Road Cycling - riding at night?

A riding buddy of mine recently suggested I get a light system so we could start riding at night. I really enjoy riding when the sun goes down but it is just unsafe without a light system of some kind. I have recently been looking at lights and there are tons of different types (bar mounts, helmet mounts, different types of lights, as well as different battery set ups) at a huge range of prices (from like $20 to $400). I just wanted some advice from some of you that enjoy riding at night of what I need to purchase to get started. Is there a certain wattage/type of light that you recommend? Reflective gear? And just any recommendations that you have are greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi,
exactly what will you be doing, and how fast will you be doing it?

Hi,
exactly what will you be doing, and how fast will you be doing it?

riding my bike at night, and anywhere from 0 mph to 40 mph.

Really, do I have to be that specific? If so, I will probably be doing rides anywhere from 30 to 60 miles over rolling terrain here in Middle Tennessee. I just want a good set up. I don't want to pay $400 for the top of the line stuff if I can get something for $100 - $150 that is plenty adequate.

I don't mean to be a smarta$$, I guess if I was doing 24 hour rides I would need something different that going out for a 3 hour ride at dark. I just thought it was sort of obvious from my original post what I was going to be doing and thought to ask such a question was being a bit petty. I just want some advice and recommendations from others who regularly ride at night or early in the morning and have a set up that they are happy with. Thanks.

Hi,
we're not mind readers. Road riding is usually faster than dirt, has more ambient light. So a longer, narrower beam is ok. I haven't done Mtn bike riding at nite. Obviously the faster you go, the more light you need to throw. One alternative is to have both a helmet lite and a handlebar lite. This gives you a lot of flexibility.

Tennessee,
If your going to get what you need you have to be specific, what is good for one is not normally good for another. You can waste a lot of money buying the wrong lighting systems. As was already mentioned if you're going to be riding in urban conditions you can do with less light because of all the ambient lighting, if you're going to be riding rural, especially at speeds approaching 40mph you need all the light you can get. Do a search you'll find some great threads on this subject. By the way, from what you've mentioned so far you seem to fall in the $400 light catagory, not the $50 one.

Go to ebay and get a NightSuns style of lighting. I've used mine on both dirt and road and it works great. I paid $100.00 for a NightSuns set up that retailed for $275.00. Get a good flashing "tail light" also they run under $10.00 at the LBS. The $50.00 Cateye style lights do little to illuminate the road and they are pretty much a waste of money. However if you want one I've got one I'll sell ya for $10.00 + shipping. It's only been used for about 10 minutes.

I stand corrected. Here is all the info. I can think that you might need to help me make an informed decision.

1. My ROAD bike: A Tommassini Fire 53 cm decked out with a Campy Record group and FSA cranks (I absolutely love it.)
2. My clothing: Usually Louis Garneau bibs (1st choice) or Pearl Izumi bibs (2nd choice) with whatever jersey I pick up. Also, possibly knee warmers and arm warmers if the weather so calls for it, maybe even a light vest or jacket. I'm thinking of getting toe warmers for when it really cools down. And of course a helmet (Louis Garneau) and glasses (Rudy Project) with varying lenses.
3. My routes: Anything from a mostly flat 20 mile loop to a hilly 60 miler, depending on the time I have available. On the flat rides I usually end up averaging around 18 - 20 mph just depending. On the hillier rides I have a few hills that I can barely crank up at 7 or 8 mph and some downhills that I reach up to 45 mph. Sometimes I go all out and sometimes I just take my time and enjoy the Tennessee back roads.
4. My weekly riding schedule: (Note: this varies slightly from week to week) I usually try and get two longer rides on the weekends. At least one longer ride during the week as well as working in one day of intervals and recently some hill climbing days to get ready for an upcoming race that has a huge hill at the finish. I also believe in active recovery over passive. I do two recovery rides a week and possibly one day off. I usually ride 6 days a week sometimes 7.
5. What I am looking for out of my possible light purchase: First off I will be using for road riding (I would think that would be obvious since this is a ROAD CYCLING forum but I guess not). I will be riding it on many different types of routes from long to short and from flat to hilly (See 3. My routes above). I just want to be safe and visible to traffic.

Again, I am not trying to be a smarta$$ I am just getting a little frustrated. I usually get great advice when I post here but thus far I have not got one answer that I am looking for. I hope this post clears up things up and maybe someone will have some useful information. Like Stealthman 1 said, I don't want to "waste a lot of money buying the wrong lighting systems." Thanks in advance and I apologize if I was vague in my earlier posts.

Thanks 2Rodies, that is what I was looking for. I'll take a look at NightSuns.

If we're frustrating you why don't you ask your ride buddy since it was his idea in the first place? I don't mean to be a smarta$$, but you could try stuffing a double D flashlight in your mouth and breath through your nose. Ummm...was that a good answer? lol ..............

