Night Riding

fenix

I've said this many times before - but I didn't see my training partner riding towards me on a dull winters day. He loves his black - everything is black. Bike. Shoes. Hat. Clothes. Shades. All black. He was under the trees and I didn't notice him at all.

Next week he turned up with flashing lights and a fluo gilet.


If you are going to be out at night - you can get black reflective tape that you can put on the bike if you don't want the more obvious stuff. If you can get it on anything that moves - so pedals or cranks - they will show you up really nicely as a bike in the headlights.

I saw a bloke on an unlit dual carriageway at about midnight. No lights. Dark clothes. I was doing 60. Thank god he had pedal reflectors and they shone up for 100s of meters and it was easy to give him space. I value my life a bit more than that....

keef66

My winter bike has a reflector on the rear SKS guard, and I'm generally wearing my £10 Planet X overshoes which have reflective strips down the back, and are quite eye-catching when pedalling. Bibtights have reflective piping down each leg, and most of the rest of the winter wardrobe and my seatpack have various bits of reflective detailing, so I'm sure I'm easy to pick out in headlights.

As a driver I've narrowly missed a few cyclists clad in black and devoid of lights or anything reflective. Scares the crap out of me! I can only assume they don't know they are virtually invisible to motorists...

mrfpb

I like to have a helmet light at night so I can see where I'm looking, on sharp bends etc. Good for flashing at drivers too. Lezyne Power Drives seem to get brighter each year, I have a 500 lumen unit which suits me fine on the handlebars. I have a light and motion Stella 150 lumen helmet light, but the battery pack seems to be on it's last legs. It's an old unit, so I may need to look for a newer model now.

I love night riding. Descending in the dark is a real thrill.

bendertherobot

I shall repeat last year's setup.

Front is a See Sense Icon and Cateye Volt 1200.

Rear is a See Sense Icon and a Lezyne Strip drive on the seatstay.

I may add a fibre flare to my rucksack.

I will be getting a Lumos smart helmet on test in a few weeks which, for commuting at least, looks fantastic.

sloppyschleckonds

DaveP1 wrote:

In my experience, drivers are MUCH more courteous around me in the dark,

Ditto

supermurph09

Good tip for the reflective tape, not considered that before. After a winter of turbo last year, I'll be getting out as much as possible this year. I sse a decent quality Lezyne front light and a moon comet style for the rear. Tend to have the front on flash unless riding on unlit lanes, which I do tend to avoid for the most part.

I was conscious last night that a black helmet, black bike, black Gabba and black shorts was probably not the best choice....

mrb123

First really fully dark ride of the season for me this morning. Was out about 6 and it took around half an hour after that to start getting light.

After a summer of daylight riding, it was noticeable that the few cars that passed were generally giving me more room than I was used to.

My set up is as follows:
Front - main light is a Trustfire Cree job that I got off Amazon for about £20. This is now going into it's third winter of use and is still going strong. Having read that the supplied battery packs can deteriorate quickly I bought a spare from DX.com, but in fairness the original is still doing great. I only need to use the lower setting on unlit roads apart from on descents. I try to be sensible with the angle of the light to avoid dazzling drivers.
Second front light is a Lezyne 400 lumen job. I normally run this alongside the Trustfire on flash or pulse mode. The brightest constant mode would do to get me home in an emergency if the other light failed.

Back - main light is a Moon Comet mounted on the saddle rails. I tend to run this on flashing mode. Second rear light (mounted to back of rear rack) is a cheaper Cateye model that I have on constant or rapid flash. I also have a reflector on the rear mudguard and may also look to get some reflective tape in due course.

jimnm

I have two Electron on flashing mode up front (only £25 each) and are very bright indeed.
I have a rear light on rapid flash mode too.
I tried the Hi Viz ruck sack with a flashing triangle but felt that it was a little OTT.
3am in the morning is pretty quiet on the roads, apart from the police stopping you thinking you're some kind of drug runner on a bike lol. I go out around 5am as the roads are quiet. It's been really good during this summer and getting a few miles in without any stress from heavy road traffic. During the day I always head form the promenade. Just got to be careful of dog walkers and pedestrians

zanelad

I've been out for an hour or so's night ride twice this week. I was amazed how courteous cars have been. Hanging back until it's safe to overtake and giving me a wide berth.

Not sure if it's the recent publicity about giving cyclists plenty of room, but they seem to behave better when it's dark than during daylight hours.

I tend to ride quieter country lanes for most of the ride, but it's been rather nice.

pinno

Zanelad wrote:

I've been out for an hour or so's night ride twice this week. I was amazed how courteous cars have been. Hanging back until it's safe to overtake and giving me a wide berth.

Not sure if it's the recent publicity about giving cyclists plenty of room, but they seem to behave better when it's dark than during daylight hours.

Yes, car drivers (inexplicably) tend to give you more room at night.