Oh, Man! Biking at night is FUUUUUNNNN

Just got 2 flashlight adaptors for the old bicycle. Being an openly declared flashaholic, I just had to go out (well, I do need to loose some pounds as well) and try it out... ALL out. I had a TK15 on the front, a PD30 with red lens in strobe on the back (aimed at the ground 5 feet behind) and my HP10 on my head. I didn't even need to put everything on turbo to see all the details.

I didn't come across too many cars or people, but I sure did get noticed! I got passed by only 2 cars, on the darkest unlit strip in the area. They gave me more space than they normally would in the daytime, but much to my surprise, they actually lowered their high beams, something no one ever does when I actually drive through there - and they where coming from behind!!! I sure won't check the time I'm coming back next time I go watch the sunset at the park...

Has anyone else had positive experiences using bright lights on their bike???

I agree 100%. Back when I lived in a more suitable area, my girlfriend and I rode bikes at night all the time. We each used the velcro strap type holders. She would use here Ultrafire C8 P7 I gave here, and I would change it up to what ever I was working on at the time. I love putting multiple lights on too. This was before XMLs so usually a couple quad core emitters and maybe and XRE. Its crazy cool to have more light coming off the front of your bike than oncoming traffic has on their cars.

Cataract said:

Just got 2 flashlight adaptors for the old bicycle. Being an openly declared flashaholic, I just had to go out (well, I do need to loose some pounds as well) and try it out... ALL out. I had a TK15 on the front, a PD30 with red lens in strobe on the back (aimed at the ground 5 feet behind) and my HP10 on my head. I didn't even need to put everything on turbo to see all the details.

I didn't come across too many cars or people, but I sure did get noticed! I got passed by only 2 cars, on the darkest unlit strip in the area. They gave me more space than they normally would in the daytime, but much to my surprise, they actually lowered their high beams, something no one ever does when I actually drive through there - and they where coming from behind!!! I sure won't check the time I'm coming back next time I go watch the sunset at the park...

Has anyone else had positive experiences using bright lights on their bike???

Click to expand...

I ride my bike as a commuter nearly every day, and have tried out various combinations of lights etc.

So far what seems to make the biggest difference is doing what you did with the red taillight -- aim it so it spills a bright pool of red light down on the ground (rather than pointing a bright LED point source directly backward, which is obnoxious for glare... a fair number of other riders around here do this).

Lighting up the ground around the bike brightly helps drivers see where you are on the road. As a driver, it's often hard to tell where a bike is and how fast it's moving if it has a couple "blinking" red lights on it. I think it also makes it much easier to judge how much space is needed to safely pass if the road has a big ~1 meter radius "red zone" painted on it.

My current rear taillight actually consists of a flashlight pointed upward at my saddle, which has a mirror on the underside. Around that, I've made a box out of a few pieces of acrylic fluorescent panel diffuser. some of the red light bounces straight down and creates the "pool" of light on the road I described. The rest is scattered by the diffuser in an omnidirectional fashion and looks like a typical car brake light -- bright and clearly visible, including from the sides, but not glaring.

On the handlebars I usually have two neutral white LED lights. One that I aim mostly down, with a cylindrical diffuser (to help me "be seen"). One aimed forward with a shield to try to cutoff light above the horizon (to actuailly see the road with). This is important as most of the streets where I ride on have NO street lighting at all, except at intersections of major roads.

Eventually when I get the time I plan to fashion a new set of headlights with custom machined heatsink and optics that's less kludgy than carrying a bunch of flashlights with diffusers and mirrors duct taped to them, but at least I'm staying alive....

Flashing lights are for stationary objects.

Two is one, one is none. I'd move the PD30 to the handlebars, and get a dedicated red taillight. Run them both on the same mode, either medium or high, no turbo (unless you are off road)

Yes, for the last five years I have been excercising on my bike several times a week - always at night. Apart from the sheer joy of using many torches on a daily basis, there are practical reasons for doing my biking at night - most of all, thee is less traffic around!

I use a generic bike red led array behind my saddle, and I have a Fenix L2D on the handlebars. On my helmet I have a backwards facing MiniMag with red NiteIze drop in, and a Solarforce L2, 3 x AAA body with a Nailbender DSXOJ P7 three level drop in - good variation of levels for most riding. Before I had the P7, I used a Fenix TK11 for about a year - very nice light, but a bit fiddley to change levels while attached to the helmet.

I love to cycle along the canal towpaths at night - pitch black and quite deserted even though it's in the heart of London!

