Riding with lights (at night)

[DAVE_ELLIOTT]

[QUOTE=DavidHood;1516057]
That is a very good deal. I wish I had seen it before I paid $50 on Amazon for pretty much the same thing.

Got the light installed on the seatpost. Ppl had mentioned the advantage of having a light mounted low so as to see the irregularities in the path ahead.

Here’s a pic. Now I may need to find the diffuser stick-on that John Childs mentioned to spread the light out a little.

[Mikefule]

I have done a few night rides recently.

On the 36, I have hung a cheap 5 led front light upside down under the T bar handle. This has allowed me to do 5 - 10 mile rides along country lane and easy unmade roads without UPDs (or planned dismounts) and on moonlit nights I have enjoyed turning off the front light and riding by the light (by the light) of the silvery moon for long distances.

On the 29, I have ridden quiet back roads and sections of bike path/foot path just with cheap LED “be seen” lights.

I have a super powerful LED head torch strong enough to make toast but I have come to prefer the tranquility of riding steadily relying on feel and night vision, rather than turning night into day with a headtorch brighter than a thousand suns.

[entropy]

@DAVE ELLIOTT

Got the light installed on the seatpost. Ppl had mentioned the advantage of having a light mounted low so as to see the irregularities in the path ahead.

Here’s a pic. Now I may need to find the diffuser stick-on that John Childs mentioned to spread the light out a little.

I tried that, but the shadows thrown by my legs were really annoying. For me, a light anywhere below about mid-chest works well enough to see bumps in the trail. I attached my light at the end of the touring handle, using a Minoura bar extender (“Spacegrip-3” 22-29mm quick release). It’s a nice little accessory mount - you can also turn it 90 degrees and connect it to the seatpost or long part of the T handle.

For a diffuser, I tightened the lens ring over a disposable white plastic grocery bag - the optical properties are remarkably good! It worked just as well as a more expensive diffuser filter that I tried.

[Mikefule]

My latest two set ups:

The KH29 now has a KH T bar, and I have hung two 5-led bicycle headlights underneath it - one to spotlight the ground immediately ahead, and one to shine further ahead and to make me look like a bicycle to other road users. The rear light is a standard bicycle rear light attached to the seat tube.

The 36 has a Nimbus Shadow handle and under that I have slung my Hope hi-powered “you can use it to make toast” headlight, with the battery pack bungeed to the frame. Again, the rear light is a standard bike unit mounted in the obvious place.

[aracer]

@entropy

I tried that, but the shadows thrown by my legs were really annoying. For me, a light anywhere below about mid-chest works well enough to see bumps in the trail. I attached my light at the end of the touring handle, using a Minoura bar extender (“Spacegrip-3” 22-29mm quick release).

All very well if you have a handlebar. Personally I made an attachment to mount a light to the bolts on the seat handle Post Your Current Projects Here - #40 by aracer - which positions it to have the least leg shadow effect (there’s still some, but a lot less than with a light mounted on the seatpost and it’s not that irritating). Though that was last winter when I’d only been riding a few months and hadn’t yet learned to use the handle when riding - I think it will get in the way of using the handle (or at the least my hand will block the light), so I’m going to have to build something with a bit of downwards extension to get it out of the way.

[Chabano]

@Nurse Ben

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 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!!

It is fun to ride with lights on. But we need to be more careful in night

[Nurse_Ben]

Night riding season is on, two rides so far, this tends to be my midweek ride theme due to not getting to the trails until dusk. So far both of my rides were 36er single track mini, been doing some crank length testing…

Riding is tough right now due to the leaves making everything look the same, roots, rocks, surface undulations, ugh!

The cold and dark makes starting off a miserable experience, esp after working all day at a desk, I almost always feel like just heading home, but after a few minutes I get warmed up and it’s all good

I really like riding the 36er on trails at night because it gives me a little more sight distance, the big tire accommodates unseen obstacles better than a small wheel, and being up high gives me more time to dismount clean when I UPD.

Geoman light system is da bomb! 900 lumens, two li battery packs, mounts, all for ~$100, sweet.

Don’t wait, get some good lights and hit the trails! Skip those silly camping headlamps, they are nothing in comparison to a proper riding light system.

My next step is to get a second light to improve depth perception:p