Commuting - Winter and Lights

Now that winter is drawing in, thems that commute by bike will son see journeys that start and end in darkness.

So the poll is: What lights do you have on your bike?

Odd to reply to my own post and poll but -

I use a white blinkie (to be seen) as well as a hub dynamo driven halogen light (to see by).

Combinations like this were too complicated for me to lay out in the poll!

Stew

Ive been using lights all summer. It gets dark around 10:30 in mid-summer. so I use them in the evening. I use a homebrew lighting system which is simple, cheap and effective, but I dont make my own headlamp, I use a dynamo-style one.

I recently purchased two NiteRider NightOwl headlights and really like them. My commute is about 1 hour each way and I need the 2+ hours the batteries provide.
I use one light to be seen and turn on the second one when it's really dark and I need more light to see where I'm going. :D


What is a hub dynamo? Is it like the old rear wheel driven generator?

On my front wheel, the dynamo is built into the front hub. So rolling resistance is much less than the friction/sidewall type dynamos + you get a nice constant light, not bright and dim as the dynamo looses contact with the tyre.

And no set-up or adjustment involved. When winter comes I take off the standard wheel and put on the dynamo wheel.

Mine is made by Schmidt and cost about 100GBP. Shimano also make them for about 60GBP.

No bs, its been the best buy for the bike I've ever made.

The halogen lamp has a capacitor that stores enough charge to drive an orange park light, so that when you stop, you can still be seen.

The switch has an on/off/auto feature - a light sensitive diode will turn the dynamo on when the sun goes down (in case I'm too dim to realise!)

A laso have a failry powerful 4 penlight light which I don't turn on, it just sits there as a back-up and in case I need a road side repair and I'm in the non-streetlight part of my route (about 8 miles out of the 10)

Stew

My commute is so early, I ride with a light EVERY day. I would really like to get a dynamo or dynamo hub but opted for batteries to get a brighter light (5 to 15 watts). I may well get a dynamo yet, for backup if nothing else.

When I started commuting I soon discovered the general uselessness of the dinky 2-watt systems. So I ended up buying a NiteRider system that cost more than the bike, and since have felt much more secure since I can "light up the night!"

Here, Here for Night Rider. I bought one in part because my riding partner was always BLINDING ME with his if wasn't riding beside him! I love mine, I can see much, much better where I'm going and the cars definitley give me a wider berth.
Ride the Light
Pat

I use a 45 Watt 13.5 volt metal halide system that uses 2 halide lamps. Using both beams the candlepower is similar to an automobile's low beam headlights, however the effective light last about 45-50 minutes. I've had motorists comment favorably on the effect.

If I only use the "low" beam, effective light lasts for almost 2 hours. Plenty of time for my 14 mile commute.

Because the trips in both directions, from November until March, are in the dark, I have a spare charger at work for the ride home, shopping, or the movies.

3 years ago I was riding home in the late evening using a 10 watt rechargeagble lamp. It was toward the end of a 45 minute ride and the light was dim. I missed a curb cut by THIS MUCH:crash: and jammed my right femur into my hip socket. THAT certainly hurt!!

I learned the hard way that compliance with the law was only a part of the picture, I needed to be able to see :rolleyes: , probably more importantly than to be seen.

Although fewest accidients involve cyclists being hit from behind, I also have 3 red blinky lights of varying frequencies facing the rear.

Winter rains are coming to the great northwest (Portland, Or) and visibility is reduced even further. I put highly reflective tape or material on the sides of my bicycle, my helmet and my pant legs and jacket arms. You can't be too visible.

Ride on in the light my fellow crank turners!! ;)

Just counted-41 flashing LED's (16 in the tail light, 5 each in blinkies on the seat stays, 5 each on fr. and rear spokes, 5 in green blinkie on the stem, bright white Planet bike blinkie on bars) plus 10W halogen Nitestick system for me to see. And people still don't see me. Working construction in AZ, my commute is always an hour before sunrise year round. What really gets me are the bikers I almost run into, or almost run into me with their $100-150 helmets and no lights.

The key word, mwx2, is "ALMOST" run into. As there are idiots behind the wheel, there are those in the saddle.
I ride with the philosophy of "one bike at a time"; meaning that each encounter with another cyclist, whether just in passing as we travel, or almost running into, I take the opportunity to interact more than with just a wave or a "How you doing?"
If they committed some error, like riding on the wrong side of the street, or running a stop sign, or "almost" into me, I try to present a solution even as I point out the error. What they do with it is up to them, but, unlike being in a motor vehicle, our interaction can't be just a flip of the finger or a blast of the phone.

Life at 8 miles an hour is much better that one at 80.

Hal:thumbup:

Hal, welcome to the forums :)

Currently i have a 5watt cat-eye ($15 special) setup.... Im looking to purchase my first "real" lighting setup this fall / winter. Is it better to go with a handlebar mounted light, or a helmet light? or both?

The fork crown is a good place to bolt a lamp. Its out of the way of the bars, and hard to damage, the cable routing is neater, and a permanantly bolted lamp is harder to forget/drop/steal.

Tough question, Joe.

Define "better" and you've got the anwser.

If you're doing a lot of city street riding, a helmet attached light may not be a priority. Single tracking? Definitely!


The bicycle is a curious vehicle. Its passenger is its engine. - John Howard

Hal

I think you should have both, Joe, but at present I have only a helmet mount 15 watt light and it is great. I like the way you can scope out what's around the next corner. I use my light to get in some after dinner conditioning by climbing hills. I don't feel secure enuff to ride fast in the dark, but hill climbing at night is a gas.

I use a Planet Bike 10 W headlamp, and a Planet Bike white blinkie. Since I live among "well lit" streets, I fall under the "to be seen" category. I like, however, for others to really see me, and I like to see stuff in the road before I'm right on top of it. I've decided that no street is that well lit.

On the back, I have a first generation VL-300 blinky mounted on my rack. I also have three K-Mart specials, blinkies for $2.50 (USD) each, that I clip to my courier bag, my rack trunk, and anything else that will hold one.

Most of my commutes, though, will probably be in twilight, not complete darkness. The very beginning of my morning ride, and the end of my evening ride may be dark, though.

Jonathan