Mountain Biking - Anyone night ride?

I was bored tonight so I decided to go for a quick ride out on the local river trail ... anyways, I was wondering if anyone here does any hardcore night riding, cause its something I would like to get into, better than chillin at home in the chat rooms or watching TV.

Im sure I would need to find a buddy and get the proper lighting cause I would be skurred to do it alone, but other than that what do you guys think of doing it at night?

I do plenty of "night" (i.e. pre dawn) riding. the lastest instalment being 4am this morning. Unlike most people, I'm trying to escape the sunshine.

Im talkin more late night, like 11 PM or so. I hear there are a couple of guys who do it here in my town, I think I need to inquire at my local bike shop and see if anyone knows anything about it. I was looking at nite riders and lights on ebay and damn, they are all like $200 or so.

i love night riding! there's something spiritual about it, for sure. seems quiter, like it's only you and the nocturnal animals out and about. it's strange, you know that groove you get into sometimes while riding and you can just bomb anything with ease? i seem to get into that groove more often at night, and the next day or so when i go back to the same spot in the daylight, i'm thinking "i bombed THIS last night?" i would definately invest in a good light. it's true, they are pretty expensive, but there's nothing worse than being stuck out in the forest in the dark. i usually take a little extra water and food just incase something happens.
i hope you find those guys to ride with at night- have fun!

Originally posted by gonesh9
i would definately invest in a good light. it's true, they are pretty expensive, but there's nothing worse than being stuck out in the forest in the dark. i usually take a little extra water and food just incase something happens.

Im not considering riding without a good light, cause I wanna be able to see stuff when im bombing down the hill, just was commenting on how expensive they are.

I know people do it upvalley, and if I cant find anyone to ride with here in Napa, I will have to go inquire at palasades in calistoga (25 miles north of napa)

Several groups in town ride at night here. Usually about 6:00 or so (after work). We ride everything that we ride during the day, and just as fast. Some of us just have one light, but a bar mount and a helmet mount light is my preference. Some of the riders now have the HID lights and are just using a single light. I use a Nightrider digital headtrip and pro 6-both are an adjustable 5-10-15 watt light. Battery charges for most halogen lights average a little over 2 hours so that is really the only thing that limits our rides.

sounds like fun but lighting is an issue also trails near my home are "closed" between dusk to dawn. i'm actually thinking about just riding through some hills at night on pavement. probably safer as opposed to crashing downhill only able to see so far ahead.

Nightriding adds a whole new dimension to those trails you ride in daylight: sure gets the adrenalin flowing. Good lights are essential though. Preferably ones that don't fail just as you hit a gnarly technical section because the lead has dropped off the battery: it sures gets your attention. An emergency light source is a must have.

I do pre-dawn and late night rides. Every one I know that rides at night including myself always end up riding alone.

I wish I could find a club of night riders, so I not go out alone. Seems most get enough ride time in when the sun is out..

I know that in Santa Monica, CA there is a group that meets weekly at a LBS for a night ride. Maybe check with your own LBS to see if they have one going. Or you could try to start one.

Well im gonna see if anyone around here is into it becuase I dont wanna spend the money on the equip and never use it, and call me a chicken **** but I dont wanna go out at night alone.

Melt. Can't say I ride a lot at night. I have.. Some believe with all the excellant lights and reflective gear, you are better seen at night. Think so? I sort of liked getting out on a warm clear night and being out under a starry sky..When been off the bike too long and need a ride, better than the trainer..

Night riding is great fun! It is too bad that lots of trails close at night.

You can get a decent light for under $100. But really, after doing lots of riding in the dark, you'll probably want to spend the money for a good light. It's amazing how much my new HID light brightens up the trail. But then, being surprised by seeing things at the last second is part of the fun! :)

I've done some night riding, not a whole lot, but some. A lot of the trails around here also close at dusk. Sure you can poach them, but that has it's own risks.

I will say, make sure you get a light with both a handlebar mount and a helmet mount. I use the helmet for when I'm riding off-road. I like the light to shine where I'm looking.
I use the handlebar on my road bike for pre-dawn rides. I want motorists to see me, so I like it to shine straight ahead!

L8R

i night ride sometimes - mostly because during the week it's hard to get in a ride in the daylight.

but in Oregon a group of us used to go riding at night b/c there were some good singletrails that we couldn't ride during the day because there were so many hikers (and because of all the hikers it was illegal to ride). so we would ride at like 11pm at night and it was a blast!

for serious trail riding, the best is a combination of a bar and helmet light, each with 10-15watts... my current setup i built myself with a 10W bulb for the bar and a 20W bulb for the helmet... with 6 NiMH batteries so i have 2:15 with the 20W, over 4 hours with the 10W and when i use the 10W and switch the 20W on and off as needed i get 1:30 to 3 hours...

night riding can be a lot more challenging, especially if you ride unfamiliar trails. on trails i already know well i can ride almost as fast at night, but it is more of a rush...

Yeah, it's cool. Just don't get a cheap set of lights. You want them fairly bright for a real long time. Make sure you get one with a recharge system that can monitor itself so you don't overcharge. Also get a set with the optional helmet mount. It's no fun when you have to go around a corner or dodge an obstacle and can only see where the bike is pointed. I got a $70 set that is really nice for awhile as long as you're going in a straight line. Unfortunately they go out in 45 minutes with the 20 watt light, and obviously you can't get in a good ride in that amount of time, and it goes for like 3.5 hours with the 5 watt light, but you can't see far enough ahead of you when you're going fast. The recharge system recharges in 5 hours, so I have to drain the battery all the way, then babysit it and unplug it 5 hours later. Luckily I know the local trails, because you can't really see where you're going on a sharp switchback. I believe a better setup would be the niterider set that lasts for like 1.5 - 2 hours on two lights with one light on your helmet. They're like $150 I think. The recharge system is better too I think.

I like to ride at night under a full moon. Most of the time I turn my light off and the light from the moon is enough to see where I am going. I ride on roads I know well so I don't ride into a pot hole or other hazzard.

Originally posted by corndogggy
The recharge system recharges in 5 hours, so I have to drain the battery all the way, then babysit it and unplug it 5 hours later. .


Get a timer, the kind that turns lights on and off when your' not home, set it for 5 hours and you won't need to babbysit your battery.

Never thought about a timer! Good idea!

L8R

Originally posted by Melt
Well im gonna see if anyone around here is into it becuase I dont wanna spend the money on the equip and never use it, and call me a chicken **** but I dont wanna go out at night alone.

I sure as h*** wouldn't go out on trails alone at night and especially not without a cell phone should you incur some kind of injury.

Nothing chicken **** about not wanting to go alone ! It would be just plain stupid to do that.

Justen

The funny thing is, I feel safer at night. Except for the alligators!

I never ride alone at night, and usually end up wearing more protection. I usually wear my BMX/MX style pants and a long sleeve jersey!

I have ridden a couple of times under a full moon! That was very cool! No lights, just the moonlight shinning the trails. Pretty wild when you hit a heavily wooded section! Yikes!

L8R