho & bedroll will strap onto the handlebars and rear rack in a few more seconds. Anything else will be carried on my body.

"Bikepacking" seems to be increasingly popular and is relevant to this discussion. REI even has a new product section for it on their website. Seems it is mostly just new marketing of stuff they already carried but notable nonetheless.

http://www.rei.com/h/bikepacking


A lot of great information, trip reports and photographs in the Bikepacking section of the mountain bike forum. Some of these guys (it is mostly guys) are hard-core about making use of every bit of space. I'm particularly interested in the water bottle holders on the front forks and the handlebar setups that accommodate sleeping bags.

http://forums.mtbr.com/bikepacking-bike-expedition/



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Russ: As MarkR recounted and as I specifically stated, reference to a Master Key, was defined as a fence wire cutter, intend to effect an escape from danger. I had no thought of bicycle or any other theft. I'm sure that the other posters on the reference to a cutter were similarly intended. It's not always a great idea to jump to negative conclusions.

Does anybody rollerskate?
I knew a girl who said she could average more than 10 miles an hour and skate over a whole day on any paved road.
It sounds a bit extreme to me because that would be 80 miles in 8 hours.

This idea of cutting fences and such is new to me. Has anybody here actually been in a situation where they are riding their bike and decided to cut a fence to ride through a property? Or is this all hypothetical?

acropolis - I was responding to Tjin's post prior to my last.

As for fences, I've gone through many barbed-wire fences in my years, never saw any need to cut one. Be careful, whoever owns that fence is going to be seriously PO'd.

Barbed wire fences, you're right! I've never needed to cut one. Hog wire and hurricane fences-in some situations. Such cuts can usually be sewn back up, if there is time, such as from a wildfire.

Chickenlittle,I do not think rollerskates are very practical.One con not carry much of a load and maintain balance.If you have to go overland (leave sidewalk/pavement) you will be walking.A bicycle can go either.In a disaster there may be rubble that will bring a skater to a complete and sudden stop.A pebble is all it takes and its ROADRASH city.

BOATMAN
John

This is something I have never experienced, or heard of. Even if there is a locked gate, it would be just about as easy to lift the bike and gear over most such obstacles. I have crawled though scores of barbed wire fences, however (when hiking).

Any bike is good - esp. if kept in good running order.

I had to go to the hardware store today so I picked one up. I put a split ring on each side and tried to cut a cylinder of mild steel 1/4" in diameter.

First I put my index fingers through each ring and used a sawing motion. I found the saw blade would want to bend around the cylinder if I put slight downward pressure.

I next held the saw blade in my hand and used it as a file. It was easier and quicker to cut the cylinder.

The process took a little over 5 minutes to cut through mild steel. A hardened steel lock would be considerably longer.

For the slight weight it would work in your bob but if I could hop or go around the fence instead I would.

I agree...just doesn't sound good!

Update - lights are getting brighter and cheaper every year -- and sometimes USB rechargeable. Update your lights if they are more than a few years old.

Definitely ... last year I picked up a $50 USB chargeable front light capable of 480 lumens. Also, more recently, I grabbed a nice little rear light that is USB chargeable for $10.

No kidding! Just yesterday I got an offer from Fenix for a bike light that would turbo to 1500 lumens! It was over $100 but that is still impressive output.

Going back to alternate methods-
has anyone ever looked at the electric versions of either the razor scooter or electric/assisted bikes?

I think the 500w hub motored electric bikes have the same caveats as the under 50cc gasoline powered ones in that they do not need a license tag... a wide variety and price on the hub motors and controllers between Chinese and German, some regenerative brake...like the rest of the electric vehicle world.... depends upon the batteries... when lithium iron phosphate or newer technology becomes affordable, probably more interest in the 36v or higher systems... we need to make friends with Chile, Bolivia, and anyone else that mines lithium...

I've read some pretty positive things about electric assist bikes recently. Here's a Bike Calgary thread where one guy talks a bit about his e-assist fat bike he uses for year round commuting (mid-way down by GenMacSmiley). As you can see on this same thread gas powered ones aren't as warmly received . I'm sure there's other info out there ... this is just one I read recently.

