Bike chased late Friday night by loons

[guerney]

When you try to solve a problem, you have to be careful not to create new ones. Sometimes less is more.

It would be great if these cheap bright headlights had focusable beams, or barndoors like photography lights to shape the light cast. I don't want to dazzle drivers. I could make a hood using 1.5mm aluminium sheet - I've got some of that stuff, used to block off fireplaces with, which I could cut an appropriate shape from, to superglue+baking soda onto the headlight directed down and to the right at number plates passing at the side.

 

[WheezyRider]

Very tempted to add this 6000LM to the two 1800LM headlights on my handlebar, pointing forwards and angled down... then point one 1800LM to the right and down, to illuminate passing number plates more clearly for the GoPro. The older 1800LM is dimming and yelowing with much day and night use, will need replacing at some point. I don't think the 3A inline blade fuse on that circuit from the battery would need uprating, will need to measure amps used to be sure.

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UPDATE: Naively completely taken in by the fiendishly clever and totally honest advertising below, I've ordered one. I don't particularly want 1800+1800+6000= 9600LM on my handlebar, will try to achieve the close dark number plate illuminifying objective stated above, with a mere 7800LM. I say no to dim and weak.

You probably have to divide those Lm figures by a hundred to get genuine numbers

Generally, I think they are BS. They put clusters of high power LEDs together, without adequate power dissipation. Output falls with increasing temperature (and so does longevity). The current of the overall lamp will have to be reduced compared to the maximum theoretical output of a single LED to stop it from overheating. So they quote the addition of the theoretical outputs of the single LEDs as the output of the lamp, even though it could never achieve that.

 

[guerney]

You probably have to divide those Lm figures by a hundred to get genuine numbers

I'm sure you're right, still, according to the lux meter app on my phone, a 1800LM headlight is brighter than overcast days at 1m (I forget the numbers), which is bright enough to get me noticed by drivers. Hate being invisible at intersections, or to crossing pedestrians, and traffic generally. During brighter days I have both flashing, they're not synchronised.

Comparing them at traffic light stops, together the two 1800LM headlights are substantially brighter than motorcycle headlights. Felt sorry for them. Swings and roundabouts - they've got better suspension for potholes.

They put clusters of high power LEDs together, without adequate power dissipation.

Their aluminium housings make handy handwarmers in the winter. I neglected to measure amps used before fitting last time.

 

[Az.]

I don't know what you mean.


View attachment 52771

Install this one:

 

[guerney]

If I am pursued, cornered, and as these merry funsters shouted: "Grabbed" - switch on a very loud continuous siren? Might it be useful tool to attract neighbourhood attention? Perhaps an extremely loud one would give them pause? It could also be sounded when approaching and going around big fast scrary dangerous roundabouts... but I expect doing that would be illegal, most fun things are.

Setting all my 1800LM lights flashing, dissuaded merry funsters one late night last year - they were in a car which kept circling me like Jaws...until I set all lights flashing, the flashing lights put them off. I've added two more since then.

 

[WheezyRider]

If I am pursued, cornered, and as these merry funsters shouted: "Grabbed" - switch on a very loud continuous siren? Might it be useful tool to attract neighbourhood attention? Perhaps an extremely loud one would give them pause? It could also be sounded when approaching and going around big fast scrary dangerous roundabouts... but I expect doing that would be illegal, most fun things are.

Setting all my 1800LM lights flashing, dissuaded merry funsters one late night last year - they were in a car which kept circling me like Jaws...until I set all lights flashing, the flashing lights put them off. I've added two more since then.

You need a robo buddy with a flame thrower to cover your six. Available now from all good outlets...

 

[WheezyRider]

Can also be fitted with a machine gun...

 

[guerney]

@WheezyRider
Burning and shooting troublesome merry funsters are yet more examples of fun activities made illegal by faceless unaccountable bureaucrats. Can't fart without disturbing red tape these days, it's health and safety gone mad!

BTW, screencap from unadulterated footage - I underexpose video to avoid overexposure:

 

[guerney]

In case this happens again, and if I'm caught next time... I intend to stop and swiftly remove my long Dahon seatpost, to use as a club to defend myself from unpleasant stabbiness and thumps... if this doesn't work, I will run away clutching my seatpost (must pack bandages, needle and thread, maybe matches too for cauterising wounds on the go, also whiskey to sterilise before sewing stab wounds like Rambo, and for anesthesia and other post-attack related medicinal purposes). Currently my GPS tracker light is attached to my seatpost, therefore will be of no use for locating and rescuing my stolen bike, because I'll be running away clutching that... so I've just ordered this, to mount my GPS tracker light to the rear pannier rack, next to my rear facing 1800LM red flasher. I did try to attach it to the pannier rack using the clamp provided, but no dice. My bike will still fold with this on. I could add a rear facing camera, using a dual mount adapter.


