Night Cycling - safety and lights

[Riverman]

Hi,

I was just wondering how safe you find it to cycle at night? And also what the law is on using two front cycle lights.

I'm a beginner and just went out for a late night ride but had abit of an accident. I was trying to follow the white line on but came upon a two meter long, foot deep ditch on the side of the road filled with water and proceeded to plough my way through it. Was quite lucky really not to fall off the bike. Was soaked!

This is even though I had two front cycle lights, an 'ok' front LED from argos and a value krypton light from tesco.

I must say visability was very poor even with two lights and if it wasn't for the white lines on the side of the road I'd have been all over the place.

Regarding the two lights. If I had the money I'd buy a powerful cateye instead but wondered whether I could make use of the extra light I have.

 

[Randochap]

You can't really expect to cycle at night safely without investing in some
"serious" lighting, as you have discovered (glad you're OK).

Those of us who do long-distance riding, straight through the night, usually found out first-hand that it's difficult to cycle safely at any kind of speed without outrunning cheap lights. This is especially true on unlit country roads -- the best kind.

Most good lighting comes from manufacturers in Germany ... because Germany actually has some standards for bicycle lighting.

You can't get real bike lights from some place like Tescos. You need to go to a proper bike shop that stocks high-end lights ... and be prepared to pay the going rate.

Riding at night can actually be quite safe, with the right lighting and reflective gear, because you will stand out much more than in the daytime, when you tend to blend in, so to speak.

Riding at night with good lighting is a very beautiful experience: A remote highway, bordered by trees; a million stars above, maybe a full moon. Love it!

Information on lights here and safety here. Follow this advice and you'll be as safe as possible.

 

[Steve Austin]

There are lights that will get you seen by other road users, and lights to be able to see the road by. I commute with four different lights on the front of my bike, but only one of them lights lights up the road in from of me.

It depends how much you want to pay, something like a a hope vision will be the quick easy simple solution, but then you could go cheaper, but you may find you want more light. There a variety of cheaper solutions, like the Tesco CRee torch, which you can get for less than tenner, which is good enough to see to ride off-road at night so perfectly good enough for road.
Of you can get silly and buy lights up to £600, that will light up the road better than a car headlight.

 

[Riverman]

Thanks for the advice guys, very useful.

I'm intrigued by the tesco torch. Seems abit mad though attaching a torch to a bike.

Would it look something like this? Do they get in the way abit? They do look abit heavy.

 

[Steve Austin]

thats exactly the one¬. I use them. they are great value, and light up the road as well as lights that cost a lot more. but they are a torch so you need to mount them, and it can look scruffy, but then again they are cheap.
I use a loop of old inner tube to hold mine on the bike, which makes it easy to remove at either end of my commute. You can by a two lock block which is an expensive works well, or you could cobble something together with a cheaper mount, like the ones above.

did i mention they are cheap?

 

[Steve Austin]

Just weighed one. Its 155gms with batteries, so not heavy at all.

 

[purplepolly]

I'm intrigued by the tesco torch. Seems abit mad though attaching a torch to a bike.

Would it look something like this? Do they get in the way abit? They do look abit heavy.

That's the compromise on price - something that's compact and bike specific usually costs a lot more. I use two battery eating hope vision 1's with one on flash and one on constant beam and they're more than bright enough except for maybe really fast riders or off-road.

I agree with randochap that riding in the dark can be safe with the right equipment, in fact I prefer commuting in the dark because I get less people almost pulling out on me. That's because I'm lit up like a christmas tree against a dark background and there's nothing I can do in daytime to replicate that kind of contrast.

Please get a better light fast, if you can't see a ditch until it's too late, you're going to end up in a pothole at some point

 

[Riverman]

Thanks. For reference, I've found a long thread on them here

http://www.cyclechat.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=21755

 

[Angelfishsolo]

+1 - I think the Tesco 3Watt torch sells for £7.99

thats exactly the one¬. I use them. they are great value, and light up the road as well as lights that cost a lot more. but they are a torch so you need to mount them, and it can look scruffy, but then again they are cheap.
I use a loop of old inner tube to hold mine on the bike, which makes it easy to remove at either end of my commute. You can by a two lock block which is an expensive works well, or you could cobble something together with a cheaper mount, like the ones above.

did i mention they are cheap?

 

[gavintc]

I find night cycling safer than day cycling as cars seem to notice you more. But, you do need to invest in lights. I have a rechargeable Lumicycle system that I bought cheaply from e-bay.

 

[fossyant]

The tesco torches are fine - I used one with two catyyes until I splashed out on 2 Hope Vision 1's...

The torches last about 90 minutes on rechargeables

 

[Bman]

I have something quite like the following, from Asda. I find they are bright enough for me to see the road ahead. Quite light-weight and effective. My high quality rechargable batteries power it for about 1-2 hrs before it starts to dim. Only downside, is they dont seem very sturdy. I doubt they would survive a single drop on the tarmac.

http://direct.asda.com/Headlightt-Dawn-Patrol/000953424,default,pd.html

 

[palinurus]

I like cycling at night, if you have a front light good enough to see with at a fair speed (and a spare for extra confidence) it's pretty good. Since I've invested in a hub dynamo I can stay out there for as long as I want. There are also good rechargeable systems out there which give long runtimes, I use these on bikes that I don't want to fit permanent lights to.

 

[Radius]

I'm a beginner and just went out for a late night ride but had abit of an accident. I was trying to follow the white line on but came upon a two meter long, foot deep ditch on the side of the road filled with water and proceeded to plough my way through it. Was quite lucky really not to fall off the bike. Was soaked!

I don't know the exact circumstances of course, but I'd be tempted from this description to suggest that you were a bit too far over to the left, where there are more likely to be potholes and things to fall into!

 

[HJ]

You can never have to much light!! There is a review of serious lights for night cycling here...

Personally I regard good lights as a worth while an investment, if you are planning on cycling year round. Also a bright set of lights mean that you will be seen on the road, which for the most part means you get more space on the road.