Locally, I understand Power in Motion are the guys to go to for this sort of thing and their website seems pretty good for getting some basic info.

Heavy, cost more, more maintenance. In a world were people have a lack of exercise; just pedal. Cheaper and burning fat still beats using power.

They are certainly heavier, and depending on the design, the batteries can really shift the center of gravity up on the frame making them a little trickier to ride.

I've been looking at Prodeco for these bikes. They aren't the super high-end bikes you find in a lot of the bike shops, but they seem to be gaining a good reputation.

Their Outlaw is a Li-Ph 52v battery. Apparently this bike can get up to 30mph.

Anyone who is seriously considering purchasing one of these, I'd recommend they go down to their local bike shop and try one out. The amount of power they have is a little surprising.

What I like about them:

They are pretty eco friendly, at least compared to the small SUV that is my daily commuter

They sure make the hills a breeze, to the point you don't even need to pedal up them. The level of "assist" is adjustable.

Blasting by those guys in spandex is kinda fun...

What I don't like:

The batteries wear out. If the battery is proprietary, and it probably is, and the company goes out of business, as a lot of them will, your really stuck with a VERY heavy bike.

They are heavy.

They do take some maintenance, and you will need parts. Saving by purchasing online really not pay off in the long run when you don't have a local dealer to help you get parts/repairs.

In the long run, I think your money would be much better spend purchasing a really good pedal bike. Get one that fits you, it's not just about tire size. You'll have just as much fun, you'll get some great exercise, and probably make some awesome friends along the way.

I'm not affiliated with Prodeco in any way, btw - just trying to find ways to not pollute the world.

I think electric assist bikes can be good solutions for a number of different situations: for those who have either long or very hilly commutes; people with health limitations (e.g., knee issues); people using cargo bikes. The example I linked to above is also an interesting case, where it allows using a fat bike (5" tires) as a commuter (which, I think, would be awesome in the winter).

Regarding cost, around here a kit costs about the same as one year of transit fare, depending on the one you get. So I think it could be a very good investment for someone who would like to commute by bike but who need that extra assistance to make the daily trip effectively.

I'm actually looking at regular adult kick scooters (Xootr Street, Go-Ped Know-Ped, etc) as they look like they won't aggravate my knees and pack down very small. I just need to find a place in San Diego that rents them before I commit to buying one.

...or a folding bike

Just ran across this, which may be of interest to those folks thinking about bikes as an alternative in large scale disasters. Portland OR is a very bike friendly city. For the last three years Portland has had a bike event called "Disaster Relief Trials".

Hey, that looks like fun! I like the video. I wish they'd compare the different cargo bike designs.

Fascinating! Were the riders self contained with respect to their consumed water? Were there any normal (not purpose built cargo bikes) participating?

I will tour with about 40-50 lbs of gear (varies with water and food loading)and I can knock out 70-80 miles regularly - but that is in a functioning society, with milk shakes, etc. readily available.....

I don't know anymore about it than what was on the web links. Given that they had to carry 100 lbs of assorted stuff, I suspect that cargo bikes would have a big advantage. It does suggest, however, that experienced (but non messenger) riders such as yourself, using normal touring type gear, could be still be very useful in a disaster scenario. The website does indicate that similar events have been held in other cities, such as Seattle. Perhaps you should look into organizing one in your town? You could include a "touring class".

I did find another link with a lot of photos of the 2013 event. Apparently one guy entered (and finished) with a cargo skateboard!

Even a conventional bike could be useful -just load it up and start pushing. The North Vietnamese demonstrated that....

