Hoping to increase driver passing distance at night, I've glued front and rear reflectors to my wing mirrors.

[guerney]

Ah, then the whole thing attaches to your handlebar mirror. Seems I'll need open ended bar grips for an internal fitting bar mirror like this
https://www.zefal.com/en/mirrors/426-dooback-ii.html

Or maybe metal end bar caps of some kind? Then use a longer bolt if necessary?




The AliExpress sale includes this, at a much lower price than usual:



Thus the GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™ is upgraded with sharks frickin' laser beams. Of course there is an outrageous and totally unacceptable increase in purchase price for a fully assembled GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™ (three million £s), when assembled by Guerney - it's much cheaper to make one yourself.

This is a longer lasting light. With it's LED constant on setting with constant on frickin' laser beams, it shone for 5 hours and 5 minutes. That's long enough for nearly all of my longer rides. It was irritating when the previous one winked out, after about an hour at full brightness and constant on mode. The previous light will be used on my (to be assembled) acoustic Dahon Espresso. I don't expect to be pedalling an acoustic bike for more than an hour, about ten minutes morelike.

The frickin laser beams will be lost in the glare of bright headlights up close, but nevertheless, could add a bit of extra visibility from further away. Of course, the red reflector on the Oxford lollipop shines red when headlights are shone upon it. The lollipop with light waggles about in use (so will the frickin' laser beams) and is highly noticable.

Drivers already avoid the GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™, it hasn't been hit by a passing vehicle yet. Highly recommnded, 10 out of 10 stars. I recommend the fully assembled version, well worth the price and great value for money IMHO, because you can't put a price on safety.

 

[AndyBike]

because you can't put a price on safety.

Yes you can, its called 'Buying a car'

 

[lenny]

Yes you can, its called 'Buying a car'

Dixie Chicks band founding member Laura Lynch dies in car crash

The former member of the US country music band dies after being involved in a two-vehicle crash in Texas.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[pudding835]

I can see how effective it is at night when drivers are thinking what the hell is this bright light in front of me, I better give it a wide berth.
Is it as good during the daytime, when motorists can see it's a lollipop stuck onto your handlebars?

 

[guerney]

Is it as good during the daytime, when motorists can see it's a lollipop stuck onto your handlebars?

Works a treat in daylight too - in fact it works so well I sometimes feel guilty, and angle it toward me a bit on narrow roads.

 

[pudding835]

Works a treat in daylight too - in fact it works so well I sometimes feel guilty, and angle it toward me a bit on narrow roads.

Great to hear.

I'll wait until I've relocated for work, see what the drivers are like in Sheffield/Derbyshire and if the NoCloseFeckingPasses™ hi-viz PPE is needed. Cos I'll have to buy all the bits, no shed of spare parts, about £60

 

[guerney]

Great to hear.

I'll wait until I've relocated for work, see what the drivers are like in Sheffield/Derbyshire and if the NoCloseFeckingPasses™ hi-viz PPE is needed. Cos I'll have to buy all the bits, no shed of spare parts, about £60

@trevor brooker's Sidearm™ costs about a tenner.

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/stop-close-passing-for-about-a-tenner.44836/


I don't know how much @WheezyRider spent making his 3D Printed Traffic Boom™ .

https://www.pedelecs.co.uk/forum/threads/traffic-boom-legal.38198/#post-566986


The cheapest version might be to obtain an empty small water bottle, take off the cap, drill a hole through the middle of the cap, put a washer into the cap, bolt through both the washer and cap into the handlebar end...



... then screw the bottle into the bottle cap, cover with pipe lagging (as @matthewslack used constructing his excellent Guernicar Deflector™), use reusable zipties to hold the lagging onto the bottle neck, then cover and secure the lagging with a bit of hiviz reflective tape at the middle and near the end. Cutting off the bottle bottom, and cutting four lines partway along the bottle's length at equal intervals, could allow the construction to easier give way when vehicles and other obstacles hit it, thereby collisions wouldn't alter steering too much, probably. I'd make one, but I don't appear to have a small water bottle at present. I'll probably make this GuerneySiderating DeflectaCar Lite™ for my acoustic Dahon Espresso, when that eventually gets assembled.

