Category: safety

NO SENSE CRYING OVER A LOST TAIL LIGHT

I had two of these BV taillights mounted on the rear of my trike. Yesterday at some point during my ride one of them fell off (unlees someone stole one while I was eating lunch). I didn’t discover it until half way thru my ride. I watched carefully for it as I backtracked my route but someone must have found it and got a nice taillight out of the deal. These are only sold along with their headlight as a set so I can’t just order the taillight. I don’t need another of their headlights as I already have three. It sickens me when I lose a headlight or taillight. Actually I hate losing anything off of my trike. I think I will just stay home and stay in bed. No, that won’t work either. Actually I have extra taillights I can use and already am. This one I lost is only rated at 35 lumen although it seems much brighter than that … closer to 100. This morning I replaced it with a set of 150 lumen  lights I had. The battery charge lasts a lot longer in them anyway so they are probably what I should have been using all along.

Mounted in between these two I have a 350 lumen version of this taillight I can use. It is almost blinding so I rarely use it.

One thing I have noticed is that taking still pictures or videoing bike lights doesn’t do them justice. I videod both of the head lights and the tail lights earlier today and  neither one appear like they do to my eyes. This video of my headlights illustrates my point quite well. I have two BV 300 lumen headlights on flash mode and right below them is a BV tail light. With my eyes this combination is very noticeable. The red really catches one’s attention. However in the video you can barely see the red tail light flashing.

And the tail lights  are very bright, especially the center one. But in the video they don’t appear anything at all the same. One would not even think that they are the same lights.

It is like when I was in the navy out at sea. I used to see some of the most beautiful sun rises and sun sets but when I would take pictures of them they didn’t look anything like what I saw with my eyes. I was always so disappointed in the pictures.

I just bought a taillight with an automatic brake light. I will install it tomorrow and see how that works. Hopefully it is not a waste of money. My biggest concern is the automatic brake light will be too sensitive coming on all the time when I don’t want it to.

I got the brake light mounted today ready to try out. I also mounted my new battery mount. My previous one broke in two and my battery spilled out onto the roadway as I was riding along. So now I have one of my two batteries mounted down low under the seat moving its weight forward. Previously I had both of my batteries mounted on my rear rack which is a lot of weight back there. Now when I lift up my trike to load and unload it from my truck it is much heavier toward the front and noticeably lighter toward the back. It makes it considerably harder to load and unload.

I bought a tail light with turn signals awhile back. They work but the control switch is too dim to see out in daylight so I was never able to use it. The tail light itself along with the turn signals is also too dim to be much good. It would be fine at night but I ride in the day light.

While working on my trike today I discovered that one of my two bike alarms is missing. They were attached to the bottom of the frame (out of sight) using plastic zip ties. I have only been using one of them and so I have not been carrying the other remote control with me. Since I haven’t been using it I haven’t heard the other alarm chirping letting me know it is still there. Oh well, what’s money?

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.

REPLACEABLE BATTERIES VS RECHARGEABLE LIGHTS

We have a choice between lights which use throwaway batteries or rechargeable batteries. Of course, most lights have “built in” rechargeable batteries. But even if our lights use AA or AAA alkaline batteries we can use rechargeable cells like pictured above. Just be sure you don’t throw the rechargeable batteries away as they are a bit more expensive than those made to throw away. I use to use rechargeable cells but now my lights are all built in rechargeable batteries. I like the rechargeable lights with one exception … they don’t last long enough. That being said … some last longer than others. If you ride several hours a day you might run into trouble with your rechargeable lights not lasting long enough for the entire ride.

