• This topic has 51 replies, 36 voices, and was last updated 14 years ago by Ewan.
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  • One light for night riding – helmet or bars?
  • DT78
    Free Member

    As title, still waiting on some rechargable batteries so I've only got one working light. Planning on trying night riding for the first time this evening – would I be best off with the light on the bars or my helmet?

    Trailseeker
    Free Member

    Helmet – otherwise when you make a tightish turn your lights don't point in that direction for a second & its easy to ride in to things!

    clubber
    Free Member

    Funny but I've never really found that an issue with light on bars while I hated riding with a helmet light because you lose all depth perception from shadows.

    Each to their own, I guess.

    carlphillips
    Free Member

    helmet every time, i hate turning into a corner absolutely blind cos my bars are pointing in another direction..

    clubber
    Free Member

    i hate turning into a corner absolutely blind

    Unless you're riding with a spot beam then you're never absolutely blind…

    GW
    Free Member

    with only a helmet mount you don't lose all depth perception at all, simply move your head. you do lose all vision in fog tho.

    helmet mount for off road, bar mount for road 😉

    Chris-S
    Free Member

    Has to be the Bars !

    neil853
    Free Member

    bars, hate it on my helmet

    fatboyjon
    Full Member

    Bars for me, riding mostly rocky trails. Helmet works OK on smoother, twisty singletrack type stuff but as above, you get little idea of how big rocks are 'cos everything looks too flat.

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    Helmet lights are good but next to useless if your ride in rain/snow/fog. Riding in these conditions I have to turn my helmet light off as the lights just bounces back at you. In fog/mist particularly it's impossible to ride with a helmet mounted light only.

    So if you only ride in nice, dry waether then a helmet light is great.

    brant
    Free Member

    Working on a unique chest-mounted lightset with integral body armour for true hardcore Caldertech.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    As per clubber- helmet mounted = no depth perception. However I keep my battery pack in my backpack so helmet mount does me fine mostly. Gary_m – I have no probs riding in snow with a helmet mounted light?

    insanelemming
    Free Member

    To me it depends on what terrain. I prefer mine on my helmet due to tight twisty single track we ride at night. I can then point the light where I want and not just what I'm riding into!

    DickBarton
    Full Member

    Bars…as much as folk say the light doesn't go where they look, having a large flared spot blind you when it is raining/misty or snowing from a helmet mounted light just doesn't work for me (obviously depends on how heavy the rain/snow is)…

    As much as you do get a dark spot when you turn the bars, the dark spot only lasts a second so no real issue…if it is bad weather then the flare from the helmet light can't be sorted and it does reduce your visibility.

    Bars all the time for me.

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    If you look far enough ahead you don't need to worry about bar mounting not shining on the trail, you can predict your route.

    Maybe I just dont go fast enough.

    Time to get the helmetcam on with the lights!

    Gary_M
    Free Member

    coffeeking as DickBarton says it depends how heavy the snow/rain is but I find the light just bounces back into your face. Obviusly it's not so bad in snow because it's generally nice and bright with all that white around.

    But in these conditions generally a helmet light doesn't work for me. I also find it irritating to have something constantly flickering in front of the light.

    ooOOoo
    Free Member

    500 lumens on each foot here

    ahwiles
    Free Member

    Bars – cos this way the light casts shadows behind roots/rocks that i can see, this helps with my depth perception.

    yes, i'm jealous of all you lucky sods whose eyes work properly in the dark.

    i do notice that on some tight twisty stuff i was turning into a corner i couldn't see, but i found this quite good fun!

    (i've now got a fenix pen-light thing on my skidlid, set at only 110 lumens so it doesn't fill in the shadows cast by my bar-light)

    carlphillips
    Free Member

    you can predict your route.

    not something i'd like to have done the other night!!, technical twisty rooty rocky singletrack right next to a fair old drop to flat (30ft+)as it was the 1st time i'd ridden it, it was very unfamiliar to me and i'd just lent my helmet lamp to another guy after his broke, it emphasized just why i hate riding with only a bar mounted light.

    bonesetter
    Free Member

    brant – Member

    Working on a unique chest-mounted lightset with integral body armour for true hardcore Caldertech.

    😆 😆 😆

    Can't wait to see that

    DT78
    Free Member

    Hmmm seems like personal preference. Think i'll give the bars a try first.

    All you chaps talking about snow/fog – do you know something I don't about this evening ?! 🙂

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Helmet every time.
    The depth perception argument is one I've never really got – have you ever gone off a drop-off with only bar lights pointing ahead whereas below you is just a black void?! I find bar mounts actually give worse shadows since every root/rock casts a big shadow behind it. And the light puddle vibrates and bounces horribly when you're going fast.

