Dion Rides

I'm a weenie when it comes to summer heat, so I find myself starting late, coming home in the dark. Aside from the obvious (lights, reflective clothing, etc.) how do you fair in your non-commute night rides? Do you ride at night?

I use amber lenses at dusk, but they seem to have no advantage once it gets dark.

KiuBWhy

I don't ride at night...too scared of bad drivers.

AngryScientist 

biggest problem i have with any riding in the dark is seeing road obstacles like potholes, debris, sand on the road, etc.

with the right lights, traffic is not a problem, but without a light facing downward at the road in front of you, its hard not to hit stuff you would ordinarily avoid.

Carbon Unit

I have riden a lot at night, but I wouldn't do it with out a good set of lights--a head light and tail light. Without a good head light, you wouldn't see pot holes or other road debris. I haven't had any problems with cars as i ride on the shoulder of the road in the bike lane.

Riding at night isn't as much fun because you don't see as much.

d2create

I use amber or yellow lenses in the winter because my ride either starts or ends with some sun so they are better than clear and wayyyy better than nothing at all.

Tail light is an absolute must and a headlight would help cars coming out of cross streets or coming towards you see you, even if you can see well enough with just the street lamps.

Planet Bike's Super Flash is the best tail light for the money.

ChadRat64

I use an H.I.D. headlight from batteryspace.com I got the waterbottle battery. I also have 2 monkeylectric.com lights on my front wheel. I have a spare front wheel that I keep my lights on and use switch it out when I want to ride at night. I have a blackburn flea for my taillight. People usually slow down to try and figure out what is going down the road.

datlas 

I commute and for night riding, good lights are a must. I think clear lenses are better than amber but YMMV. The problem is that unless you are riding in VERY FAMILIAR surroundings, or are cruising at a turtle's pace, you will need very bright lights for safety.

It's your choice, but I say just ride during the heat and drink plenty of water. Much more fun.

Dion Rides

San Jose, Ca. air quality is crap in the heat. It's like trying to breathe into a plastic bag.

acaurora

Another suggestion would be to ride in the mornings, like how I do. It is constantly in the 100s this month here where I live, and I go riding in the mornings between 7 and 9 AM, when it is still 75-85 F. It's nice riding when it's still cool out and then heading home as it warms up. Gets a great tan too

shmily_dana

Another big hazard (at least in residential areas) are the joggers,dog walkers, etc in dark clothes.

Hickeydog

I light myself up like a Christmas tree for night rides, plus a Fredvest, and some reflective tape. I find riding at night preferable to riding during the daytime. The driver's aren't bad (as long as you avoid the weekends). Just have to watch out for the wildlife and potholes.

Creakyknees

In the winter months I do a lot of night riding b/c I hate being on the trainer if I can avoid it.

Tips:
- What Hickeydog said. It is impossible to have too much lights and reflectors. Front lights especially.
- I stick to loops / laps on routes like empty business parks or places where there are streetlights and minimal traffic. I also have a few neighborhoods where I can do hill repeats on residential streets.
- Click over to the commuter forum, and the electronics forums, lots of tips about lights and reflectors. Me, I got a vest, I got reflective tape between the spokes of my training wheels (on the rims), I got reflecto ankle straps, I got a blinky on the back of my helmet, and on my seatpost, I got a headlight on my helmet for blinding motorists, and one on the bars for seeing the road. And I still get drivers pulling out right in front of me.

jdon

My MTB group would disagree. We ride faster because we don't see as much!

obstacle

95% of my riding is at night, year round, to the point where I rode in the sun the other day and it felt all wrong.

Granted I ride in Central park nightly (almost) so night for me is pretty well lit. Even when I didn't live in Manhattan I still choose to ride at night (other than long weekend rides).

For the Manhattan, I have no lights or reflectors. My Fizik's saddle has the clip for a light, which I have, but it rattles to the point it annoys me so I don't use it much. I ride a white bike though, it's hard to miss at night.

On the road I liked Krog's lights, set to blink. Easy to see from far away. Plus I rode low traffic routes but I never worried about cars.