My headlights and tail lights are the same brand but the headlights’ charge lasts a lot longer than the tail lights do. So I have additional tail lights I can use if this happens. The problem is I don’t have any way of knowing if and when the tail lights shut off while I am riding. I don’t like that but that is just the way it is. Since I can’t see my tail lights without stopping, getting off and walking around behind my trike I sometimes ask someone if my tail lights are still on and flashing. My headlights’ charge lasts me 2 to 3  days. I have had rechargeable headlights that don’t last long enough for one day of riding. That problem resolved itself as the lights themselves did not last. I ended up throwing them away. I am well pleased with the headlights I have now. The price has come up since I bought mine, but it is still a relatively inexpensive light set to buy at $15.99 thru Amazon.com. The shipping is free for Prime customers. I highly recommend this headlight. It is extremely bright on flash mode and definitely gets attention.  https://tinyurl.com/2cndfvts

The tail lights in the video above are not the ones use daily that I have written about here. The ones I use daily I write of can be seen in the video below. They are the middle set.

I have changed my lighting around several times over the years. The setup I have now is much different than what is shown in this video. I don’t have the top ones at all anymore.

All my tail lights are mounted on the same bar. I have my BV tail lights on the outside ends. A 350 lumen rechargeable tail light is in the center and a AA alkaline battery powered tail light is mounted beside of it. I keep it there just in case my rechargeable tail lights fail me.

I have a free source of AA alkaline batteries from my wife’s employer but I had her stop bringing them home as I had way too many … far beyond what I could possibly use.  I still have quite a few of them left. And I still have rechargeable AA and AAA cells but I haven’t used them for years. When I still used them they lasted longer than the throwaway alkaline cells. So I am saying that I do recommend the rechargeable cells to anyone using removable AA and AAA batteries. They outperform regular alkaline cells.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

AM I VISIBLE TO OTHERS?

Nobody in their right mind wants to get hit by a car, truck, bus, etc. Yet some trike riders do very little to help themselves be seen. They make silly excuses objecting to safety flags like “it will slow me down” or “they make noise flapping around back there and I don’t like to hear it”.  I am pretty sure that laying in a hospital bed or a morgue will slow you down even more. I don’t know how many times I did not see a fellow triker or even a bicyclist until the last possible second because  they were riding along in a shady area and had no lights or flags to help others see them. I am talking about riding on trails where some think they don’t need lights or flags. Others see me as I always have a flashing headlight and flashing taillight(s) plus two high visibility safety flags which by them selves can be seen far away. Many times I have had people tell me that they saw my flags from half a mile distance or more.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

WHY MAKE THE SWITCH FROM A BIKE TO A TRIKE?

Certainly I can’t make the claim that everybody is doing it, but there is no denying a whole lot of people are switching over to recumbent trikes. And most have pretty much the same testimony. Here is a video about the subject.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

 

THE PROBLEM WITH BIKE LANES

Personally I have never been a fan of bike lanes. I think they are dangerous for cyclists to use. I would rather take the lane than risk those dangers and concerns. With motorists not paying attention and respecting bike lanes and cyclists using them to vehicles parking and driving in bike lanes to car doors opening out into bike lanes it is challenging. This Canadian cyclist shares some other concerns … all of which I find myself in agreement with. Most of us have probably heard all of this before. I know I have.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

