tandempower

One issue I've heard regarding bike roads that traverse undeveloped areas away from motorways is that some people feel unsafe or vulnerable. Lighting such roads would be costly and detract from the pristine nature. Moonlight is often more than sufficient for nighttime hiking/biking when brighter light pollution is prevented from causing the pupils to contract.

(Infrared) night vision might be a technology that improves nighttime visibility and increases security on otherwise dark paths if it becomes widely and affordably integrated into growing smart-vision technologies like Google Glass. Users would have the option of turning an infrared vision overlay on or off and setting the brightness/dimness to best compliment ambient light levels and prevent pupil contraction. Infrared could be useful both at the level of mobile users as well as for security cameras along trails. A small infrared camera mounted on a tree-branch is far less obtrusive than a regular security cam on a branch or pole that requires lighting. If such IR security cameras became affordable for park managers to install widely along remote trails and bike roads, people could more safely bike/hike at night.

On a side note, could IR night vision capability be a feature that makes smart-vision glasses like Google Glass more desirable to the general public? Head-mounted cameras don't really require a visor function and smart phones aren't that much more difficult to use than head-mounted displays so night vision might give smart-visors the market niche they need to take off. What do you think?

Machka 

You might find this forum interesting: Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets


Personally, I use headlights and taillights when I ride at night. It's the law.

Walter S

As well as common sense.

Artkansas 

Lights are too simple. Too straight forward.

10 Wheels

I ride with 5 to 6 head lights and 4 tail lights.

gmm213

I think it's may but It's already there and you don't see riders pick it up. I have used NV before and wouldn't want it while riding. Unless it's super expensive and high quality it isn't clear and it messes with depth perception

Machka 

Plus they work.

I-Like-To-Bike

You wouldn't want to disrupt an "LCF discussion" with that alien/OT concept would you?

Roody

I thought google glass was dead? How about solar roadways?

Solar Roadways - Introduction

Walter S

It's very easy to see how to donate money to these people. It's more challenging to find out why I would want to.

Roody

What, you don't want to see moose footprints lit up at night?

tandempower

I never liked watching videos of the green NV, possibly because it was usually war footage I was watching. But I've seen some sharper b&w infrared videos that are as clear as watching a regular video with the colors inverted. I would think a smart-visor could do something with the color-inversion to render it more natural looking, and with the ability to fine tune the contrast and brightness, it could be adjusted so that your pupils wouldn't contract in the dark.

I'm surprised there haven't been more thoughtful responses in this thread. I recently saw a street that's been renovated to be more pedestrian-friendly by doubling up on street lights and the result is overwhelming with the night sky all but eliminated by glare. As if car headlights weren't bad enough, street lights add to them. I don't know why planners and lighting engineers haven't figured out a way to have street lights that adjust to ambient light levels so our eyes can adjust to the moonlight.

Another application for night vision overlays I thought of would be to have them projected over the windshield of cars as a heads-up display. That way, cars could reduce their lighting to running lights and not blind each other along with cyclists and pedestrians.

Maybe infrared night vision has too much of a reputation as a military technology to gain a popularity as consumer tech but with a little refinement, I think IR night vision could do a lot to tame the 'wild west' of nighttime lighting.

Marcus_Ti

LOL. No it isn't. Not for cycling.

Walter S

I thought that pothole was a shadow.

tandempower

I can't technically recommend that you try riding during a full moon or even half moon to see for yourself, but my nighttime eyesight isn't the greatest generally and I find my eyes adjust to the light of the full moon if there are no other artificial lights around, such as streetlights and headlights. It's even better when there are some clouds glowing with the moon in addition to the moon's direct light shining on the road and surroundings.

Still, I think infrared night vision would make people a little more secure, especially as a backup that could be turned on and off.

That's a good point. I don't know if IR night vision can clarify contours and objects in the road if they are the same temperature as the rest of the road. Maybe ultra-sensitive regular light vision could be included as well.

Walter S

I'm just going to let the young and brave hearted cyclists of the world figure this one out. In the mean time I'll use my trusty old light.

Machka 

+1



I've done a lot of night riding, and on a couple (thankfully rare and short) occasions I've had lights fail on me in the middle of the night. Moonlight might help a bit, but I wouldn't call it sufficient.

However, when you've got good lights, riding at night can be quite enjoyable.

B. Carfree

Hear hear. Night riding is one of my favorites. In fact, my wife and I head out on one of our tandems most Saturday mornings about 3:00 AM for a couple hundred km's of joy. The best part for me is the hours before sunrise (woefully few this time of year).

However, without good lights it's not nearly as fun. Back in the '70s and '80s the lights available for bikes left a lot to be desired (like light, for instance). It was always an adventure to ride at night with those weak things.

tandempower

Funny, I would say when the ambient moonlight is good enough to turn off the headlight is when night riding becomes most enjoyable (which also requires a lack of streetlights and headlights; e.g. if you're on a bike road away from motorways). When the light is on, everything outside the little illuminated patch in front of the bike gets darker because of pupil contraction.

Going through a forest bike road when the fireflies are abundant and active is like being in nature's version of Space Mountain. It's like being in a 3D version of a space-travel scene in a sci-fi movie.

If you're riding on a path cut through a forest, the light is almost too dim to see the road but when it opens up into a clearing, the moonlight illuminates the whole area and the scattered moonlight can be quite bright, especially if there are also clouds that are glowing as a result of the moon as well.

Roody

When I was a kid, my dad rarely let us use flashlights. "Let your eyes get used to the low light level and you will be able to see better without a flashlight than with one." We found that to be true.

I didn't use bike headlights for my first year or so of night riding. I simply didn't know any better until I started coming to bikeforums.net. that was in the city, and a very brightly lit city at that. I never had any problems or close calls either. But I do now use a headlight and usually two blinkies on the rear.

My son and his friends rarely use lights, but my son has much better night vision than I do. I remember one winter we were riding a dark trail in the woods. I rode behind him because he could see better. He dropped one of his black gloves, went back without a light, and found it fairly quickly. He had borrowed the gloves and said his friend would murder him if they weren't returned.