cyccommute 

I'll echo what others have said about lights. However, you don't need to spend $200 per headlamp to get a good light nor do you have to put up with low light output from $30 headlights. This is the era of extremely cheap, very bright headlights. For the $30 you could speed on the Zefal rechargeable which puts out between 100 and 150 lumens, you could spend around $20 for a light that is around 6 times brighter. These lights don't put out the 1200lm that are advertized but they do put out a still impressive 650 lumens. With these you go from a "be seen" light to a light that you can actually see with.

Most people concentrate on rear facing lights...and they should...but bright forward facing lights are just as important. I would suggest getting at least 2 lamps for redundancy. Stuff happens and lights can fail. Having 2 betters your odds against possible failure.

Leebo

Helmet lights and wheel lights are great too. The advantage of the helmet light is the ability to see around the corner before your bar lights swing around.

TenSpeedV2

Just be careful not to blind oncoming drivers by looking at them with a helmet light on. I tried the helmet light before and while it was nice on dark paths and neighborhood streets, on a regular busy street it was not good.

GovernorSilver

This. My bike came with dyno hub head- and tail-lights, but I'm glad I have a helmet light (Cygolite Expilion 850 in my case) to make it easier to spot road/trail hazards. I have mine set to point at the road about 5 feet ahead of me, rather than straight ahead where I might accidentally shine the light into the eyes of car drivers.

These look pretty neat as a wheel light option - the rear ones act as brake lights, which the less expensive, competing wheel light systems (Monkey Lights, Nori Lights, etc) don't do.:
Revolights Bicycle Lighting System. The Future of Bicycle Safety.

GovernorSilver

Not possible where I live. I have to ride on the road between my house and the nearest trails.

Not possible where I work either - have to ride on the road to/from the office building. Sidewalks in the vicinity have construction going on and/or frequently have broken glass, too many pedestrians, etc. - not safe to ride on.

VegasTriker

The Cree XM-L T6 based headlights are amazing. I bought a 5 LED one from a Chinese exporter for $38 including the light, charger, and battery pack. It is as bright as a car headlight but the downside is that it consumes a lot of power. A spare 8.4V 12000 mAh battery pack cost $15 so I'm not really worried about having the light die before I am able to get home.

I did find a really impressive multicolor LED light wand at a second hand store here in town. I wish I knew where it came from originally as I would buy another one and convert it from using button cells to two AAA batteries instead. It is something like this one but longer and brighter Multi Color 7 Modes LED Flashing Light Glow Wand Sticks Party Fun Supplies - US$1.39 $1.39 postpaid. I mounted it behind the seat on my recumbent trike and used it July 4 when I went out to watch neighbors light up illegal fireworks. It would be very hard to ignore from any direction. If powered by a couple of AAA batteries, it should last for many hours. I'm not sure how long the button cells last but you can buy 50 of them for $5 on ebay. Just a pain to replace the cells.

BobbyG

I've been commuting night and day year round for almost 25 years. I have five tips that I have found invaluable. First, get an Airzound or Delta you-pump-it air-horn! That really helps grab attention. Second, helmet lighting...360 degrees. I have a 180-degree amber flasher on the back of my helmet, and a lower-power headlamp (LED Flashlight) in the front which will soon be replaced with one that has better side cut-outs (and better battery life) This puts your lights up at driver's eye-level, and above the hoods of most vehicles, and the roofs of many. And if you look at a driver on the side, your helmet light is pointed at them. Third is 180-degree bicycle-mounted flasher lighting front and rear. In addition to the helmet lights on two of my bikes I have mounted the front flashers below the wheel rim so the lights "dance" off the spokes to help scatter visibility sideward even more. (and the same on the rear of my roadie) Fourth is a good headlight so you can see the road. Fifth is reflective tape and clothing.

dkyser

Alot of great information and advice here, Thanks

bonner1040

I find it interesting that all of us bike snobs do everything we can to be seen, including removing our wheel reflectors.

YogaKat

I came across the recently. If I could see to ride in the dark, I would have to get this.

Amazon.com : LingsFire® Bike Lane LED Laser Rear Tail Light Cycling Bicycle Road Safety : Sports & Outdoors

vol

The pictures make it much brighter than in reality. The laser lines are actually very thin. It's better for use on a bike path for fun than for serious use on shared roads.

YogaKat

Ahhh, that's disappointing.

GovernorSilver

Sadly, drivers don't always honor bike lane lines anyway. But having lights in general will help them be aware you are on the road with them.

f4rrest

A focused beam helmet light is really useful for getting the attention of right or left turning drivers.

I always run a helmet light at dusk / night in addition to the bar mounted lights.

HydroG33r 

I've been lusting after the Revolights for two years, and who wouldn't when they look so awesome!

finally pulled the trigger on them last week. $199.00 from REI with free shipping and a 10% dividend in the spring makes them more like $180.

The reviews on REI and Amazon all seem to say "they're amazing", "can't beat the side visibility", "I love them", but also "dedicate a full day to the installation, and that's assuming you've been a bike mechanic for 15+ years". The indications of tricky installations must reference an older version of the Revolights (I do remember watching some intimidating installation videos a couple years back). I'm certainly no bike mechanic (I clean and lube my chain, can adjust my derailleurs 65% of the time without screwing anything up, can make minor adjustments to my brake pads), and it only took me about 30 minutes per wheel, maybe less. Was super easy when you watch their installation videos. The Skyline video got me 95% of the way there, then I just watched the "installing the magnets" video at the bottom which was helpful for making sure the magnets aligned correctly.