That looks like a really cool event...I would love to take part in something like that! Unfortunately I haven't heard about any around here. I don't have a cargo bike, but I have a good touring bike and it wouldn't be hard to attach a trailer for extra capacity.

while visiting a friend's shop the other day, I noticed that he still had a couple of his now adult son's BMX bicycles that are at least 15 years old... rather than a folding bike, what about a seat post extension, and handle bar gooseneck extension to allow one of these short bikes to be ridden in a traditional upright fashion.... with the handlebars stored parallel to the frame, it would not take up much room.. most are very high quality and lightweight.. most of the kids in the BMX competition go through several size upgrades during their careers...

I didn't realize cargo bikes cost thousands of dollars. Is this normal, or have I just stumbled upon a site for a particular sort of consumer?

http://www.metrofiets.com

There's gotta be a cheap version. Plenty of people use bicycle to transport stuff in less wealthy countries without paying thousands in USD. How do they do it?

I am not in the market,but I am sure there are cheaper versions , especially if one is handy with a torch.

Part of the extra cost is because they put the cargo between the rider and the front forks. They have to have a complex mechanism to be able to steer the front wheel.

Hmm, I'm not convinced the weight forward designs are all that good. I prefer to have weight over the rear wheel. Check out the Surly Bikes Big Dummy .

But rather than a dedicated cargo bike, I'd much rather have an excellent road bike that can carry cargo -- something like the Surly Long Haul Trucker.

My 20-something year old mountain bike was built the old fashioned way, Cro-Moly steel with lots of braze ons. I've had a rack over the rear wheel and a small pack on the handlebars. Nothing that upsets the balance. It could easily take a set of panniers to carry more stuff. If I needed to carry more than that I'd start looking at trailers...

See an overview of cargo bikes and an review of some cargo bikes.

There appears to be lots of different designs for different purposes and different preferences. How much weight do you want to carry? Bulky and odd shaped stuff or small and compact loads. Will you ride big hills or mostly flatland?

I have been riding a Surly LHT for several years and I am very pleased with it - very versatile and useful. I'll bet their other models are pretty good, as well.

In a pinch, almost any bike will work, especially if you keep the tires inflated. (You read it first here on ETS.)

+1 on the Surly LHT...excellent bike. I managed to find a used one on Craigslist this spring that was my size and it is now my all-purpose bike (aside from trails, I have an old mountain bike for those rides). So far the biggest loads I have had on it have been 30 pounds of groceries...rides nicely with the weight and could handle much more, especially if I installed a front rack in addition to the one on the rear. Also can take fairly fat tires, even with fenders, so you're not limited to skinny tires and perfect roads. I haven't ridden any of Surly's other models but they all look good. There are a few (Troll/Ogre/ECR) that look like they would make good off-road touring/camping rigs. As far as cargo bikes go, there's a company called Xtracycle that makes a kit you can use to convert a regular bike (like, say, that old steel MTB) into a longtail cargo bike. Check it out...http://www.xtracycle.com/freeradical-x1. Much less expensive than buying a ready-made cargo bike.

Was searching for Christmas presents for 12 yr old and came across an interesting twist- Electric Skateboards..

Lithium Battery Skateboards with a range estimate of 11-12 miles started at under 200.00..
As a get home vehicle, Small, portable, 11 miles at 20 Mph without any kicking, probably more if you have downhill stretches, and functional as a regular skateboard when the battery dies.

Thoughts, comments?

European here. One of the organisations that tested a stack of those, failed all of them due to their unsafe batteries.

Also skateboards need a decent surface.

Probably better with an electric scooter. Actually see tradesmen using them in places like London. Where they have trouble parking their van near the client, so use a scooter to travel back and for the van.

I'm a big fan of Surly. One of these days, I may even get around to building up the 1x1 frame and fork set that's been collecting dust in my house for about 15 years.

This was me in my early 20's. I don't skate anymore, because in 2013, I had a catastrophic street crash in Seattle that left me with a permanent disability, so getting on skates at this point is a very bad idea.



In my aforementioned early 20s, I lived in Center City Philadelphia and skated everywhere with a backpack that most people would considered a suitable size for a "bug out bag" or "get home bag". IN all that time, I only ever had two falls, and only one of them resulted in any injury, at all, a small patch of torn skin under my jeans. The jeans themselves didn't even rip.

