Lights and reflectors

[pooks]

Last night we took a short ride at dusk and came back after dark. Very little traffic in our neighborhood, wide streets and we were very careful, but we really do need to be night-safe.

What do you recommend for lights/reflectors?

[Tri Girl]

I have Cateye's for my tail and headlights. They produce A LOT of light and are pretty compact. They're not too expensive either (although I try not to put a price on my safety-up to a certain point:) )

[Veronica]

I found that Cateyes did not produce enough light for where I was riding at night - rough road, few light posts. So for short night rides I have a Vega. It has a two hour burn time.

V.

[pooks]

Are these rechargable or do you replace the batteries? And do you leave them mounted all the time, or do they clip on and off?

[DebW]

The Cateye EL500 Opticube is one of the better handlebar mounts with 4 AA batteries. Not really bright enough to ride on a rough pitch dark road but if your neighborhood has some streetlights it might be adequate. Otherwise look for a 10 watt light with rechargable batteries. And flashing LED lights mounted front and rear greatly add to safety near dusk.

[pooks]

Fortunately we had a couple of flashing LEDs. I put one on my handlebars and my husband clipped one in the pocket on the back of his jersey when we were riding at dusk.

We do have streetlights and I don't foresee riding after dark any time in the near future, though it's possible if we go camping next fall.