Night Riding

[Aggie_Ama]

I went for a night ride last night borrowing a friend's light and totally loved it. Now I want my own lights, any suggestions? I love the Ay Up lights but they are pretty pricey. I want to do after work riding but have this crazy idea that one day a 24 hour might be on my radar!

[Becky]

It's been a couple of years since I bought lights, so my comments are more general.

I like NiteRider and have had good results with both their products and their customer service. I like LED lights for their durability, light output, and battery life. On the MTB, I like running two lights: one on the bars and one on the helmet. Consider the weight of any light that you're thinking about mounting on your helmet. My TriNewt rocks, but it's nearly a pound and uncomfortable to wear on my head. I have a lighter one for my helmet.

Good lights cost money. I've probably got over $500 in my current set-up. For specific reviews and current product suggestions, I'd head over to forums.mtbr.com.

Night riding is a blast- I wish that there were more places that allowed it here!

[jessmarimba]

NiteRider has also been strongly suggested to me. Repeatedly.

I don't have good lights yet though...maybe Santa is thinking of me?

[Cato]

I run a TriNewt LED on the bars and a Light & Motion HID on the helmet. My night vision sucks and two lights gives my vision some depth. Plus you can't see around corners with a bar light!

I've heard good things in the past about MagicShine lights, they're LED's, have great output and very affordable. Unfortunately they've had some problems with the battery packs and are on hold until they get replacement models.

[crazycanuck]

Ayups are awesome & worth the $!

[SheFly]

If you're just getting into it, the NiteRider MiNewts are a good investment. I have the double beam version (MiNewt 700 - these go for about $170-ish), and like them a lot.

That said, if you are riding ANYTHING TECHNICAL, these lights are not enough (although I have used them for night time cross rides on fire roads and moderately rocky/rooty trails). For technical riding, I prefer my NiteRider HID. This thing will BLIND you, and provides A LOT of light. It is also pricey - around the $300-$400 mark.

Night riding is fun, and the only way I can ride through the winter months...

SheFly