Bar mounted lights are ******* rubbish!

^^

who’s angry? the tagger? Coz I’m certainly not. (I clearly do have an opinion tho)

(i beat SM on the lumens count anyway… everyone bow down to meeeeeee!!!)

You’ll be using more than one light then ?
😉

I have a DX “mickey mouse” light and the “ear” provide awesome flood lighting. Never have any probs in corners etc. I used to run with a tescos torch which id taken the focusing lens out of, and that too was a really good flood (not that powerful though)

I’m with GW. A single ‘bright enough for good reach, floody enough for some peripheral vision’ light on your bonce is, for me, perfect.

I don’t even get why people faff around with both. One decent light on your head, job done.

I don’t seem to need shadows, maybe I just have good depth perception.

Plus, I REALLY hate the ‘searchlight’ effect behind you on climbs on 24hr events, as numpties with bar lights sweep them left to right.

On open trails the bar mount is fine. I used to use a 500+ bar light and a 200 lumen tight spot helmet light. All of my riding at night was on relatively open trails.

going to Glentress and riding there I found that this set up was not enough as too often the bar light was missing the trail. going off jumps it did not illuminant the landing and twisting thru the trees it missed the trail

I now use a bright light on both. I win the lumen wars!

TJ – I take it you mean the Pentlands? think I’d leave the light off most of the time if I rode there 😛
it’s not just the open nature of the trails there, The Pentlands is mainly dull straight single/doubletrack/sheeptrack type trails and other than the little woodsy trails nr /bonaly there are hardly any tight (or even successive) corners.

Yup – pentlands and other similar open trails. Done a few bits in other places but the bright bar / less bright tight spot helmet was fine till I hit Zoom or bust when suddenly the bar light did nothing of any use despite being as bright as an HID

I was suprised.

I’ve only got a bar mounted light. A few moments of blindness doesn’t really bother me at the moment. Ask me again after I hit a tree or something.

TJ – You still got those plans on building a cheapy helmet light?

GW – Member

As others have said though, helmet mount alone definitely reduced my ability to gauge obstacles/roots/drops etc. I guess it’s down to the generation of shadows and the way this is altered with a helmet light.

I already explained how to guage obsticles in my original post, try it?

you did explain, but no-one has the slightest idea what you’re on about.

sorry for being a bit thick.

I think he opens his eyes and looks at them. The light coming from his lamp unit helps. Neither of us need a huge shadow behind everything to see it.

Yodagoat – I can give you a recipe if you want. email me off form.

FAO “the thick” 😉

I have heard people complain about not being able to judge depth very well with a single headmounted light but I find the exact opposite, at this time of year the trails round my way are covered in damp leaves with hidden soft spots, holes and ruts underneath and with a helmet mount to get the depth back all I need to do is move my head slightly and this has become second nature for me over the years, so much so that I found myself moving my head in frustration when just using the bar mounted light trying to get some idea of the terrain ahead.

oh, sorry.

i thought you were explaining how helmet-lights were inherently better for judging surface detail because of the way that, leaves, and, er shadows, and… um.

i’ve got rubbish eyesight – even worse in the dark. it’s both or not bother for me.

tried only using the bar-light last night – that didn’t go well…

fair enough, can’t you wear contacts?

I’m practically blind too.

Oh and while Im here, tilt/dim those lights when f
ace to face on the trail. Again last night I had to stop, full beam and looking straight at me. Why do they think I tilt mine down to vertical.
Can never understand why people with such slow reactions need bright lights!

so you ride along waggling your head in a weeble stylee to get depth perception.

that’ll catch on.

You ever tried just a helmet light in fog/snow/dust? Its like driving with full-beams. It just doesn’t work.
You need both really.

(The dust was at the Sleepless in the Saddle several years ago when it was really hot and dry for most of the 24 hours)

And people who use helmet lights, who then stop at the end of the trail to look back for you, they need shooting. Trail etiquette people! I can’t see if you’re looking at me!

so you ride along waggling your head in a weeble stylee to get depth perception.

Er no, I have depth perception, regardless of where the light is positioned. You can tilt your head a bit if you can’t quite make something out. It is vanishingly rarely necessary.

You ever tried just a helmet light in fog/snow/dust? Its like driving with full-beams. It just doesn’t work.
You need both really.

In 8 years of nightriding, I’ve experianced this once. I took the light off and positioned it on the bars. Snow was so heavy I still couldn’t see. I rode on regardless, giggling a little and weaving a lot.

And people who use helmet lights, who then stop at the end of the trail to look back for you

I **** love doing that 8)

Later on I shall be turret mounting lights to the roof of both cars and synching it with my head so when I turn, the turret turns too.

We do proper night riding on all sorts of terrain every Wednesday. One has Ayups (lid and bar mounted), one has lid only (old but powerful Lupine), two of us have bar only 601s. Us 601 users easily have the best field of vision in all situation. As mentioned I bring a Fenix TK11 (285 lumens) and Lockblock for the lid just in case but have never needed it yet. I did ride with it on and it made almost no difference. I also think helmet mounting a torch/light weakens your lid in a crash and leaves something else for branches to whack. Also much easier to adjust a bar mounted light (e.g. dipping it for oncoming traffic) on the move, especially with a bar mounted remote switch.

In 8 years of nightriding, I’ve experianced this once

You need to get out more…

Jeez. More? Will I ever be allowed to sleep, or eat? Will you do my job for me while I’m getting extra riding in? That’d be great, cheers.

so you ride along waggling your head in a weeble stylee to get depth perception

No I simply move it naturally and gracefully as I’m spotting the terrain ahead.. I take it you ride with your neck rigid like most of the roadies on here? that’ll catch on.. oh, wait 🙄

You ever tried just a helmet light in fog/snow/dust? Its like driving with full-beams. It just doesn’t work

Yeah, I said so in my first post 🙄

Later on I shall be turret mounting lights to the roof of both cars and synching it with my head so when I turn, the turret turns too.

We do proper night riding on all sorts of terrain every Wednesday. One has Ayups (lid and bar mounted), one has lid only (old but powerful Lupine), two of us have bar only 601s. Us 601 users easily have the best field of vision in all situation.No you don’t, the beam spread is impressive for a bar mount, but you still can’t look at what you want, say the next corner over the back of a berm or a hipped landing.

also think helmet mounting a torch/light weakens your lid in a crash and leaves something else for branches to whack

I don’t normally wear a lid but can judge the height of the light on my helmet perfectly well, do you hit your head a lot inevery day situations?

Also much easier to adjust a bar mounted light (e.g. dipping it for oncoming traffic) on the move, especially with a bar mounted remote switch.

how is fiddling with a bar mount easier than moving your head (or for that matter reaching up to tap the button on the back of my torch once to dim it)?

I like my bar light and dont think it is rubbish
works for me 😆

I like your light too.. but it’d be better on my head and it’s way too much light for my needs anyway

I was out last night for a pedal with only a bar mounted magicshine. I was way slower than my usual slow pace, but i still had loads of fun. I didn’t really mind the occasional blind spots but i recon a wee torch mounted on my lid would make a difference.