Night Lights for Bicycling

[Big Rabbit]

I have a Specialized Dolce and need to get lights for night riding. Do I get helmet lights and/or lights just for the front & rear of the bike? What kind is best?

[ny biker]

Well, a helmet light illuminates the area you're looking at. A headlight on the handlebars illuminates the area in front of the bike.

Also, there are two general categories of headlights -- the ones that are bright enough to really light your way, and the ones that are less bright but suited to making you visible to others.

I don't do lots of riding after dark, so I use two "make me visible" headlights and two taillights. The main headlight is on the handlebars and the main taillight is attached to my seat bag. In addition, I have small white and red lights on my helmet.

My main headlight is a Bontrager Ion 2 and it's very bright for the price ($40.00) -- bright enough to get me home on a dark rail-trail.

http://bontrager.com/model/08918

But if I was riding regularly in the dark, such as commuting, I would invest in a brighter light, the kind that is enough to really light your way. As for specific models, I can't recommend any, but I'm sure others can name some good ones.

p.s. this is the main taillight I use. It's a good light.

http://bontrager.com/model/08921

You should also consider wearing reflective stuff for added visibility. I like these ankle bands so much I'm asking for the wrist bands for Christmas.

http://www.roadid.com/Common/LearnMore.aspx?PID=10

I'm also probably going to ask for the Nathan reflective cycling vest that TeamEstrogen recently started selling.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodNN_2039N.html

[Sky King]

Light and motion offers the Stella - it can mount on your handlebar or on your helmet so makes it versatile. They aren't cheap BUT they are rechargeable and you will be seen and you will be able to see They also have a tailight called the VIS 180 that is awesome.
Here is a short post the bike hermit did on tailights

[lph]

The Stella is very popular here. It lights up well, but it's also very neat and lightweight and sexy-looking and many people like how you can take it off and use it as a headlamp for skiing or hiking. Excellent quality and totally waterproof casing and battery.

Mine is off for repair (turned my bike upside down and forgot it was on there) so I'm borrowing my dh's Magicshine. It's a cheapo version of the bright lights, and boy is it bright It's not by far as well made, but the light is excellent, the battery pack is good and the switch is actually better than on the Stella. The blinking function is positively fit-inducing, and gets me attention galore in roundabouts. But you have to be careful where you point the beam.

Taillight: I used to love the Superflash, made by Smart bike lights here, Planet Bike I think in the US, with one 0,5 W LED and two smaller ones. Now I have one that's even more annoying, with two 0,5 W super-brilliant red LEDs. They're so bright that on non-flash mode they light up the road behind me.

Oh, and please do remember side visibility. In intersections it's crucial to be seen from the side.

[ny biker]

Oh, and please do remember side visibility. In intersections it's crucial to be seen from the side.

Agreed.

My headlight has little notches so that a bit of light can be seen from the sides. I thought it was a nice innovation -- my old light (also a Bontrager) didn't have that. I think many manufacturers have been making tail lights with side-visibility for some time now.

One reason I like the ankle bands is side visibility. The reason I want to get the wrist bands is so that my arms can be seen better when I signal turns. And really you can't go wrong with more reflective stuff at night.

[WindingRoad]

I have a Stella 200L and I just 'replaced' her with a Nite Rider MiNewt 600. It's the new version so the battery is contained in the light which is cool cuz Stella has the external battery which is a bit bulky. For 600 lumens the Nite Rider was WAY cheaper than a comprable Stella. I get cars flashing me to turn my light down with the NiteRider so I generally run it on the 400 lumens setting. The strobe mode is amazing too, overall I really like this light. It has a wide beam which is nice for super dark commutes. I can get about an hour and a half on 600 lumens and about 3 on 400 lumens, 4.5 on 200 lumens, 8 on strobe and 10 on 100 lumens.

[tzvia]

Most of the AA/AAA battery units fall into the 'be seen' category, and while you can get rechargeable 'be seen' lights, the higher lumen lights that can illuminate the road ahead are typically rechargeable. I would put 300 lumen+ lights in the road-illuminating category. Higher lumens give you greater distance and/or a wider spread.

When I started commuting, I had an AAA Serfas light up front and a superflash in back. Well, that didn't do squat on road illumination- my neighborhood streetlights are few and far between and the potholes many. And I seemed to hit every one that I could not see... and the jarring broke off the rear blinkies- I lost three before deciding I wanted better than that.

Ok, rethink. I then got a Stella 150. Great helmet light- not enough to brighten those potholes but drivers had a better chance of seeing me. Good quality built light. However the higher lumen lights are big bucks. I then bought a Chinese light, the Magicshine. Claimed 900 lumen up front, and about 2 watts in back. Well, a battery recall and wires all over the bike linking both lights to the external battery had me looking again. I want all-in-one lights. And I am sick of cheap lights that fall off. I then found the Dinotte brand. German lights that are the bomb, but expensive. Can't afford the front, but the 200buck 3watt tail light- rechargeable and made of metal with a beefy mount, fit my needs so I bought it. It is as bright as a car brake light. Really. Visible a block away in daylight. Coupled with my Magicshine rear light, you would have to be blind to miss me.

