Have Lights List

+1

+1 on #7, so cool

wonderturtle said:
have a light

bought the NightRider light off Kirt.

a few observations (most of whcih I knew already from riding with borrowed lights in the past).

(1) riding at night is a fun and "different" experience

(2) riding by yourself at night kinda spooky (in a fun way). also riding at night alone is probably not the smartest thing from a safety perspective

(3) I ride a good 10%+ slower at night

(4) I dont make some of the higher logs and more knarly/ rooty uphills that I hit without a problem during the day.

(5) related to #3 and #4 my night vision sucks....but I knew that years ago from driving

(6) light on the helmet is much better than on the handlebars as the light is ALWAYS shining where you are looking (not always the case with the handlebars). with that said, the light I bought is kinda heavy and my neck got sore towards the end so not sure what to do about that...second light?

(7) riding at night during a snowstorm is a friggin SUBLIME experience (obviously an observation from last year)
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Dusk ...

For anyone who regularly rides at night -- do you ever feel like you're sketchier in low light than in actual darkness? Last night, I was doing a night ride but started before nightfall and once the sun started to go down, the fact that it was overcast made it seem like it was getting darker than it usually is at the time (about 6:30.) So I turned my lights on but I later wished I hadn't. I've noticed this before a bunch of times, but it I felt really sketchy for that brief period of dusk. I felt like I'd probably be better off without lights even though I had trouble seeing more than a few feet in front of me. I don't know if it's the shadows the light creates or what, but I felt really off for a while. I hit the rock garden north of Bell's Mill Road at Wiss and just felt completely sketchy on stuff I usually have no problem riding. Anyone else ever notice this kind of thing? 😕
 
Yeah dusk is really tough. I prefer not to ride at that time because my eyes can't seem to pick up things as easily. This time of year I either finish by 530 or start after 7
 
i'm with you. dusk is tough. the lights really don't help much. the light gets real flat. i lower my expectations of what i can ride in the dark. i think i drop it even lower at dusk.
 
yes, duck causes all kinds of problems with you seeing things and people seeing you. Best to avoid, next week it shouldn't be a problem in the evening as black makes its return.
 
I run 2 lights. Handle bars and helmet for when I am looking around to the sides of the trails. Love when you get those glowing eyes looking back
 
Any suggestions for a budget set of lights?

I've got a Petzl that is roughly 50 lumen which is fine for the backyard and attic but I don't think its got enough for the trails. I threw it in my pack for when I add in 1 more loop around dusk and get stuck in the dark.

Not being a super serious rider, and riding a 15 year old bike Klien Manta I can't see dropping a few hundred on a set of lights for occasional use.
 
bm1981 said:
Any suggestions for a budget set of lights?

I've got a Petzl that is roughly 50 lumen which is fine for the backyard and attic but I don't think its got enough for the trails. I threw it in my pack for when I add in 1 more loop around dusk and get stuck in the dark.

Not being a super serious rider, and riding a 15 year old bike Klien Manta I can't see dropping a few hundred on a set of lights for occasional use.
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Here ya go. get the diffuser for the handlebar mounted light.
Don't get the big one - it runs through the battery in no time on high, and doesn't last as long as the smaller ones on low.

http://www.mtbnj.com/forum/showthread.php?t=32245
 
bm1981 said:
Any suggestions for a budget set of lights?

I've got a Petzl that is roughly 50 lumen which is fine for the backyard and attic but I don't think its got enough for the trails. I threw it in my pack for when I add in 1 more loop around dusk and get stuck in the dark.

Not being a super serious rider, and riding a 15 year old bike Klien Manta I can't see dropping a few hundred on a set of lights for occasional use.
Click to expand...

Lights, cameras, action

I am an avid night trail rider, because of the work that I do. When I leave a client’s office at the end of the day, I frequently have my fully or my HT in the back of the truck. For at least half the year, my departure is after sunset.

My general goal is to ride as many trails near their offices while I am on location. Therefore, we are more than occasionally riding trails that we have never seen before in the dark. Given my complete lack of skilz, my fear of dying requires a lot of lighting. Because my lack of skilz extends to bad navigation, we carry an abundance of light. On a couple of occasions, we have been lost after dark and it is just one less thing to worry about with this set up.

Last night we ran the usual set up:

MAIN LIGHT-bar mounted CREE T6 type red case four cell LiOn battery hanging from the TT. 800 real lumens? Usually run on 50% brightness. Cost $18 (Note: Cost is still dropping. Just ordered three more for $13 each on Amazon. These are so inexpensive that you can give them away. #lighttheworld)

HELMET LIGHT-Cateye Volt 700 running about 50% Light and bright: what’s not to like? Cost $110 (a bit pricey for my taste)

BACKUP-Niterider Lumina 500 on bar. Dead reliable and used maybe 10% of the time. Cost about $100-110

When we ride the road to get to the trail, we run one or two tail lights as well. A Knog with 4 bulbs, USB rechargeable and about a half to one lumen is typical, but I have a slew of comparables. Cost $50

In the Osprey:

Extra CREE T6 type. This serves also as an extra battery for the MAIN light, though with the MAIN on 50% we hardly ever run out of power. Use maybe 10% of time. Cost $18

WalMart 300 lumen Flashlight type AA batteries with bar mount. Cost $21 Used once

Bike shop 150 lumen Flashlight type with AA batteries. Cost $21. If I ever remember, I will take it out of the Osprey cuz I have never used it.

On Bench:

Magicshine MJ-872-Think I have killed about two batteries for this in the last three years. Still chugging along faithfully, but bypassed economically more than technologically. Still keep it in the light bag. Cost $129

In summary, my main running lights cost about $238 including the Niterider backup on the bar and my necessary reserves in the Osprey cost $39. $277, we never run out of light and can lay down 2,000 real lumens if we need to. So far in 2014, we ran this set up about 20 times for 1 to 2 hours, which are mostly rides that we wouldn’t have gotten in, but for the lights. Tonight, I am going to ride in cold rain near Albany, NY. Probably won’t see many people, but they will be well lit up.
 
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Just ordered a Solarstorm xt40 and X2 owl, can't wait to test them out. $75 shipped to test out the night waters, er, trails.
 
PSA: Now that the days are longer, and you aren't using them as often,
don't forget to throw a charge on your lights to maintain battery life.
 
Charged-up my battery last night and it passed the preliminary test, but dead this AM for my ride. This was the GeomanGear replacement for the Magic Shine, so I more than got my money out of it. So, do I buy a new battery for the magic shine, or pick-up a couple of these $20 Amazon specials?

Magic shine USA sells batteries form $22-$59 (the latter for Samsung cells).

A quick search on Amazon reveals way to many choices (read: fire hazard at $9?!).
 
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