Whacked a pothole today...

[Nooch]

Was getting in my pre-dawn miles and found myself on several less than friendly roads. After finally starting the approach back home, I nailed a pothole full force -- bars rotated down, but luckily didn't blow out the tire, break the rim (didn't even push it out of true) and kept upright. (Ritchey alloy evocurve, thomson x2)

The point, though, is that I didn't see it. I've been riding with the same setup for a few years now -- cygolite expillion 700, bar mounted, and it's been great, usually running it at the medium level has been sufficient and affords me pretty good run time. I'm not sure if I was near the end of the battery when I hit the pothole (I know I was starting to get low by the time I got home, as it was indicating as much), but something else came to mind.

I was wearing yellow lenses this morning, and found I was having trouble 'reading the shadows,' if you will, as well as feeling like the yellow might offset the somewhat blue hue to the light. Is this even a thing, or am I crazy? Are yellow lenses not recommended for riding in the dark?

[bobswire]

Originally Posted by Nooch

Was getting in my pre-dawn miles and found myself on several less than friendly roads. After finally starting the approach back home, I nailed a pothole full force -- bars rotated down, but luckily didn't blow out the tire, break the rim (didn't even push it out of true) and kept upright. (Ritchey alloy evocurve, thomson x2)

The point, though, is that I didn't see it. I've been riding with the same setup for a few years now -- cygolite expillion 700, bar mounted, and it's been great, usually running it at the medium level has been sufficient and affords me pretty good run time. I'm not sure if I was near the end of the battery when I hit the pothole (I know I was starting to get low by the time I got home, as it was indicating as much), but something else came to mind.

I was wearing yellow lenses this morning, and found I was having trouble 'reading the shadows,' if you will, as well as feeling like the yellow might offset the somewhat blue hue to the light. Is this even a thing, or am I crazy? Are yellow lenses not recommended for riding in the dark?

The sun at this time of year also is culprit during daylight. I noticed that yesterday on a ride (trial on sunset blvd.) that has lots of tree roots forcing up asphalt and it was difficult discerning the highs and lows of the surface.

[pgrizzwald]

I stopped using Thomson x2 stems for that very reason. Bars rotated too much for my comfort...and I wasn't hitting huge potholes and using a torque wrench. I switched to the x4 stem instead.

[jruhlen1980]

I'm just not very awake at that time of morning, even after riding for an hour. I miss obvious stuff all the time.

[dustyrider]

I don't like colored lenses if I need lights to see. You can try another light from a different angle in addition to the light you're already using. It should help define those edges and depths a little more, but I'm thinking the yellow isn't helping. At least in my experience.

I like yellow lenses in the fog/mist/rain. My go to color is usually pink because I ride early mornings.

I have the same light running on my bars and find it pretty adequate for my commuting needs. Which doesn't happen anymore(I walk now!), but when it did, was a mix of MUT and city streets. Any kind of speed and I switch it to high!

[Peter P.]

You need more than one headlight, each in very different locations such as one on the handlebars and one mounted near the front axle. You don't necessarily need MORE light, just light reflecting from road hazards at the right angle.

The angle of your headlight didn't illuminate the shadows created by a pothole when the light strikes it at the proper angles. It's one of the perils of riding at night.

Those angles I referred to: You could try a second headlight mounted on the opposite side of the handlebar. It could be horizontal angle vs. vertical angle of the light which caused the problem. Try borrowing a friend's light to test the theory.