When I still raced/rode XC I did alot of training on my local single track at night. It really showed you how to commit and pick a fast line. Made it a breeze in the day. For that I used two mini-halogen head lamps. They weren't cycling specific, but small (I think meant for helmets) and the batteries only lasted a few hours (AAAs)...but those things there bright and I must have looked like a car in the woods to most.
Clear lenses on my Oakleys all around. Yellow tint for winter, which helps pop contrast out.

carpediemracing 

https://www.bikeforums.net/archive/in.../t-472350.html
"I did a bunch of group rides that ended in the dark. I'd get LED blinkies front and rear, LED steady front if you feel like it, but a DLG for the frame.

https://bp2.blogger.com/_TbmplkIYLx8/...0/100_3231.JPG

Full post:
https://sprinterdellacasa.blogspot.co...ight-ride.html

The sideways thing worries me most. And the DLG is made by some hip folks out in Palo Alto."

I'd add that you need a decent front light to see holes/etc. Decent = 10w or more.

cdr

logdrum

I am working with folks overseas, so I really can't do the early morning thing this month. I've been riding nights and it is really nice. I have a helmet mounted light and a handlebar light and 2 blinkies. The roads have little traffic and the nice thing is that you know when a car is behind you because of their lights. Perfect for fixie riding which I am doing and you get a nice sleep afterwrds. For me 11-1 AM is the best

Dion Rides

Thanks for the links. I did a search, but didn't get that previous thread.

I carry KNOG lights in my jersey pocket (that's what I love about them!) as well as a rolled up reflective vest. My next purchases will be a good rear, red helmet light and a better front light.

substructure

It's definately something to get used to. I ride a lot before the sun comes up - before work. That's when some of my training sessions are.

At first I was a little leery but soon got used to it.

In the winter months, when I commute for longer miles, I will be in the dark 2+ hours in to work and over an hour going home. In the morning it's quite pleasant with very little traffic. In the evening it can get hairy when people are trying to get home quickly to sit on the couch and eat.

dgasmd

I personally find the mornings best as I am "fresh". The trick is to go to bed early enough to get enough sleep. That takes getting used to and habit formation. At the end of the day, I have the fatigue of an entire day on top of me.

I disagree with some of your points. There is such a thing as so much light and reflectors that turn from visible to distracting. People stare at distracting things and unconsciously turn their steering wheel in the direction they are staring = YOU! Also, you want to be able to see very well in front of you, but you also want to be seen from behind. Both equally important in my mind.

Very true. The earlier the better, but it does take some getting used to regardless! The lowest traffic is not until about 2-5 AM in most places. At that point, most people in the streets driving are either drunk and trying to get home or another bar, coming from work, or going to work. That means they are all much less attentive, much less able to quickly react, and much less likely to be looking out for things on the road. I ride at night with the same caution and style as do during the day. Same goes for observing the law like stop lights and such.

Hickeydog

Which is why they cover cop cars with bright flashing pretty lights? Anyways, I do agree there. There is such a thing as too many lights, but having just a rear light and a front light isn't enough. I run 3 lights on the back, on my helmet, one on my seatpost, and one on my shoe. Haven't had any problems with cars not seeing me or being distracted by me.

icebiker76

Night rides are the best! I'm fortunate to have 3, 30 to 100 mile long rail trails in my area. It's a cycling freeway, just need to keep a look out for random critters on the path.Totally recommend it!

IAMTB

I'm lucky enough to have a MUP 2 miles from my house. The only thing I really have to watch out for after 9:00pm is raccoons. Not many trail users in the dark and the ones I do come across have good lighting setups(like me). Meet lots of new friends riding at night. It's very peaceful on an old rail bed in the middle of the woods at night.

jbarham

With a good light, night riding is a breeze. Sounds counter-intuitive, but with bright, reflective clothing and a good taillight or two, you're actually more visible at night, too, although there tend to be more drunks at night, so that may balance things out as far as safety goes.

I have a Mi-Newt for night riding and it works great.

uspspro

I love night rides... I was running some nice ones with some local friends starting at my house and hitting the steep hills nearby. We tried to stay relatively in the bounds of civilzation so that it was a little more lit, closer to help, cell phones in svc, etc...

But here is one of the routes:
https://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path...-Hastings-Club

I use a MTE Cree MC-E (7 mode) flashlight from DealExtreme with a Twofish lockblock mount on the bars (usually set to medium). I use a DiNotte 200L-AA on my helmet. SuperFlash on the back. Same setup for both tandem and solo bike.

Gives off some cool effects in photos for sure

chevy42083

Decent headlight (just a cat-eye double AA powered light, nothing extravagant), rear blinky, clear glasses (to keep wind and bugs out of eyes), and lots of paying attention to the road. Oh, and if you go for a long time... plan on store being closed (no walgreens, eckerd's, or convenience store to snag a drink/snack)

I LOVE night rides.... was out from 9pm to 12:30am last night on a lightning lit (no rain) ride.