Bike Lights

[wickedmcdougle]

I wanna know if you can actually ride at night with these without creaming some unseen tree. If their good, whats some of the better brands?
discuss

[bighitter]

since the price varies from about $5 to over a $1000 i guess it depends how much your willing to spend...........the less you spend the greater your chances are of "creaming some unseen tree". i wouldn't spend less then a $100 bucks on a lighting system.any good LBS should have a large selection and should let you test them out to see how they look/work

[IFO]

im actually going out tomroow for my first nite ride with my new BLT Xray lite....

i'll let u know....

hopefully i dotn crash adn burn in teh darkness...:eek:

[bighitter]

on a side note. night riding can be an awesome experiance and is well worth the investment.i believe helmet lighting is better the bar mount but for the best set-up go with both.

[Lady Gravity]

i have a BLT for my handlebar, and just picked up a nighthawk for my helmet. the BLT is SUPER bright, but the problem with a bar light is that it moves. i'm doing a night ride tomorrow night on SFU, so we'll see how that works!!

[stillgoing]

I've got the nighthawk dual, bar mounted. I'm gonna try mounting one light on my helmet, but even without, it's easy to see where you're going at night. The first couple times, it felt like I was riding in a tunnel, but that feeling goes away after a while and it just seems natural.

One interesting thing.. I've ridden some VERY steep sections in the dark, that I've later gone back and looked at in the daylight. If I'd seen it first in the daylight, I don't think I would have ridden it.

I hope to try Ledgeview soon at night. Maybe this Friday.

[Nelson]

id say night hawk dual bars ( 4 hour run time) and a phnix helmet. itll run ya arounf $400 for the whole set

[switch]

NiteRider Storm. You won't cream any trees with that puppy on your helmet.

Cheaper route is a couple BLTs on your handlebars, and a light on your helmet. You get depth of field, distance, and light where you're looking.

[Mr. Charles]

actually, you can make them pretty easily if you have some skill at things like that. it's loads more fun than buying a snazzy one.

first, look into the batteries that they use. you can find a comparable one online at a remote control hobbie store (Tower Hobbies, for example)

the rest is up to you. I use the front end of a semi-cheap flashlight with a halogen bulb. Make two, for high/low. Put the battery in what ever you want.

sounds dumb, but i have made some pretty sweet ones over the years.

on a second note, i did end up buying a NiteSun back in the day. worked pretty well.



also, for any fast type of trail riding, it is pretty necessary to have one handle bar mounted, one on the helmet. The helmet one would be hard to make, though.

[Mr. Charles]

basic runtime:

Run time (hours) = .85 x (Battery Voltage x Capacity of Battery in Amps Hours) / Wattage of your bulb. Please remember though.. when you use a 35W bulb, SLA batteries do not handle high drainage'; thus instead of using the 85% factor as above; the % efficiency drops off to about 50%.

[Mr. Charles]

of course, you can look into the technology of batteries, and i bet you can get some pretty goood run times. i don;t know what SLA means


edit: it's a sealed lead battery. i bet you can find types that handle higer loads better. that sounds pretty old school.

[BULLITBOY]

I have the Nightrider Digital Pro 12e. It's the shiznit. It has two beams, a low and a high. the low is more like a floodlight and the high is like a spotlight. Mounts to bars. Battery mounts in a bottle cage. It's so bright, I've heard of some people using them for motorcycles. Costs about $300 (US).

[dirttorpedo]

Night riding is a gas. I'm running a dual nighthawk and its ok. Its bright enough with both beams running, but the battery runs out of steam before I do. So to get decent run time you either have to buy a second battery and carry it with you (and the battery is about 80% of the systems cost) or I end up running my 10 wat beam and struggling to see. If you have the money I'd check out the HID systems. They are reputedly much brighter and have significantly more batter life. Of course their damn expensive.

Another piece of advice - carry some backup lighting in your hydro pack just in case.

[parksvilleguy]

I have a 2002 BLT, the helmet one(xray or the other one) and then i run the 3 beam blue LCD for my bar lite. the bar light isnt super bright, but anyone way in the trees will see it or on the hwy(up to 2km away), and its handy pointed at the ground i find. I've never caught my helmet light on a branch or anything else, so i find it quite safe. i've raced a night dh race and a few xc night races with the lights, and i find BLT works the best and the majority of people use them. i've had mine for over a year and i still get close to an hour and 50 minutes of burn time, just like i did when i first bought it.

[Bryce]

HID is the way to go (high intensity discharge). They are similar to the funky bluish lights that you see on expensive cars. The light output and burn time is twice that of a halogen.

if you opt for halogen (cheaper) BLTs are solid and easy to fix but JETs put out brighter light per watt

[wickedmcdougle]

this sounds pretty good, because with the days getting shorter, I'm running out of time to ride. If you run a helmet light, do you wear a backpack with it? It'd be kinda weird if you bailed and your wired to the biek

[Spaz]

I built my helmet light. It cost me less than $60 and its brighter than a lot of BLT's and the battery lasts way longer (over 4hours). If you break a bulb it is no big deal because most hardware stores have them and they are about $5.

