• 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

    Ok so I went out last night on my own (first time night ride)

    My only light was attached to the bars – I found –

    1/ I did have trouble on tight switch backs with not being able to see round the corner (luckily I knew the route well)

    2/ I had real trouble judging how big dips were and how high I was manualing to go over obstacles.

    3/ A branch stuck in your rear derailer makes a rustling sound in the leaves that freaks you out quite a lot, then stops when you stop, then carries on when you carry on….

    4/ Don't switch your light off in the deepest part of the woods for a laugh to see how long that scary noisy will be – it happen far sooner, be far closer and far louder than you expected.

    All in all a great time, now I wish dx/postie would hurry up and deliver the helmet light!

    elliptic
    Free Member

    Glad you had a good ride – don't forget, there's nothing out in the woods at night that's not there in the daytime.

    ..

    ..

    ..

    Although at night, it's awake…. and it's hungry.

    😉

    coffeeking
    Free Member

    🙂 By adding a head torch you'll get better cornering ability but you're going to lose your depth perception even further. You get used to it though!

    The good old rustling monster syndrome – we all get it! Last week I was out slowly plodding up a hill at walking pace and heard something, I turned round and just over the hedge were ~20sets of eyes staring at me. I spooked the cows, they spooked the hell out of me for a second or two!

    elaineanne
    Free Member

    last winter i used my 'caving light' taped to my helmet..(i have to say it was abit heavy tho…. this year ive cat a cateye on my handlebars…
    i ride with my son and he bought the 'Hope vision 2' helmet light… looks very good !

    joemarshall
    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.

    Isn't the Hope basically a very very expensive version of the £10 torches that you buy from dealextreme? Which conveniently run off AA batteries, and are an all in one package.

    If you want to spend that much, you'd be better off buying a much brighter lithium-ion based system. If you want cheap replacement batteries, the batteries for the dealextreme.com torches cost £5 for a set of 2, and the P7 torches will be a lot brighter than an AA based torch.

    They even say about it that it isn't bright enough for running, which is crazy – £80 for a light that is only good enough for road biking and walking?

    For technical off road biking and running and for competative orienteering you may want the higher light outputs of either the Vision 2 or Vision 4, see related items below.

    Joe

    avdave2
    Full Member

    Remember the chances of coming across an axe wielding psychopath are very rare. To reduce the possibility to zero carry an axe with you. The chances of two axe wielding psychopaths in the same woods are so high as to be virtually impossible.

    billyboy
    Free Member

    Helmet Mounted Light………….

    but only if it is an LED light (Specifically a Joystick…it's the only one I've tried).

    I found that a halogen Niterider and a halogen Lupine both reflect off rain and snow too badly to be of real use in poor conditions as a helmet mounted option. The Joystick seems not to suffer from this problem, and it also seems to cut through the water more effectively to show the ground beneath on lakeland tracks when they turn into a stream.

    tom84
    Free Member

    i think tesco might have run out of the AA torches. anyone know of an equivalent?

    Olly
    Free Member

    those DX lights look great.

    and at that price, seems daft no to.

    thought:

    reviews say its a fair flood, im guessing this would mean riding without a lid light would be easier. (i rode bikeradar with a 900lumen hope light on low mode without any problems at all)

    i guess the cheaper "torch" one wont last as long in the battery department?

    i was thinking, for the price of one of the bike ones, one could get one of the torch ones, and a whole heap of spare batterys?
    could be mounted quite nicely under the stem with a bit of crafty zip tieing and mount making?

    and then combine it with a slimmer helmet mounted one of the same make?

    meadowedge
    Free Member

    Isn't the Hope basically a very very expensive version of the £10 torches that you buy from dealextreme? Which conveniently run off AA batteries, and are an all in one package.

    Show me a £10 light that outputs 240 lumens!

    In response to Joe the hope led1 is fine for running. I ran the adidas thunder run 24 hour this year using one an had no vision issues!

    The cable is one piece so if using on the helmet the pack must also be used on the helmet.

    squeekybrakes
    Free Member

    Flood on bars for me seems to work just fine…

    Ewan
    Free Member

    I've got two 900lmn DX lights, one on my head and one on the bars. If I had to choose, i'd go helmet every time. But to be honest just spend the extra, it is so much better with two. You don't need too powerful a one on your head really, just enough to give you a hint on the corners.

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