WHY YOU SHOULD TRY A RECUMBENT TRIKE

Recumbent trikes have become quite popular and for good reason. They are super comfortable. They are far safer than bicycles. And they are a lot of fun to ride. Like most of us I rode bicycles all my life until I got into recumbents. And initially I rode a 2 wheel recumbent bike … not a trike. I loved riding the recumbent bike until I tried riding a recumbent trike. That is all it took. I was hooked on trikes. I totally lost interest in my recumbent bike so I sold it. I found the recumbent bike comfortable but the recumbent trike was even more comfortable … noticebly more comfortable. Don’t get me wrong. In my earlier years I found riding a bicycle lots of fun. And there are definitely things you can do on a diamond frame bike that you can’t do on a recumbent bike or trike. Some of those things I miss. But as the years rolled along I found that riding a diamond frame bicycle was taking its toll on me.  My body was letting me know that a bicycle is not friendly toward me. I had aches and pains and discomfort that really started to get my attention and no matter what I tried to do … changing the seat, the handlebars, my position … it didn’t help much. I knew of recumbent bikes so being a weldor and metal fabricator I decided to build myself a recumbent bike. WOW, what a difference! I no longer had any discomfort. I rode my recumbent bike thru the year until November when knowing that winter would soon be upon me I made the decision to build my first tadpole trike. I wanted to keep riding thru the winter and I knew 2 wheels on slippery surfaces was unsafe. And I had learned already that a recumbent bike goes down easier than a diamond frame bike. They just are not as stable. Once I got my first tadpole trike built there was no turning back. I was hooked. It was more comfortable than a recumbent bike. It was safer and it was a lot more fun to ride than a bicycle. I rode it thru the winter and come Spring I attempted to go back to my recumbent bike. I rode it for a couple of weeks but discovered that I much preferred riding the trike so I went back to the trike and never looked back. I sold my recumbent bike since I no longer rode it nor cared to ride it. I bought a new 2009 Catrike Trail and sold my homemade trike. I have been riding a tadpole trike now for 16 years and absolutely love it. Well, that is my personal testimony concerning how I got into tadpole trikes.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

RECUMBENT TRIKES … ARE THEY FOR YOU?

You may be asking … “is a recumbent trike for me”? Keep in mind that one does not have to be old  or disabled to ride a tadpole trike. But if you happen to be old or disabled recumbent trikes are likely your answer. They are highly modifiable and can be equipped to meet the needs of nearly everybody. From a basic tadpole trike to a FAT trike to a sophisticated velomobile there are lots to choose from. When it comes to riding on thru the winter most definitely 3 (or 4) wheels are far better and safer than only 2.

That is how I got started with tadpole trikes. Winter was fast approaching and I wanted to keep riding … riding safely. I knew 2 wheels were unsafe as a bicycle goes down readily on slippery surfaces. I had already experienced that more than once. Fortunately I never received any serious injury, but I was well aware it can happen. So I built me first tadpole trike and rode it thru the winter. I fell in love with riding a tadpole trike. It is so much more fun than riding a bicycle and it is much much safer. When Spring time finally came around I tried switching back to a 2 wheel recumbent bike, but quickly discovered that I much preferred riding the trike so I sold my bike which I didn’t care to ride anymore. That was in the winter of 2007-2008. So for 16 years now I have had the infamous “recumbent smile” on my face and never a moment’s regret. Recumbent tadpole trikes are difinitely for me. I bought a 2009 Catrike Trail and sold my homemade tadpole trike.  I now ride a 2013 Catrike Trail.

Recumbent trikes come in two completely different design builds … a Delta with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the back …. and a Tadpole (originally called a Reverse trike) with two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back.

Although my personal preference is a Tadpole design you may find you prefer (need) a Delta design.  A Tadpole is like driving a sports car (Corvette) while a Delta is like driving a family sedan (Rambler). Not everybody is able to get in and out of the low seat of a Tadpole trike so for them the Delta is the only way to go. In all fairness there are some Delta trikes which are made low to the ground and built for speed and cornering.

These videos address these subjects:

As shown in the video above there is a lot of difference between a Delta recumbent trike and a Tadpole recumbent trike. I fully agree with the thumbs down for the Delta and the thumbs up for the Tadpole.

One last comment … I have found that riding a tadpole trike brings a whole lot more respect from motorists than one gets riding a bicycle. That, of course, adds greatly to the safety factor.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

– 38 DEGREES FAREINHEIT … I’M STAYING HOME

– 38 degrees … Hey, that will wake you up … or if exposed to it too long might put you to sleep … permanently. It is Dec. 24th as I sit here in comfort typing this. It is warmer today than it was yesterday but the wind is still blowing hard resulting in blizzard conditions (white out). It is nasty out there! And it is not just here in the northern states. Atlanta, GA has nearly identical weather. It is below freezing in Floral City, Florida. I need to explain — the – 38 was the “feels like” temperature yeasterday morning … not the actual temperature. The actual temperature was about -8 degrees.

