This winter im thinking about doing a few night rides, partly to keep my new found fitness and secondly to do something different. So, I’m asking for advice on lights and the do,s and dont,s!

Most importantly, advice needed on which lights to buy.

Thanks in advance for the guidance

everyone will say get the brightest you can find for what you can afford (DX or Ebay prob). it won’t really be much like nightriding anymore tho

Post on the other side, lot of good advice. One or two of them even sell themand seem to give pretty impartial advice.

Seems that cost of light must = 0.25 cost of bike or you can’t go out to play.

There are good cheap bike lights around. The DX bike light is amazingly bright for the money, but the P7 emmiter has been superceeded by th T6; a collegue at work has just bought one for around $40 or so. The P6 is rated at 900Ln, but probably closer to 700, but is still good enough for off-road, the T6 is somewhere around 1000-120Ln, so very bright indeed. You can’t go wrong for that money, and if the bug gets you then get a Troutlight, and use the cheapy for commuting.
http://www.xecconlight.com/cree-t6-led-bike-light-s12

it’s best done in the dark

HTH

http://mobile.bestofferbuy.com/#product_4e660c0c7826c936c100016e
Or this one, which I think is the one my work collegue has:
http://mobile.bestofferbuy.com/#product_4e660c0a7826c936c1000092

Lumicycle have always been well recommended.

The halogen system is very good value for money these days, but if someone behind you has HID or LED lights you might find yourself riding in your own shadow

iDave – Member

Seems that cost of light must = 0.25 cost of bike or you can’t go out to play. shit! so I need to get another bike to go with my £20 torch for nightriding? s’pose £80 isn’t too much to spend. halfords here I come. 😉

Smudge XML is a good bet. Not as cheap as the eBay/dx lights at £67 but from a uk retailer with good warranty, plus, he’s a helpful bloke. Mtbbatteries.Co.uk
Trout from on here sells awesome lights but a bit pricier I believe but a quality product according to folk on here.

Got a Lightmotion Urban 300 yesterday and used it for the first time last night. Plenty bright enough. Mind you, I rode half the time with no lights at all as the full moon was so bright 8)

Do go out in a group. Its a social thing
Don’t get to hung up on what light to buy. There are lots of great ones out there.
1 1/2- 2 hours is imho just about right
Starting and finishing in a friendly pub is good

I’ve just got a magicshine mj820 from ebay, for £85 its amazing. I don’t nightride a huge amount so didn’t want to spend a fortune.

http://www.mtbbatteries.co.uk/
http://www.fenixtorch.co.uk/led_torches/fenix-tk15.html

General advice here;

Power ‘required’ can depend on who you ride with. If other people have 2000 lumens, you might struggle to ride in front of them with say, a 400 lumen set, as you’ll be in your own shadow. You can get away with pretty low powered lights if you are on your own, or if everyone rides with similar powered lights.

If you’re riding twisty stuff, mounting the light on your helmet helps lots. Riding an area with lots of humpy bumps with only a headlight can be a pain too, as it’s hard to see the bumps. If you do have a light on your helmet, careful where you look when you have a stop. Your riding mates won’t appreciate being blinded.

Do get a fast charger if there is an option. Nothing worse than missing out on a ride by forgetting to charge your lights when they take 8 hours to charge.

Personally, I run a 2nd hand Niterider Pro LED 700 on the head and add a Light and Motion Seca 400 as a bar light as required. Tested a set of Ay-Up V4s a couple of winters ago – awesome, but got a great deal on the L&M Seca.

A lot of people seem to like fumbling around in the dark, falling over things and giggling. I don’t, I like to ride, so I get the most light I can. Trout is possibly your man for this. It’s still night riding even if you have 1800 lumens, trust me.

Having a light on your head means that you can see around corners but you can’t see any shadows. Some people like it, some (like me) find the lack of shadows makes it frigging hard to see anything. I once went out and had to basically walk on the flat bits because the ground was covered in dead leaves and I could not see where the indentation of the trail at all. So I like to use one on the bars and one (preferably slightly dimmer) on the helmet. For me, two cheaper lights is better than one more expensive one.

As m-m ^^^^ if you go out in a group stay at the back for the first few rides till you get the hang of it.
I tend to turn my lights off and use others 😉
Start by riding trails you know
Ride with a mate, not on your own
Puncture repairs or other mechanicals are more difficult in the dark. Carry a cheap(ish)head torch for repair/emergency use
Know your and your lights limits time wise
Can and will get cold at night so wrap up
You will not travel as far as normal so do not attempt to ride too far without knowing your battery power and keep an eye on your time 💡
Don`t know about others but when I first tried a light on my helmet I ended up with a very stiff neck ❗ Just try and relax 💡

If you use a helmet light only be aware that there are almost no shadows and you wont see bumps / dips / logs / holes in the same way you do during the day. Start with a bar light. Or better still – both.

Be aware that you’ll come home buzzing the first few times and it can be hard to sleep. It’s addictive!

For model advice – search on here for mj872, smudge, xlm : these seem to be this years (cheapISH) favourites.

I night ride on my own. It took me quite a few goes before I could conquer the primal fear of darkness, especially as I was running piss poor lights and could barely see a thing 🙂 Just don’t look behind you cos it’s pretty dark back there…

molgrips – Member
I night ride on my own. It took me quite a few goes before I could conquer the primal fear of darkness, especially as I was running piss poor lights and could barely see a thing Just don’t look behind you cos it’s pretty dark back there…

I know that you can train yourself not to look behind yourself, but that doesn’t stop your ears hearing behind yourself…

I think the spookiest thing is going through woods/forest at night and you hear the big birds flying around in the branches of the trees when you spook them, woooo!

