Night Rides - a mini adventure!

mrfpb

I thought I'd write about an outing with my two daughters (age 7 & 11) the other night. We went along the local canal starting at sunset 6:30. We went to the local supermarket then home again by the deserted army roads. We stopped in both directions and turned our lights off, just to see how dark it gets in the countryside (very) and saw some bats. We did eight miles in total.

My 7 yr old got very cold despite having two warm layers, so I bought her a cheap top at the supermarket. I set up the 11 yr old with proper out of town bike lights and a helmet light so she could see into the trees and look for night creatures. My 7 yr old was on the trailgator, so she had my rear light. We all had reflective tops as well.

We finished the evening with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Both girls loved the outing. If it's clear and continues to be warm, I may well do it again next weekend, or the following weekend when the moon is full. Highly recommended.

macbikes

Thank you, that is a really good idea - my 7 year old would love it.

bartimaeus

Great job! Night riding is magical if you get it right, and it sounds as though your planning was more successful than mine!

My first night ride with my son started well as we climbed up out local hill to watch the sun setting, before heading home in the dark. It had been a reasonably mild evening - but after dark it got much colder than the forecast had suggested, and as you say younger riders do feel the cold more. Mind you this was in January, so perhaps I should have expected it!

Since then my son and his friend have done plenty of night riding in our garden - they are fascinated by the powerful lights, and love the fact that they are allowed to borrow them! Now that the nights are drawing in again we'll give it another go - before it gets quite so cold.

mrfpb

Love the photos Bartimaeus. Being allowed to get filthy dirty always goes down well too.

tlw1

Great idea - need to sort this

dynamiccoins

Hi,

Whats helmet lights do you use?

Thanks

mrfpb

The lights I use don't seem to be available anymore. Light and Motion Stella range 120 and 150 lumens. They give a good cone of light with a bright centre beam. They came with handlebar and helmet mounts. If you find any online they are a good buy.

I tend to keep an eye out for clearance bargains when the new ranges are being launched around this time of year. I've now got enough for the whole family so I'm not looking this year. The MTB forums have lots of what light threads. You may find a link to a bargain there.

bartimaeus

We have various 18650 cell torches - once you have cells and a charger it's very tempting to upgrade every year as the torches are between £8 and £15, and that gets you the best new LEDs.

Alec's using an XML-T6 in the picture (between us we have 3 of these - they are very good lights), though I've recently upgraded to a brighter XM-L2 - only £8 from Lightmalls. Alec uses my old P7 SSC torch on his bars as I now have an C8 XML-U3. So proper trail lights all round!

dynamiccoins

Bartimaeus wrote:

We have various 18650 cell torches - once you have cells and a charger it's very tempting to upgrade every year as the torches are between £8 and £15, and that gets you the best new LEDs.

Alec's using an XML-T6 in the picture (between us we have 3 of these - they are very good lights), though I've recently upgraded to a brighter XM-L2 - only £8 from Lightmalls. Alec uses my old P7 SSC torch on his bars as I now have an C8 XML-U3. So proper trail lights all round!

Thanks - I have been thining about going this way.

I was thinking of getting 3 "tourches" for each of us - so two mounted on the bars and one on the helmet. Would you recommend that setup using these C8 XML-U3?

But I have to say I have no idea about the batteries and charging.

You mention a charger - is there a recommended one - also I got scaed reading the "what lights" thread as it sounded like you had to be careful with the charging?

And what about the cells - where do you get yours from.

Sorry about al the questions!

Thanks

bartimaeus

The C8 is bigger and and heavier than the 501bs... but is a nice light. I got the U3 before the XM-L2 version came out, so now maybe this one would be even better... it is hard to say without comparing them.

I'd say that this new generation of lights has now hit the sweet spot where the MID power modes is bright enough for general use, giving you a decent run time (2.5-3 hours) on a single cell. Two C8s on your bars might be a bit more than you need, but what you decide to use is up to you... the great thing about torches is that they are very flexible, and they can be used on and off your bike.

I do lots of night riding and I use only one C8 on my bars with the 501b XM L2 on my lid, and one of my older 501b XML-T6 as a back up on my bars... if I were buying new I'd be using the C8 and a couple of the 501b XM L2s as these are better than the (very good) XML-T6s and ridiculously cheap at £8.

For a charger I have one of these - with plug adapter.

I'm no expert on the safety aspects of LIPO cells, but what I have gathered is that charging single cells is much safer than charging multiple-cell packs. I run charger on a timer (simple mechanical one for lamps) to prevent overcharging should the charger fail... so I charge in blocks of 3 hours. I was also charging on a metal tray, but having seen what a LIPO fire looks like (on youtube) I have just got a special safety bag to charge them in... some people just use a biscuit tin with the lid on. I am being cautious - my cells have never even got hot, and they don't get as hot as AAs in my normal charger.

