Front lights for heavy mist/fog/unlit paths

[RoubaixCube]

(Bit of a long story but it does build upto my question i promise!)

Today I completed my first ever proper 'night' ride. It wasnt intentional though but it made for a very nice experience!!

Me and friend decided to go on a little ride up the river Lea towards hertfordshire. It was a cold morning and in the early hours the river was just carpeted in heavy mist/fog but it was easy to see right through it as there was plenty of daylight.

The sun eventually came out and burned up all the fog which was kinda sad as i loved cycling in it! But my disappointment didnt last long as the sun was going down just as fast as it appeared that afternoon.

The initial plan was to go all the way to Hertford East and either cycle or take the train back but that never went to plan as we stopped for a sunday roast along the way and when we left the cafe the sun was already starting to go down. We decided to push on a little further to the big nature reserve that the river runs through. My friend wanted to go full circle around the reserve before rejoining the river and cycling home but that would honestly take too long and i suggested that we head back immediately as it would take at least an hour or two to cycle back home.

So off we went. Sun was rapidly going down and we stopped at a few places along the way at the nature reserve to take a few pictures when we noticed that the fog had also returned in force (Yay!!) We hung around for a bit taking pictures of Hooksmarsh and the heavy fog that had completely settled and totally hidden the other side of the lake. Night was falling quicker than ever and after messing about taking a few more photos we decided to head home.

Not only was the fog so thick I couldnt see 20m in front of me but the falling darkness made things a lot worse and even with my Cree light on full blast, my Leyzne doing its flashy thing to grab the attention of any pedestrians or cyclists that we might encounter on the way back and my 70lm (or 80) helmet light on full bore. given how dark it was and the heavy fog, visibility was no more than 5m at best, On some sections of the river it was even worse. barely even 2m - I was as blind as Stevie Wonder, I couldnt see sh!t - it was very dark and very foggy!

Part of me was scared that i might somehow end up in the river as some sections of the tow path are so narrow but overall it was a fun experience!

My lighting however was very very much inadequate for such an adventure which I hope to be doing more of in the future!!!

Ive had a look on ebay at some of the Cree lights that require a battery pack to be attached to the bike and ive kind of narrowed it down to two or three products sold by the same merchant. I went through about 10 or 20 merchants from all over the world (but mainly china/hong kong) that were selling more or less the same product but under a different brand but I came back to this merchant here because of the amount of units he's sold compared to other merchants.


With that said. Which one would you pick??

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2000-Lm-C...426698?hash=item3a867cc3ca:g:jdcAAOSwd4tUEPlw

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251302855...64426698&tpos=unknow&ttype=price&talgo=origal

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-5000-...807782?hash=item4ae14270e6:g:GToAAOSw1vlUxj-g

I might be taking part in a big ride to Dunwich next year around july time with a friend whose already been once. He tells me that parts of the route are unlit so for that reason, when ive made my mind up about which light to get, I'll also be upgrading the battery back to something with a bit more capacity so i dont have to worry when i go the distance.


Any advice for night cycling on unlit paths would be very much appreciated.

 

[fossyant]

The issue is the fog bounces the light back so point them down

 

[RoubaixCube]

The issue is the fog bounces the light back so point them down

I did that, My Cree is always angled down at the path ahead as its my most powerful light.

It just wasnt powerful enough in this scenario

 

[winjim]

Ditch the helmet light, ditch the flasher, slow down. Cheap lights will have a poor beam pattern which will bounce back off fog even if angled downwards. You don't need a double Cree LED for road riding, it's too bright. Cheap battery packs may catch fire.

 

[Broadside]

might be taking part in a big ride to Dunwich next year around july time with a friend whose already been once. He tells me that parts of the route are unlit so for that reason

If you're talking about the Dunwich Dynamo then you are going to need a light that will last from 9:00pm through til about 4:30am. After exiting London most of the route is unlit apart from brief spells through small towns and villages. It's an amazing experience.

