Night Riding

brh77

As the nights no longer allow me much (or any) time to ride after putting the kids to bed- is night riding 'safe' to do. I ride on quiet country roads, and there is little / no street lighting and wanted to know if I get some decent lights whether it is OK. I have some nervousness about drivers at night on quiet roads............

I have a turbo trainer but it is boring as hell and annoys the wife more than my bike living in the house so I do not have to put it near the condensation of the tumble dryer in the garage......

Cheers

Ben

skyd0g

Night riding is probably safer - there's a lot less traffic on the roads and you get a better chance that the weather will be decent! (Sooo many times recently, the wind / rain has stopped, just as the sun has been going down!)

There have been a lot of advances in lighting recently (esp. since the arrival of LED lighting), so you should not only be able to be seen, but also actually see where you're going!). It may be worth checking the MTB threads for lighting gear.

Just so long as you're properly equipped, it shouldn't be a problem.

love2ride

If you have some decent lights and a flurescent top then you should be safe. Just be prepared to have to stop and keep in.
lumicycles do an amazing front light. It lights the whole road and it is as bright as a motorbikes light. also for the rear get some 'smart' ones. if you have some small clip on lights, put them on your socks facing backwards and then they move up and down.

bilsea159

I also liked to ride after putting the kids to bed around 7 for about an hour and tried to ride my 1 hour 17 mile circuit a few times last year around this time. I found that although I could ride on the lit roads with basic flashing led lights the country lanes were a no no. They were pitch black to the point of not being able to work out even afew yards in front and I found my speed dropping to a crawl, I was grateful if a car came up behind to allow me to use its headlights for guidance. I guess you could invest in better lights but you still have the issue of dealing with fast drivers down country lanes which is bad enough in the day

MikeWW

I have some Ay Ups for the mountain bike. Twin lights for the bars and helmet. Absolutely no problem on twisty single track so reckon the bar mount ones on their own should be great for the road
Reckon quiet roads are best overall

APIII

I find that I get more room/respect from drivers in the dark. I ride mostly country lanes, which can be a surreal experience at times, but I've got some very powerful lights which not only allow me to do normal daytime speeds (35mph downhill, no probs), but also drivers can see the pool of light when approaching from behind, thus adding to your safety. Of course you need a decent rear light, and reflectives help too.

amaferanga

I agree that with good lights country lanes are as safe if not safer at night. You can see cars coming from a long way off as well as hearing them. If you have a good light then appoaching cars will see your pool of light and assume that its a car and therefore slow down.

ride_whenever

your best bet would be something like a TK11 or a P7 from t'internet, cheap and very very bright.

bikerZA

Agreed, so long as you can see and be seen, you'll keep your motivation going riding outdoors as opposed to boring yourself to death on the turbo.

Nick6891

i love night riding, its so peaceful and tends to be safe aslong as you know which roads to avoid the taxi drivers on and have good lights

bompington

I love riding at night, there's something quite magical about it sometimes. Although setting off to work on a winter morning knowing it'll still be dark when I get there is a bit miserable sometimes.Get reflective stuff, it doesn't much matter what, get a decent rear LED - cheap as chips - and at last there are decent front LEDs that don't cost silly money: mine is a 200 lumen hand torch with handlebar mount, but nowadays you can get 900 lumen ones (look for P7, referring to the LED unit itself) including bike lights, for under £80 - compares favourably with the £100s that decent front lights from big names cost.