The wind was blowing hard all night Thursday, all day Friday, all night again Friday … and still blowing hard this morning (Saturday). It is my understanding that much of the United States is experiencing this same weather. It is amazing to me how this can happen. We went from temperatures in the 40s and 50s to this frigid weather.

Next Thursday the temperature is forecasted to be back up into the low 50s for 3 days. Crazy man, crazy! I will take it though. Of course, it is also suppose to rain or snow nearly everyday for more than a week. So it doesn’t look like I will be going out riding when it warms back up. It seems it almost always happens this way in northern Indiana.

This has long been one of my favorite trike videos …

I can remember as a kid growing up I would be sitting in the classroom at school looking out the window at the great weather we were having and really looking forward to the weekend so I could enjoy the nice weather. And almost every weekend it would rain. Such is life! But I still want to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

MULTI-USE TRAILS

Although we often call them bike trails most are multi-use trails intended for walkers, runners, skateboarders, roller skaters, and bicyclists. Some trails also allow horses. I have never had a discussion with anyone about this but I bet if we were honest we would say that we as cyclists would prefer they were strictly bike trails. And walkers would say they would prefer if no bicycles were allowed. I can understand why as many cyclists display bad discourteous  manners and give cyclists a bad name. Of course, most walkers do the same. And watching videos of various trails I have noticed that people are the same all over the world. Then I recall the famous words … “Can’t we all just get along?” I would be the first to admit that it is quite challenging. People aren’t going to change.

Multi-use trails don’t include sharing the pavement with airplanes, right? Or does it? This cyclist definitely has a front row seat. I am pretty sure that is closer than I would care to be.

Some animals I am thrilled to share the trail with …

And some I want no part of. I am glad I don’t have to share the trail with this guy …

And another …

And another …

And another …

 

Unfortunately there are too many vicious acting dogs out there and many of them are not on a leash like the law requires.

And another …

I don’t mind small harmless snakes but this fella (or gal) I find intimidating.

And some more …

Even our fellow cyclists can be a royal pain …

Cars are not allowed on trails, but that doesn’t mean that we won’t encounter them …

A friend of mine told me about a car passing him on a trail. He estimated the car was doing about 30 mph. I have only seen motorscooters and motorcycles which, of course, are not allowed either.

And hopefully we won’t be party to a police chase while riding along the trail …

That could have some really bad results.

So I guess one could say that there is good and bad in multi-use trails. I reckon that is true of just about everything in life. Dirty Harry said it … “go ahead, make my day” … only I would alter it … “help me to make your day”. Since we all have to share the trails together may we make the effort to make each other’s day. It is not easy dealing with others but we really need to make the effort. And may God add His blessing!

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

E-BIKE CERTIFIED HELMETS

I personally don’t wear a helmet while riding my trike. I always wear one if I ride a bicycle. That being said helmets are not something I give much thought to. It never dawned on me that a standard bicycle helmet is said to be effective as far as protection only up to 17 mph. That makes no sense to me. It is like telling a football player his helmet won’t protect him if he runs faster than 10 mph. It really makes no sense since there are bicyclists who reach speeds of 30+ mph without the aid of an electric motor. Anyway, this video is saying that one needs a different helmet offering more protection when riding an e-bike which obtain speeds up to 28 mph. Of course, some e-bikes go much faster than 28 mph. So then what do you do? I don’t know anything about any of it, but I have long thought that a standard bicycle helmet offers minimal protection … especially compared to a motorcycle helmet.

Ebike certified helmets are more costly than many standard bicycle helmets. All of them I looked at were over $100. One was $465. Ouch!  HERE is an article on them.

One person commented that you should bypass this ebike helmet and go with what downhill mountain bikers use. … which is a full face protection helmet. They are not cheap … $200 to $300 dollars on Amazon … but they definitely do offer more protection.

