Commuting in the dark of night.

[Lovacott]

Hope that works well for you. I went to rechargeables after finding bottle dynamos are prone to slipping in the rain, exactly when you need them most!

But as you've got plenty of backup, it's probably worth seeing how it goes.

I used it commuting for the first time this morning and it worked well. Good light pattern.

I could feel the difference on the hills with the additional resistance but that's something I will get used to.

With that and two rechargeables up front, the road was pretty well lit. Also had a bit of fog in one place but it didn't give me too much trouble.

 

[MichaelW2]

Darkness is not really a danger, you can fit powerful lamps and reflective gear. Dusk is far more hazardous, esp if the sun is low ahead or hehind you.

Rural dark needs brighter lights but yout eyes adjust and you should know your commuting route very well.

Roads have microclimates so frost and ice first form in the same place along your route.

 

[icowden]

I used it commuting for the first time this morning and it worked well. Good light pattern.

I could feel the difference on the hills with the additional resistance but that's something I will get used to.

With that and two rechargeables up front, the road was pretty well lit. Also had a bit of fog in one place but it didn't give me too much trouble.

I've always found the biggest problem has been going from lit roads to unlit as you have a minute or two of your eyes adjusting to the new light levels.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I also rate Busch & Muller lights very highly. I run a dynamo hub on my commuter connected to a Busch & Muller IQ-X front light:

https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/b-m-iq-x-led-headlight-837399

Whilst the lux rating compares poorly to some high powered battery lights

I’m not sure it does compare poorly. Dynamos often quote lux whilst high power battery lights quote lumens. These units are not comparable .

 

[Blue Hills]

I’m not sure it does compare poorly. Dynamos often quote lux whilst high power battery lights quote lumens. These units are not comparable .

I think he just meant the numbers seemed lower.
But the sheer number (lumens) is not as he pointed out terribly useful/significant.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I think he just meant the numbers seemed lower.
But the sheer number (lumens) is not as he pointed out terribly useful/significant.

Yes but the numbers for lux don’t tell you how many lumens a dynamo light puts out. The lumens of a battery light don’t tell you how many lux it’s putting out. You’re not comparing like with like.

 

[JhnBssll]

Sure, lux and lumens are different units... Lux takes into account the lit area, so 1 Lux is equal to 1 Lumen per square meter. The IQ-X is 100 lux and my Lezyne is 1200 lumens - the Lezyne definitely does not light up 12x the area at the same brightness, or the same area at 12x the brightness Presumably this is due to the properly designed optics of the IQ-X, focusing the light where its needed rather than scattering it everywhere like most battery lights do. Dont get me wrong, there are times when that is useful, but more often than not the trusty little dynamo light is more than I need on my commute

 

[Lovacott]

Sure, lux and lumens are different units... Lux takes into account the lit area, so 1 Lux is equal to 1 Lumen per square meter.

My front dynamo light is 30 lux and my rechargeable LED's are 3000 lumens each (allegedly).

Not very scientific, but the Dutch dynamo light seems to light up an equal amount of road for about the same distance as one of the (alleged) 3000 lumen Chinese rechargeables. I tested this by running with just the dynamo light for a stretch and then just one of the rechargeables for another stretch.

The dynamo gives a wider spread of light whilst the rechargeables have a more concentrated beam.

 

[Lovacott]

Day two of dark commuting and it was pitch black for the first half of the ride. Heavy cloud cover blocked out any twilight.

I tried the dynamo light on its own for a stretch and it was good for seeing the general layout of the road but not much cop at picking out details like potholes. In combination with the rechargeable lights, I could see perfectly.

Most of my commute has no road markings (no white lines or signs) so I was pretty pleased with how things went. Managed to do the trip in my usual time. Another week or so and the whole thing will be in the complete dark.

 

[steve292]

Full darkness is safer to ride in, in my opinion. It's the half light or low blinding sun conditions that worry me the most.

 

[matticus]

Full darkness is safer to ride in, in my opinion. It's the half light or low blinding sun conditions that worry me the most.

Yup. (and the accident stats show that riding at night is much safer!)

If (s)he's well-equipped a cyclist stands out really well on a dark lane. I don't like badly lit urban roads when they are busy with lots of car headlights to hide you (even worse in the rain) - but then such a road is fairly hazardous during daylight :-/

Seeing the ground is just something you deal with. On certain roads you might slow a little (it's your life!). Commuting you tend to know every minor defect after a few weeks, so the issue almost goes away.

 

[Pikey]

I popped a fresnel lens in one of the Chinese cree battery led’s, that made a big Improvement in the beam pattern.
unsure what colour your bike is but 3m make reflective tape, I buy the black stuff as my bike is black. Invisible in the day, just blends in but It properly lights up with headlights. I coated the back of my recumbent trike with it for night riding.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Sure, lux and lumens are different units... Lux takes into account the lit area, so 1 Lux is equal to 1 Lumen per square meter. The IQ-X is 100 lux and my Lezyne is 1200 lumens - the Lezyne definitely does not light up 12x the area at the same brightness, or the same area at 12x the brightness Presumably this is due to the properly designed optics of the IQ-X, focusing the light where its needed rather than scattering it everywhere like most battery lights do. Dont get me wrong, there are times when that is useful, but more often than not the trusty little dynamo light is more than I need on my commute

Indeed and will likely be putting more lumens on the actual road.

 

[MichaelW2]

Day two of dark commuting and it was pitch black for the first half of the ride. Heavy cloud cover blocked out any twilight.

I tried the dynamo light on its own for a stretch and it was good for seeing the general layout of the road but not much cop at picking out details like potholes. In combination with the rechargeable lights, I could see perfectly.

Most of my commute has no road markings (no white lines or signs) so I was pretty pleased with how things went. Managed to do the trip in my usual time. Another week or so and the whole thing will be in the complete dark.

On a rural route you can place small reflective markers on trees etc to highlight particular hazards.
You do need to beware of new hazards esp branches after a storm.

 

[MontyVeda]

Day two of dark commuting and it was pitch black for the first half of the ride. Heavy cloud cover blocked out any twilight.

I tried the dynamo light on its own for a stretch and it was good for seeing the general layout of the road but not much cop at picking out details like potholes. In combination with the rechargeable lights, I could see perfectly.

Most of my commute has no road markings (no white lines or signs) so I was pretty pleased with how things went. Managed to do the trip in my usual time. Another week or so and the whole thing will be in the complete dark.

Keep a mental map of where you notice the frost developing too... for me it was a concern around the lower parts of my ride, in the valleys and on bridges, where i'd be going quite fast in the summer... it also developed near the top of one hill but i'd only be going about 4mph on that stretch. I happily ride over frost and ice, but only at a speed where I don't need to lean to turn, so about walking pace.