It's that time of year where the evenings are beginning to draw in, and I need to sort out some lights if I am to make the best use of my autumn/winter riding time. I have never done night riding off-road and so was hoping you guys could help me out.

First off, what sort of lights do I need? I hear people using combinations of helmet lights/narrow beam/wide beam – what would a good basic set-up be?

Also, can anyone advise me what sort of power level (lumens?) I should be looking at as a minimum for night-riding?

Finally, is there a cheap/cost effective way of putting together a decent light set-up, or do I need to spend a decent amount for it to be worthwhile – how much should I be spending, and what do people reccommend?

I realise this is a big ask, so thank you in advance for all help!

think you need this
http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/that-50-quid-dx-bike-light-dissed-disected-oh-sod-it-its-not-good-news

oh and fyi i read on a thread the "issues" trout found have been fixed by the manufacturer now

as per FB, go for the DX bike light.

for singletrack, about 250lumens on a narrow spot headlamp is about right. When I up it to 500 I can't see anything! Obviously the 1000lumen lights probably have a wider beam than mine, meaning you can see a wider area without having too much light at the center.

I spent about £65 on batteries, torches, wires, stuff, etc last year to make my setup, but TBH the £50 DX light would be a better bet.

ohhh, and get some spare battery for whatever you choose, a 3 hour ride can easily require 5 hours of light (ride to meeting point, ride for 3 hours, faffing about, ride home).

Mine do about 8 hours!

You might consider a Trout light.

🙂

Solo

Thanks for the advice guys, great help. Is this the fabled DX light: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149 ???

I will probably get myself one in the next few weeks. Are there any bargain helmet lights available anywhere too?

something tells me that these "what light threads" are the new tyre/superstar brake pad threads 😆

all we need is superstar to start selling lights!

Search "lights" theres been a similar thread every 2 days. Best set up is handlebar plus helmet. You want same type of light due to color of beam so if you buy the DX which is LED, youd preferably want an LED helmet light. Ive just bought a cheap LED torch off ebay (similar far-east based supplier to dealextreme, I just ebayed "cree" which is a reputable quality LED, and got a ~270lumen torch + charger + batteries for 20 quid) which I'll DIY a helmet mount with velcro straps as I have an LED bar light.

You need FL x 2 + 50% where FL is the lumen value of the brightest of your riding friends' lights, or you'll be riding into your own shadow – assuming, obviously, that you're quicker than everyone you ride with.

Ideally you need lights with variable settings which will enable you to up the ante once your mates apply the same formula to your lights.

Clearly you then become trapped in a lighting weapons race where eventually you can barely ride in bright sunlight because it's not bright enough.

For maximum credibility, you should build your own lights using at least ten MCEP7 LED modules along with a RadFlex controller from Clutter Electronics in Kualar Lumpar, ideally housed in a long forgotten halogen can from the likes of Loonicycle. Alternatively, pay Haddock from this forum to do it for you.

You can stop once your lights are worth more than your bike, take a deep breath and go riding 🙂

troutlight..

dx light above. i use a wf 606 a from dealextreme too, to supplement my HID, on my lid, runs regular aa batterries, so spares are easy, helps you look round corners, and is useful for repairs, looking in your pack or whatever. i just attach with old inner tube rubber bands, but obviousy you can use cable ties or whatever, and pad it out with more inner tube to get the angle right.
have fun!