 

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

5 THINGS WE’D WISH WE HAD KNOWN ABOUT RECUMBENT TRIKES

I don’t know that I would go along with everything these women say about this. You can make up your own mind as to whether they know what they are talking about or not.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

STEADY VS FLASHING LIGHTS

 

Most of us have both headlights and taillights. And most of those lights offer both steady on modes as well as flashing modes. Some questions arise concerning both.

Keep in mind that having these lights is all about our personal safety while we ride. We want to be seen. Is a flashing mode more effective than a steady on mode? Many of us think so. I know I am fully convinced of it. Is it legal to use flashing mode? The answer to that is … “it depends upon where you are at” so it is best to do your homework so you will know the answer to that. To the best of my knowledge and understanding most places here in the United States it is legal. What about after dark? Should lights be flashing or steady on? I say steady on. I would never use flash mode after dark. I think it is distracting and confusing for others … as well as offensive. Again keep in mind that our lights and their use is all about our saftey. After dark a steady on light being constant can be seen continually and allow others to better judge our position  and know what they are seing, but a flashing light has the opposite effect. I personally think some people think they are seeing an emergency vehicle., especially if you happen to have multiple lights in use.

And if you happen to be riding in a group others will certainly appreciate it if you don’t blind and dazzle them with bright flashing taillights … or headlights for that matter.

Over the years I have had many differnt lights and light setups. Here is my current taillight set up. It definitely gets the attention of others. Most of the time I just use the two lights toward the sides and leave the middle one off.

HERE is a good article on this subject.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

STUPID LAWS … THEY ARE JUST WEEDS

Part of our newest trail, Becketts Run, goes thru a declared “Wetland Area” and so the trail can’t be maintained along the sides like is normally done. Instead they put up these ridiculous signs and just let the weeds grow. And that is all that is there … weeds. It sure would be nice if they could mow it but the Federal Government says no. If there were something there I could understand and  go along with it, but as I said … it’s just weeds. It doesn’t look a bit different than nearby areas along the trail that they do mow. It would all be a bunch of weeds if they didn’t mow it. Some laws are just stupid. Areas where they are allowed to mow look  the same as those where they are not allowed to mow. Go Figure as they say. Nope, it makes no sense to me.

By definition this area does not meet the requirements of a wetland area so I don’t understand why it is declared a wetland area. This much I know … it is not any fun getting smacked in the face by various forms of vegatation growing out over the trails. It is simply stupid in my opinion and entirely unnecessary.

Hey, speaking of stupid laws I read that it is against the law in the State of Indiana to stand up  and pedal a bicycle. … the rider must remain seated while riding a bicycle. Yep, it is a law still on the books from long long ago.

You know what they say … “ya can’t change city hall” … so I guess I will just keep on getting smacked in the face as I plan to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

 

 

DANGEROUS BOOBY TRAPS STILL BEING FOUND ON BIKE TRAILS

For those who don’t know what the words “booby trap” mean here is a definition: “A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm, or surprise a human or an animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim.”

I want to say upfront this is scary stuff, but it is not my intention to make you fearful even though it is enough to make one shudder and tremble. It is just so sad that people exist who would do these evil things. I wrote an article about this several years ago. I just now searched online about the subject. It not only has not gone away, but there is much more posted online about the subject now than the first time I wrote about it. Most people think of diamond frame bicycles when they think about setting up their booby traps. A piece of wire strung across a trail  is usually placed about a foot above the ground so that a cyclist’s front tire hits it and it causes the bike to flip over spilling the rider out onto the ground. Riding along the wire is hard to see, especially if it is a dark shady area. Sometimes the wire is strung higher up and this is when it gets really scary and dangerous for those of us riding tadpole trikes. People have been killed or at least seriously injured when their face or neck meets up with the wire. Riding a tadpole trike puts our face down way lower than that of someone riding a bicycle.