I use unprotected 18650 cells which I've got from old laptops... I have 20-30. My first couple of cells I got from Dealextreme, but from what I have read you are better off getting decent cells from Torchy who has an eBay Shop - he seems to know what he's talking about.

One issue you can get with these torches is random mode changing, which is almost invariably caused by the cells moving in the tube and breaking the contacts (which is how the clicky-clicky mode change works - by interrupting the current). This is not an issue in the C8 as it has a very solid contact, but I've had it happen with 501bs particularly when used on my bars and invariably when running over rough ground. The fix is (a) to wrap cells in elecrical tape to ensure a tight fit, and (b) for the shorter unprotected cells, to add a small rare-earth magnet to the -ve end to make the cell that bit longer. I've had no issues since I've made these tweaks.

I've also put foil round the drop-ins of my 501bs to improve thermal conductivity - you want the heat to dissipate... not sure if this is now needed, by my older XPGs used to get hot and then not work correctly. This is not needed with the C8 as the bigger head is a better heat sink.

Lid mount: this or this.

Bar mounts... my preferred mounts are these - these fit the C8s perfectly, though you need to shim carefully to hold the thinner 501bs.

Hope this helps. These lights are very cheap and powerful, but that does lose you some of the 'they just work' advantages of expensive lights... but it actually takes very little to get the best out of them, and the 'What Lights' discussion is a mine of useful information.

bartimaeus

Some pics:

L-R - C8 XML-U3 with bar mount, 501b XM-L2 with lid mount, P7 SSC with bar mount and 501b XML-T6 with bar mount


L-R - 501b XML2 with lid mount (155g all up inc. cell) and C8 XML-U3 with bar mount (234g all up inc. cell)


L-R - C8 and 501b end on.


A 501b disassembled - showing foil on drop-in and cell wrapped with tape and magnet spacers

dynamiccoins

Bartimaeus - thanks for all the info.

I need to have a ponder as I cant make up my mind whether to go for it. Having no understanding of these things, I'm a little wary.

dynamiccoins

I must have changed my mind god knows how many times -in the end I went for it - i got 1 C8 and 2 501's.

Now i need to get some batteries and a charger!

dynamiccoins

Excellent!

Now all I have to do is wait for the delivery...which begs the question how long do this things usually take - I took the cheapest postage option so i guess it may be some time.

Out of interest have you bought them anything special clothing wise or do you just wrap them in a few layers?

mrfpb

The only special item was a high vis reflective outer layer. As I said in the OP, my 7 yr old got quite chilly, and i ended up buying another layer at the supermarket giving her 3 layers and the hi-viz tabbard. My 11yr old managed with two layers and thin hi-viz running jacket.

The smaller they are the faster they get cold so its worth packing extra layers to take out for small ones who resist putting them on beforeyou go out.

Tonight's looking clear here and the moon will rise fairly early so a good night for a ride. Unfortunately I'll be at a "grown-ups only" birthday party.

bartimaeus

Alec has a fair bit of kit handed down from a cousin who rides. Definitely go for layers and a wind-proof shell, warm socks and decent footwear are important(especially if it's wet) ... In my experience the one bit of kit worth getting right is some warm but useable gloves as cold hands can really spoil a good ride.

dynamiccoins: As far as I recall, Lightmalls delivery was pretty quick... about 2 weeks I think, and certainly no more than three. If you have any issues with the 501bs switching modes then send me a PM and I'll post you a couple of magnets. Using protected cells padded with electrical tape you will most likely be OK, particularly if you are using them on your lid rather than on your bars.

dynamiccoins

thanks for all the info and the offer Bartimaeus - i'll let you know when they land and how i get on with them.

I've had the delivery notice so shouldnt be too long now :-)

flywheel88

That sounds like so much fun! I love adventures with the kids and wish they happened more often. Thank you for sharing this!

mrfpb wrote:

I thought I'd write about an outing with my two daughters (age 7 & 11) the other night. We went along the local canal starting at sunset 6:30. We went to the local supermarket then home again by the deserted army roads. We stopped in both directions and turned our lights off, just to see how dark it gets in the countryside (very) and saw some bats. We did eight miles in total.

My 7 yr old got very cold despite having two warm layers, so I bought her a cheap top at the supermarket. I set up the 11 yr old with proper out of town bike lights and a helmet light so she could see into the trees and look for night creatures. My 7 yr old was on the trailgator, so she had my rear light. We all had reflective tops as well.

We finished the evening with hot chocolate and marshmallows. Both girls loved the outing. If it's clear and continues to be warm, I may well do it again next weekend, or the following weekend when the moon is full. Highly recommended.