Trail riding at night

Felipe2105

Apologies if this has been asked before, I can't seem to find a concrete answer!

I fancy doing a bit of trail riding at night, nothing to severe, just the Cannock trails (so nothing more that 2 hours). Do people recommend that I have a front light on my handlebars AND on my helmet, or would a decent CREE one on the handlebars be sufficient?

wilberforce

Light on helmet is a must as that will illuminate the direction you are looking

You will also be able to see who is following you in those dark scarey woods .....

LimitedGarry

Head mounted light on trails for sure.

Felipe2105

Wilberforce wrote:

Light on helmet is a must as that will illuminate the direction you are looking

You will also be able to see who is following you in those dark scarey woods .....

haha, always a bonus! helmet AND handlebar mount it is then!

JGTR

£12 Cree eBay lights work great for bike and helmet

roger_merriman

Possibly depends on type of trail, I've not had a problem with just a MJ 858 on the bars. It has a good wide beam, so I can follow the narrow/twisty stuff with out loosing light.

I tend more to the natural stuff, so speeds tend to be lower which helps.

doomanic

JGTR wrote:

£12 Cree eBay lights work great for bike and helmet

Got a link to a specific one?

JGTR

I have one of these on my bars

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272427138340

And one of these on my helmet, need a backpack for the battery.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131370111036

Although I have just got one of these for my helmet, helmet torch doesn't need to be that bright

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291883525136

Make sure you get from a UK seller or you'all wait ages. There are better lights but these are more than adequate.

cooldad

All three of those suppliers are Chinese drop shippers. Might come quicker, but I still won't use them.

JGTR

cooldad wrote:

All three of those suppliers are Chinese drop shippers. Might come quicker, but I still won't use them.

Why.....are you a racist? Not sure you heard but most stuff is made in China these days

I don't care, 2 day delivery, £12...no brainer for a first set of lights

cooldad

Nope, nothing against Chinese, but I'll only buy from UK based sellers. Loads on Ebay are based in China and simply drop ship via warehouses here. (Click on their user name and it shows where they are registered.)

No idea of UK law etc when something goes wrong and crappy service/attitude. Generally sorted out by Ebay/Paypal quite quickly, but I've had so many problems I just can't be bothered anymore. I buy a hell of a lot of stuff online and have a low tolerance for idiots.

So I check and unless actually a UK seller I don't buy. Don't know or care about their nationalities, just that they are in the UK.

plugp7

JGTR wrote:

I have one of these on my bars

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/272427138340

And one of these on my helmet, need a backpack for the battery.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131370111036

Although I have just got one of these for my helmet, helmet torch doesn't need to be that bright

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291883525136

Make sure you get from a UK seller or you'all wait ages. There are better lights but these are more than adequate.

I've used two of the lamps and as a first taster lamp they were fine.
The batteries will probably not last (easily last a couple of winters though) but you need to be very careful with the charging of these Li-ion batteries. Tales of exploding batteries due to cheap unsafe chargers or poor quality batteries are well documented.

JGTR

Never had any significant issues with mine, one set started playing up after a year, think it got too wet, but for £12 I just bought another one and now have a spare battery pack. Basically it's cost me £24 to be able to ride all through the winter.....bargain.

rockmonkeysc

My Chinese light took four months to arrive. On the positive side, they refunded it in full and I got the light as well.
Nothing wrong with Chinese manufacturing. We use a lot at work for critical parts on £150k+ cars.

cooldad

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

JGTR

cooldad wrote:

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

I don't really understand this, you can buy from UK based stock now for the same prices as from China, and you get protection from PayPal so can't really understand why you would want to pay more for the same product.....unless you really are a racist

doomanic

cooldad wrote:

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

Perhaps you'd like to recommend some UK based vendors then, instead of just dissing the drop shippers?

cooldad

JGTR wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

I don't really understand this, you can buy from UK based stock now for the same prices as from China, and you get protection from PayPal so can't really understand why you would want to pay more for the same product.....unless you really are a racist

You do get your money back, that's true, but most of the hassles I have had are with drop shippers. They have no direct control over what gets sent from whatever warehouse they are using. Then you end up with emails in pidgin English, for a bit, before opening a case.

I have much less hassle with UK based sellers who dispatch their own stock, whatever nationality they are, which is obviously impossible to know over the internet.

For a few £ saving I just can't be bothered. My time/grey hairs/frustration levels is more valuable.

I also find it a bit annoying that I restrict my searches to the UK, and foreign sellers/dropshippers come up if the product is here, but that's a bug I have with Ebay.

Apart from food, (and I do use Sainsbury's delivery service quite a lot anyway) I buy pretty much everything on the internet as I hate shopping and shops, so the less hassle the better.

cooldad

doomanic wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

Perhaps you'd like to recommend some UK based vendors then, instead of just dissing the drop shippers?

Apart from Torchy I just check where the seller is based. The product is the same. Except for batteries and chargers. Those I will only buy from a trusted seller.

doomanic

cooldad wrote:

I buy pretty much everything on the internet as I hate shopping and shops, so the less hassle the better.

I'm the same, shopping is for the birds.

cooldad wrote:

doomanic wrote:

cooldad wrote:

I use Chinese lights, just not Chinese based vendors.

Perhaps you'd like to recommend some UK based vendors then, instead of just dissing the drop shippers?

Apart from Torchy I just check where the seller is based. The product is the same. Except for batteries and chargers. Those I will only buy from a trusted seller.

