It's seven in the evening. Belly full, I've just sat down on the sofa and I'm looking forward to watching some TV and going to bed. Then my phone rings. My friend and colleague Tom reminds me that I've agreed to go on a night ride with him and Barney Marsh, a fellow science nerd and journalist at
Singletrack, who's visiting Bristol for one night only.
Bugger.
It's a rainy and chilly autumn night and our local trails (Leigh woods) are lethal in the wet. Still, a promise is a promise so I hurriedly get my riding kit on, dig out my half-charged lights, explain to my flatmate what the chuff I was up to and set out into the night.
Needless to say, we had a brilliant time. Bimbling our way down slick rocks and muddy ruts, one behind the other like a string of Christmas tree lights. Probably going half our normal speed. It was a great laugh.
There's something extra exciting about riding at night and an added sense of camaraderie, plus you can often spot wildlife you wouldn't see in the daytime. We finished by rolling into town and getting a kebab. It felt like a night out, but with only good feelings afterwards.
The thing is, that was five years ago and I have only been on a handful of night rides since. Every time I say, "That was great, let's do it again soon!" But life just seems to get in the way, and the feeling of lethargy in the wet winter evenings is a huge barrier. The thought of washing my muddy bike and kit in the cold and dark afterwards doesn't help either.
What's your take, do you like night riding or hibernating in the winter evenings?
I've got an 1800 lumen Lezyne light that can get me down any trail where I ride. Albeit slower than I'd ride them in daylight.
www.outboundlighting.com/products/evo-downhill-package-best-bike-light
I run one on my helmet and one on my bars.
Cool folks, those guys.
So I did and they sent me a new one at no charge.
You can get a 1000 lumen lightnmotion helmet light for $75USD. These are incredible for the bars:
kaidomain.com/Bike-Lights/S024183-SolarStorm-X6-4-x-Cree-XM-L2-U2-White-4-Mode-3000-Lumens-Bike-Light-Black
You can find options on amazon as well.
If you just accept that your batteries won't last forever, the really inexpensive setups work great.
www.amazon.com/Magicshine-Rechargeable-Bicycle-Headlight-Waterproof/dp/B09WK12XBG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=KAZ6K1TGPUN7&keywords=magicshine+rn3000&qid=1664576434&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIyLjEyIiwicXNhIjoiMS45MiIsInFzcCI6IjEuNjYifQ%3D%3D&sprefix=magicshine+rn3000%2Caps%2C147&sr=8-4&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840
Consider yourselves lucky now
My brother used this and I use something similar. Absolutely works great!
Recently upgraded my bar light to an outbound lighting evo which is a little pricey but still all in you could buy that setup today for $350. Less than $500 but still not cheap... but when you have kids and a day job it's better than not riding at all.
Also, I find that riding at night is great for development as the conditions are usually worse than you'd prefer and you're 100% focused on what's in front of you and your balance improves.
www.merlincycles.com/moon-meteor-storm-pro-rechargeable-front-bike-light-95012.html
(Very highly recommended)
On Amazon, there used a small Cree LED light bundle called Revtronic BT40S.
www.amazon.ca/Revtronic-4xCree-Neutral-Rechargeable-Mountain/dp/B00EG8SCLG
(Amazon.ca for $116CAD - really recommend but is double the price of what it was before but still affordable)
That light is light enough on your helmet that you don't feel the weight on the helmet like the heavier Moon Meteor Storm Pro. The brightest lumens is around 1600lm, which is good enough for trails in pure darkness. Add a handlebar mount like the one I mentioned, it's all you need. It's too bad Amazon.com doesn't carry that light anymore, but you can still find it online somewhere. The price of it when I got it a few years ago was like $50USD or around $60CAD after conversion. Probably the cheapest and best bang for the buck for an LED light that is quality, battery lasting fairly long, and is fairly small and light (back when it was available on Amazon.com)
For the Moon Meteor Storm Pro, it is solidly build and the batteries are very high quality. I can't say anything bad about it except that it is not for the helmet as it is just a tad too heavy (due to the 2 replaceable rechargeable lithium batteries).
The other light that is similar to Moon Meteor Storm is the Ravemen PR1800 or PR2400. I think the PR1800 is around the same price or slightly higher than the Moon Meteor Storm Pro.
