It’s always good to do little informal surveys on Twitter. You find out what setups fellow cyclists are using. As visibility and the short days are on people’s minds I asked what bike lights everyone is currently relying on.

• cyclegaz front. Hope vision1 and magicshine mj-808. Rear. Magicshine mj-818, Blackburn mars 4.0 and 2x fibre flare.
• m1mbz 2x RSP Asteri 3 front lights, 1x Smart 1/2Watt rear led.
• dulwichparagon aye up on the front cateye on the back and two Electron Backupz.
• godefroidp Cat Eye TL-LD 130 front and rear light set. Looks cool and they do their job.
• Gloryhornetboy currently using exposure toro and a combination of cateye and bikehut at the rear
• MartinGamage Cateye – swear by them, used them for years and duracells in the LED lights last for ages
• stephenkhay Cateye Light set, HL-EL450 and TL-LD600-R. I think on your recommendation..? Super bright anyway, work a charm
• Chutzpah84 Hope Vision 1 on front with a Halfords light, Smart Lunar R2 on back with Halfords light and LED lights on backpack & helmet
• chrisbpr 5 LED bikehut light up front and topeak LED at the back..good enough for the dark parts of my ride.
• jmwollny hope vision 1 – 240 lumens of goodness
• lovely_jessica Knog Frogs…bright and easy to attach in the dark!
• els76uk cateye with 3 white LEDs on the front, red fibre flare on the back. wish fibre flare did a white one for the front -i love it
• PeterjHolland Really weak ones! x
• simondup Using a Exposure Joystick as a front light and flashing cat-eye tail light.
• suspectpackage cateye tl-ld1100 (i like) & hl-el500 (not so much)
• drakefelDebaser Smart Lunar at the back, Knog Frog and Cateye upfront
• FatCycleRider Cateye HL-EL130 and TL-LD130. Both good for well lit areas but no good for unlit sections.
• steff631 Highish-end single-very-bright-LED Cateye front, little 5-LED-in-blinky-pattern Cateye rear.
• jameogreig NiteRider Cherry Bomb – Good, Knog Frog – OK, Hope Vision 1 – Amazing.
• ExodusTravels Polaris flashing lights – difficult for drivers to miss those – but they still do…with a bright yellow tabard.
• TodaysCyclist We’re using @Knog Boomers (25% brighter than other hi-powered mini lights) or these http://bit.ly/a2vjRi
• WoollenTypist cateye front & back. Use two on the back to be seen!
• BernardJFlynn supernova_lights Thee best
• LiamFitz B+M ikon rechargable – outshines a truck!
• markbikeslondon The red ones and the white ones )))
• lindsey_dear A fab set of Cateye EL135/T150 lights I won thanks to @markbikeslondon and extra Knogs for visibility
• ruthclaire I’ve got knog lights. Love the clip on stretchy silicone.
• mategalleta knog frogs and knog gekko, as well as a set of cateyes, front and back. Christmas tree-style!

ROUNDUP: What bike lights London’s cyclists are using

In the more budget bike light range are the Knog lights (£13.90 Amazon) which are proving very popular. Moving up the price range a few people have opted for the slightly more expensive Knog Boomer (£31.92 Amazon) to provide extra light. Right up there at the top of the market I counted a total of 3 that said they opted for the Hope Vision 1 (Evans currently have this on sale at £71.99 – £10 less than anywhere else).

Of course the most popular brand was CatEye. Quite a few people said they have more than one bike light on the back to be sure they get seen.

My bike light setup

I’m currently using the Knog Frog Strobe Bike Lights. I’m enjoying the portable, shove in your jacket pocket and forget about it, size. The Knogs are the easiest bike lights to clip on and off with their unique design. The only complaint I have is that I would like them to be a little brighter. Therefore, I’ve coupled my Knog setup with some Cateye lights that have lasted me years. If I was to splash out on a more expensive light then I’m a big fan of the B&M Ixon IQ.

