What are you working on right now?

damo · 2015-11-20 13:47:27

^ Impressive!
I bet the spoke reflectors make good spinning light rings as well.

...now for the port and starboard navigation lights on the ends of the handlebars

pvsage · 2015-11-20 20:43:02

^ You mean turn signals? I had actually planned for those originally on the first two or three iterations of this project. (I tend to get bogged down on details; first it was going to be round 5mm/T1 3/4 LEDs, then it was going to be some 4-pin square LEDs, then LED strips stuck directly on the frame like this. The curves in the lights are because the tubing came as a coil; I was hoping the fork lights would throw enough light forward that I could do without the headlight, but their dispersion pattern is too wide.

Last edited by pvsage (2015-11-20 20:56:31)

glittersloth · 2015-11-20 22:10:26

^ Do pushbikes really need turn-signals? Don't think I've ever seen one with them. Also, I know it's the flash strength making it appear so, but that strip on the down tube looks massive. I mean seriously massive. Like advertising opportunity massive!! Now there's an idea. =P

Driver: la,la,la
Ponysage: pedal, pedal, wheeze, pedal
Driver: [brakes screeching] ... Oooh, Kim's Kung-Pow chicken!!

Last edited by glittersloth (2015-11-20 22:16:36)

randomeur · 2015-11-20 22:47:08

@pvsage for inspiration

@glittersloth if you have any progressive/psychedelic rock classics from the 60s/70s era, I'd be happy to provide you with free storage at my place

@nobody will forecast eventually include the feature of controlling weather?
as in would this piece of code work?

sudo apt-get mkweather sunny

glittersloth · 2015-11-21 02:21:29

randomeur wrote:

...if you have any progressive/psychedelic rock classics from the 60s/70s era, I'd be happy to provide you with free storage at my place

Supertramp and Pink Floyd LPs are the only ones that come to mind for your preferred sub-genre. The entire rock spectrum probably only makes up about 2 - 3 % of my collection, I wager. Thanks for the offer though, and frankly speaking, if I had the resources to send my stuff all the way to Berlin, the collection would be much, much bigger thanks to me commuting from your house to Hard Wax (Kreuzberg, iirc) and many of the other record stores in the city on a daily basis.

pvsage · 2015-11-21 07:24:16

@glittersloth: Regarding turn signals, I know you hardly ever see them on bikes, but:
a. How many drivers understand the standard bicyclist hand signals for left turn, right turn, and stop (left arm left, up, and down, respectively)?
b. Considering the hand controls involved in downshifting and braking, how many cyclists actually use hand signals?
c. How visible can such hand signals be at night unless the cyclist is wearing a jacket with lighted or reflective sleeves?
Therefore, I think turn signals are a really good idea, especially for night cycling or commuting on heavily-trafficked roads, especially when a driver passes on the left to make a right turn when the cyclist is about to make a left turn at the same intersection. (It still doesn't help with right hooks, where the driver passes on the left to get to a "protected right turn" lane; there's a gray area here as to who actually has right-of-way.) I have actually seen handlebar-tip turn signals online, but I'd probably put them on the brake lever assemblies up front and at the ends of the tail light.

I know the reflective tape is wide; it almost completely wraps around the tube. A bigger blaze of reflection is harder for a driver to miss, and it really isn't as bright IRL as it looks in the photo. (Again, I blame the camera's optics for the light blooming in all the photos.) I've considered putting a strip of the tape on the back as well and writing in fine point pen "If you can read this, BACK THE FSCK OFF!"

Also, I'm rethinking the orientation of the tail light. I think it might be better to cut that in half and have two vertical strips rather than the single horizontal one.

ohnonot · 2015-11-21 08:07:58

pvsage wrote:

a. How many drivers understand the standard bicyclist hand signals for left turn, right turn

erm, all of them?
...but then there's:

c. How visible can such hand signals be at night unless the cyclist is wearing a jacket with lighted or reflective sleeves?

solution!

it really isn't as bright IRL as it looks in the photo. (Again, I blame the camera's optics for the light blooming in all the photos.)

if you used a flash, well lots of light creates lots of reflection, wich is totally IRL at the moment you took the photo.
if you didn't, you still can't blame the camera's optic; it's the human brain that turns the signals from the human eye into something more useful for perception, like smoothing out extreme light/dark differences. so it's our brains that aren't IRL.

pvsage · 2015-11-21 08:25:36

I have considered making wrist bands (with tails that would wave in the wind, because moving lights registers more readily than fixed lights - this is something hard-wired in one of the older parts of the brain from when we were a prey species) from the reflective strips on a safety vest. Not a bad idea, if I say so myself.

The reason the stripe is brighter in the camera's flash than it is in a car's headlights is because of its retroreflective nature. Just a few degrees between the headlights and the driver's eyes causes a 50% reduction; it actually looks brighter from a greater distance due to the reduced angle of incidence.