I do have the NiteRider Enduro 2400. It fricking big but very bright! It is also 3x the cost of the other two lights I have. However, after one season of using it, I basically used the Moon Meteor and the Revtronic ones because those other two are bright enough for any given ride in addition to the size, weight, and ease of use and storage are the main factors. The NiteRider Enduro series is great if you want super bright light but the battery pack has a proprietary plug, which is bad if the battery pack goes dead. It'll be expensive to replace the battery, whereas the other 2 LED lights I mentioned have non-proprietary batteries you can replace.
They seem to cover more width that way.
They freight anywhere in the world
Hands down the best riding lights made
A company that is accurate with the lumen output, they are not exaggerated lumens like the majority of lights available on the market
Rule of thumb must have on helmet as where you look is where you go, recommend a second light on the bar
Thanks me later
Go and getty get get
Its great stuff, read the reviews, watch the imagine video (thats me haha) honestly Ive tried loads of different brands and gloworms come out on top for sure
The reviews for that thing are really good too. Yea, totally different form factor and only for the bars, but also $90 and can be used as a normal flashlight.
-Best lights I’ve used, hands down “outbound lights”. They have the best light pattern and color period. Great compact units with pass through charging if you need extra run time. In the middle on price.
- best bang for the buck
Nite rider 1200 boost on the bars and a 950 on the helmet. I’ve been happy with this combo and keep some for loaners. They have other options and I still have an enduro light and several 1800’s but they are expensive. Buy outbound if your budget is over $200
- don’t ever buy crappy eBay/Amazon lights with the 8.4 volt battery pack typically in a nylon case. The light output isn’t the worst but if you ride hard the circuit in the battery shuts the light off until you plug it back into the charger. Ask me how I know…. Instant blackout at full speed is No bueno
OldschookAK - another reason to have two lights! Ha ha! Scary.
If you have $500 to spend, then anything you get will be great. For the rest of us, I've been riding with this guy (EDIT $20 a few months ago, now its not available dangit):
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B098XF7K76
its a true 1000 lumens. I ride at 5am, so typically by the time I get to the top of my climbs the sun is up, and this on low is fine for that. If I was going to do lots of evening/night rides, then get three of these- two for your bars and one for your helmet. They are $20, so three of them is $60 and you get a true 3,000 lumens. Charging 3 separate units sucks, but its USB-C charging so thats good.
Most evenings I can see other lights way on the ridge to where I’m heading. I always think that is pretty cool.
Family and life take up the normal daytimes.
1night a week in the woods is my "boyfriend time" as the missus puts it .
Rain, snow, ice, doesn't matter just get out and enjoy it!
I prefer the tunnel vision and focus you have to have when pinning it in the pitch black with just your torch and riding buddy.
I've pretty much set all my PB's riding at night.
Daytime riding is just so distracting being able to look around .
Daytime is busy and crowded, nighttime is quiet and empty.
Tunnel vision is real and is awesome. (Every once in a while I wish for a less capable light to restore my memories of early night rides where the tunnel vision was extra strong because my peripheral vision is completely unlit, not just dimmer)
Everytime I see someone mention "I sometimes ride at night, it's fun just slower", I think, "yer doin' it wrong".
The situation might be different in countries where the forests are much larger and the animals can just go a couple hundred meters further away and they won't be bothered. It's different in Switzerland. Or more specificall in the region called "Mittelland" (one could translate it as "middle earth" :-P ).
The Mittelland is the most densly populated region of Switzerland, where sometimes the border between villages can't be seen properly. But also the forests between valleys are rather small and does not provide much are for the animals to get away if people start night riding.
exactely. that is why I do not ride at night. you wouldn‘t believe how quickly ALL semi-legal, illegal and also sanctioned trails around here would get shut down by rangers and hunters if they see Mountainbikers smash through the woods with bright lights on at night
I've tried it and even in rural areas I noticed wildlife I haven't seen during daylight.
Since then I'm strict against it. It's enough that we built our playgrounds in there natural habitat.
Leave the nighttime to them.
Peace and out.
-Cold.
-Wet.
-Dark.
If you have all three it's worth skipping the ride that night.