 

Many years ago when Interstate 69 was being constucted thru northern Indiana an incident happened I will always remember. The pavement was poured but the interstate highway was not open yet. There was still various construction work to be done. The interstate was elevated to cross over an existing road which involved the banks of the roadway to be a rather steep angle. Graders were being used to grade the sides. Because of the steep angle involved a steel cable was used stretched between them to hold them in place so they could not slide down or tip over as they travelled along grading the dirt. A man drove his car up on the new pavement at nighttime. Of course, he had no business being up there as the Interstate Hwy. was still closed. The steel cable was just the right height so that it made a convertible out of his car and took his head off. He won’t  be doing that again.

I am not posting this to make you fearful of riding. That is the last thing I want out of this. I do want to make you aware of the possibility of this happening so that you will be looking for such concerns and hopefully prevent ANYONE from being injured.. Fortunately this has not become widespread. Most bike trails have not dealt with this problem and hopefully never will. Probably most of it has occurred on mountain bike trails. Definitely it has also occurred on paved bike trails as well. We live in evil times and it is only getting worse. Keep your eyes open and be aware of this concern.

BE SAFE OUT THERE!

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

CONTENDING WITH BICYCLISTS

 

I mostly ride my tadpole trike on our local Fort Wayne (Indiana) Trails so I don’t know what it is like riding where you are at. I assume it is about the same as here. One of my biggest pet peeves is contending with bicyclists. Most of them ride like they are the only trail user out there. They ride mostly in the middle of the trail. Sometimes they ride left of center. Almost always they meander back and forth side to side. They ride two or three abreast paying absolutely no attention to whether there is anyone behind them. They often pay no attention to whether there is anyone ahead of them coming toward them. I have had several very close calls dealing with idiots riding bicycles barely avoiding a head on collision with them. Most of them have been ‘roadies’ bent over forward with their heads pointed down toward the pavement and not looking ahead of them. Some have been listening to ‘whatever’ on earbuds/earphones and not paying any attention to their riding.

When I come up behind these screwballs I sometimes purposely just follow behind them just to see if they ever wake up to reality. They seldom do. I have followed behind people riding along side by side. At least one of them had turned around and saw me behind them but they would not get over to the side where they are suppose to be so that I could pass them. They are just being “shitheads” in my book.

I see a lot of bicyclists who, in my opinion, have no business riding a bike as they are very poor riders. They are not only a danger to themselves but present a serious threat to the safety of others.

And then there are young children who ride wherever they want to and definitely meander all over the place. Their parents do not teach them the trail rules. The parents don’t obey them either. It is downright scary to pass kids on bikes or on foot for that matter. You can’t trust them to stay where they are at. I have had them move right in front of me several times. And I am talking about after giving an audible warning such as  “passing on your left/right” or “coming by you”.

Some parents must believe that a trail is a good and proper place for young children to learn to ride a bike. I certainly don’t agree with that. I think it is a very poor place. I think they should practice in an empty parking lot with nobody else around.

One thing I am always amazed with is how only 2 people can manage to take up the entire width of a trail so that it is quite impossible to pass them unless one is able to get off of the trail passing  along the side.

The sad part of all of this it is just the way people are and it is not going to change. We just have to CONTEND WITH IT.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

BONTRAGER FLARE RT TAILLIGHTS

Amazingly small, amazingly bright … but only if you can get them to work.

I bought two of them about a month ago and plan on taking both of them back for a refund today. I am not impressed with them. They won’t turn on so I have to do a factory reset on them each time to get them to turn on. Also the battery charge does not last very long. I was having this problem with just one of them at first so I took it back and got it replaced under warranty. That was less than a week ago. Now both of them are faulty. Nope, I am not at all impressed. They are expensive junk in my opinion.

 

Bontrager is owned by Trek Bikes and Trek Bikes only carry Bontrager lights in their stores. This light is designed to mount on the seat post of a DF bicycle. Seat posts are angled back so Bontrager makes the mount for this light angled so that the light itself ends up level as you can see in the picture above. This is fine if you are mounting it on a DF bike seat post but it presents a bit of a problem mounting it else where as the light ends up on an angle instead of being straight and level.