Also a bike light question I couldn’t answer in-case someone knows…

ehu @londoncyclist do you know of a make that has a constant light, with strobe at the same time? Saw one in Glasgow, but can’t find anywhere.

Related to bike lights:

• London cyclist’s Bike lights guide
• B&M Ixon IQ bike light review
• 7 dangerous mistakes you are making with your cycling

During yesterdays tube strike the media inevitably turned their attention to cycling as a way of getting to work. This provided some great publicity for cycling and the BBC even invited me in to talk about it. To get there I cycled through the mayhem of rush hour. I thought it was pretty mad out there – buses, cars and people all tangled up in a huge mess trying to get home. Traffic signs were being ignored, cars were waiting in no stopping zones and cyclists were jumping red lights in droves.

This is also one of the first things the BBC reporter asked me about. As I sad down in one of those rooms with a green background, pulled the microphone under my shirt and decided between the background of Big Ben or London. I opted for London in the end. “Cyclists are quite famous for jumping red lights aren’t they?” My well rehearsed defence: “Actually, only a small minority of cyclists jump red lights, they are usually the ones you notice”. I was hoping they would ask me about how to cycle safely as new cycling commuters often don’t know the tricks of the trade. But no such luck.

I asked on Twitter yesterday what London Cyclist’s thought of the tube strike and if they spotted any new cyclists:

sweek0 @londoncyclist it was bloody busy. More cyclists than I’ve ever/seen more cars too. Many were clearly inexperienced and rode close to curb

sukeyyy @londoncyclist More (smug) cyclists for sure! And I saw one guy in a suit sprinting to get the last Boris bike in the rack.

phototropy @londoncyclist Lots more cyclists! I ended up escorting a lawyer on a Borisbike, simply because he didn’t have a clue how to get to work.

nicobobinus @londoncyclist probably double the usual number coming in through Holloway and Camden Town. Seemed to be more red lights jumped than usual!

mculmer @londoncyclist yes, lots of new cyclists on hire bikes to close to pavement. Too many cars jostling for that extra inch & lots of motorbikes using bike lanes more than usual

OxfordSpring @londoncyclist More folk on mountain bikes, wide sweeping turns and a distinct lack of proper rain kit.

suspectpackage @londoncyclist closest i’ve come to blows with another cyclist this morning but looked like he was a regular

petermeanwell @thefinalform @londoncyclist mainly mega traffic but a few more wobblers, and lots more people trying to jump lights – but didn’t know how!

chthonicionic @londoncyclist Lots of cyclists + nice bikes/lycra but with no experience of riding in heavy traffic – undertaking lorries + on pavement

meincken @londoncyclist a few near misses which scared even me, and lack of respect for other road users! Tube strike can’t end quick enough!

tobycastle @londoncyclist Even at 7am definitely more bikes. Some rusty & definitely more wobbly. Also many more rucksack runners panting along.

my1minuterant @londoncyclist Seemed a few more people up for a race (Lycra Warriors), maybe not woked it all out of their system.

commentisfree @londoncyclist loads more nOObies. "Experienced" commuters can be just as much as a pain in the a$$ though, so I kept quiet…

And so as another tube strike comes to and end hopefully we will have some more cyclists join us on London road’s. Be nice to them guys!

Read more:

• 7 mistakes new cyclists make
• The Skyride in pictures
• Waterproof cycling jackets
• Bike lights guide

I wanted to take a quick look through some of the top things that I’ve tweeted in the past 6 months to see what sort of things are really popular amongst Twitter readers:

