First time commuting at night
 

Last Saturday I had my first night time commute, and I admit it scared the crap out of me. I didn't have a very good headlight, but I did have a nice, bright blinkie and light-coloured cothing, and I didn't have any close calls with cars (they all seemed to give me more room than usual). I was still very nervous. I plan on getting a good headlight, and some reflective tape for my helmet, backpack, and bike. Is there any other advice for a newbie night rider? I don't think I'll feel 100 percent safe untill me and my bike are lit up like a Christmas tree.

AlertShirts make wicking neon almost-glow-in-the-dark shirts with built-in reflective tape. I haven't bought the reflective tape version but the regular shirts are extremely reasonable at $8 apiece.

What kind of pack are using when you commute a messenger bag or side packs? I use a timbuk2 messenger bag and they make these cool little reflector things and it has a little holder for your blinkie light. It's pretty cool I'd check it out.

My Cycling at Night article:
http://www.humantransport.org/bicycl...hts/lights.htm

It's always difficult the first time. You will get better with experience and have them eating out of your hand. So to speak.

A good headlight is essential. Spend some bucks on it if you can. The rest is less expensive and easier to find (blinkies, bright/reflective clothing, etc.).

I have a Light and Motion ARC HID light. Everyone sees me and when I pass pedestrians, I hear things like "look at that bike! Its light is brighter than a car's headlights!" and "Mommy, look at the motorcycle!" :)

I found some reflective bands at a local sporting goods store. I strap one to my left ankle. Used to have two, but lost one. As for lights, I have a back light, and getting another just for good measure. I have a cygo lite up front. I use the 3M reflective tape on the frame. I have certain spots I put mine. I even put some tabs of it on my cable housing.

See this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=73656

I find that when I'm properly lit up riding at night is more enjoyable than riding during the day. Cars seem to be more aware of my presence and give me more clearance.

By "properly lit up" I mean big bright lights. Most stuff you'd find at a bike shop doesn't fall into this category. See "total geekiness" for ideas.

I love riding a night -- so peaceful and primal. Kind of like riding in the rain. It reflects a sense of commitment to bike riding in all conditions and when you do it well, you can experience great feelings of control. Once you purchase the appropriate equipment and learn to ride effectively after dark, so that the gear/lighting/safety issue is just an accepted practice, then the ride can become quite enjoyable.

The streets where I commute are well lit.

This is what I use:
Standard Front, rear, & side reflectors
Headlight (weak one just to be seen)
2 taillights: solid beam on the bike, blinker on my backpack
Reflective tape on pedal cranks (give a similar effect to blinkers)
Hi-vis jersey/jacket
'Glo-gloves' (reflective) for indicating
Reflective arm bands (worn just above the elbow)

Wish List:
Blinking helmet light (cateye el-400, probably also useful for repairing punctures at night)
Better headlight (probably cateye el-500)

I commute 60 miles a day round trip and at this time of year (winter for us in Australia) its 90% in the dark. I Built myself a 20 watt halogen headlight with a 12 degree beam, you'd have to be comatose not to see it, I occasionally get oncoming cars flashing their high beams! On the rear I have a 5 LED blinkie on the rack and a 1 LED blinkie on the back of my helmet. I also wear a hi-viz jacket with reflective bits. Never have a problem, the occasional idiot that cuts me off is NOT because he/she didn't see me.

I ride a lot at night in the city. I don't feel the need for big lights and reflectors--just a decent little LED headlight, a red blinkie, and the reflectors that came with the bike. The main reason for the headlight is not to prevent headon collisions, as someone posted, but to prevent being t-boned by cars coming out from side streets and driveways, and to prevent opposing traffic from turning left into you. So it makes sense to aim the headlight up a little, right into the eyes of motorists.

I think you would need a lot more lighting if you ride on dark country roads, and even more on trails. Slow down a little at night. A small rock or a bolt, for example, could throw you if you don't see them.

Finally, ditto to what a couple others said--night riding can be a lot of fun. It is essential to feel comfortable riding at night if you want to be a full-fledged commuter. It scared the crap out of me the first few nights, but I soon got to really like night riding.

I ride at night a lot and actually like it. As a matter of fact it has some advantages over daytime commuting, specially regarding the less amount of motorists. The gear I use for night riding is a Sergas 5-Whiteled frontlight, a Cateye 3 red leds backlight, the bike's original reflectors and some reflective tape sewed to my commuting jacket and backpack.

That's it and I can assure you that it is much more than enough.

Take care,

Ricardo from Colombia

I get off work at 11pm and I LOVE ridding at this time. First its cool out, hardly no cars, I can hog the whole lane if I want. I also go grocery shopping at this time because theres hardly no one at the store. Its also nice and quite. I might get moved back to the day shift at work and I will miss my night commutes :(

I have reflecterized vests that is really bright..Everything that I have reflective wrists bands with flashing lights within...a blinkie that attaches to my helmet..a bright headlamp and a really bright blinkie on my rear rack

At
www.ledtronics.com
you can find a reflective vest with LED's in it, powered by two AA batteries. I have one and can testify that it is a nice thing to have in the dark. Mine cost $30 (USD) a couple years ago. The 16 LED's don't do much in near-darkness, but in full darkness they are nice.

If you want to march down the road to dorkiness, it is easy to build a headlight out of PVC pipe and a 20-watt halogen spotlight bulb. I did that, and it is a thing of beauty in terms of brightness, but it won't get any style points. The total cost, including battery and charger, was about $60. I think it compares well, in brightness, with commercial lights in the multi-hundred dollar range. Unfortunately it looks like a piece of two-inch sewer pipe, because it is.

I leave home to go to work at 4 am so its uaually dark my whole ride in. I ride in the suburbs for the most part and street lights are scarce.
I use a whole nightrider lighting system (digital evoloution plus tailight) I add two more bright blinking LED tailights and reflective tape all over the bike and a reflective (Illuminite) vest.
I'm lit up like a Christmas tree!
I find the cars give me a lot of room when they pass me. In fact I think I'm safer than when riding during the day as I'm so easy to spot. My ride home is not so safe because there are more cars and there is a lot more for people to focus on when they are driving during the day.
One word of caution must be given to pot holes especially during a rainy or drizzly day. In the dark you can't judge their depth as your light will reflect off the top of the water. I learned this the hard way. I'm so leary of this now that I will mark the pot holes with white marker paint so I can spot them in the rain.