Road Cycling - Who uses Headlights?

How many of you have them? I work alot, so I have to ride at night more than Id like. The streets are very well lit, so seeing isnt much of a problem. Ive been debating a light kit, to help cars see me, but they look so stupid. :D How many of you use them? What would be a decent set of lights?

I use them for night rides. I bought mine for MTBing actually but have used them on my road bike as well. I have the JetLites Starfire dual-beam. Why do you think they look stupid?

They just make the bike so cluttery. Ive already got 2 cages, and pump, a bag, a computer, etc, etc, etc. :)

Yeah, they do tend to clutter things up on the bar but if you get one with a removable mount then you can just toss them in the gear bag or something when you don't need them.

When I see someone riding at night with out a headlight.I say look at that stupid bastard he is just asking a sleepy eye truck driver to consider him as road kill.(was that a speed bump)

In the winter I use a niterider with a rechargeable battery that fits in my water bottle cage but they do have ones with batteries you can mount to your frame tube. In the summer I carry a cateye halogen with a removable mount just in case I am out after dark. One thing you might note most areas require lights if you ride at night and they are more for being seen than seeing. Without them even on a well light street you can be invisible to traffic.

Commuting at night without lights? I wouldn't think of it (and besides, most places it's illegal).

The biggest danger to bikes is always at intersections, and much of that is from cars turning in front of you. A bright light is an immense boost to your visibility, not to mention your ability to see potholes and glass in the road.

I have a Niterider Pro6 and a Performance Viewpoint Dual. Both systems have been reliable and have performed well.

RichC

I just picked up a set of removeable lights. I wouldnt want to become road kill. :D

Good move LongRider. People who ride deliberately at night without lights really annoy me. They put themselves and other road users at risk, including pedestrians. And a question for you: What would you do in a power blackout when all that fantastic ambient light that makes you so visible without a headlight suddenly disappears?

Fit the mounts, keep the batteries charged, and make sure you use the lights front AND rear. Take a second set of batteries with you as insurance.

R

They really annoy me too, especially when they're on the wrong side of the road and nearly run into me. (This has happened way too often.) I hope these Mensa members have their donor cards filled out.

Seriously, there are lots of good lights out there and they really don't take up that much room on the handlebar.

For road I find a 5 LED headlight light more than suitable when there are streetlights. It doesn't take up a lot of room and the batteries last practically forever (I constantly forget to recharge my 18 watt system so the LED is a better solution for me). I can't image riding without a light at night now. In the winter time they get a lot of use. Recently I have been taking the kids around the golf course at night (in a trailer) and I find when people see my light they get out of my way and I hardly even need to slow down. Otherwise I would probably either be constantly getting diverted to the grass or stopping. Anyway, just an interesting side effect of having a light (OK, so maybe it wasn't that interesting).

Without question, the best headlight for the bike is the Light and Motion ARC HID. We've disscussed this in other threads so I won'nt bore you with all the details....I will say that when you use this light motorists will look at you in another "light". They will respect you and will not try and mow you down in intersections.

The best $300 I've invested in biking, IMHO.

-Wynn

I use a Vistalite set up for nite riding, nice to see where I am going. LED flasher out back.
When I was younger I used to ride dressed in black on a dark blue bike at night, no lights. It was a mind expanding experience (Not that I would get anyone else to do it) I really had to pay attention to what was going on. The really interesting part is that cars behave less aggressivly when they can't see you.

I use my old NiteRider Nighthawk (ancestor of the Digital Pro-12 family) both day and night when commuting in the city, and I have the optional ultra-high-powered rear flasher, very nasty thing to be stuck behind ;) I feel that I get peoples' attention much better than when I don't have it.

Because I legally must have a red rear reflector to operate at night, I also have a Cateye TL-LD500 flasher/reflector combo, whose reflector prisms meet the legal requirement so I am technically in compliance with the law. Don't want someone getting off on a technicality, know what I'm saying? And this serves as a secondary rear flasher in case my light system fails or runs out of power.

My next light system will definitely be the NiteRider Blowtorch H.I.D. and another one of their crazy flashers. And I will probably run it day & night in nearly all situations short of a race or century ride. Stack the deck in your favor when possible, that works for me :D



http://a1072.g.akamai.net/f/1072/2062/1d/gallery.rei.com/regularimages/693856.jpg

Mechbgon, since you are from eastern Washington I assume you might now something about the tri cities? Any good places to take the road bike around there?

-Wynn

The TriCities? I haven't been there, but as an ex-mechanic, I can tell you they have a severe, severe thorn problem :eek: Do NOT take along any tires or tubes that you can't afford to throw away afterwards. The usual defense is Slime in the tubes plus Mr. Tuffy liners, or Slime plus thorn-resistant tubes. Bikes coming from the TriCities... *shudders*

Of the places I've gone to ride, one of the most fun was to start from Pullman and ride down to Lewiston/Clarkston, going down the Old Lewiston Grade. This old section of road is famous for its twisty, turny contour-hugging descent of the valley wall. It's not a hard climb to get back up, either. If you're ever in that area, it's pretty fun. The odor of Lewiston/Clarkston is rather odd, thanks to the paper mills, but whatever. ;)

Thanks for the heads up! I'll let you know if I am heading that way...hmmmmm "Hi I would like to order a case of slime, case of Mr. Tuffy liners......."

-Wynn

Love my night rider lights. Nightrider's chargers are nice too 'cause they're plug-in and forget. No overcharging problems.

What do you guys do with expensive lighting systems when you lock the bike up? Do you leave them or remove them every time?
I have a lamp unit mounted on the front brake bolt on the fork crown. Its a 3w dynamo lamp, powered by a battery stuffed into a waterbotttle. I could uprate the lamp to 5w if I wanted, but its powerful enough. It is also unstealable.

I just got one of the medium price rechargeable systems from nashbar. I have been using my old tire side generator for many years, and honestly, it never did the job. If the environment was truly dark, I could never see far enough ahead at any speed. As I slowed the light became dimmer, and at faster speeds it was brighter but not bright enough. I am just getting back into things, so eventually I will try to get one of the generator hubs, probably the shimano, wiith some lumotec lights.

Originally posted by MichaelW
What do you guys do with expensive lighting systems when you lock the bike up? Do you leave them or remove them every time?
I have a lamp unit mounted on the front brake bolt on the fork crown. Its a 3w dynamo lamp, powered by a battery stuffed into a waterbotttle. I could uprate the lamp to 5w if I wanted, but its powerful enough. It is also unstealable. On the very rare occasions where I actually leave my bike locked up in public, I take the light system with me. The NiteRiders come off their bayonet mount easily :)

Picked up a Nightrider evolution (non-digital) on E-bay for $90. plus shipping. 10W halogen, really bright and clips off completely when I don't need it. A world of difference from my previous $30 Cateye headlight. I stick the battery in my seatpack, but that doesn't leave room for much else. On my bike there isn't a horizontal place to strap on the battery pack since I have exposed cables the length of the toptube.