 

[guerney]

The pedelecs.co.uk forum software kept saying my post was "too long", so I've had to split it into two.

Refungerating the GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™ ™℠ ®© Part One

Now that it's winter and it's bloody cold out there, I find myself staring at my bike more often... and while doing that... I suddenly noticed although the GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™ has weathered almost a year very well, keeping drivers the hell away from me...




...the top bit of the GoPro extension arm, which is bolted through to the right hand side handlebar end, has bent outward a little - I knew this was a weak point, as it's only 3mm of aluminium alloy.

It was straight:




...now it aint:

 

[guerney]

(See Part One above)

Refungerating the GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™℠ ®© Part Two - The Inevitably Worse Sequel

...To prevent losing my GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™℠ ®© on the road, I could make a little retainer plate, to place between the GoPro extension arm and the Zefal Cyclop mirror mount on the right hand side handlebar end, cut out of 0.4mm galvanised steel sheet I have kicking around, to be bolted through and nutted on:






Alternatively... this is a bit cheaper than usual in the AliExpress sales - at 4mm thickness, it'd be a massive 1mm stronger.

8.98￡ 28% OFF|360° Motorcycle Rearview Mirror Stand Camera Clamp Mount Holder for Hero10/9/8/7/6/5 Action Cameras Accessories|Stabilizers| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I don't think the existing 3mm will break off anytime soon. Certainly doesn't justify a costly and problematic from a PR point of view product recall - good job too, because I'm far too irresponsible for anything like that, and I've lost all my money gambling on snail races. However, erring on the side of caution, in order to prevent the Oxford Safety Wing Fold out Reflector being torn off spinning at high speed, and causing catastrophic life changing dismemberments and fatalities in my wake... for now, I've made a small retainer chain using zipties. I'd prefer a boomerang shaped Oxford which shouts "I'll be back!" as it breaks off.

 

[guerney]

I didn't think much about the longevity of this contraption when I assembled it, figuring the cops would fairly soon object to my claiming more of the road... but thus far they've completely ignored me. I had sawed a prong off the GoPro extension arm because I didn't have a longer bolt, I also didn't have a 3mm metal piece to fill the gap between the two prongs - I planned at some later stage to use the sawed off prong as a filler, and fit a longer bolt through the handlebar end if required. Unhappy with the ziptie retainer, that's what I've now done. I didn't have a washer small enough, so I used a nut too big, because the bolt's hexagonal head was a bit small, thusforth:





I've used a shorter GoPro alloy extension arm, so I've moved the red flasher previously ziptied vertically on the handlebar end, onto the Oxford reflector - I know for certain it'll stay on ziptied like this, because in the past I've had this same flasher secured to my second Oxford reflector on the rear rack for months. Like the other red lights, this flasher will be on constant mode to avoid being mistaken for an indicator.





I made a little rain hat for the sharks with frickin' laser beams projector (self-amalgamating rubber tape and a ziptie) to fit over the useless looking flap which is supposedly there to protect the USB socket (which has been stupidly situated on top) from rain.








In addition, the red reflector on the Oxford reflects headlights - I could simulate that using a bright spotlight, but can't be fussed...






The GuerneySiderating Illumimaker™ ™℠ ®© is reborn! It's even better than it was before. The most important thing for me to do now, is to avoid staring at my bike.

 

[guerney]

Here's a question for you drivers: Would you think these lights flashing are indicators? I'd prefer flashing mode for these three on the right, but won't if forumites think they'd confuse drivers or get me arrested for indicating furiously or something.

 

[Nealh]

Maybe if only the one and one was colour blind.

 

[guerney]

Maybe if only the one and one was colour blind.

That was my hope, as there are two flashing at different rates, and one is pulsing downwards.

I reckon I'll go with this arrangement.