I run into bears in BC on multiple occasions ( during the day) and they always take off
It's not the cat you see that need to worry about. It's the one you don't see that is most likely to kill you.
A pair of Seca Comp 1500 or 2000 on your bars will light up the trail better than the lights on your car, and they a very affordable.
it gets dark super fast, and we're caught on one of the hardest trails on the mountain, in just about pitch black. We had lights, so who really cares, but we we're caught unawares. So since it's not too bad with lights, we say f*ck it, lets go down another double black to end the day. We're halfway down the trail, both of us starting to get a little spooked out (he had one light strong enough, both of my lights together were almost strong enough.
We end up taking a different way down, end up in a stupidly steep chute, with 4" of sand throughout, we say f*ck it we're in too far already, end up half walking / half riding down the chute, and keep going. Little do we know we accidentally made it onto a secret pro-line, we end up passing a massive stepdown, and at the end we're almost to the bottom, and realize that we made it on top of a waterfall. so its pitch black, we don't have anywhere near strong enough lights for what we're riding now, both of us climbing down this massive rolling rock face with our bikes, at this point just blindly lost, trying to get off of the mountain as our ride was just waiting for us. We end up somehow making it down without killing ourselves, and then we get lost on the way out but end up getting off the mountain, after two hours of extra riding time.
TL;DR: Got lost on the mountain as the sun was setting, ended up on a secret proline.
It was an interesting ride.
Then I realised I work in a forest, with a trail and I could get my fix by rearranging my day. Sorted. No more night rides.
Then my sons got older more capable on a bike and keen to encourage them in embracing my obsession I'd make more time for lads and dads sessions. Then they suggested night rides. So I bought more lights, upgraded their bikes, bought better coats and we hit the trails, they were blown away, especially with the regular near misses with wildlife specifically deer running down or across the trail in front of them. But did they clean their bikes? Did they remember to take care of their kit makes sure it was washed? Did they charge their lights? No of course not, that's my job. Roll on spring and summer, that's all I can say.
This article just reminded me to charge my lights for tonights ride.
I'm gonna be rich
Better than not riding though... shoulder shrug>
Get a strong wide-beam bar light for contrast, a good medium-beam helmet light to look through corners, go shred! Any halfway decent modern light set-up is going to light up the trail way further than you need to be looking. Sorry, you're just not that fast (definitely aren't if you trade 10 rides for 1 ride), and even if you are there are overkill lights available for only slightly-stupid money.
1. Saves gas. Who doesn't like spending less?
2. No traffic.
3. No temptation to surf the internet when I'm pedaling. Just get to live in the moment (unlike right now).
4. Saddle hours add up to serious fitness bumps. Mountain biking is better when you're not worn out after an hour.
And your other points are great. I get to work and home from work in such a great mood, no matter how well I slept or how my work day went. My coworkers get a better, “me,” at work, and my wife and son get a better, “me,” at home. So good!
But only because I’m at work in the day.
You’ll know when I win the lottery because the first thing I will do is give away my lights, I won’t ever need to go out at night again.
I've ridden with lights off and on for commuting for a while now and did a couple of 24 hours events near here but didn't really get serious about riding after dark until 4 years ago when I bought a fat bike. We ride every week with lights starting about this time of year, then do it on our fat bikes all winter long (the snow makes your lights seem twice as bright). Love it, and since its not rainy/wet here through our winter, you only have to worry about the cold (-20C seems like a healthy limit, although I know some of the low spots have been colder).
Dodgiest night ride - three of us were out for a lap of 7-27. Halfway down one of the guys in front of me pointed to some tracks and blood where it looks like a cougar caught a squirrel or other small animal - the blood was fairly fresh and it freaked all of us out.
got an outbound too, its bright; but the thing is always running out of juice before the end of the ride.
i have had a few brands, so got to say nightrider for the win for reliable.
The bad: it's more money to spend, it's something else to charge, think about and remember to deal with, lights do fail - and when they do, it's almost never a good time.
Day time for me, when I can, thanks.
www.instagram.com/tv/CWLFHZplMyB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Magic Shine Altty 2000 and insta360 One R on handlebar makes for great POV footage.
I am fearful of crepuscular vespers in the gloam.