Helmet light is the way to go though. I rode with a bar light once and went over the bars. Once you come seperated from your bike it is pretty dark.

[sanrensho]

Originally posted by Spaz
I built my helmet light. It cost me less than $60 and its brighter than a lot of BLT's and the battery lasts way longer (over 4hours).

Care to share the plans for this?:D

[switch]

Originally posted by sanrensho
Care to share the plans for this?:D

Definitely! What type of battery?

[speed metal]

How many watts?

[IFO]

ok nite riding offically kicks ass.....

just getting back from ridin SFU... WOW what a neat expereince...

i suggest anyone who hasnt done it, to buy/borrow a set of lites and go for a nite ride...

what a amazing experience....

im stoked to try more nite rides out now.....:thepimp:

[Spaz]

Originally posted by sanrensho
Care to share the plans for this?:D

OK, let me work on it and I will post the plans.

[Spaz]

I hope this makes sense.

You need a 20 Watt bulb (you can also use 35 Watt but you get half the burn time). Get the bulb from Canadian tire because they have the ones with the plastic cover over the bulb.

Go to Rona to get the recepticle for the bulb. The bulb has 2 prongs coming out of the back. The recepticle will plastic about 1/2" by 3/4" rectangle with two wires coming out of the back.

Make a mounting plate out of a cut up tin can. About 3" wide by 5" long. Fold up one end and drill holes mount the recepticle and run the wires through.

Solder on a double end connector (I think these are at Canadian Tire) to teh wires on the recepticle. Solder on a length of wire to the other piece of the connector to run to the battery. Remember this has to run from the top of your helmet into your pack so make sure the wire is long enough.

Get a 12V 7.5 Amp battery from a battery shop. It should be about $30. THis is the most expensive piece of the light. The battery is heavy but it is fairly cheap so I think it is worth the extra weight. It also does not have a memory so you don't have to run it down to charge it again.

you will need a couple of connectors to solder to the end of your wire to attach to the battery.

Finally when you make sure everthing is working wrap some wire and tap around the bulb so it does not fall out. I lost mine once and did not notice till the top of Ladies. A ride down the dark road was not fun.

I've attached a photo of my light.

[Spaz]

Whoops forgot the picture

[switch]

And it only gets better. :)

Originally posted by IFO
ok nite riding offically kicks ass.....

just getting back from ridin SFU... WOW what a neat expereince...

i suggest anyone who hasnt done it, to buy/borrow a set of lites and go for a nite ride...

what a amazing experience....

im stoked to try more nite rides out now.....:thepimp:

[switch]

First, thanks for the excellent description and information. :)

Some bulbs are designed to run at a certain voltage. Is the one you got from Canadian tire a 12V bulb? Is it halogen?

How do you recharge the battery? Basic 12V car battery charger?

Originally posted by Spaz
Get a 12V 7.5 Amp battery from a battery shop. It should be about $30. THis is the most expensive piece of the light. The battery is heavy but it is fairly cheap so I think it is worth the extra weight. It also does not have a memory so you don't have to run it down to charge it again.

[Spaz]

You can get a one amp battery charger from Canadian Tire. It looks like and AC converter with two clips on it (about $15). You get it in the automotive section.

Yeah its a 12V light. The same kind that a lot of retail stores use to light there displays.

[Rat]

FYI Battery world on Boundry is an excellent source for cheap backup SLA Batteries.

[dirttorpedo]

Originally posted by Spaz
I built my helmet light. It cost me less than $60 and its brighter than a lot of BLT's and the battery lasts way longer (over 4hours). If you break a bulb it is no big deal because most hardware stores have them and they are about $5.

Helmet light is the way to go though. I rode with a bar light once and went over the bars. Once you come seperated from your bike it is pretty dark.

How much burn time do you get with this light?

[Spaz]

Using a 20 Watt bulb over 4 hours. If you use a 35 Watt bulb then probably about 2 hours.

I am running a 20 W bulb and I usually do 2 rides before I recharge.

[Lady Gravity]

Originally posted by IFO
ok nite riding offically kicks ass.....

just getting back from ridin SFU... WOW what a neat expereince...

i suggest anyone who hasnt done it, to buy/borrow a set of lites and go for a nite ride...

what a amazing experience....

im stoked to try more nite rides out now.....:thepimp:

when were you up there? i was up there around 7:30/8 - my first night ride whoaa freeky :eek:

i was running a helmet light and a bar light - ran just the helmet light first, but by the start of nicoles i turned on the bar light, and the two lights together are much better. lots of shadows with just the helmet light. funny how the switchbacks don't seem so steep in the dark...

[sanrensho]

Originally posted by Spaz
You need a 20 Watt bulb (you can also use 35 Watt but you get half the burn time)...

Thanks for posting the plans!:beer: :beer: :beer:

[switch]

Originally posted by Lady Gravity
i was running a helmet light and a bar light - ran just the helmet light first, but by the start of nicoles i turned on the bar light, and the two lights together are much better. lots of shadows with just the helmet light. funny how the switchbacks don't seem so steep in the dark...