    Only problem with helmet mounted lights is clouting your head off an overhanging branch and it ripping the light off…

    clubber
    Free Member

    Only problem with helmet mounted lights is clouting your head off an overhanging branch and it ripping the light off…

    Yeah, that's a big one for me actually.

    Anyway, try both and see – as is obvious above, most people have strong preferences for either helmet or bar mount so both clearly work – it just depends on you.

    surfer
    Free Member
    nickc
    Full Member

    try both TBH, personally I've always used bar mounts, and riding in tight woody singletrack, never really encountered the "blind spot" issue at all.

    Each to their own, though

    AndyP
    Free Member

    helmet, every time.

    br
    Free Member

    Tescos (and I'm sure many other retailers) sell a simple waterproof LED torch for £10 running on AA's. Ideal for a helmet light.

    Just go buy one.

    ps what happens if you crash and damage your only light…

    JohnnyPanic
    Full Member

    brant – Member
    Working on a unique chest-mounted lightset with integral body armour for true hardcore Caldertech.

    Nipple clamps?

    clubber
    Free Member

    what happens if you crash and damage your only front wheel? 🙄

    davidrussell
    Free Member

    you'll see where you're walking on the way home 🙂

    clubber
    Free Member

    LOL 😉

    TheLittlestHobo
    Free Member

    Rode drumlanrigg last week on a night ride. Cant think of a worse place to ride with just a bar light. Basic high speed off road will be fine with bar light but as soon as it gets twisty i would miss the head torch.

    Think about it. A head torch lights up whatever you are looking at 100% of the time (granted rain limits it). Your bars can be pointing in completely the wrong direction to the way you are looking. I find i have to be much better prepared when night riding which means when entering a high speed berm etc i also want to be looking at its exit if possible. How can you do this if you only have a bar light?

    FWIW i ride with both.

    MrSparkle
    Full Member

    Brant – seen this?

    as featured in the recent Fellrunner mag.

    ooOOoo
    Free Member

    That's cool – does it talk?

    AndyP
    Free Member

    helmet mount for off road, bar mount for road
    crazy man. Helmet mount is ideal for road use. You can give any driver who is thinking of pulling out of a side road in front of you the full benefit of your 1400 lumens directly into their eyes. Try saying 'I didn't see you' now, f*cker… 😉

    clubber
    Free Member

    I ride exactly the sort of twisty trails you're talking about LittlestHobo and still prefer bar mount…

    nickc
    Full Member

    ThelittlestHobo, it doesn't really happen like that though, bike lights are floody, they light up "an area" in front of your bike, but also to the side as well, and the times when the light isn't pointing where you're going are so few, that it actually makes little impact. I ride in the Chilterns, and having ridden Drumlanrig, it's not massively dissimilar, I'd have no worries riding around there with a br light

    crazy-legs
    Full Member

    Helmet mount is ideal for road use. You can give any driver who is thinking of pulling out of a side road in front of you the full benefit of your 1400 lumens directly into their eyes. Try saying 'I didn't see you' now, f*cker…

    +1. No-one ever pulled out in front of me when I was using my helmet-mounted NiteRider Storm. 🙂
    Even had drivers slow to a virtual standstill, dip their lights etc and best of all if you're using it on narrow country lanes you can often see (and be seen) over the hedges/walls.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    both, big powerfull flood on the bars, smaller head torch.

    I'd always ride with something on the bars, even if it was just a cheepie cateye to be seen by.

    But if I only had one light it'd be a head lamp.

    Olly
    Free Member

    has anyone got/or used a hope LED1 adventure light?

    i like the idea of it taking AA batteries. i realise to get a useful batterylife, they will need to be expensive high power AAs, but i think i prefer this idea, as i reckon the light will go for long periods of not being used, and probably misuse of the battery.
    AAs are much easier to replace than inbuilt LiIon i think.

    the battery pack on the new one, its seperate from the lamp, so it can be used on a helmet.
    does anyone know if there is a split in the cable between the battery and the lamp?
    or is it all one unit?

    i reckon as a lid mounted unit, with the battery in the ipod compartment of the camel back, it could be quite neat, and not heavy.
    i understand that the 1LED ones are quite a tight beam?

    any thoughts?

    any other AA battery compatible off road suitable lights out there?

    tbh, ide quite like just the lamp unit, and then build up my own battery pack from AAs, or off the shelf 6v LiIon units.

    anyhoo, bit of a hijack.

    Home time!

    x

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