 

[Nealh]

I ride with a bright solid one RHS and a blinker on the LHS, not sure four lights would get me seen any more.

 

[guerney]

More lights the better. These extra lights aren't necessary, it's just because I've got them and I feel they should be making themselves useful instead of lazing about in a box watching their integral batteries die of low voltage, like the batteries of so many other little gadgets I've left unused for too long. The two long lights are easily transferable between bikes. Drivers already instinctively avoid this Oxford lollipop sticking out from my bike's right hand handlebar end, and if any vehicle hits it (I've been using it for a year so far, and none have yet), it'll simply swivel out of the way without knocking the handlebar and altering my bike's trajectory - I've tested by bashing the Oxford into lamp posts and railings riding.

I'll either get another one of these 1800LM flashers to make red for the back of my bike trailer's right hand corner, or make an extension lead for the red 1800LM flasher that's already on my bike's pannier rack. The former would be easier to put on and take off, I'd simply need to solder a Y into that light's cable from the battery, solder on waterproof connectors.

Pardon our interruption...

 

[guerney]

As @WheezyRider, @matthewslack, and @trevor brooker have demonstrated. There's more than one way to make a Siderator™ ™℠ ®©. How will you make yours?

I've updated the video because of the new light arrangement, there's also thrilling car headlight simulation starting at about 44 seconds, which you will want to skip to through boredom... which also goes on far too long, like everything else about this imperfect video.

 

[guerney]

I don't have enough room on my handlebar for a big switch panel, even if I wanted one... so at the mo they're organised thusforth: Switch 1 is the main switch, it turns on three front lights (1800LM + 1800LM + 2400LM) plus the rear 1800LM red. But I don't want them all on constant mode, so switches 2 and 3 are to switch modes of one 1800LM headlight and one 1800LM rear red light respectively.

Modes on all these lighs are changed by switching off and on. They're on high brightness and constant after initially switching on. Off and on switches to dim, off and on again switches to flashing high brightness. Switching the main switch (1) off and on again, switches two front lights (1800LM +2400LM) to dim and the other front 1800LM front light plus rear 1800LM to high constant brightness. Switching the main switch 1 off and on once more makes 2400LM +1800LM front lights flash, and makes the other front 1800LM and rear red 1800LM dim.

If adding a second dual switch doesn't impede my folding bike's folding, I'm about to replace switch 1 with a second dual switch, because I want independent control of the headlight pointed backward at my hiviz clothing - it'll be soldered to my ebike battery like the others, presently it's activated via the buttons leading to the DPC-18 display and powered by the lighting circuit from the controller.

It's useful having a variety of flashing/constant modes available for different cycling moods. Sometimes I flash all angry.

 

[thelarkbox]

A pal who shall remain nameless would carry a claw hammer in his inside pocket of his leather jacket, any car that came too close to his bike got 2 holes popped in the roof.. I can imagine drivers looking once at his wide grin and moving away pdq.. big lad on a bigger bike

The plan i hatched but never put into action of course was to print up sheets of stickers with offensive slogans.. of course i would never slap one on the rear of an offending car even if it was close enough to do so.
Though i did brew up some fine batches of beer with some interesting labels on the bottles..

My only mitigation was after a year of the same 30 mile journey in and out of work while many motorists are Ladies and Gents of the Rd, a few are less than considerate when it comes to us on 2 wheels regardless of power source.

 

[AndyBike]

That was my hope, as there are two flashing at different rates, and one is pulsing downwards.

I reckon I'll go with this arrangement.


View attachment 55948

Thats the rookie approach. What you should be aiming for is something like this...

 

[guerney]

Thats the rookie approach. What you should be aiming for is something like this...
View attachment 56207

Hmmm.... I could make a flip-up frame or board, similarly covered in lights and reflectors for my Homcom trailer, about 4ft high, closer to driver eyeline... with an Oxford sticking out to the right hand side at the top. I'll see how it goes with a big bright 1800LM red flashing light at the back of my bike illuminating my trailer for now...