I found that shadows a little creepy at first as it seemed like things were moving all around me. After a ride or two you won't notice it any more.

And in a lot of cases you will ride better.

You now have so many more hours to ride during the winter. :)

[Spaz]

I find with night riding you are so focused on the trail because you can't really see what's going on around you. I also find different lines to take that I didn't see when it is light out (usually by accident). You really have to stay loose and feel the trail with your bike because you can't really see what is directly below you. Plus there is that great feeling of sitting at your car in the dark with your bike drinking beer after the ride.

[switch]

Spaz, where/how you mount your battery?

[Lady Gravity]

Originally posted by Spaz
You really have to stay loose and feel the trail with your bike because you can't really see what is directly below you.

yeah i haven't quite got that "loose" part down yet, i found i was really stiff, too much on the brakes, trying to anticipate what was coming up instead of just doing the flow. can't wait to do pangor in the dark :eek:

[sanrensho]

Originally posted by Spaz
You really have to stay loose and feel the trail with your bike because you can't really see what is directly below you.

Almost as fun as snowboarding at night.:D Definitely makes you a better rider.

[GrimJack]

Night riding is awesome. I did Ladies Only on Fromme last night with a couple buds, we had a blast.

HID lights are definitely the way to go. No filament to burn out or break, double the burntime, three times the candlepower. Did I mention that they are 3 times the price, too?

Barlight and Headlight are also the way to go, try to get similar candlepower ratings on both, or one just overpowers the other.

[Mr. Charles]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXERB5&P=7

with two of these and a 20 watt bulb, you get 2.5 hours of runtime.

[Mr. Charles]

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXSK07&P=7

this one looks good.

.85*12*4.5/20=2.5 hours. the demensions are not bad either.

[Spaz]

Originally posted by switch
Spaz, where/how you mount your battery?

I put the battery in my camel pack. Don't mount it to your bike in case you become seperated from you bike.

[switch]

I went and checked out the SLA batteries at the battery store. The prices were much cheaper than I expected. For about $35 I can get a battery for my BLT system that will last twice as long. I'm gonna do some measurements and make some mods to a water bottle cage so as to mount the battery there. Having 2.5 hours with both lights on would be great.

[sanrensho]

Originally posted by switch
I went and checked out the SLA batteries at the battery store. The prices were much cheaper than I expected.

Did they also have lighter NiMH packs at a reasonable price?

[Tire<d>]

I want to order a new batt for my Marwi light but they only come in water bottle mounts. The Banshee doesn't have a water bottle mount!?!

Anyone try any hucking at night? Scary...

[switch]

Originally posted by sanrensho
Did they also have lighter NiMH packs at a reasonable price?

The SLA batteries are either rectangular or cube shaped, with a couple contacts. They are somewhat heavy.

The NiMH batteries can be purchased, but cost more. I think it was something like $70 for the 4Ah. The 4Ah SLA was $30.

The SLAs come in 6V and 12V. I believe there's a much larger selection of 12V Halogen bulbs; lights like the BLT use an MR11.

Charging is another issue. I'm pretty sure a more complicated charger is required for the NiMH. For the SLA, I could just use my BLT charger. If you don't have one, a basic charger is pretty cheap.

[Mr. Charles]

Originally posted by switch
The SLA batteries are either rectangular or cube shaped, with a couple contacts. They are somewhat heavy.

The NiMH batteries can be purchased, but cost more. I think it was something like $70 for the 4Ah. The 4Ah SLA was $30.

The SLAs come in 6V and 12V. I believe there's a much larger selection of 12V Halogen bulbs; lights like the BLT use an MR11.

Charging is another issue. I'm pretty sure a more complicated charger is required for the NiMH. For the SLA, I could just use my BLT charger. If you don't have one, a basic charger is pretty cheap.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCLD5&P=M

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=CGA&P=M

[thewwkayaker]

My $0.02. I ride with a HID - it lasts 4hrs and burns the equivalent of a 45W bulb.

I've filmed a night ride on Neds last year with it (head cam). Fastest I've ridden Neds. The quality of the film was impressive - the light is so bright that the centre area was washed out (pure white light reflecting back in the film) but the rest was perfect. Big difference to the yellow light my buddy had.

I ride lots at night, love it, but my buddies make me ride in front because it's so bright.

Yes it's stupid expensive (my wife bought it, I just get to use it because she never rides at night - go figure - so for me it was the right price :-) But I'd recommend it if you like to ride at night a lot and like to ride challenging trails at night (Neds isn't but Laddies/Lower laddies, Upper Oil, etc. esp. log rides and structures). With an HID it's like stadium lighting so you feel like it's daylight :-)

[Mr. Charles]

I was just looking at the light & motion site. those look seriously nice.

[switch]

Originally posted by BoyBoy
I was just looking at the light & motion site. those look seriously nice.

They are. I just read a long term review on the dual halogens, and they ran without problems for a couple years. However, the review also said that the L&M HID light would be worth the extra money because the lighting is brighter and you get twice the runtime.

[Putty]

Getting two gamma rays today or tomorrow. WOOOOT!