Riding with lights (at night)

Riding Advice
1

Okay, so I’ve been riding for a couple years now, feeling like my riding could go to the next level, so I looked around, read the reviews, then scored a super bright helmet light: Geoman Magic Shine 900 lumens!

So, first ride was a 36er on a paved greenway, well it was supposed to be the first ride, except I forgot the cord :o

So then the following week I got the kit together and headed for some single track on the 29er. I started off just before dusk, so it was just light enough to see, but then it was time: Boom! We got light :slight_smile: and it was wierd, like bright in the center and dim around the edges, very flat, and hard to judge distance, but I was riding at night, yeah!

As it got darker, the quality of light improved until it was actually quite nice to ride by headlamp alone. I ended up riding for 90 minutes and though I probably was more cautious and walked more places than normal, it was just so cool to be riding in the winter at night.

I’ve taken another muni ride since, this was on the Surely 26 x 3, more rough track, mud, rocks, roots, and it still was a great experience, far better to get in a ride at night then wait until the weekends and hope it was warm and dry.

Most definitely, if you can afford to get a real powerful Mtb styled light system, night riding on a uni is way fun and not as scary as you’d think.

My system has a helmet mount with a cord that runs long enough to place the rechargeable Li battery in my waist pack. I don’t hardly feel the weight and generally forget I have it on unless the cord touches my back or arm.

Keep riding, don’t let old man winter keep ya down!!

2

Been riding Muni a couple of years with lights, most recently the Magicshine. Really fun. FYI there is a recall on the batteries for Magicshine(I guess they blow up!) I was told to not use it and store the batteries outside untill they figure it out.

3

For real?

Uhhhh, what are you using for a light?

Have you seen one explode?

4

I’ve got my 900 Lumens in the form of a small cree tactical flashlight. I just use a couple of strips of velcro to attach it to my helmet. It’s got a wide, even pattern with NO hotspot in the center. Burn time is 65 minutes on one battery, but I carry an extra rechargable one with me and it takes less than 45 seconds to install it. Here’s the one I’ve been using for about 2 years now and I LOVE it:

http://www.amazon.com/900-Lumen-Flashlight-UltraFire-Protected-Battery/dp/B003TEP4PA/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1290996458&sr=8-11

5

Absolutely for real. Have not seen one explode, one guy said they don’t explode, just catch on fire. Sent mine back today. You have to contact Geoman and get a return #. It’s a bummer because I really like the light. They’ll get a replacement and we’ll be back in business.

6

I’ve been night riding for the last month a few nights a week.
Started using my mountain bike lights (AyUp’s) mounted on helmet and now also on the frame.

Love riding muni at night. Gives a whole new depth to riding - and not so hot.
Having a light low down gives better detail on objects you may run into because of the shadow behind then. With just the helmet light it is certainly harder to judge the size of rocks and dpeth of holes etc.

Enjoy.

7

Thanks for the heads up on the Geoman battery issues. I had no idea, then you said something and I did a serch, oh man, tat could be bad!

I have not received anything from the company suggesting a return, and since my batteries seem to be doing fine (no heat, no swelling, holding charge) I’m going to keep them stored in a LiPo bag and use them until the new batteries are available.

It seems like Li batteries are a lot more dangerous that you’d think. I had no idea that they could combust if the charge was too low or if the charge was imbalanced between cells :astonished: Apparently a good hi-low voltage regulator is the key to how they function and to maintain safety.

8

Night Riding

I did a night MUni ride with Roland and Steve and it was fun. You always have to be on the ready because you see much less detail than during the day. I think that night riding can improve your regular riding skills.

Unicorn

9

Gadge and I ride at night from time to time.

I have some lcd front and rear “be seen” lights on the uni, and a powerful head torch. On a smoothish surface it is fun to ride with just the “be seen” lights. With the head torch, you need more care than in daylight, but you can ride pretty much everything that you could ride in daylight. IT just takes a bit more care.

Be careful not to dazzle oncoming pedestrians or road users.

If I hear a car coming up behind me, I tend to shine the head torch down to my offside to make a pool of light on the road as an additional warning of my presence.

10

I’m a big fan of riding my 36er at night. I’ve always had a 900 lumen MagicShine 808e mounted way out there on the “T” of my Shadow handlebar. Like most bke lights, the MagicShine’s mount is designed for bcycle handlebars where there is plenty of real estate to put things like lights, computers, etc. Mounting a light on a unicycle poses a challenge. If you could figure out a way to mount it on your frame (something I’ve yet to be able to do), you are going to get a lot of interference from your knees going up and down. My solution (mounting the light-head way out on the end of the Shadow handlebar) does not have a problem with the interference but my latest UPD broke my lighthead. I’ve ordered a replacement off eBay (GeoManGear has gone out of business) for $50. If I break another one, I will probably end up buying a 2000 lumen MJ-880 and going back to a helmet mount but I hate the MagicShine helmet mount that came with my 808e. I might consult my LBS to see if they have a better mount. I will probably buy a cheaper helmet dedicated specifically to night riding so that I can just leave the mount in place. I would be very interested to see other people’s light mounts be they helmet mounts or on the handlebar/frame/etc.

11

Not a great picture, but here’s mine with two cheap led lights out front. Not enough for hard trail use, but it’s gotten me through a number of very dark tunnels on dirt and works fine on the street.

12

You sissies and your need to light up the entire neighborhood.

I use echolocation in the dark. Still have yet to hit anything, even when riding at full tilt.

I even taught a blind man to ride a bike…

13

Yeah, and when I get off work tonight I’ll administer a tapetum transplant on myself and enjoy a night ride. No echolocation needed. All I need is a scalpel and my dog’s anatomy within my fingertips.

14

Oh, me too!

15

Just finished a leisurely 10 mile night time ride on the Coker near a local lake. It was my first real chance to try out my new lights, some Bontragers. Here’s a link to them: http://kulshancycles.com/product/bontrager-glo-headlight-ember-taillight-combo-76175-1.htm
The lights should be removed if you ever leave the uni in an openly public place like a bike rack, as they’re easily stolen. I have the taillight on my seat post and the headlight on my pi bar, next to my cycle computer. It’s a tight fit on my bar, but the lights are safe from collision with the ground during falls, so it’s worth it.
I wish I had taken a camera; the view over the lake with a big moon and stars, not to mention fading light on the horizon, was beautiful. Next time I go (probably within a few days, weather permitting) I’ll be sure to take a few pictures.

16

I managed to dodge two cows standing on track and woke the sleeping horse, my light uses a Cree U2 led giving over 1000 lumens, although I only use it on half power as it gives plenty of light light rain made track quite slippery

nightuni.jpg

17

This is a pretty good deal.

18

That is a very good deal. I wish I had seen it before I paid $50 on Amazon for pretty much the same thing.

I’ve pretty much given up mounting this thing on my 36er full time. It truly is overkill for a daytime “be seen” light. I’m just going to get a little white blinking light that runs on AAA batteries.

It turns out that GeoManGear’s helmet mount is not so bad after all. You’ve just got to use the right kind (lots of vents) helmet. I’ve got a “take a look” mirror mounted on there as well. It’s a fairly cheap ($40) Lance Armstrong Giro. It will make for a nice road helmet. Now I’ve got to get myself a nice MUni helmet.

19

Knog Frog Strobe “be seen” light

New white (front) light for my 36er. It is very small. Runs on two CR2032 coin batteries.

Here is a view from the front (sorry for the glare).

Here is a profile view.

Here is a view of the whole (Shadow with Ergon GP1 grip) handle.

20

Thank you for posting that link. I ordered it and can’t wait to test it out.