Riding by the light of the moon...

Superbalicious

...well, almost.

Most of my riding opportunities are at the weekends, although I have a 15 mile circular run which means I can literally 'pop out' for a quick blast after work without disrupting the general family life too much. However even these opportunities were becoming few and far between once the dark nights drew nearer. With a personal goal of riding at least two Sportives in 2013, including the 90 mile Liverpool-Chester-Liverpool route, I know I need to take every opportunity I can to ride. However, with the dark nights taking their toll on my already limited riding opportunities, I decided it was time to try riding at night.

Now I'm not a technophobe, but buying new lights to embellish my trusty Trek 1.9 (already kitted out for winter with Crud Catcher Roadracer Mk2 mudguards) wasn't s easy as I thought. All this talk of lumens and beam shapes means that it's not necessarily a case of brightest is best... I soon realised that having a 1000lumen light isn't much use if its all concentrated on a few square inches immediately in front of my wheel.

So, I resorted to reading reviews and watching videos online to try an find a light that was effective, compact and reasonably priced. To me, effective means it had to be bright enough to ride at up to 20-25 mph on unlit roads whilst still shining wide enough to see the verge and hedges, etc. Compact means I wanted a light which was a single unit, not a gazillion lumen spot light with an external battery pack and wires running everywhere. Reasonably priced means value for money... cycling can be a very expensive hobby, but even I'm not prepared to fork out £350 on a light. And so the search was on...

I found an excellent resource for reviewing the effectiveness of front lights, I could choose two lights from drop down menus and literally compare images and graphical representations of the beam pattern below. I'm not sure if I can post the link here, but a search in Google using 'compare bike lights' brings the page to the top of the list.

It was then thanks to Ribble cycles sale that I managed to pick up a Lezyne Power Drive XL for £66... not a bad price by any means, but even better as it was the 'loaded' version with an extra battery and helmet bracket! Finding a rear light was easier and a few YouTube videos later I had ordered a Smart Lunar R2.

The Lunar arrived first, a fairly simple looking unit which packs a serious punch. There are various modes including a pulse mode which for me seems a little too slow and a crazy, almost psychedelic, radom flashing mode. The simple flashing mode is highly effective though and the two single LEDs give out an intense light.

The arrival of the Power Drive meant a quick back to back test with my old Cateye EL-520. To put it simply, once the Power Drive was on I couldn't tell the Cateye was on at all...! The Power Drive is seriously bright even on the lower of the static levels. The aluminium construction is sleek (I opted for the silver version) and the unit is nice and compact.

And so, against the wife's wishes, it was time for the inaugural night time ride. My 15 mile run is a mixture of unlit country lanes and main roads (for anyone who's interested it takes in Ledsham, Burton and Two Mills on the Wirral Peninsula). The Power Drive gives an excellent spread of light, more than sufficient for my needs. It's bright enough to light up the road ahead, even on lit roads where the street lights limit the effectiveness. I purposely angled the light carefully to avoid dazzling oncoming drivers and having not experienced any flashes from other drivers I might try lifting a a degree or two for next time. But it's the unlit country lanes where the light comes into its own, proving ample light ahead and to the side to ride without fear of what lay ahead. The light is held steady on the bars so the bean isn't wobbling about everywhere either. The lower power setting was sufficient on unlit roads too which will maximise battery reserves. It wasn't until I briefly covered the light with my hand that I realised quite how dark it was!! The Lunar attached to my seat post seemed to be equally effective and would light up the road markings when I turned to check it was still on (I've since noticed I could see the light on my seat stay, so no need to turn around).

Perhaps more importantly was the reaction of other drivers. Like I said, I didn't have anyone flashing at me so I can only presume the lights weren't dazzling, but drivers overtaking me gave me more room than usual, and of the odd car that I saw approaching me on the country lanes, I could see they were slowing more when approaching.

As for the ride, I enjoyed riding in the dark. It was quiet... although I could hear that my bike is now in need of a good clean, and I didn't feel uneasy or unsafe even on the main roads.

So, all in all a good result, a good introduction to riding at night... and the Missus is glad I'm back in one piece. I'm thinking of keeping a lookout for some extra flashy gizmos to attach to my helmet next, just to make myself a bit more visible... although with reflective tabs on my overshoes, bib tights and the back of my helmet, perhaps I'm visible enough.

Happy riding folks, I'm off to check out the 2013 Sportive calendar

P.S. sorry for the long post...!

chrisaonabike

Nice write-up. Makes me want to equip myself similarly and go up to Richmond Park to have a howl at the moon.

I mean bike ride, of course.

