Night riding.....anyone do this with standard LED lights?

RockingDad

HI everyone,

Anyone here do any night trails with LED lights that aren't super bright P7 type LED lights? I've got a standard set (5LED) which I think are pretty bright but i'm not sure about using these for night rides.

I've seen the brightness of a fellow riding buddy's P7 900 Lumen light (i'm still seeing the white spots when I blink John!) but with putting in a new bathroom at the mo and with Christmas shortly i'm not in the position to spend lots at the mo.

RockingDad

jay12

i tried that with decent 9led lights but they are just not bright enough in complete darkness. it's hard to see onstacles like roots,dog poo, pot holes and sticks. so i wouldn't recommed it unless you want to get yourself killed.

IMO it's well worth getting some thing more expensive and that is designed for night riding in the mountains.

yesterday i wanted to give my lights ago in the woods, they weren't good enough so i turned back and a person went past with some very good lights and woah they were bright.

andy46

i tried once and failed

i used a 5 led cateye which i used for my commute to work, i just couldn't make out the bumps, and tbh it was like riding a bucking bronco, the bike was just trying to throw me off everywhere

RockingDad

Nuff said.... death isn't on the agenda so i'll be saving my pennies.

Perhaps I'll have to drop some hints in my house for christmas.

Cheers

RD

CraigXXL

I've tried it and it's much more exciting when you see sweet FA. Like others have said you can make it hazards but no idea of depth, avoiding the hazard usually means you hit something worse that you haven't seen.
i really enjoyed night riding and I'm looking for some good lights in my Christmas stocking.

.blitz

RockingDad wrote:

Anyone here do any night trails with LED lights that aren't super bright P7 type LED lights?

Pretty much as above. Basically you need to look for some lights that set fire to the ferns and trees as you pass by. Super-bright commuter lights may seem pretty good in the back garden but once you get them out in the countryside they are completely overwhelmed by the darkness.

Anonymous

RockingDad wrote:

but with putting in a new bathroom at the mo and with Christmas shortly i'm not in the position to spend lots at the mo.

£35 will get you a P7 torch, a handlebar mount, two batteries, and a charger though. It's not exactly super expensive.

BenChaffer

The only time I would ride with just LEDs is if it was a road I knew very well, and it wasn't raining or anything, and there was no traffic about.

Even then I'd find some way to crash

Cheshley

yeehaamcgee wrote:

RockingDad wrote:

but with putting in a new bathroom at the mo and with Christmas shortly i'm not in the position to spend lots at the mo.

£35 will get you a P7 torch, a handlebar mount, two batteries, and a charger though. It's not exactly super expensive.

Where from?

Paul 8v

i went out on a night ride with one of these bad boys:

http://www.cateye.com/sites/cateye/uplo ... 265-og.jpg

It was ok when the other were in front as i could hear by the ouches and oops noises when there was abig hole but I could see nothing otherwise, this was ok untill I was ahead on a section I didn't know and it started to go downhill!

One of the guys was running a bright LED front and a head torch, that was a good combo. I've thoguht about making my own lights but it's a bit daunting, I'm ok with a soldering iron but it's a lot of money if you muck it up!

Northwind

Riding without enough light can be good fun mind, you need to either know your trail or alternatively be riding somewhere pretty simple, and some stuff just isn't fun, but it makes for an interesting change.

ride_whenever

I've done basic rides with only a decent (well for them) cateye light. But with good lights you can ride anything you can ride in the day! You still get the warp speed periphery though which is awesome.

Anonymous

Cheshley wrote:

yeehaamcgee wrote:

RockingDad wrote:

but with putting in a new bathroom at the mo and with Christmas shortly i'm not in the position to spend lots at the mo.

£35 will get you a P7 torch, a handlebar mount, two batteries, and a charger though. It's not exactly super expensive.

Where from?

DealExtreme.com
There's a HUGE thread about it stickied at the top of the "buying advice" forum - but all you really need is the first post, by SuperSonic.

homers_double

NO NO NO NO NO!

Get a good set, if only to scare yourself with the reflection of the eyes.

Seriously, moorland darkness is nothing like your back garden, it just absorbes the light.

ESHER SHORE

getting a proper set of off-road capable night lights - be it £100 or £200

is money well spent

you can put your trusty bike to good use on a regular basis, rather than just being a weekend warrior

it may seem like alot of money to invest, but the freedom it gives you to go riding whenever you have a spare hour or two, is invaluable

diy

If you are riding with a buddy with 300-500 lumen lights then you will be fine, but if they are running a 1K lumen set up then you will be swamped. Dazza posted in the what light thread just recently the experiences of people up against his lights. Perfectly good off-road lights useless against a unit putting out 3K lumen.

Personally I reckon you can cope with 300-400 lumen. But any less and you just can't see the trail.

ride_whenever

You can cope with 250 fine, but i'm running just over 1k claimed, more like 0.75k. No 'proper' lights and it's brighter that all the proper lights my mates use.

Vaudevillevillain

Yes occasionally, but not on pitch black trails. My basic Cateyes couldnt quite live up to that kind of work.

Standard LED's are fine for streets though.

tri-sexual

get some proper lights and buy a head light as well whilst you are at it
if you have good lights then there's little difference between a night ride in pitch blackness and a day ride, they are that good
also at night you dont have to worry about ramblers and dog walkers- win win situation
use standard cr@p lights and you will DIE and no one will go to your funeral-nobody likes idiots

Paul 8v

also don't use batteries from the pound shop, found that out the hard way!

T1berious

When I first went night riding it was a really awesome experience, but i had one of these. lights I've had it a few years and it must be up for an upgrade as tech has moved on.

However, they are a much better than 5 led units run on disposable batteries.

IMHO, if you're hitting the trails at night you really really need a decent light as it will be the difference to a great nights biking and a possible trip to A&E.

You can pick up decent rechargeable HID's for about £150 - £200. Think of it more as an Investment. As mine have worked out at £50 per annum of use.

just my thoughts

supersonic

You can pick up a decent torch for £50.

Paul 8v

I do like the torch I dea, those ones in the lights thread look great and are cheap too

krazykayaker

My 900 Lumen P7 arrived today, it is seriously bright

It is also light enough to mount on my helmet

diy

T1berious wrote:

IMHO, if you're hitting the trails at night you really really need a decent light as it will be the difference to a great nights biking and a possible trip to A&E.

Totally agree you need a lot of light to be safe off-road

T1berious wrote:

You can pick up decent rechargeable HID's for about £150 - £200. Think of it more as an Investment. As mine have worked out at £50 per annum of use.

You don't need to spend anything like that and if you were going to then the custom builders running current LEDs (XPGs etc) are the way to go. You can set yourself up for £30-40 quid.. easily

2 x XRE 250 Lumen 501b Ultrafire torches, 2 18650 cells and a cheap charger will give 500 lumens (more like 400) 3-6 hours running. This will cost around 30-35 quid. The mounts can be made for 50p. You can then upgrade the LEDs if you want or replace them.

.blitz

I generally stop once or twice on my night-time local loop and kill all the lights.

At first it is like MEGA dark but after 10-15 mins, the night vision starts to take effect and really, things aren't so bad. Of course at the first hint of light the night vision is gone but I reckon it should be possible to ride easy trails without lights :?

Anybody tried night riding without lights?

PaulBarman

riding footpaths/bridleways (ie not steep/rough/technical) in the open is ok with a bright moon but always too dark in the woods for me

try a red filter?

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fenix ld20 handlebar 180lumen
fenix ld10 helmet 120lumen

3x AAs every 2hr