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[guerney]

Can also be fitted with a machine gun...

Rumour is, the F-35's successor will be accompanied by five fighter jet shaped supersonic drones - a billion dollars a set. It's high time DJI took a similar approach and sold groups of machine gun toting drones utilising DJI's "Follow me" function, programmed to follow and defend cyclists from merry funsters. I shall write DJI a letter.

 

[AndyBike]

Happened a couple of decades ago, and thankfully the horror was averted.
Coming down a hill, a very very steep hill, the kind of hill you could easily get to 40 freewheeling alone
Late at night, im 1/2 way down and i hear shouting etc at the bottom. Its 3 drunked twats, stumbling about oon the road. They see me, 2 move to the pavement but one stands in the middle, arm outstretched and tried to grab at me before i was on him.
I was certainly doing 30, and if we had actually contacted I doubt he would have survived the impact. I certainly would have been seriously hurt too, but zero way he'd have lived thats for sure.

If he'd been alone id have stopped and kicked the crap out of him. Some folk are destined to kill themselves.

 

[guerney]

Happened a couple of decades ago, and thankfully the horror was averted.
Coming down a hill, a very very steep hill, the kind of hill you could easily get to 40 freewheeling alone
Late at night, im 1/2 way down and i hear shouting etc at the bottom. Its 3 drunked twats, stumbling about oon the road. They see me, 2 move to the pavement but one stands in the middle, arm outstretched and tried to grab at me before i was on him.
I was certainly doing 30, and if we had actually contacted I doubt he would have survived the impact. I certainly would have been seriously hurt too, but zero way he'd have lived thats for sure.

If he'd been alone id have stopped and kicked the crap out of him. Some folk are destined to kill themselves.

Zooming by before they have time to formulate and enact a plan, is the best strategy - this can't happen (occurs often) if I'm going uphill slowly, while a thug looks at me while walking in the opposite direction, wheels slowly turning in his brain about the guy on a ebike slowly making his way towards him on the same side of the road, "Meal ticket. Getting closer. Ug." Thugs attempting thought are the most dangerous.

Maybe it's time in addition to upping to 18a to also fit a throttle with a higher assist top speed (in the controller settings), you can still peddle like hell but with the throttle open it'll overide your normal 25kph pedal assist fixed top speed

As you know, although I don't have a throttle, I have what amounts to a throttle activated by pretending to pedal (albeit limited to 25km/h, unlike the actual throttle). I have decided to eventually swap currents of levels 8 and 9, so that when needed, one level up from my usual level (15A, Level 9: 100% "Keep current") using a single press gets me directly to 19A. Kinda like a turbo button for hell hill escapes lol. But I'll be cautious and check that my battery doesn't burst into flames or something first, when discharging 17.67A . I have to go around that particular nether region of hell filled with howling demons tonight or tomorrow...

 

[guerney]

Because I value not sweating (I don't have Prince Andrew's medical condition unfortunately), I never use any level other than 9, unless running on almost completely empty. Consequently, and also because it's been so long since I made any changes, I had completely forgotten that I have 10 levels including level 0, which can be set to 0A. After programming using the Speeed Android app, there is now a more gradual increase in amps drawn from the battery beyond my usual 15A. For the time being, in a hilly thug chase emergency: Levels 6, 7, and 8 can be quickly clicked through, to get 19A at level 9. The extra 4A should gain my bike several extra feet ahead of those pursuing running feet!

 

[portals]

If you know most of the number plate characters you can guess the missing ones and check the model here (assuming it's been MOT'd...)

Check the MOT status of a vehicle

Find out the MOT test status of a vehicle - check the date of the MOT test and the expiry date of an MOT test pass.

www.gov.uk

 

[guerney]

If you know most of the number plate characters you can guess the missing ones and check the model here (assuming it's been MOT'd...)

Check the MOT status of a vehicle

Find out the MOT test status of a vehicle - check the date of the MOT test and the expiry date of an MOT test pass.

www.gov.uk

Thanks! Tried combining a few frames using astronomical software called DeepSkyStacker... the results looked a little like a B or D for the second to last character.





Blind guessing on that website you linked returned a lot of Peugeots, a Triumph, then the following. The long series of Peugeots all had similar plates, a whole load of Hyundais could too. The Hyundai I saw had different lights to the one listed. I should mosey on over there late one Friday night, without my bike of course...

 

[soundwave]

 

[guerney]

You'll never outrun a Hyundai full of crazies. Bollards required.

 

[soundwave]

it will tear your face apart i have one in my saddle bag with a multi tool

 

[guerney]

 

[portals]

I should mosey on over there late one Friday night, without my bike of course...

Take the car....