Lighting?

[pfunk12]

I'm very happy with the light that I recently purchased. It's the Light and Motion Vega 120. I struggled last year to find the right light for me but this one is perfect.

[Ja Da Dee]

The Magicshine 900 lumen Lightset is a pretty sweet light for a really good price. My husband uses these for night riding on the mtn bike trails. They have a high, low and strobe mode.


http://www.geomangear.com/

[Jaclyn]

I agree with some of the previous comments to be concerned about being seen from multiple directions ... and to have redundant systems. I like to ride at night. It is easier to see the cars and, with proper lights, it is easier for them to see me.

My typical winter setup - Cygolite Mity Cross light on handlebars (I often get comments about how bright it is - even when set on low). Di Notte dual headlamp/red taillight mounted on helmet. Two Serfas seatstay lights on the rear seatstays. And finally one of those spoke lights (or sometimes I use the Tirefly's on the valve stems) on the wheels to aid in side visibility. Oh, and I use tires with reflective sidewalls. I also dress with care when I know I will be riding after dark to make sure my clothing has a lot of reflective areas.

My next investment is probably the Di Notte tail light which I believe is the brightest rear light sold. I just wish it didn't require the separate battery pack. I'm interested in the pedal lights - will have to check into them.

I want to see and be seen! Ask a friend to drive all around you and report back what's working and what needs to be improved.

[Pedal Wench]

My next investment is probably the Di Notte tail light which I believe is the brightest rear light sold. I just wish it didn't require the separate battery pack. I'm interested in the pedal lights - will have to check into them.

I want to see and be seen! Ask a friend to drive all around you and report back what's working and what needs to be improved.

I love my Dinotte lights - I have the Li-ion headlights and a set of AA head and tail lights. I prefer the separate battery pack because it's much easier to mount it out of the way, and swap out the batteries without having to change how I've mounted the light.

[BikeShopGirl]

OH my, now this is a question for me.

I love lights as I've commuted and been riding at night as long as I can remember. Lights have really evolved, as well, in the past 3 years. Now LED is the light of the future, batteries are smaller and everything more affordable.

For commuting <2 hours I use a Vega 200. It has various light settings, charge time of 2 hours, and at full (200 lumens) it runs for 2 hours.. but if you put it at medium/low it runs for much longer.

From there lots and lots of blinky lights. I use a reelight on my front hub so that is always blinking, as well as one on my rear. My rear rack has a long Cat Eye light with various settings. If I have a backpack/messenger bag I also have a light on those.

The other suggestion I have is 3m reflective tape. We sell it by the 3 foot length at the bike shop for <$10. It comes in various colors to better match your bike. I have strips on my rear seat stay, fork legs, and small pieces on my wheels for when they are rotating it catches attention.

Very last thing is I use, if wearing normal clothes, these pant holders made by Trek. They have an led strip in them for steady or blinking and really catch folks eyes as they are blinking and moving when you pedal.

[hoffsquared]

The Magicshine 900 lumen Lightset is a pretty sweet light for a really good price. My husband uses these for night riding on the mtn bike trails. They have a high, low and strobe mode.


http://www.geomangear.com/

I just got my Magicshine a few days ago. Decided to go with something nicely priced before further investment. Used it Tuesday on the way home. It was not really dark by the time I got home but I did turn it on about 2 miles from home. I think it will work pretty nicely.

[redrhodie]

To those with helmet lights, do you keep them on your helmet even for your daylight rides?

I decided to mount my light on my helmet instead of my bike because I like the aspect of being able to see where I'm looking, not just where the bike is heading. I also have 2 bikes, so I can ride either one without changing lights. I have a second helmet without a light for days when I know I won't be riding in the dark, but on commute days, when it's light in the morning and dark at night, I use the helmet with the light.

There are a few things I don't like about riding with it in daytime, none of them involve comfort. Physically, I don't even know it's there. However, I have been recognized more frequently since I have this thing on my helmet. I've been beeped at by someone in a red truck several times. Maybe I know them, but I don't recognize the truck (which has a vanity plate, so I know it's the same person). I think without the light, I was more anonymous.

I also had a friend, who never noticed me riding before, call and ask if she just saw me riding with a camera on my helmet. I guess it's not the worst thing in the world for people to think I am filming them, but yesterday's Oreo cookie incident makes me think I'm perhaps attracting the attention of the jackass crowd. Has anyone else noticed an increase in weird incidents (objects thrown, beeping cars, yelling, etc.) with a helmet light?

[DebW]

I currently use a MiNewt headlight, plus a blinking PlanetBike Beamer (with side windows) on the handlebars. On the back of the bike I have a blinky and a solid red light mounted on the rack. On my helmet I have a small red blinky facing the rear and a headlight facing front. The helmet headlight is an old hiking headlamp called the Petzl Duo with a separate battery pack on a wire that can go in a pocket. It's amazingly good for the application, because it can be attached to my helmet with a short piece of Velcro One-Wrap (I don't ride with it in daylight, so it comes on and off every day), and its high beam is as strong as the MiNewt, though not as even. So I have two front lights good enough to see my way home in very dark conditions (redundancy if one fails, which has happened). On roads with streetlights, I turn the helmet light to low beam, but flick it to high on the unlit bike path or on windy streets to see around the curves. The helmet light is also very helpful for fixing flats in the dark or unlocking my apartment door when I get home.

[mizzbananie]

This thread has been so helpful! It's pitch dark when I ride home, and three times during the ride the bike path takes me through completely unlit parks. The first time I rode it I was terrified. With the help of this thread I have gone circus... blinking lights on the wheels, another on my backpack, a strobe on my helmet, a flashing red back-light, and a new Cygo-Lite MiliOn 150 USB LED headlight. The ride is much more calm now.. I'm also glad that the ninja joggers can see my headlight coming up behind them and move to the side of the path.

[owlice]

I, too, have found this thread helpful. I don't commute, but do want to start riding at night, and want to do so safely. Thank you!

[tzvia]

Where I am, it's a matter of being seen, as I am on well lit roads. It's the drivers that need to be alerted to my presence. So I got the Sefras TL-ST blinky that I strapped on the seat stay, and a Viewpoint Flashpoint blinky (really bright) on the seatpost. Lots of white, yellow and red reflective tape and a Serfas SL-200 front light (may end up with something better if it doesn't cut it.) I also found a neat light at REI that is a long thin (like a thick spaghetti strand) tube that I wrapped around the main triangle and it glows blue or flashes. It is bright enough to light up the bike and ME from the side and was only $25 bucks. I also found a 5" long light with a clip on the end that looks like a glow stick but runs on a 2032 battery and glows orange or blinks, and I put that on the back of my backpack. Everyone calls me the christmas tree rider but heck if you can't see me coming from any angle you are blind.