Legal requirements for lights and reflectors on your Brompton. Intro to Bikemate rear camera light

[@self-propelledfun]

Thanks Stu - never considered the regulations in detail before - food for thought!

[@stushikesandrides]

I found out the hard way after getting hit by a local authority van some years ago. The aftermath was a bit of a nightmare to be honest. Ended up out of pocket and packed in cycling for a good while, still life is too short and you just have to get on with it don’t you.

[@self-propelledfun]

@@stushikesandrides not fair they sidestepped blame after hitting you because of a technicality. Anyhow….. onwards Stu!!!

[@stushikesandrides]

@@self-propelledfun And upwards!! Thanks so much 🙏

[@JulianHutchings]

Another top video and very helpful info.

[@stushikesandrides]

Thanks Julian. Beware the spd’s! 😉

[@dant.6364]

Dude, that flashing jacket is BAD ASS!

[@stushikesandrides]

Sadly it’s an optical illusion it’s simply the reflective reacting to the flashing led. But it does look cool right? Definitely looks bad ass though.

[@dant.6364]

Just noticed that you use an accessory bar on your Brompton’s handlebar. Is that a standard one used for motorcycles? Looking to getting one for my mid bar Brompton.

[@stushikesandrides]

The accessory bar is called a brace bridge extender - it’s made by Och Parts and you can get it from www.ochparts.com. It’s carbon fibre and really sturdy. Thanks for watching and commenting Dan👍

[@alexmorgan3435]

I have swapped the awful std Brompton pedals for Shimano XTR SPDs. My cycling shoes have reflective tabs on the heels plus I ride with ortlieb panniers which obscure the pedals anyway, but which have huge reflective patches on which are highly visible at night when light is shone on them.. Schwalbe Marathon tyres also have reflective walls which again are highly visible. My Endura cycling jacket has lots of reflective patches and arrows on it. I use Supernova E3 Pro 2 dynamo and Exposure Max D front lights. I have Supernova very bright rear lights and also very bright Exposure rear Redeye light. I also have Cate Eye TDLR 600 rear light a stalwart of rear lights. When I was rear ended on a roundabout by a stupid bellend back in 1999, the RAC van driver who witnessed it when asked by the defendants solicitor how visible I actually was said, "He was lit up like a Christmas tree." The defendant's solicitor then offered no further defence and sat down.

[@stushikesandrides]

Brilliant! Thanks for sharing that cautionary tale - I just don’t get the current trend for riding very expensive road bikes in black clothing with either no lights at all or a miniature, ineffective led at the back. It boggles my head! Thanks for watching and sharing your story.

[@markpickford4756]

What handlebar grips is it on your Brompton?

[@stushikesandrides]

Hi Mark, they are Ergon GP3 grips I absolutely love them.

[@markpickford4756]

@@stushikesandrides do they still fit while folded as I was gonna go for GP2 for smaller bar end

[@stushikesandrides]

They do not interfere with the fold in any way. Buy with confidence 👍

[@Luke-san]

Just a heads up for people travelling, even if it is in Europe, some countries have stricter and different laws than others. It might be worthwhile to check the laws of the countries you visit up front. For example in Germany your lights have to be StVZO approved, and believe me a lot of lights are not! In case you end up in an accident Police might be checking that. My personal view on the standard lights of the Brompton ... they are mounted way to low. Some places here you drive behind parked cars so your head- and rearlight will not show through the windows of the parked cars. Also when lights are that low in regular traffic, not that great. I have one mounted on the rails of the Brooks and another one on my small backpack for the rear. On the front I use a light with a cutoff line that is mounted on the underside of the handlebar. (much neater and better looking) Btw a small tip if you mount stuff on the handlebar and it tips forward or backwards (lights seem to do this because of the weight and vibrations) a couple of turns of electrical tape first on the handlebars and they grip much much better.

[@stushikesandrides]

Very useful information Luc, thanks so much for sharing. It’s something we tend not to think about seriously enough until it’s too late. Once you’ve had an accident the police may be interested in checking your lights but the insurance companies lawyers are guaranteed to be looking for an excuse not to pay! 🙏

[@Luke-san]

@@stushikesandrides btw saw someone this week cycling in the dark wearing a jacket I have never ever seen before. It was like magic, seems it was fully reflective, body and sleeves. That person was visible from a couple of 100 yards, and by seen I mean very visible like 'wth is that'. I need to look into that because it was certainly a nice safety thing.

[@stushikesandrides]

I know about one such jacket - the Proviz Reflect 360 it’s very bright, quite expensive though.

[@Luke-san]

Must be this one : Proviz Reflect360 some videos on KZbin about that one.

[@paulroberts01]

@@Luke-san ​ @Stu’s Hikes and Rides ​ ​ Lidl do a Crivit one that's lots cheaper from time to time, neither the Lidl or the Proviz Reflect 360 is breathable though so you can get wet from the inside.

[@SalvationInChristAlone]

Hello where did you purchase the handlebar brace from please ?

[@stushikesandrides]

I bought it from www.ochparts.com. Etsy as well in the U.K. it ships very quickly from Singapore.

[@myderek1950]

This is a very important subject, except he didn't speak very clear or loud enough for anybody to hear at first I used a smart phone then I used a kindle still had trouble hearing what he said, please make it a bit easy to hear. Otherwise I would give 10 out of 10.

[@stushikesandrides]

Very sorry for the bad audio I’m still learning how to do this KZbin thing. Thanks for watching and for your patience

[@deborahclayton7105]

Hi. You should boost your voice audio a bit more. I did not realize you were still talking on camera. Nice jacket though.

[@stushikesandrides]

Sorry Deborah for the poor audio. As I said to another viewer I’m still learning how to do this and it’s probably taking me a bit longer than most. I appreciate that you watched it though and commented, I guess the most important message is that if you don’t have the correct lighting and then are unfortunate enough to have an accident the insurance companies lawyers will punish you for it. Regards Stu

[@ARlELATOM]

Audio seemed ok to me. Very interesting video. I appreciate you researching this topic.

[@stushikesandrides]

@@ARlELATOM Hi there Loz and thanks for taking the trouble to comment and for watching in the first place. I had a little trouble with the audio level on the GoPro which I boosted as much as possible. I must admit it seemed just about acceptable to me as well.