Hi,
Performance has a bunch of lights on sale. This one looks like
a great value.
http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=17410&subcategory_ID=4320

Here is a good thread on the subject

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?p=564208#post564208

Thanks late. That light at performancebike is very similar to the NightSun light I found on ebay, except the one on ebay is going for like $175, the one at Performance does look like a good buy.

I bought the NiteRider Storm HID when I was working in Aruba last year. Aruba in the summer gets only about 15 hours of daylight due to the island being so close to the equator. I was mountain biking off road in really rough stuff. To get from the house to the trail I was on a heavily used road for a couple of miles that was where I needed to be seen more than see. I was using a Camel back and had a couple of red flashers going.

I have both the bar and the helmet mount for the light. I have found the helmet mount is the way to go. I can make a car at more than a quarter of a mile away coming at me dim their high beams by moving my light from the road to the car. Yeah it was expensive but WOW I can see and I do put a high value on my life. (If you ask my ex wife she might not agree…LOL) I get something over 4 hours of burn time and the thing will recharge in 3.5 hours. So if you get into 24 hour rides (I don’t) you can ride all night with two batteries if you have a power source in the pits.

I have used light for night road rides back here in the MPLS/St. Paul Metro and love it. The only down side of the helmet mount is that if you don’t have an adjustable fit system the added weight on the front of the helmet can really bounce the helmet around when you are off road. Road riding it is fine.

I have had some shop try to sell me the LED white front lights (they are getting better) but they don’t even come close to that the NiteRider. NiteRider also offer a LED red back light that is easily seen in daylight.

Cheers!

I am a roadie and personally like the combo of a headlight and a barlight. I use the headlight for making sure cars see me (I look right at them at intersections....) and for anything in the road that looks like a potential danger.

You will probably find that no mater what lighting system you have you won't be able to see ahead as much as during the day. It takes a bit getting used to- I always ride slower at night because of this. Depends on how much a thrill seeker you are.

The worst blow out I ever had was no a night ride. To this day I don't know what I ran over....


Good luck!
Marc

I was going to suggest the Nite-Hawk Dual Pro with Helmet mount from Nashbar for about $70, but your possible ride duration would be too long for even the 10w light.

Light duration:
10w => 2.5 hours,
10w+20w => 35 minutes.

Good luck with your search.

Anyone ever try Vistalite Nightstick or Planet Bike?

Anyone ever try Vistalite Nightstick or Planet Bike?

I've got an older Vistalite Nighstick (~5 years old) - bought new on eBay for ~$60. It came w/ two 5 watt lights, but I usually only run one, as it's bright enough for me in most cirumstances. I usually only turn on the second light on fast/scetchy downhills. The NiCad battery life could be better - I think I get about 2 hrs w/ just 5 watts... maybe less now that it's older. The configuration is nice, though, since it's a slim stick that attaches to a bracket mounted under a bottle cage (similar to a mini-pump bracket), so it doesn't take up a bottle cage.

Anyone tried the NiteHawk Emitter light http://www.nite-hawk.com/bikeemitter.html (also sold as the GEN3 by Performance)? It's LED, so I presume it has that less pleasant "ghostly" light quality, but it's stated to put out the equivalent of a 10w halogen. Battery life is LONG.

Most of my 2 to 3 hour rides usually occur after midnight and ride time is dictated by battery life. My Cygolite Night Rover NiCad Extra easily gets the job done running on the 6.3W low beam setting. Street lights abound on the 17 mile circuit, so the low setting is adequate, even riding at speeds in excess of 30mph. However, when I hit the 2 or 3 totally pitch black areas, I switch to the 10w high beam. To save battery life I just switch off the low beam until the street lights return, then switch off the high beam and return to low. I also have a Cateye LD170F (as a running light) vertically mounted on the stem and adjusted 25 degrees to the right to get the attention of vehicles on my right as I approach intersections.

On the backside I have a Cateye LD500 mounted on a brake bracket (used as a running light) and a Cateye LD600 (random flashing mode) mounted on my seatpost. Reflectors on my pedals and Nathan reflective stickers on my helmut top off my setup.

Total cost for lights and stickers was around $100. The only obstacles I encounter during my rides are of the 4-footed variety: possums, raccoons, armadillos, and cats. Local law enforcement has been surprisingly courteous, even in the wee hours of the morning. And traffic is usually insignificant, especially after drunk'thirty. It's quiet, cool(well, cool-ER...I live in Florida after all) and conducive to a focused workout. Highly recommended!

I imagine my night rides would be considerably shorter than my day time rides (probably closer to 2 hours). Also, I would imagine my speed would come down a bit due to the visibility issue. I am looking forward to doing a few of my favorite loops at night. I imagine that riding at night will make riding a loop that I have done countless times almost like doing it for the first time.

Thanks for all your recomendations.

I imagine that riding at night will make riding a loop that I have done countless times almost like doing it for the first time.

Being familiar with your route will make the ride at night more comfortable. Just watch out for the critters rummaging through the garbage cans on Trash Night :eek: :) Raccoons have a habit of spooking and dashing across the road for cover. It's funny to hear their little claws digging into the asphalt. :D

Cheers!