"All of them"? I remember it was part of Driver's Ed when I was in High School, but I've heard that's mostly become privatized in the US, and I'm pretty sure it isn't on the written exam. (Blame whatever political party or special interest group(s) you don't like; I'm sure there were multiple factors.)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-11-21 10:36:55

Just be careful out there pv -- never predicate your safety on being observed.

I have a few friends who work as cycle couriers, can you do that trick where they stay upright & feet up at the traffic lights without moving?

EDIT: I can only manage about 10-15 seconds on my motorbike

Unia · 2015-11-21 11:15:26

pvsage wrote:

How many drivers understand the standard bicyclist hand signals for left turn, right turn, and stop (left arm left, up, and down, respectively)?

Eh, what? I've never heard of those. In The Netherlands it's just left arm out to go left, right arm out to go right and none for stopping.

pvsage · 2015-11-21 11:39:20

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

I have a few friends who work as cycle couriers, can you do that trick where they stay upright & feet up at the traffic lights without moving?
EDIT: I can only manage about 10-15 seconds on my motorbike

I've only heard of that in the context of BMX and trials riding. I'd assume it would be easier to do on a fixie, since those allow for microadjustments forward and back, which you can't do with a freewheel hub.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-11-21 11:43:19

pvsage wrote:

I'd assume it would be easier to do on a fixie

Yeah, that's what all the London pro's use

ohnonot · 2015-11-21 13:53:52

Unia wrote:

pvsage wrote:
How many drivers understand the standard bicyclist hand signals for left turn, right turn, and stop (left arm left, up, and down, respectively)?
Eh, what? I've never heard of those. In The Netherlands it's just left arm out to go left, right arm out to go right and none for stopping.

oops, i missed the bit where you use your left arm for all signaling.
what i meant is what unia wrote, and i couldn't imagine anyone misunderstanding that - you don't even have to know where left and right is to understand that.

pvsage · 2015-11-21 20:18:43

@ohnonot & @Unia: I'm sure there's some regional/national variation in cycling semaphore.

I'm pretty sure the "left arm down to signal stop" is to compensate for a bike's absence of brake lights, since people in Eagleland can't be expected to understand that if somebody suddenly slows down, it usually means he intends to...well, slow down. #shapedlikeitself

Since the front brake lever is on the left (can I assume this is true for most bikes internationally?) and I almost never use my rear brake (rear wheel lockup can be more dangerous in a panic stop than the risk of an "endo"), my left hand tends to be a bit busy at intersections. The way I'd handle turn signals on a bike is with a SPDT pushbutton within reach of each thumb.

Sector11 · 2015-11-21 22:06:11

^ Actually the left arm singles: out-up (right turn), pointing left (DUH!) and out-down (stop) are from times before cars had automatic turn signals. A driver couldn't very well signal a right turn without punching out the passenger. I remember my step-father using them on the old 49 Dodge. And if I didn't use them when on my bike, I lost use of it for a week - well if I was caught.

However today there is the use of the right hand signal.

For countries where drivers drive on the left there will be differences, their front break will be on the right.

Hey, Head_on_a_Stick, is your front break on the right?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-11-21 22:23:49

Sector11 wrote:

Hey, Head_on_a_Stick, is your front break on the right?

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQLJypb7DSpmbeWQfEU3T28sXGQlQ07h4i2z6gsoleHpIXe8q3NJ2Xe9dY
Yup ]:D

Sector11 · 2015-11-21 23:08:44

^ Please tell me that is not you!

Evel_Knievel_on_a_Break!

pvsage · 2015-11-21 23:25:13

The Wiki wrote:

Cyclists therefore sometimes have to choose between giving a hand signal and covering the brake.

My point exactly. Signal to drivers, or make the stop? Sometimes it isn't entirely clear which is safer.

Head_on_a_Stick · 2015-11-22 00:01:04

Sector11 wrote:

^ Please tell me that is not you!

No; I have done that but not on purpose...

pvsage · 2015-11-22 00:08:06

^ I came close to doing an endo once; it was a choice between that or a right hook. When I felt my rear wheel leave the road, I instinctively leapt from the pedals to the pavement. The saddle hit me in the back, but I didn't hit the motorist, so I'm calling it a "win".

#41 2015-11-20 13:47:27

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#42 2015-11-20 20:43:02

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#43 2015-11-20 22:10:26

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#44 2015-11-20 22:47:08

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#45 2015-11-21 02:21:29

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#46 2015-11-21 07:24:16

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#47 2015-11-21 08:07:58

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#48 2015-11-21 08:25:36

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#49 2015-11-21 10:36:55

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#50 2015-11-21 11:15:26

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#51 2015-11-21 11:39:20

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#54 2015-11-21 20:18:43

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#56 2015-11-21 22:23:49

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#58 2015-11-21 23:25:13

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