Do these sellers work at 85 Albert Embankment? You seem determined not to name them.

JGTR

whatever nationality they are, which is obviously impossible to know over the internet.

Except you seem to know....... :?

cooldad

JGTR wrote:

whatever nationality they are, which is obviously impossible to know over the internet.

Except you seem to know....... :?

Your comprehension seems a bit poor tonight. Read back - if you check the seller on Ebay it will say where they are based.
It's not rocket science, and has nothing to do with their race or nationality, just where they actually are.
I'm quite happy to buy off a Chinese, or Greek or even a bloody Icelander, as long as they are in the same place as their product. And I'll only buy stuff that's in the UK. Europe at a pinch.

JGTR

cooldad wrote:

JGTR wrote:

whatever nationality they are, which is obviously impossible to know over the internet.

Except you seem to know....... :?

Your comprehension seems a bit poor tonight. Read back - if you check the seller on Ebay it will say where they are based.
It's not rocket science, and has nothing to do with their race or nationality, just where they actually are.
I'm quite happy to buy off a Chinese, or Greek or even a bloody Icelander, as long as they are in the same place as their product. And I'll only buy stuff that's in the UK. Europe at a pinch.

But the lights I linked are in the UK....either that or they ship them from China in 2 days :shock:

cooldad

I'll use simple words. The product is in the UK. The seller is in China. China is a different place to the UK. It's called drop shipping.
They may come quickly. They may not come at all. When they don't you are dealing with someone in China. Who speaks a form of English. And has their own idea of service, or non service.
You will get your money back, as that's how Ebay works. But it's a PITA. And the bulk of problems I've had have been with Chinese sellers drop shipping. So I won't buy off them. Simple.
Life is too short.
You can buy whatever you want off whoever you want.

I don't. My choice.

Simple enough.

Rigga

cooldad wrote:

I'll use simple words. The product is in the UK. The seller is in China. China is a different place to the UK. It's called drop shipping.
They may come quickly. They may not come at all. When they don't you are dealing with someone in China. Who speaks a form of English. And has their own idea of service, or non service.
You will get your money back, as that's how Ebay works. But it's a PITA. And the bulk of problems I've had have been with Chinese sellers drop shipping. So I won't buy off them. Simple.
Life is too short.
You can buy whatever you want off whoever you want.

I don't. My choice.

Simple enough.

UK based or not, look at their ebay feedback. All nearly 100% over tens of thousands of transactions. I'd trust them.

JGTR

Ah well, I have a different view, never had any problems myself.....just super cheap lights :-)

cougie

And yes. A torch on the head is essential. If you have a mechanical your bar light won't be pointed at the bike....

neilus

NIghttime MTBing is the absolute dogs gonads. There's an inherent joy at cheating 4 months of darkness while your mates are slobbing out infront of the telly, and once your eyes get used to it its an absolute blast. Id even say with the right lights visibilty is even better than daylight as the lights increases contrast on the trails.
Id recommend 2 SSx2, one for bar, one for helmet:
http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S024031.Genu ... ight-Black
And these are the best "cheap" battery packs out there, it has good quality Panasonic cells:
http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S024442.KBP- ... ttery-Pack
And finally a charger:
http://www.kaidomain.com/p/S023041.8_4V ... or-EU-Type
As discussed, its not always straight forward getting China based stuff, but ive probably had 20+ order from various places over the years and only had a few issues - once i had to pay €40 import tax which was a pi$$er and another time i received a fake item (an bit of vaping kit) which was a knock off but i got a full refund.

JGTR

One issue I had ordering from abroad is that Li-Ion battery packs are classed as hazardous goods and the would not take them by air so they had to be shipped over, after 2 months of waiting I got a refund via PayPal and ordered via eBay from the UK.

I found the SolarStorm to be a very narrow beam, good for your helmet but not so great for your bars.....although I know loads of people who use them on their bars without issue.

Giraffoto

Night riding is the best, you see way more wildlife and way fewer people. A helmet light is essential, and neither that nor your fixed light need to be super bright.

kevinharley

I've had mixed experiences ...

Bought 2 solarstorm clones from a UK-based (but Chinese drop-ship) distributer via ebay; one has been solid, the other battery pack is a bit iffy in that it doesn't give the same run time, so suspect lower quality cells or a dud cell in the pack. You can get a lot of light for not very much money, but the battery packs can be suspect - this is well documented over on the 'Big Lights' thread on the MTB buying advice forum.

A few years ago, bought a light from China - was OK for a few months, but the battery pack died as it was not well water-proofed. Again, it was cheap, but if you have to replace the light every year or two, it does make you think it is worth investing a bit more money in something that will last a bit longer.

I bought a light from a Chinese / HK company (can't recall which - either DealExtreme, Kaidomain or Lightmalls), and it wasn't a very good light. Had no end of trouble trying to get my money back, and it took ages.

Best lights, and best customer care I've had have been with two UK based sellers. MTB Batteries - you do now pay quite a bit of money, but they are really good lights and quality battery packs. The customer service I've had has been excellent; even out of warranty, I've had the lead / connector fail, returned to MTB Batteries, and he's repaired FOC. Torchy the Battery Boy (sells via ebay) is another, especially his chargers and battery packs, although my light head unit develop a loose connection in the lead just outside of warranty, and had to pay for a new head unit (which was fair enough, and hassle free - just not quite the top notch service I've had from MTB Batteries)

Any of these types of lights will give you enough light to ride off road at night, but ideally you want one on the bars and one on the lid.