The main problem at this time of year with helmet mounted lights are all the bugs that fly straight at your head to get to the light - yuk!

Mods, I think this thread probably belongs in the Transportation Lighting | Biking section.

Cataract, ditto for me. I discovered night-time mtb'ing about 5 years ago and started with some pretty basic lights (compared to today), including a Fenix P3D or Princeton Tec Apex mounted to my helmet and a CL1H mounted on my handlebars. I ended up getting a custom built Alu 3xSSC P4x3 setup for my helmet and a SF 6P with M60 for the handlebars and swap with assorted other Q5 lights. A helmet light was essential for the single-track trails and it was crazy doing switchbacks and logging roads at a speed... definitely an adrenaline rush!

These days, I ride mainly roads with a couple of fellow flashoholics and we have pretty basic setups: I have either a JB Jet-1 Pro mounted to helmet and the trusty 6P w/ M60 or the Alu SSC P4x3 on the handlebars while my friend has a helmet-mounted PT EOS. I also have a red glo-toob strapped to my seatpost that gives a very wide degree of illumination to the rear while my friend has the very bright, Planet Bike Superflash.

We usually ride on decently lit city streets, sometimes dimly lit side streets and most often on pitch-black bike trails, which is probably the most fun although I think we freak a few people out with the bright lights we have. We do switch to low modes when we pass cars and people.

One bad thing about cycling overnight: spiders making fresh webs :O

RGB_LED said:

I discovered night-time mtb'ing about 5 years ago and started with some pretty basic lights (compared to today), including a Fenix P3D or Princeton Tec Apex mounted to my helmet and a CL1H mounted on my handlebars. I ended up getting a custom built Alu 3xSSC P4x3 setup for my helmet and a SF 6P with M60 for the handlebars and swap with assorted other Q5 lights. A helmet light was essential for the single-track trails and it was crazy doing switchbacks and logging roads at a speed... definitely an adrenaline rush!

Click to expand...

I find that a head lamp or helmet light is fairly essential on the road, I wouldn't want to be speeding on logging roads without one! But as you say, what a rush that must be!

... We usually ride on decently lit city streets, sometimes dimly lit side streets and most often on pitch-black bike trails, which is probably the most fun although I think we freak a few people out with the bright lights we have. We do switch to low modes when we pass cars and people.

Click to expand...

I don't have too many hills around home, but the second the trail dries enough (constant rain for over a month now), I'll be riding in there.
Not sure if it's a good idea to use my Malkoff MC-E though (400 lumen flood) since there's a lot of backyards visible from the trail and you're right, people tend to notice you more than usual when they see a 'silent motorcycle' coming. I wouldn't walk down the street with 365 lumens in my hand, but it sure is fun seeing those head turn as you pass by.

ROVER said:

One bad thing about cycling overnight: spiders making fresh webs :O

Click to expand...

Didn't think about that one. You have to remember to ride with your mouth closed... I'll sure try to remember when I hit the trail

All my biking is in town with a red LED under the seat pointed at the ground behind me. My front light is dead but I had to get to work anyway last night so...count me thankful for well lit streets.

That red LED facing backwards has saved my butt a couple times. One of my streets on the ride to work is US 2. Not too busy at night but the few cars that have come up behind me switch lanes well before they get close.

Cataract said:

Not sure if it's a good idea to use my Malkoff MC-E though (400 lumen flood) since there's a lot of backyards visible from the trail and you're right, people tend to notice you more than usual when they see a 'silent motorcycle' coming. I wouldn't walk down the street with 365 lumens in my hand, but it sure is fun seeing those head turn as you pass by.

Click to expand...

I must admit, it is fun seeing people notice your bright lights and then realising you are just a cyclist! I normally shout a 'Good Evening' at them. Also in Central London, where every Taxi and Bus driver wants all cyclists dead - a very bright reminder will stop them pulling out on you at junctions - as a cyclist, it's nice not to be invisible.

Unfortunately, my headlight isn't really bright enough to stand out amongst all the other background lighting in NYC. It's just a single R4 neutral white XPG which I put into an old halogen headlight. I'm planning on making a custom light with 6 R5 XP-Gs running off 4 26650 DeWalt cells. That ought to get me noticed!

As for night riding, pretty close to 100% of my cycling is at night. I no longer have the patience to deal with traffic, pedestrians, etc. Late nights I can just fly along, easily averaging 15-16 mph or better, without a care in the world except NYC's infamous potholes. That's actually been my incentive for improved lighting.