Night Riding

[Norry1]

I've just bought some lights, so as my partner has gone out to a wedding reception tonight, I thought I'd go try my new lights out. Around 9pm I headed for the country laneswhere there were no lights. It was pretty dark, but I felt fine. I've just checked my Garmin download and I seem to have kept my speed to 20mph or below - clearly the lights were good enough upto that speed.

I quite enjoyed it actually. I couldn't see the speed, Heart rate, cadence etc as it was dark, so I just rode and enjoyed myself.

Do others enjoy it?

Martin

 

[HLaB]

I enjoy night riding, it seems much more peaceful and the few drivers that you see give you much more respect.

 

[Sambu]

Im after some winter lights what were they?

 

[Norry1]

Im after some winter lights what were they?

I bought the RSP Night Vision 1 Watt Front & 5 LED Rear Bike Light Set
http://www.aktive8.c...t/0006977p.aspx

and love the rear light - it is very bright and visible for a long way. The front is okay for riding in lit areas but not great for the unlit lanes. I bought the Bike Hut Megalight today to top up the front (I think this was £40). It is better than the RSP, and you can move the beam left or right easily which helps. As I said, I was confident to about 20mph.

HLaB - I also noticed that cars gave me a wider berth. I think the flashing rear light helps.

Martin

 

[Lardyboy]

Having a half decent set of lights gives you the confidence of being seen and being able to see. Bring on GMT!

 

[Randochap]

This is where RandoChap inserts his obligatory "If you want the ultimate low-maintenance, worry-free lighting system that will light your way through total darkness and get you seen by other traffic, then I recommend dynohub-powered lights."

Check out the "Randonneuring" section of VeloWeb for more info. I'll be doing a side-by-side comparison of the latest LED dynamo headlights next month.

 

[Baggy]

We don't go out very often but it's not unknown for us to scamper round the lanes. I love overnight rides like the Exmouth Exodus and the Dun Run, too.

I've yet to ride an Audax into the night...but maybe soon...

 

[buggi]

a friend of mine continues commuting on the country lanes well past the clock change, and says that he is more confident about drivers seeing him on unlit roads, because his lights stick out like a sore thumb, being the only thing lit up, so he reckons he's more visible and drivers always give him a wide berth. Makes sense to me.

 

[darkstar]

I train at night at Uni, as I'm in a city. Not for enjoyment, just intervals or hill training... Never at home in the countryside though, as you can't see anything.

 

[Sambu]

without hijacking, what lights would allow country riding at night, as well as showing me up to cars well?

 

[HLaB]

without hijacking, what lights would allow country riding at night, as well as showing me up to cars well?

I tend to run two at least a flashing one to be seen and a solid one to see. You'll get much better lights than I've go but I usually run a Smart BSpoke on flashing and a Tesco cree on solid, quite often this is backed up with a helmet light (cateye el 410) which is on flashing in the city and solid in the country.

 

[Norry1]

I tried putting one of my front lights on flash - but found it annoying. The rear flashing is great though.

Martin

 

[Wobblers]

I like riding at night. It's quieter, cooler (good in summer though not so, err, hot in winter), less windy and I definitely get more respect from other road users. Cycling down country lanes is a completely different experience at night.

without hijacking, what lights would allow country riding at night, as well as showing me up to cars well?

You'll probably get at least a dozen different answers here! The cheap solution is to get a torch and use something like a lock block to velcro it to the handlebars. The Tesco Cree torch, if you can lay your hands on it (sadly I think it's discontinued) is good. Otherwise a torch with a Cree LED emitter such as the Fenix LD20 is good if more pricy.

Specific bike lights tend to be more expensive. A lot of people use the Hope Vision 1. It's good, bright and reasonably cheap as these things go. After that... the sky's the limit. I've got a Light & Motion Seca 700 which, when set on high, is as bright as a car headlamp. No problems with outrunning your lights there! But it did cost a small fortune...

I like to use something compact that can be removed quickly and easily off the bike when commuting/utility cycling. I used to use a B&M Ixon IQ. That's finally died on me so I'm having to rethink my commuting lights strategy. I'll probably get a Smart Bspoke 1 Watt light as it's on sale on Wiggle at the moment.

 

[Randochap]

a friend of mine continues commuting on the country lanes well past the clock change, and says that he is more confident about drivers seeing him on unlit roads, because his lights stick out like a sore thumb, being the only thing lit up, so he reckons he's more visible and drivers always give him a wide berth. Makes sense to me.

I think there's a lot of truth to this theory. A line of randonneur (audax) riders on country roads at night looks like Blackpool illuminations.

 

[HJ]

without hijacking, what lights would allow country riding at night, as well as showing me up to cars well?

I use the Dinotte 400L Road Rider’s experience. The first time I rode with them a diver coming the opposite way dipped their lights before even seeing me because they thought there was another car coming the other way...