Yes, the first time a barn owl leaps out of nowhere across your path you will most likely sh*t your load. Or worse still, flickers through your peripheral vision like a white ghost…

Go solo but go prepared.

Unless you’re all alone you don’t get the same buzz.

I night ride on my own. It took me quite a few goes before I could conquer the primal fear of darkness, especially as I was running piss poor lights and could barely see a thing Just don’t look behind you cos it’s pretty dark back there…

My light is pretty good but it still doesn’t stop the imagination wondering whats behind, to your left, your right, or whats infront of you beyond the beam of your light. It was even worse after i had a bad experience with a horse that sneaked up behind me whilst opening a gate on a solo night ride on the Quantocks earlier this year 😳

Going alone really does you a buzz!

One of my main routes goes past a sewage works and that is a bit spooky, particularly the time in January 2010 when I picked up a puncture and I found out my pump was pants, bah!

Watch Dog Soldiers and then go out alone.

Next thread – how to get stains out of chamois pads.

Thanks all very useful tips

Seems that cost of light must = 0.25 cost of bike or you can’t go out to play.

I’m thinking of going night riding on my £35 Lidl uni – are you suggesting a £9 light might be a bit OTT?

I’m thinking of going night riding on my £35 Lidl uni – are you suggesting a £9 light might be a bit OTT?

It wasn’t so long ago people were happily advocating the use of a ten quid Tesco torch for night riding…
My DX P7 900Ln torch was only about £18, but it rocked as a bar light, until the dedicated DX cycle light with the same emitter came along, as it had four 18650 battries in a pack instead of just one. The bigger the power source, the longer your ride, because you can then run on low for Tarmac sections, and, believe me, there is more than enough light to ride at normal speeds with.

Not going to add anything about lights as its been done to death already.

From past experience I recommend if it’s your first few times out at night it’s always a good idea to:

1. have a back up plan in case it goes wrong,
2. take a spare light,
3. have a route planned and know where you are when on the route,
4. make sure you bike’s in good working order before setting off,
5. if you’re riding with someone else make sure they’ve done up their saddle pack before setting off down a long bumpy downhill that’s covered in fallen leaves unless you enjoy spending an hour or two searching for car keys, iphone, pump, etc….. 😐
6. avoid riding with certain mates if they repeatedly get knocked off their bikes by deer and/ or regularly crash into trees -unless, of course, you’ve a helmet cam 😀
7. keep pedaling like the clappers and don’t stop when being chased by a large angry Alsatian 😥
8. have fun 🙂

Second the headtorch (unless using helmet mounted main light) – vital for mechanicals

It was even worse after i had a bad experience with a horse that sneaked up behind me whilst opening a gate on a solo night ride on the Quantocks earlier this year

Your mind constantly telling you there are monsters lurking and then suddenly the split second realisation that something actually WAS stood behind you must have filled your pants!!!

OP, go solo, it’s the only way 😀 😆

hope r4 are good 😉

R4 specs: http://www.cree.com/products/pdf/xlampxp-g.pdf
Hope do an R4 light, output’s about 250Ln. Not the brightest but good for compact lights, with good power consumption.

Read this thread for a reveiw on the best bang per buck torch for your lid
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/ebay-cree-xml-20-torch-out-of-the-box-pics-review
Then go on Deal extreame or Ebay and buy a cycle specific bike light , with a triple xpg or xml emitter .
Take a fully charged phone
Be aware you will be going slower than during the day
The monsters will be just out of sight
Pack a waterproof , and carry a buff as it gets cold if prolonged stops for punctures

Your mind constantly telling you there are monsters lurking and then suddenly the split second realisation that something actually WAS stood behind you must have filled your pants!!!

Yes, i nearly had some extra padding in the back of my shorts 😳 😆

the hope r4 dude is extremely bright, its about 1300 lumens, had mine 3 months and its awesome

How much light you need depends on what you want to ride and what lights your mates use.

If you still want to ride steep techy stuff then just a bar light won’t help you look off down steep turns or features, or for that matter up steep steppy trails.

If your mates are Lumened up then they will be able to ride much faster than you (maybe..).

How much you want to spend is up to you.

I’ve used old Halogens, good light but heavy batterys.

Hope Vision2 on bars (not v bright) with DX torch on head (bright but you gotta keep changing the battery)

Now on TroutVision2 on bars with R4 on head. They are good match and don’t listen to Luddites, more light = more fun 🙂

Or follow the above advice on cheaper set ups. Troutelights & Smudge are good places to start.

Just rode around Swinley with a 400 lumen Exposure Strada – £145 and the wide beam really helps (it also has a spot). Next will be a helmet light, but I didn’t think I needed more light on the trail – just better direction when on the twisty stuff.

the hope r4 dude is extremely bright, its about 1300 lumens, had mine 3 months and its awesome

How the heck you get that figure is quite beyond me, when Cree’s own spec sheet, which I’ve put a link to up there^^^
show a maximum of 433 Lux (Lumen) at 1.5A. Unless I’m missing something in Crees’s figures. You might get a T6 up around that figure, but I doubt it, closer to 12-1300. 433Ln is pretty damned bright for regular riding, though.

Mash,
If you’re in the Birmingham area you’re more than welcome to come nightriding with us and try a few different types of lights I have. Either the XML or a couple of Troutlights I also have.

Smudge

Not much to add on the riding front other than get on and do it. However……. If you get a good set of lights there are endless possibilities for fun. My new trout light “dominator” arrived yesterday. As soon as it got dark I kept going around the house switching of lights so I could use it. It’s so powerful we were picking out enemy planes in the sky, blistering paint on an unknown car up the street, cooking steaks etc. my 28 year old daughter drew the limit when I said I could give her a manicure by burning her nails off! She left with a headache! Awesome kit.