Night Riding - Get out there!

Dec 10, 2010
by Colin Stewart  
Do you feel that since the weather has changed to cold here in the northern hemisphere and that the nights are longer that you have to put your bike away? Don't let that be the case - get some lights and get out there and take in some of the best riding you may experience all season.

We turned Munich, Germany into our own private play ground recently and you could do the same in your town!

Views: 19,850    Faves: 173    Comments: 20


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Member since Feb 14, 2010
15 articles

63 Comments
  • 15 2
 Im not sure about at night, but pinning through the snow and mud is one of the funnest things to do on a bike.
  • 6 0
 yep your right dude, ice on the otherhand isnt fun especially when landing on it
  • 13 0
 I'm the opposite to you. I love riding at night, everything feels so fast on a trail when you can only see as far as your lights extend. Riding in snow on the other hand, I feel out of control and like I am just holding on and hoping for the best. On the other hand, even an easy trail can be a challenge in the snow.
  • 13 0
 riding at night is awsome!! sometimes when i couldnt sleep i would go out in the early hours of the morning and have the town to myself, not having to care about people or cars getting in the way when blasting about! Wink
  • 4 0
 This is some gnarcore night XC
  • 3 4
 I'm so happy it never snows here.
  • 1 0
 well i am so happy it snows where i live you guys down south are missing out, i would hate to have the ccrazy hot summer you guys have.
  • 7 0
 winter - it's time for drift training
  • 2 0
 Night riding in the summer is cool. Bike riding in the cold, scrooge says nope. If you want to sell it, show me someone ripping a border-x track with spiked tires or something.
  • 1 0
 Night riding definitely adds another, very exciting aspect to mountain biking! Great video mate! It's a shame that so few mtb'ers take part in it. It does get cold, but you just add another layer or two, and then you crank up the lighting and get riding. It does undoubtedly make you feel faster as well - and it's a great thing to do one evening after work, when you otherwise wouldn't be able to ride!
  • 1 0
 love the main road though the village when its snowy/icey, theres like no traffic on a good day and absolutly dead on snowy days Big Grin ... take the downhill rid out, get some drifts into my street going and 180 skids... good fun Big Grin
  • 1 0
 I ride in the winters here in Utah, and my suspension is always crap, but its still fun! I just always worry about ruining my Suspension...... is that possible? Can cold weather riding ruin your forks and shock? I ride a coil shock and Coil DH Forks....
  • 1 0
 The only reason I dont like riding at night is because I dont want to run into any animals like a fox or badger. I've ran into a family of badgers in the day time once and it wasn't fun.... Also, pushing back up some of the steeper trails would just be plain scary!
  • 1 0
 you got it PublicOnion , in the summer is very fuun riding at nigth and i dont know you guys but i ride for hours and dont feel liek it go ride a 7 pm finish like 10 ore later , any way rigth now in the winter man i gust keer thinking if a go ore not to go be cuz off the cold rigth here in the pacific is cold like -3 for me is cold cherss peep
  • 1 0
 Studded tires are the ultimate for winter riding. Our xc trails in the summer turn into snowshoe trails in the winter. When the conditions are right it is super fun to shred snowy singletrack, and u can rail as fast as if on dirt.... feels that way anyway. It does suck when you stray off the packed trail and get axle deep in the soft stuff though.... but it's usually a soft landing.
  • 1 0
 Ya-you can try and fail softly where you could really go down hard in summer- figures us Canadians would see that!!
  • 1 0
 your bike will be fine, until about -35c, at that point there the lube thing does make a difference. as i found out the hard way when the pauls in my freewheel started to slow down while returning. and the ice is a great balance trainer with stock tires. winter riding is by far the best training method in the off season. your only cold for the first 10mins then everything regulates try it at least once in the cold and the dark, you will not regret it
  • 1 0
 All the stunts and jumps I've ever done have been in the winter. I don't dare leave the ground unless I'm landing in snow. Plus the snow makes your lights go so much farther.
  • 1 0
 www.pinkbike.com/video/127375 This is my video, to show, that you can ride hard in winter too!!!!!