1. London Cycle Hire Status Map – Very cool visualisation of the usage of the cycle hire scheme
2. What cyclists can be fined for – This received 500 clicks from just 1 tweet. Obviously something people are interested in!
3. Silly ways to use the cycle hire scheme – posted on the day of the cycle hire scheme launch I’m guessing this got plenty of fan fare from the fact it was a trending topic for the day
4. Guide to cycling in London – The free PDF eBook I launched on London Cyclist
5. The world’s loudest bicycle horn – I guess anything with “The world’s loudest” is going to have big success!
6. Where to get your bike tagged – Lists the dates the police are tagging bikes in London. Goes to show people are very interested in bike safety.
7. Guardian compares the London Cycle Hire Scheme to the Paris one – The sheer interest around the Cycle Hire scheme and anything related to it has been staggering in the past 30 days.
8. London Cycle Cafe’s – who? where? what? – A look at the London Cycle Cafe’s everyone has been talking about
9. Who are the least courteous drivers in London? – Ask a controversial question and you’re sure to get some heated debates
10. Cycle training pays off in Sheffield – It cost the equivalent of a metre of highway and led to an estimated increase in cycling of 70%
11. Hello Joe competition – High vis clothing is a big hit with London Cyclist readers as are giveaways!  
12. Every bicycle theft victims dream – a YouTube video showing the somewhat cruel revenge on a bicycle thief
13. Why bike thieves should be very afraid – The new cycle task force is in London
14. 10 London cycling events you shouldn’t miss out on – Be part of the London cycling community, try out these events!
15. Top 50 cycling blogs 2010 – A pain to put together but always a big hit!
16. Why do police target cyclists who jump red lights? – A question we all want the answer to
17. Cyclist fined £700 after jumping red light – Shows you why you should just accept the fine
18. Danny McAskill in Chamonix – Great YouTube from a cycling superstar
19. London Cyclist releases eBook with 25 London Cycle Routes – And I’m glad to say it has been well received!
20. Daily Mail hate campaign against cyclists – Unfortunately Tweets like this are very popular which I guess is why the Daily Mail continues to write articles like it.

What will the next 6 months of twittering bring us? Who knows! But it’s certain controversy, giveaways and intrigue and the three things that bring in the Twitter clicks!

Click here to follow on Twitter

LaineMithra Cyclecraft! Was invaluable to me, as a person who had never cycled before, in London, and who didn’t drive either. V good.

stephenallport Book recommendation Tomorrow, we ride by Jean Bobet

ianpatterson99 This Matt Seaton list is a good summary. And I really enjoyed the first – The Rider – too. http://tr.im/ECZq

BikeCarson Check out Joe Kurmaskie’s work. Great books!

coconino Good question, "Have you ever read a cycling book you could really recommend?" Yes, Flann O’Brien’s The Third Policeman.

chasbooth Richard’s New Bicycle Book. It’s the cyclists’ bible.

mineret1 "Bicycle Love‘ stories about cycling

suspectpackage lance Armstrong it’s not about the bike – but it’s not really a cycling book

suspectpackage @cyclingamericas = mark Beaumont the man who cycled the world

TBag75 I read The Man Who Cycled the World By Mark Beaumont whilst on holiday – great read.

RichTheRoadie Graeme Fife, The Beautiful Machine – great read

CyclingRentals just read the really excellent 150 page ‘The Rider‘ by Tim Krabbe

Excellent recommendations. I’ve been wanting to read some good cycling books for a while and now I have enough recommendations to last me. It seems that for anyone who wants to take their cycling to a book level there’s a pretty vast array of options to dive into.

I have ordered Cyclecraft, not because I want to improve my “safe cycling skills”, as they are already amazing, but because I want to see what all the fuss is about. Plus it may be a very good book to review considering no doubt many cyclists who visit here are beginners.

I have also ordered The Man Who Cycled the World because it looks very interesting and I enjoy travelling and The Rider because the Guardian put it as their number 1 must read. As they said “dark and philosophical” sounds like a good combination to me.

I have also launched a page here on London Cyclist with cycling books reviews. I will make sure any I read are reviewed and placed here. I have already added my opinion on 5 bike maintenance books and a couple of routes books so checkout that page and let me know what you think.

If you have any more suggestions for others as to what to read then please leave it in the comments.

