On the way home recently, I glanced at the rear light on the Brompton to check all was well, and found that it wasn’t: the rear light had apparently forgotten what it was supposed to do. The next day at work I put the bike into a stand and swapped the rear light for one we had in stock. Fortunately it worked, saving much swearing and checking of the wiring.
As shown above, this is now working, which is quite a relief, apart from the obvious desirability of being visible to drivers in the dark, the police in Tübingen don’t like ninja cyclists.
The picture above is taken in the pedestrian/bike tunnel linking the north and south of the city, and which will feature in this blog in the future.


2 comments
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February 28, 2026 at 12:00 pm
Mr Alan Noake
A good idea to get “visible” again, as a motorist and a cyclist i get very worried about the number of bikes i see with no lights at all. Especially, some of the electric bike riders who enjoy zipping around with no lights🫣 an accident waiting to happen🚲
February 28, 2026 at 1:33 pm
Andy in Germany
I really don’t like riding without lights: I know they were working the night before, because I always check as I set off.
In unrelated news, There was a noticeable increase in people buying lights in Dec/Jan. I’m sure that is nothing to do with the fact that the fine for not having lights went up to 60€ from Jan 1st 2026…