On 7/5/2020 1:14 PM, Ralph Barone wrote:
sms wrote:
On 7/5/2020 2:20 AM, Rolf Mantel wrote:

snip

So why not offer them a $15 bicycle light, like
https://www.lidl.de/de/crivit-led-fahrradbeleuchtung-2-teilig-batteriebetrieben-fuer-alle-gaengigen-fahrradtypen?


That link doesn't work, at least from the U.S..

Try https://www.lidl.de/de/search?query=fahrradbeleuchtung instead.

Love going to LIDL when I'm in Germany. Just add in the cost of the
plane ticket. And beware of unknown strange holidays when the stores are
all closed.

Those lights are good "being seen" lights, but they are much lower power
than the $15 light I referred to. Also, none of them have a DRL flash
mode, presumably because they are StVZO certified. StVZO certification
also means that the beam pattern is less than optimal for cyclists
(though apparently better for motorists).

From the Urban Dictionary
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=stvzo:

stvzo
German bicycle lighting standard written by non-cyclists designed to
force cyclists to subject themselves to increased danger by requiring
the use of sub-optimal bicycle lighting systems.

"Dude, your lights suck, no one can see you coming and you just ran into
a low hanging tree branch."

"Sorry, I have decided to comply with the StVZO standard which is much
more important than seeing or being seen."

"Dude, dump the StVZO lights and buy a good light."

"Never, the German way is the only way."

[disclaimer: that entry into the Urban Dictionary was written by me in 2013]

Gee, Steven. You wrote that? No ****? I never would have guessed.

And nobody would be dumb enough to run into a low hanging tree branch
while riding on a road. Get real.

If a town has such tree branches, the town mayor should be hung from one.

--
- Frank Krygowski