There’s about a week left until Daylight Saving time ends, and we’re definitely noticing the change in daylight as we ride our bikes home from school or after-school events. We’re making a lot more use of our bike flag lights and headlights and tail lights. Bike lighting transitions It requires a little bit of a transition for us. We usually pack lights just in case, but we try to get more into the habit of putting them on (we usually remove them when parked because of potential theft) and remembering to keep the lights in the correct bag. Bike Flag Lights in the fall The bike flag lights always stay on the bikes, so we always have them available as a backup in case we forget our normal tail lights. (If you are looking for tail lights, I’ve written a […]
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Fun times riding bikes home with our LED glow sticks
Fall just started, and that means that the light changes the fastest during this time of the year. So it’s easy to notice it getting dark earlier. We lingered for a while, and it was dark by the time we left our last Kids Bike Parade which gave us an opportunity to light up the LED staff aka Bike Beams. Why I like these LED glow sticks Compared to other similar LED staff lights, I like the Bike Beam because 7 colors are included, and you can switch colors just by pressing a button. No app or remote control is needed to change the color of the LEDs. Also, the whole LED light pole is powered by a rechargeable battery that you can plug in to any USB port. Some other glow staffs use coin cell batteries or a separate […]
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Adding a flag to your Bike Beam LED pole light
If you have a Bike Beam LED pole light, but don’t have a safety flag (or some other flag/pennant etc) on it yet, here’s how to add one. Having a flag generally helps with dynamic daytime visibility, they’re fun, and you can add your own message to your bike ride as well. They’re useful to help people visible on kids bikes and cargo bikes, or to add some fun to your commute. Some people have used them for Bike Party, Loud and Lit, and Thursday Night Rides. Step 1: Find or make a flag for the LED pole light that is the right size The Bike Beam has poles that are about 5/16″ or 8mm in diameter, so consider this when figuring what to fly on the LED pole. The Bike Loud PDX and Pedalpalooza pennants I have are sewn […]
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How to attach a bike flag (Bike Beam)
How to attach a bike flag, a guide Bicycle safety is probably a top priority for you, and one way to increase your visibility is to attach a bike safety flag. Where do I mount the bike safety flag? Attaching the bike safety flag is a relatively simple process. First, you need to choose a suitable location to mount the bicycle flag. The Bike Beam comes with either a rack mount or axle mount. But you can also attach it to a trailer. Other safety flags usually come with an axle mount or can also fit into the bike flag mounting hole of a trailer. You’ll usually want the flag at the rear of your bike. Different types of bike flag mounts There are 3 main types of bike flag mounts: Axle or quick release bike flag mount: This […]
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Bicycle flag poles: Effective for increasing visibility on the road
A bike flag pole is a good visibility tool to improve road safety As a parent of a child who rides a bike, or a bicycle commuter yourself, you know how important it is to make sure that your child or yourself are visible on the road. With the increasing number of cars on the road, it’s crucial that bicyclists take extra precautions to stay safe while riding. One way to do this is by attaching a bicycle flag pole to your bike. A bicycle flag pole is a simple yet effective tool that can help increase your visibility on the road. It attaches to the back of your bike and holds a brightly colored flag that can be seen by drivers from a distance. These flags come in various shapes and sizes, from the traditional triangular shape to a […]
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Riding our light up bike pole lights (aka Bike Beam) in Oakland and Berkeley
Family bike riding around Oakland and Berkeley Our child is old enough to pedal themselves around to school, the library, and to sports practice. Sometimes it’s hard, but usually we have a good time getting to where we need to go. We get some exercise, take in our surroundings, wave to neighbors, give names to cats and dogs, and appreciate random sidewalk finds. And we can get around in an environmentally-friendly way. We ride around with a set of bike pole lights that I have been developing for a while. The bike flag lights make us pretty easy to spot. If you see us, wave and say hello! I made our bike pole lights (aka the “Bike Beam” light) to keep my child visible When we first started riding around on neighborhood streets, I realized that my child was hard […]
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Bike safety flags for being extra visible while riding a bicycle, even in the daytime
Bike safety flags can help keep bicycle riders visible The greatest risk for someone riding a bike on roads with automobile traffic is being hit by a car. I strongly support infrastructure improvements that physically protect someone riding a bike. Dedicated bike paths and protected bike lanes can help a lot with this. I don’t like putting the burden of safety on the more vulnerable in general. At the same time, if there’s a low-effort way to improve safety, it’s probably a good thing to do. According to the NHTSA, the 2nd leading factor in bicyclist deaths is “Not visible (dark clothing, no lighting, etc)”. Vehicles are getting bigger, which causes more line of sight problems for other users of the road. Adding a flag is an easy and low-cost way of improving visibility, but it does have a few […]
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