 

My inexpensive BV taillights are just as bright and have always worked great. It comes free with a headlight I love which I paid $12 for a few years ago. Now the price is up to $17 the last time I checked. That is still cheap and a great light for the price. I would not want or need anything brighter in the daytime. I have not had any problem with them whatsoever over the years. I will continue using them and save $140 the two Flare RT taillights cost me. Quite honestly I have had poor luck with more expensive brand name lights whether headlights or taillights.

Well, that is my story based on my personal experience. I can not recommend these taillights. Sorry Bontrager. You sell junk as far as I am concerned.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

IMPORTANT ADD-ONS FOR ANY TRIKE

Once again I find myself in agreement with my fellow triker, David, of David Riders a Trike fame. He covers various items he highly recommends to add on to a trike. Although he likes SPD shoes and pedals and recommends them I don’t personally care for them. He did not cover alternative methods of foot retention but he does mention that there are other means.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

ANOTHER BICYCLIST ON PUFFERBELLY TRAIL HIT BY CAR AT ROAD CROSSING

It has happened again. Another woman was hit by a car while crossing a road here in Fort Wayne. She was riding her bicycle on the Pufferbelly Trail when it happened.

This is the second such incident in  less than a year. The first victim died in the crosswalk. This rider suffered life threatening injuries. Of course, the driver was not ticketed.

The video below is local news coverage of the first incident. They cover the proper procedure for trail users and motorists at these trail crossings.

I have crossed these same roads many times. They are dangerous in my opinion. I don’t know what the answer is. Trail users certainly need to be careful  and not be lulled into crossing the road if someone stops to let them do so. Motorists are not suppose to stop to allow trail users to stop if they are still over at the side of the road. They greatly endanger the trail user when they do this. It is much safer to just waive the motorist on and wait until there is no traffic before attempting to cross. All too often other motorists don’t stop and then these horrible accidents happen. I have a hard time calling them accidents. In my opinion there is no excuse for motorists to attempt to go around a stopped vehicle at these crosswalks. When they do this they are guilty of murder as far as I am concerned. Of course, they usually get away with it.

In the video below I am riding the Pufferbelly Trail. Starting at about 3 minutes 17 seconds into the video I am coming upon Carroll Road where the woman bicyclist was killed last year. At the very end of the video I come up to Wallen Road where this latest incident happened.  The trail ended there back when this video was made (2016) but since then it has been expanded a few more miles southward.

Be very careful at trail crossings. Don’t be a victim. Everyone needs to learn what to do and what not to do in order to safely cross roads. The life you save may be your own. We all want to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

STUPID Bright

Is it possible to have too bright of lights … front or rear? I say yes. And yet manufacturers keep increasing the power of lights. That would probably be okay if they included lenses which direct the light so it does not shine upward any higher than it needs to be.

But very few manufacturers do this. Most of the lights have the light beam going out 360 degrees shining upward illuminating everything out in front including the eyes of those who don’t appreciate  it. I have only had one headlight thus far with such optics.. I don’t use it as it has more lumens than I care to use in the daytime.

My 300 lumen headlights are certainly guilty of this. They are only rated at 300 lumen but man are they bright! I only use one at a time and I use it on flash mode. The picture below is with both on and on steady mode. That is STUPID  Bright!

Now I have a question to ask you … how bright are you? Riding at night in darkness we need lots of light as long as we are by ourselves.

We need lots of light so we can see the path ahead of us. It is downright dangerous to ride faster than our headlight is illuminating  the path ahead of us. In the daytime when most of us ride we still need lots of light but for an altogether different reason … to be seen by others. With headlights that shine the light beam equally 360 degrees  it does not do much good to aim the light downwards unless we aim it way way down. And if we do that we  then risk others not seeing us at all. So what is a person to do?

I am sure most of us have noticed and complained about newer motor vehicles whose headlights are blinding even on low beam. We often question whether or not they have their headlights on low beam as they are just too bright and seem to be aimed up at our eyes. I doubt very much if anyone is going to do anything about it. We are just stuck with dealing with it. Too bad, so sad! It also seems to be the case with bicycle lights. We want to be seen which means that others are just going to have to deal with it.