Hoopdriver

Yes, nice write up. I understand just what you mean. I too ride a lot at night, or rather very very early in the morning - from 4:30am to about 6:30am - and love it. Something magical about riding by moonlight, or starlight.

jordan_217

Hoopdriver wrote:

Yes, nice write up. I understand just what you mean. I too ride a lot at night, or rather very very early in the morning - from 4:30am to about 6:30am - and love it. Something magical about riding by moonlight, or starlight.

Yes all good fun, until you start to slow down on a rural bridleway for a pedestrian, who then just disappears in front of you :shock:


OP - nice write up. Are you able to take your bike in to work and get out at lunch time? I've had to cease commuting at the mo as part of my route is completely underwater still. I now just chuck my bike in the boot and get out for 20 miles or so during the day. Much better than a turbo session and a nice way to get the miles in while I'm waiting for the flood waters to clear.

cookeeemonster

I bought a new power drive xl from ebay for £45 - have been very impressed so far apart from...the one time it fell off after I hit a pothole on my commute home in rush hour laanden traffic - so close to being crushed but apart from some scratches it was fine.

And usb chargeable as well, which is good for charging at work although it does take ages!!

pinno

I doubled up 2 Smart Lunar 2.5watt led lights. Two on the front and two on the rear - one rear flashing and one on constant.
On one merry starlight night, I hit a pothole and both front lunars switched off due to the impact. I managed to switch them on again but I had a few hair raising moments before stopping.
I could treble up the smart lunars or similar with this, fits to the wheel skewer:

KCNC-Front-Wheel-Skewer-Light-Mount-For-Handlebar-Mounted-Lights-Blue (Fleabay)



Quite novel if you ask me.

..and for a quirky accessory, anyone used one of these?. I haven't but it looks okay:



Anyway, thats my two pence worth. Happy night riding, I love it.

essjaydee

Thought you meant like this :oops:

cougie

I'd avoid the welsh road and the 540 if you can.
And get a second light on the rear too.
With that and some reflectives then you'll be great.
I love riding at night. Often the later the better.

Bordersroadie

All my riding's at night currently, young family etc means I have no choice (except the turbo - no ta). I love night riding too, a good light makes it quite doable.

Ber Nard

cougie wrote:

And get a second light on the rear too.

Second this. You could be riding quite a while oblivious to the fact your rear light has failed. It's unlikely two would fail at the same time.

I like riding in the dark, especially hills. For some reason I find not being able to see the top of the hill means I forget about how long/steep the climb is and just get on with it. It then comes as a pleasant surprise when it's over.

Rob

Superbalicious

Thanks for all the replies. I try to ride Wednesday lunchtimes as I tend to work from home, other than that it's evenings and weekends only. I'd like to add a second rear light, perhaps to my helmet to provide some separation between it and the Lunar? Maybe a flashing light on the front of my helmet too... can anyone suggest anything? Alternatively I could add something to my right hand seat stay, or both.

napoleond

My commute (23miles starting at 5am / 7pm for day shift, 5pm/7am for a night shift) is done entirely in the dark at the moment. I use a P7 torch and a Nukeproof front, and a Cateye 1100 rear. The P7 Torch is mega bright but concentrated and the Nukeproof is as powerful but more diffuse, an ideal combination.

extrusion

Phillips Saferide everytime, road fully lit, no worries about dazzling, cant understand why people need to think about anything else unless off roading. Downside is the weight and it goes to dim mode after 70mins, which is just enough for my commute! However it takes AAs so i just carry a spare set just in case.

Rear light 1 watt smart lunar r1, very cheap, very bright, batteries last for ages.

Job done.

desweller

Does no-one remember bowling around with these?



Once you've done a winter on these then any of the modern kit will seem like perfection!

unixnerd

In the 80s I had lights like those, they were useless. They also turned themselves off when you went over any kind of bump so you had no idea if the rear one was on or not. The batteries cost a fortune and the mountings probably weighted more than my current torch.

KCNC-Front-Wheel-Skewer-Light-Mount-For-Handlebar-Mounted-Lights-Blue (Fleabay)

What a good idea!

I do a lot of night riding on and off road, huge fun. Only thing that's better is night riding when it's snowing heavily.

Superbalicious

I like the idea of the skewer fitting! I also had an old front light like that, although the back light I had was rectangular and fixed to the seat stay with metal brackets which took the paint off the frame!

I'm not on the look out for more, what I would call 'primary' lights, just some extra secondary lights. I saw Topeak do a helmet light which is a single unit with front and rear LEDs. The Fibre Flares look good too

ScreaminWargasm

Thanks very much for your review. As it happens, I've ordered the exact same lights as you prior to reading this post. The Lunar has arrived and I'd agree that it's seriously bright for £14 that I paid.
I'm just waiting on the Lezyne which I also got from Ribble for £63 including the spare battery etc...

Seems I made the right choices!