 

[mjr]

Also if you've got a bright unaimed light on the Dunwich Dynamo, you may get abuse from nearby riders for dazzling them. For long or dark journeys, nothing beats good German-spec dynamo powered lights. Some German-spec battery lights come close but they're always balancing lighting with power consumption, whereas dynamo lights have 3W available most of the time and fixed positions for the lights so the lenses can be more precise.

 

[winjim]

Also if you've got a bright unaimed light on the Dunwich Dynamo, you may get abuse from nearby riders for dazzling them. For long or dark journeys, nothing beats good German-spec dynamo powered lights. Some German-spec battery lights come close but they're always balancing lighting with power consumption, whereas dynamo lights have 3W available most of the time and fixed positions for the lights so the lenses can be more precise.

Dunwich Dynamo. Clue's in the name really.

FWIW, I have a Fluxient U2 which I bought from Torchy the Battery Boy so cheapish, but not one of those uber-cheap jobs. I'm pretty pleased with it, although I do need to get a wide angle lens. The battery pack I've got wouldn't last all night but you can get bigger capacity ones. Next year's project I think will be to fit a dynamo system.

 

[Dan B]

<tangent>

Also if you've got a bright unaimed light on the Dunwich Dynamo, you may get abuse from nearby riders for dazzling them.

The only rider I've ever felt like abusing on the DD for their front light was someone who had theirs set to strobe: otherwise, we're all pretty much going in the same direction. Rear lights, however ... please keep the 1+1W retina searers for riding in traffic not in a group of cyclists - or at the very least try to angle it downwards.
</tangent>

 

[Dan B]

Loved the story, by the way. Can you post the photos?

 

[RoubaixCube]

Loved the story, by the way. Can you post the photos?

I'll get around to it in the next day or so.

Ive had a quick look at the pics and not all of them came out so well but i took a few on my phone of the last part of the journey which was the foggiest part.

I think i might need a better camera as its probably older than 4years lol.

But apart from a semi-rant, the odd advice and some banter nobody actually answered my question regarding lighting or at least suggesting an alternative

 

[RoubaixCube]

Ditch the helmet light, ditch the flasher, slow down. Cheap lights will have a poor beam pattern which will bounce back off fog even if angled downwards. You don't need a double Cree LED for road riding, it's too bright. Cheap battery packs may catch fire.

Don't want to be rude but want to try reading my original post again? I wasn't on the road. Ive already got my set for road riding as i cycle home from work in the dark every day but i need something for unlit or heavy foggy adventures.

I thought the title would of been a hint

 

[Dan B]

But apart from a semi-rant, the odd advice and some banter nobody actually answered my question regarding lighting or at least suggesting an alternative

I suspect this is because you're asking the impossible. You might see if you can mount a light much much further down (e.g. on the fork) so that it's below the fog. And as others have said, ditch any light that is just going to bounce back off the droplets because it'll constrict your pupils and ruin your "fog vision" even more

 

[summerdays]

dont have flashing lights at the front as it will bounce back at you flashing, whereas having the same constant light level will be easier for your eyes to adjust to (certainly when not on the road).

 

[mjr]

But apart from a semi-rant, the odd advice and some banter nobody actually answered my question regarding lighting or at least suggesting an alternative

OK, I'll be blunter. I'd buy none of them. EBay's a lottery and they all look like they'll bounce back at you (unshielded LED in the centre of a plain lens). I'd buy a dynamo and the best German spec lights you can afford. See the infinity post on http://mashing53.WordPress.com for people suggesting specific combinations from a while ago, for a range of budgets.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

No-one makes a light that lets you see properly in thick fog in the dark. If they did then cars would have them. Despite many driving like they already have them. Mabye their cars have radar?

From the sound of it you had too much light, too many lights, and the back scatter would have been huge. You just have to go slow off-road in fog. When I used to do nighttime mtb orienteering we accepted that point scores on foggy nights would be very low, and would run two lights low down on the fork legs, and turn all the bar mounted and helmet mounted stuff off when riding.

an aside - you have a head torch, you have a cree. Do you really think you need a strobing Lezyne to grab the attention of any pedestrians or cyclists?