Have you ever been missing really good UI for cycling purposes?
I’m a dedicated cyclist and using lots of flaslights mounted on my steering bar. Some use Anduril some not. I can build a flaslight for that purpose that meets my requirements in regard to the beam pattern and balance between runtime and output. But what I cannot do by myself is the UI. I’m as good at coding as my dog so no way I could write a script or anything like that.
I thought maybe there are more cyclists that miss such awesome UI as Anduril but fitted into bikers particular needs?
Just a brief info on changes I would personally desire for the case our mighty BLF coders decide to develop cyclists edition:
quick access to blinkies
more predefined blinkies (including breathing and heartbeat)
voltage cutoff at 2.8V
memorized blinkies
blinking mode of random brightness for each flash but with constant frequency
constant mode with adjustable (power and frequency) peak - something like Biscotti biking mode but customizable
cover both options for front and rear light
(I know that it would require a new driver design but… ) being able to use lower Vf Leds would open door for so many red light applications and mods
And I’m sure the wishlist can go much longer with the help of other cyclists.
TBH I’m not even dreaming of designing a dedicated host but if anybody would like to pick up this idea…
I dont know where you live, so I dont know the specific regulations, but at least where I live (germany) I am not allowed to just clamp a flashlight to my handloe bars and call it a day. I am only permitted to use actual bike lights that have been tested. The reason is that mounting a normal flashlight would blind oncoming traffic and so could cause accidents.
This of course does only apply if you bike on roads. For ofroading you could mount a flood light if you wanted to. This might not be the answer you were looking for, just my two cents on this.
Who said I’m mounting normal flashlight? Obviously I take care of that and use appropriate beam when in the streets. And before causing an accident I would be surely beaten by other drivers before that.
You can check it by clicking on my nick
Yeah, it’s called STVZO regulation in Germany. It’s also known in other EU countries but not mandatory to obey.
Thanks for your 2cents but with all due respect - nothing I wasn’t aware of
You mentioned something about a dedicated host. Maybe adding more than one button might make it easier to use, like one for mode switching, one for more brightness and one for less brightness. If you need custom hardware and firmware anyway, maybe this is an option.
Yep, this makes sense. When it comes to switching modes during the ride it’s very tricky to do it while riding offroad.
Big buttons located no too close one to another would be surely be an asset.
“Bicyclist attemting to perform andruil thermal calibration collides with train head on…bicyclist walks away from accident. Bicycle destroyed, LEDs from flashlight have been recovered.”
I use blinkies during the day. And as a driver I know it allows cyclist to be noticed from far greater distance. At night - true, blinkies are not suitable.
As cyclist the only benefit I see in blinkies is that they allow visibility while saving battery. But as car driver I think blinkies can be distracting and should be preserved for ambulance, police and such.
Cyclists can also make themselves “extra” visible with a low constant mode (on high beam LEDs). Apart from that super interesting project, I am working on sth similar over here. Please keep us updated how this goes
Well, it seems we see it differently. Or imagining different blinkies.
As a car driver I hate strobos - yes they are really distracting even in daylight. But I don’t mind 1-3 Hz blinkies at all. Furthermore I find much more noticeable blinking light than constant.
Typical situation when I’m thankful for using blinkies is when I’m overtaking another car in a narrow road without any shoulder. I’m always afraid to spot a cyclists going in opposite direction too late and not be able to go back to my lane on time. Seeing something blinking in a distance is a clear signal to me I cannot start overtaking.
But as said above - everyone is free to have his own opinion.
Have you ever chased some “enthusiast” with 3W red blinking backlight ? I call them a terrorist. You must to stop and look to opposite side and wait him to drive away.
I cycle occasionally. I ride with solid white front and red back but also at least one lower powered blinky light front and back.
A combination of bright lights all over shop fronts and dazzling modern car lights, I absolutely WANT to be distracting to drivers so they bloody notice me. Modern cars have too bright cabin lights and too many drivers in the UK are distracted.
I’ll agree that 1000 lumens on fast strobe as a front light is stupid, I’m using the lower power 5mm LED flashies.
Yes I like idea for Anduril bike light. I am also cyclist and these days I thought it was possible to make some Anduril driver and mod some cheap chinese bike light. I think for regular bike user simple version of Anduril is preffered. Standard bike flasher and beacon blinkies are enough for daylight usage. In the night strobes are so annoying and distracting. Also it is enough to have programmable stepped ramping in which you can configure max sustained output of light. Voltage check and thermal configuration are useful. Indeed that are maybe the most functions which I use in my Anduril lights. I prefer to use smooth ramping on flashlight but when I use my lights on bike more easy to use is the stepped ramp.