I was taught as a young child that if a driver in an oncoming car (truck, etc.) does have his  high beam headlights on and won’t/doesn’t dim them all I can do it look over at the right side of the road … hopefully at a white line painted along the side of the pavement. That is the best I can do in that situation. I would say the same is true for those dealing with our trike headlights. Don’t look at them. And if someone complains about our lights being too bright I suggest apologizing but explaining that I would rather offend someone than get hit by someone who says they didn’t see me.

Every once in awhile I encounter a bicyclist with an extremely bright headlight … so bright that it truly blinds me if I look toward it rather than look away at the side of the road or trail. As far as I am concerned there is no excuse for a cyclist to have such a bright light in use in the daytime. But they are out there and we just have to deal with it. I mean, after all, we can’t hardly shoot their light out. It is stupid and irresponsible to be STUPID  Bright. We all need to follow the commandment of Jesus … “do unto others as we would have them do unto us”.

I know this bicycle lighting subject is somewhat controversial and not everyone agrees with me. I just had someone say to me that my headlight is too bright and blinded the car driver who almost hit me yesterday when they turned in front of me forcing me to brake hard to avoid getting hit. I don’t agree with that person who said this. If this happened quite frequently I would have to consider it as a possibility. My headlight is bright, but it is not STUPID  Bright. BTW, there is a bicycle light named Stupid Bright. They make various lights besides this one I linked to.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

NOT ALL LIGHTS ARE CREATED EQUAL

That’s right … not all bicycle lights are created equal. It is possible to have a 35 lumen taillight appear to be brighter than  a 100 lumen taillight. How can that be you ask? I have written about this subject before. It is all about optics. Some lights just have better optics in them. The term optics here means lenses along with reflectors. They can sure make a big difference in lights. My 300 lumen headlights are amazingly bright on flash mode in the daytime. Anything brighter would be blinding. People find it hard to believe when I tell them they are only 300 lumen. They think they must be at least a thousand or more.

Here is an excellent example of what I mean. Bontrager offers their Flare R City  taillight pictured above. It is very small in size and is rated at only 35 lumen. Years ago 35 lumen was a powerful taillight but nowadays it would be considered low powered. Yet this particular taillight is quite bright. You would have to see it to believe it.

I just bought a 350 lumen Cygolite Hypershot taillight (pictured above). It is extremely bright of course. I would not think of using it at night time as it would be blinding unless it can be “dialed down” sufficiently. But I ride in the daytime almost exclusively and I WANT TO BE SEEN.  Anyway, I have the same brand of taillights in 150 lumen and they are extremely bright as well. 150 lumens was their most powerful taillight when I first bought mine.  Cygolite first came out with a much lower powered taillight and then kept making new models increasing the lumens each time. They have 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and now 350. I wonder what is next.

You don’t want to look at it up close as you will be seeing a dot before your eyes for awhile. Would you believe that the 35 lumen Flare R taillight is as bright as this 150 lumen? It would seem impossible but I have witnessed it with my own eyes.

I have some 35 lumen taillights (pictured above) made by BV that came free with their 300 lumen headlights I use.

The taillights are very bright but they are not as bright as the 35 lumen Flare R City cube. And the battery charge only last 4 or 5 hours on flash mode. At present I am using my new 350 lumen taillight along with two of the 35 lumen BV taillights. They are working very good together. Here is a video of them flashing.

I was going to buy the Bontrager Flare R cubes to use but I already have these BV taillights and they offer much better side visibility. I still have the 150 lumen taillights I can use if the 350 turns out to be too much as in too bright, obnoxious, overbearing. I don’t want to be guilty of “STUPID Bright” which is the title of a soon upcoming article on this website.

I have such a difficult time understanding most British people when they talk. I found another one I wanted to share but I could not hardly understand a word they were saying. This one is a little better.

 

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.