Next, I came across the Nightrider Mininewt 600. While the spread is not as wide or as bright as the Magischine (which is a good light with it's new battery style if you don't mind cords and battery packs), but it's small and self contained. As it recharges USB, I can ride my 30 minutes to work and charge it if needed there. I still use the Magischine on longer night road or MTB rides, but for commuting I just use the Mininewt, it's plenty bright and I can see the potholes and sand mounds that washed down the hillside.

[Rebecca19804]

I then found the Dinotte brand. German lights that are the bomb, but expensive.

+1 on German lights. Their statutory minimum requirements are higher than any standards in the US and higher than most other countries in Europe.
I like the B&M Ixon IQ Speed. This is more than sufficient to "be seen" and goes some way towards adequate "illuminating the road" (though I found it best if you have TWO not just one and/or are cycling in a group with a few other good lights). Not sure if there are distributors in the US, there's only 1 in the UK and so I've found it more reliable to order direct from Germany such as from the renowned Rose Bikes.

My new all-singing-and-dancing "illuminate the road" light is from a fairly new UK company called USE Ltd, whose Exposure range has taken the cycling world here by storm. Prices range from about £40 to an eye-watering £400, but I've found the Strada to be quite satisfactory for lone night time cycling - though probably not good for hurtling downhill at speeds in excess of 30mph in the black of night! The Strada Mk3 retails at about £245 but I picked up a Mk2 on Ebay for about half that. Wiggle ships to the USA.

Your mileage may vary of course... but this is the kind of nighttime riding I do, and the Strada is perfect.

[Jaclyn]

I'll second the recommendation of the B&M Ixon IQ Speed. You can buy it from Peter White Cycles. We use it with a dynamo hub wheel, also built by Peter White. This allows us to recharge not only the light but AA batteries that we use in other devices on the bike. If we run out of charge, we can use a spare set of AA batteries - in a pinch. When we are not concerned about riding for many, many hours, we use the CygoLite MityCross which we feel is brighter. The handlebar lights are supplemented with a DiNotte helmet mounted light.

For rear lights, we always have two chain stay lights. Favorites include the Portland Radbot. Two are important to us because one can lose battery power and leave us underlit. We use the the Di Notte on the seat post (absolutely the brightest tail light). And, for good measure, a Blackburn Flea or something similar on back of helmet.

For riding at night, we always wear reflective vests and reflective ankle straps (there's research that the circular motion of reflective ankle straps really get motorists' attention). The comment about side lighting is important - many accidents at night occur from the side.

We ride a tandem ... lots of money invested in lighting because as randonneurs we ride for many hours throughout the night. I find that with proper lighting we actually get greater respect and distance from passing motorists than when we ride in daylight. We've grown to love night riding.

I'd suggest establishing your budget (bigger the better, but of course not everyone can afford a $1,000 lighting budget) and then focusing on maximizing front and back illumination. Especially for the back, I feel two lights are essential. Fortunately, vests and ankle straps are cheap (I heard that Ikea is selling reflective vests right now for only $4.99).

[carlotta]

I have a B&M Ixon IQ (also from Peter White). I love it and it's a massive upgrade from previous lights (of the be-seen variety, the longer commute required investing in a better light).

I wanted something that didn't have a separate battery pack and this is great-- you just push a little rubber bit out of the way and plug in the wall charger. I charge it every night so I don't have to think about did I charge it last night? two nights ago? etc, but assuming the battery indicator is accurate I could easily get 4 commutes out of it (~4 hours on the bike) with a mix of high and low settings. I try to run it on low most of the time, high is pretty bright (but good for dark MUP).

I also run a blackburn flea on flash most of the time. Good for be-seen, and also easily rechargeable.

At some future point, I can definitely see the appeal of a dynohub, and if/when my front wheel meets an end I may go that route.

[Crankin]

I recent got a Bikeray front light. It's from China, but it's not one of the ones that blew up! It is so bright and lights up the road so much better than the Night Rider one I have. And it lasts for about 4 hours on one charge.

[radacrider]

I had been using a B&M IXON-IQ, very nice for our dark streets where trees obscure the street lights.

For my project MB-1, I bought a DiNotte XML-3 and have been testing it on my commutes on the SUB. All I can say is WOW! Dark, rainy mornings and evenings are no big deal. I can see the road and I am definitely seen by others out there on the road.

I use a DiNotte 120R (many years old) that is super bright and I constantly get comments on its brightness.

The 120R takes 4 AAs, the XML-3 requires a proprietary 4cell lithium pack.

A side note: I had a problem the 2nd time I used the XML-3 and contacted DiNotte. I contacted them by email and they sent a new light head out with a return shipping envelope. Just the customer service alone, I am sold on DiNotte!

[Big Rabbit]

Thanks all for your input. Now I have to go check out all your suggestions.