Went on my first ride with them today and had a few people comment - it's going to be a fun winter!

TriDanny47

Glad to hear you liked the Revolites. I bought them 2 years ago after they were shown on a tv show ... And they're still in the box ... Part of my large collection of "stuff" that I never find the time to put to use after I buy it. Maybe this winter.

kuroba

I use two light front, two rear lights, spoke lights and reflective elements in my panniers. I always said that I look like R2D2 on my bike lol. I like the UFO analogy better

GravelMN

A few additional notes:

- Several companies have tires with reflective sidewalls
- Velocity has come out with a few rims in a retro-reflective powdercoat finish that looks dark gray in daylight
- There are some good flashlight mounts out there and in general, flashlights are cheaper per lumen output than bike specific lights. You have the added advantage of being able to easily use the light off bike for roadside emergencies, etc.
- A number of companies make retro-reflective vinyl tapes and stickers that come in many colors, which can be applied to frames, helmets and accessories. There are even black available that actually look dark charcoal gray that blend unobtrusively into black during the daytime, but light up in headlights at night.

Your background makes a huge difference, on a poorly lit rural roadway, even a small blinky and headlight will be very obvious. When you are on a well-lit, heavily traveled roadway lined with traffic signals, neon signs, and other distracting lighting, even a heavily lit bike may be hard to spot among the visual cacophony (sorry, couldn't resist).

TroN0074

Get lights! I am a Dynamo hub type of guy myself, but if that is an over kill for you go with the USB rechargeable lights. I like the NightRider brand because they work good and the charger is compatible with my phone so I can use the same cable to charge it.
I removed the reflectors on my bike because they where on the places where I wanted to mount the lights, not other reason. But yeah dont go out there on the dark if you don't have lights, it is against the law in many states anyway.

exmechanic89

Night riding to me is scary and I try to avoid it. Worrying about getting is hit bad enough, but for me, I dont see that well in low light and find it easy to hit lot's of potholes, ruts and other things I would normally be able to avoid. As others have said, if you're gonna do it: BE CAREFUL.

TenSpeedV2

Once you ride at night more than a few occasional times, you will get used to it. Much like riding on the road, it just takes some time to get comfortable with it. Half of my commutes are at night as I am a second shift worker. You grow accustomed to it, and honestly, I like it more vs riding during the day. Between my lights and the reflective bits on my clothing and bag, I feel as though I am far more visible at night vs the day. It is cooler at night, usually less wind, and depending on the time, less traffic. One Sunday night ride home at midnight had me catching every single green light and I was only passed by 3 cars for the entire 8.5 mile route.

travbikeman

Fortunately, where I ride at 5:30am, the roads are well lit. I still use lights, but have been enjoying this morning ride. Less traffic, car and pedestrian traffic that is......but much more deer traffic!

Fly2High

I have a NiteRider Sentinel with the laser lines and here are pictures of it in complete darkness and directly under a new LED street light. Looks like it works well to me. these were taken with an iPhone 6. I have seen cars move wider around me while they are on than off.

corrado33

I recommend an extremely bright rear light. I have a 1 watt tail light that lights up the entire road behind me red. (Bought at REI, says "1 Watt Tail Light" on the packaging.) It's great. I also have a less bright tail light that I'll put on blinky while the other is on solid. Don't put more than one light on blinky, it's too distracting. I have a 350 Lumen Fenix BT-10 front light which is the lowest output I'd use for commuting. It's not so much that it's not bright enough in the dead of night. You need something that bright to deal with dawn and dusk/bad weather. When it's completely dark you can get away with lower amounts of lumens. To be safe though, I'd recommend lights that have at least 400-500 lumens for commuting. For exercise rides on a road bike, you'd want a lot more considering you're going faster. Probably around 1000 lumens.

The bt10 can be bought for ~$60 where the BT 20 can be bought for a bit less than $100. Not the cheapest, but they work very well.

Also, I've been meaning to get those spoke lights that sit where a reflector generally would. Side visibility isn't great if you only have front and rear lights, so these would definitely help.

Mountain biking we generally use 2 lights, one on the bars and one on your helmet, both put out ~1000 lumens. One is a simple $40 ebay light that "says" it's a few thousand lumens, but really only puts out about ~1000, while the other is a Fenix BT-20, which is a shaped beam rated at a solid 850 Lumens. (IIRC)

Yes, I like my fenix lights.

BobbyG

Been commuting at night for 30 years, and very seriously for the last 23, and over the decades my night riding gear has evolved (on all three of my bikes) to a front 180-degree white blinkie on the bike, a red rear 180-degree blinkie on the bike with reflector, a handlebar-mounted headlamp, some extra reflective tape on the bike frame, helmet and backpack, pedal and spoke reflectors, and a high-visibility reflective sash, plus an AirZound airhorn. But nothing has made as much of a difference in my opinion as when I began wearing an amber180-degree blinkie on the back of my helmet, and a medium-power white LED flashlight on the front of my helmet. The high mounted LEDs can be seen over many of the cars, and the front light shines where I look, not bright enough to blind, but bright enough to see and be seen. In fact I feel safer at night than during the day. And compared to 30 years ago the cost of good bike lighting has plummeted, and the quality of the lighting and the battery life has skyrocketed.