LangerDan

DesWeller wrote:

Does no-one remember bowling around with these?



Once you've done a winter on these then any of the modern kit will seem like perfection!

I'll see your Ever Readys and raise you a set of Wonder Lights (as in "I wonder if they'll last more than 30 minutes tonight").



Hateful things, you'd have better illumination lighting your own farts.


+1 on the Lezynes, but not so sure about mounting down low at the hubs where they are more exposed to splashes etc., not to mention that toggling between lighting modes means either stopping or getting your hand trapped in the wheel and stopping more suddenly.

Secteur

I had always resolved never to ride in the dark (no good reason - just assumed it too dangerous) but reading threads on here, and my lack of riding due to work/daylight issues has made me conclude that i am going to get lights and give it a go.

Due to my refusal to ride at night i ignored all the "which lights" threads, so i am glad for this review, and will give this light a go!

Cheers

cougie

I had ever readying and wonder lights.
You'd have to go out laden down with batteries. Those wonder batteries were odd

I'd go out with my schoolmates - 3 or 4 of us. By the time we'd finish we would be lucky to have a working front and rear between us. Kind of made it obvious who had to go on the front though.

Maybe our eyesight was much better then ?

calmx5

If you can bear to rise at an un-godly hour, I find this is usually the best time (about 2am to 6am) to be out night riding. If its safety, the late night revellers have dispersed, particularly in the country, leaving the roads empty and quietly blissful.

I ride a 7 mile straight stretch as part of my longer rides, with purely fields surrounding, and the ability to see far into the twinkly distance when lit by the moon and stars (and my trusty lezynes) is truly peaceful.


If I could, it would be sleep all day, ride all night.

wod1

Great Post, was going to write something similar today. I did my first leisure night time ride on Saturday - was only 25miles in the dark, only about 20% under street lights.

Surprisingly got full support from my wife to go out in the dark, I though it would be a straight it is too dangerous to do a ride like that. Been commuting in the dark all winter but this was the first longer leisure ride with more unlit parts.

My Exposure race Mrk 7 front light that I got a xmas has been preforming well. Had cars stop and wait rather than pull out from side roads over much greater distances. Got a Cateye rear with fibre flare additional, reflective Hump backpack cover.

After getting the new front light a Christmas I was up earlier and found some dark roads to cycle on my commute to try it out between Christmas and New Year. have to still concentrate harder to look for potholes but find the riding very relaxing and enjoyable. Being out in the countryside in the morning as the daylight starts to come in is magical.

I generally feel that I can now be seen easier than in daylight.

Secteur

Have just bought exactly the same lights as the OP, and eagerly await their delivery!

Superbalicious

Secteur wrote:

Have just bought exactly the same lights as the OP, and eagerly await their delivery!

I'm sure you'll be pleased with the performance. If I was to be super picky, the Lezyne is a little tricky to slide onto the bracket, although I think this is partly my fault while I get used to fitting it, and in some ways reassuring that its such a good, positive fit. There's certainly no slack/shakes when it's fitted.

Secteur

lights arrived today, and have tested them at home in the daylight just around the front room, and they are SO bright!! especially the rear light!!

Superbalicious

Secteur wrote:

lights arrived today, and have tested them at home in the daylight just around the front room, and they are SO bright!! especially the rear light!!

I knew you'd be impressed

Have fun, especially now the fog has lifted (or at least it has here in Chester)... at least until it snows...!

Looking forward to your first report.

IanLD

Just ordered the Lezyne Power XL and Micro XL from Ribble. The Smart 35 set I have isn't anywhere bright enough for the Clyde walkway at night and I'm keen to see where icy patches are.

Have one of the cheap Chinese Cree T6 '1800' lumen lights and a Cateye EL530 on the hybrid, but don't want extra batteries and cable clogging up the folding bike (and I've got to carry it up stairs at the office).

Looking forward to the extra light and to trying out a brighter helmet light after just using a Knog Frog on flashing.

Will have Cateye SL110 set on flashing, the Smart 35 flashing at the front, Smart rear light flashing, Lezyne Power Drive on the bars (full power on unlit sections that make up about 70% of my route), Lezyne Micro on lower power helmet mounted and Knog Frogs flashing on my helmet.

Might be a bit of overkill, so I'll see what I actually need on depending on where I am riding, but should give me plenty of light that will easily last for the two hours ride home.

dynamicbrick

Almost all my riding is at night. I've got a couple of Cateyes, which are certainly powerful enough for 'notice me' purposes. However, the Easton bars on the new bike are flattened, so the mount won't go round them.

So the other night I took to digging out the clothing clip they came with - never used it before - but affixed it to my woolly hat; epiphany! Having light at where you're looking (instead of a steady epileptic fit mounted to the bars) is the way forward.