Originally Posted by
MinnMan
As to riding in the dark w/ lights, it's one thing to have lights good enough so others can see you and quite another to have lights sufficient to light a dark road surface or trail, no? I ride chiefly on trails and I just don't think I'd be safe unless I was carrying some kind of flood light.
I started night riding in 2004. We were in training in the early part of the year for our big offroad ride and used to ride with a couple of candle power on the front of the Tandem. Then one ride and as we were going up a hill- I did not recognise the trail and I know all the trails in the area. The pilot had turned the lights off to save the battery and missed the trail. We found a new one that night and it was lumpy- full of holes and mud. Following week- I went out and bought a twin 10w halogen lamp. We could finally see where we were going but it did increase our speed on the ride as the battery life wasn't long enough for the 30 miles we used to do. Couple of lights later- including the one that works- and we got onto helmet lamps.
These are the best light you can use on a ride. They see round corners instead of where you point the bike and are ideal for reading maps- reading the trail signs or doing repairs on the bike. They also cover as the spare lamp when the main lamp stops working so you can finish the ride in safety. Still wear the helmet lamp on my rides now- but only as the spare. I have got to know that the beasties lurking just out of sight of the main lamp are probably small rodents and won't bother me.