Loved your video and this defently inspired me to go and ride in my local town!!! Nice job!
  • 1 0
 Here in my hometown,We rarely can see the snow.I think it would be a really great fun to ride a bike on the snow while silence reigns,and you could hear the squeaking sound of the snow.Cheers!Really good video~
  • 1 0
 Why don't we do sth like that,we have the same line in the Gobe Desert. We know we like it
  • 1 0
 Living in a 22 million people city riding late late at nite is just great, like a comment before from the scotish guy, its all empty for yourself and the ammount of places tu jump-off and ride over is endless. cheers
  • 6 5
 Not convinced. Cold = not cool. Your tires are frozen, your suspension doesn't work, but i guess its better than sitting around. Props to you.
  • 7 0
 Actualy, once moving your suspension warms up and works just fine, and tires are fine in the cold once they get moving too (you know, cars have rubber tires too!). The only thing you really have to look into is the air volume in shocks, and using the right lubes. Try it out, it's got a similar feeling to riding in mud, so it makes for great off season wet weather training.
  • 6 0
 I wasnt always so sure about it either.........but I finally broke down and bought a light kit this year and It kicks ass. Night riding is really quite the experiance, not to mention the cold air, frozen ground.......ideal?? No. But neither is sitting on my couch wishing I could ride. Its all about the right clothing as far as the cold goes....no cotton, and dont overdress- about 10 min of pedaling and you will be sweating I promise. As far as the other hurdles....hard ground, hard tires, darkness, brakes wont warm up, shock wont warm up..........its all part of the challenge, should sharpen your skills Wink
  • 1 0
 do you put more air in the shocks ?
  • 1 0
 I actually run a coil fork and shock. The issue is the oil inside is very cold, and riding xc type trails does not really warm it up. I suppose running a lighter weight oil might help, but I dont feel its enough of an issue to warrant that.
  • 4 1
 fixie just do it
  • 3 0
 We ride the shore in the snow and everything operates fine (we just drop our tire pressure)... although the snow has disappeared and it has been pissing rain for the past 3 weeks...
  • 1 0
 Suspension don't work?

Funny, I ride multiple times per week in temps below -10c and everything works just fine.
  • 1 0
 Personally in temps below 30 my fork and shock start to get slow on the rebound due to cold oil. Its not really that they dont work, but it feels weird and makes it so that I reed to back off on the rebound a few clicks.
  • 3 0
 Sooooo much fun, thanks for sharing!
  • 1 0
 Yes "hardcore HT" their shore is some decent power coming out of that lamp! It is most likely the lupine Betty able to shine at a blinding 1850 lumen.
  • 1 0
 Very nice! I would like to know what light he was using? It was very hard to tell but in some spots the profile looked small like the Lupine Piko.
  • 1 0
 ... Lupine Wilma.
  • 1 0
 That light is so nice, just a bit out of my price range. Thinking I may ask Santa to get me a Piko though!
  • 1 0
 The Piko is surprisngly powerful and would be fine for the type of riding you see in this video...
  • 1 0
 I just took a sweet snow ride yesterday, felt so good to be back on the steed after two weeks of boredom! Snow is just great training and ice, man that's the best stuff!
  • 1 0
 a good night ride is always fun, and i enjoy a good winter ride as well... the only thing that really sucks is the clean up afterword
  • 1 0
 jeah if the ground isnt frozen, otherwise cleaning wont be necessary.
  • 1 0
 Wow! That video has really inspired me! I have actually got lights but never actually bothered getting out. Time to get them back from my friend!
  • 1 0
 winter riding is awesome , i ride at night with my local shop alot , its brilliant ( only if you have decent lights or you wont get very far without crashing into a tree
  • 1 0
 the only bad thing that ever happened to me in -15 celsius is that water in my fork seals froze and they started leaking... nothing a hairdryer couldn't fix Big Grin
  • 1 0
 Actually if the snow is dry and hard packed then you can get by just fine with the usual tyres, eg. Schwalbe Muddy Mary's, Conti Rain Kings.
  • 1 0
 Im surprised he's not dazzled by the light against the snow.. some decent power coming out of that lamp!
  • 1 0
 Night riding is the best , never had so much fun and its so much gnarlier at night!
  • 1 0
 i dont need to wory about the oil in my shock and fork being cold, I just get out the hair dryer
  • 1 0
 try winter riding in toronto, after a week your bike is a rust bucket because of all the salt.........
  • 1 0
 Yeah unless i had serious snow studs i would go down like a drunk prom date! And it you be a lot less fun.
  • 1 0
 how much are lights like those (cheapest equivalents appreciated im low on money)
  • 1 0
 have a look at the american distributor: www.gretnabikes.com
  • 1 0
 It's a bit hard to ride in three feet of snow. Dream about riding, go skiing.
  • 1 0
 just did a night/ daytime ride. it was sick. hitting jumps in the dark is a whole new world
  • 1 0
 Hey bud are you using studded tires or are you just winging it? Nice ride!
  • 1 0
 not cool, just broke my arm winter riding, sweet video though
  • 1 0
 nice job, looks like fun! filming and editing was well done to!
  • 1 0
 man that looks sick, rippin in the snow and at night, looks like a blast !
  • 1 0
 bets on how many times he fell off
  • 1 0
 Lupine just released new product. NEW 2600 LUMEN BETTY!!!!!
  • 1 0
 here in Mexico we do not have that problem, we can ride all year long!!
  • 1 0
 man im jealous, that looks incredible!
  • 1 0
 lovely







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