As of this past September, I use a Fenix PD36 TAC on a Fenix ALB-10 handlebar mount as my bicycle headlamp. It has a maximum output of 3000 lumens (really about 750 for any significant period of time), but more importantly, it will run for over 10 hours at 350 lumens or over 18 hours at 150 lumens.

Those are the two settings I use when riding at night. 150 lumens for most riding (also as daytime running light), and 350 lumens if I am on a fast downhill.

My bike is a 1990s era Trek 820 I got at my local charity shop for $25 a few years ago, with a milk crate zip-tied to a rear rack.

In most states, e-bikes are limited to 750 w motors and 28 mph operation, and generally *must* have operable pedals. Anything more than that, and it's legally considered a motorcycle.

Most e-bikes use battery packs made up of 18650 or 21700 cylindrical lithium-ion cells, and the packs can be rebuilt. Those cells aren't going away any time soon, since they are also commonly used in many other devices, most notably Tesla automobiles and household battery banks. Tesla has announced they will be moving to 46800 cells in the future, and there's no reason those can't be used on e-bikes, as well.

Don't use those lights in traffic, you basically blinding everybody facing you.

Get specific lights that have a cut off point, so you don't blind others.

My light is no more blinding to others than a car's headlamps. In fact, my light is far *less* bright than automotive headlamps.

https://www.nadaguides.com/Cars/Shopping-Guides/how-many-lumens-is-a-car-headlight

It's not about lumens. Its the beam pattern and lux.

It's the same as a high or low beam on a car. A regular flashlight is equal to a high beam. A proper bike light has a cut of to act like a low beam.

Put the bike in front of your car with the light on and sit in the car to see what the effect is.

The Germans even made a law regarding bike light needing to be a low beam; the StVZO standard. It's just the Germans that made it in to a law, but it doesn't beam blinding people else where is good.

Random google hit on StVZO: https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/stvzo-bike-lights/

A regular flashlight beam battern is however fine for mountain biking; as you don't have other traffic and allows you to see branches. Although i would recommend to have a headlight and handle bar mounted one, so you can see in to the corners.

Looking at the photographs on that site, they don't bear any resemblance whatsoever to the amount of light coming out of my flashlight on the 150 lumen or 350 lumen settings, which is all that I use, and again, I will note that even the higher of those two modes is still half the lumens of an average automotive halogen lamp. The Lupine SL AX in that article is a 2200 lumen light, about 15 times the output of what I typically use. its low beam setting is 1300 lumens, and its daytime running light is 180 lumens, brighter than what I typically use at night.

My flashlight it pointed at the ground no more than 3 metres in front of my tire. In no way does it illuminate to the distances shown in those photographs. And for the record, I went to university for Lighting Design. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing. Thanks for the advice.

Also, one other thing. I was pretty impressed with the Nitecore BR25, which has a hood over the front that directs light downward to illuminate the bicycle itself and the ground immediately below it to make one more visible. I think this is an interesting idea, but the performance of the unit itself is not as good as my Fenix PD36 TAC. So, one of the things I'm looking at is fabricating a removable reflector hood out of black ABS and white PVC pipe fittings for my PD36 TAC do do more or less what the Nitecore BR25's non-removable hood does.

I am happy to say that more and more cyclists are visible with current lights in use. I have never been close to being "blinded." when commuting regularly on a bike, I always adjusted me light to illuminate the ground in front of me, rather than striving for distance.

Only thing I don't care for is the blinking lights. A light says "see me, I'm here" and blinking light says "I'm in distress, or I need help, or I'm signaling something"

I use a Fenix headlamp when riding my bicycle. Like amper I have my light tilted down to light about 3 meters infront of the front wheel. I use 150-200 lumens. I ride in mostly well lit up city area so no need for far reaching light, it´s enough to light up 2-3 meters in front of me. Haven´t noticed anyone being blinded by my light and looking at my reflection in windows I don´t find my light disturbing to the eye. .