Subsequently the hashtag #LDNcyclist was setup and I wanted to go through some of the responses to see what people thought about London’s Cyclists. As a bit of brief background this is where the “us” and “them” argument stands:

• Some newspapers have called London Cyclists Lycra Louts to which there was severe denouncement in other newspapers and cycling blogs. Those killed include two fitness instructors, a film producer, a Goldsmiths’ graduate, a City director and an architect.
• There has been various cases of road rage including recently in Australia where a bus driver was punched by a cyclist.
• Recently in Cambridge cyclists have been given fines for anti-social cycling.
• In cities such as Copenhagen where cycling is seen as the norm there is no “us” and “them” everyone just cycles but thinks nothing of it.
• There is even a debate being held soon by the Spectator where speakers include the former Mayor of London asking: are cyclists a menace?

Moving on to some of the points raised on Twitter:

About not breaking the law

atlaz : @LDN Not sure how many are needed. How about don’t jump red lights, do ride on the road. Those seem to annoy most.

lucyinglis : Don’t ride on the pavement, then shout at me because I have my headphones on and don’t know you are there!

MrSnoobs : #LDNcyclist If you are on the road, how about you take notice of the colour of the traffic lights? 2 wheels doesn’t make you an exception.

alexecrawford : #LDNcyclist -cyclists- DO indicate, DO make eye contact, DON’T jump lights, DON’T cycle on pvmnts, DON’T cut people up, DON’T go near HGVs..

tristanprooth : And one more thing: Do NOT ride on the pavement, even if there is no cycle lane. You are road traffic. Behave like it.

It definitely does not help the image of cyclists that many of us go through red lights. Though there also needs to be appreciation of the danger of setting off at the same time as cars do. This is why in cyclists friendly cities such as Copenhagen the light turns green for cyclists before cars.

Violence justified

ajjmcd : @lucyinglis was the idiot wearing a helmet? it justifies knocking him over….

This is one of the more worrying and extreme sides of the debate and is also an angle some of the newspapers have taken.

Paying to use the road

mulene : the road is NOT yours. #LDNcyclist There are other vehicles on the road who PAY to use it!

alexecrawford : @mulene #LDNcyclist – who says we don’t pay? I do

I think this argument has been countered many times successfully. The one figure I will add is that £140 million will be spent on cycling in the next 3 years. This is about enough for four miles of motorway.

Advice to cyclists

ktcita : Cyclists: please wear bright clothes & lights at night. You are invisible otherwise and cannot complain about not being seen. #LDNcyclist

Excellent advice and also the reasoning given behind the recent Cambridge fines.

From Cyclists

jacquidarlow : @LDN please pedestrians don’t step out between parked cars, when traffic at a standstill cyclists are still moving!

djientan : @LDN I’m a cyclist who gets upset by reckless cyclists. Some of us a good road users!

contrabland : Dear pedestrians, try looking before stepping out into the road (even if you are on a phone call).

simonmdt : we aint perfect, but Pedestrians are far the greatest hazard. Don’t yell at me. here’s a clue in the name Bike Lane.

I too have bumped into a person stepping off a bus onto a cycle lane without looking. I think both cyclists and pedestrians need to be more mindful of each other.

Some helpful suggestions

TexCorie : If you cycle on the pavement, behave like a pedestrian. If you cycle on the street, behave like a car. #LDNcyclist

alexecrawford : as always when discussing cycling, talk quickly turns angry. I’m a cyclist and a pedestrian-It doesn’t need to be a war

With the Mayor aiming for an increase of cycling from 2% to 5% of journeys this debate is likely only to intensify. So what could be done to resolve it? Wired magazine recently discussed the success of the complete streets concept. This is where the road and pavement is shared out equally between all users. Also we could perhaps try the Toronto approach where thank you notes are given to courteous drivers. One final idea is car free cities. Is this somewhere you would choose to live?

It is clear that there is a growing animosity between pedestrians and cyclists. As always those few that break the law and cycle inconsiderately are causing a bad image of cyclists. In any case I think the worse thing that could happen is for the two groups to turn on each other. These are definitely the two most vulnerable road users and should be the two groups that get along the most. Let’s not forget we are all pedestrians at some point.