Night Riders! What are you running for lights?

burrus

New Member
Local time
6:23 AM
Joined
May 31, 2016
Messages
23
I occasionally ride at night and I'm interested in the best options for lighting. Right now I have 2 lights on the handlebars. One is a cheapie from Wallyworld, which has a wider beam which lets me see any oncoming potholes etc..., but the other is a 1000 lumen beast which I use as more like a headlight. I have that mounted in a great holder http://www.ebay.com/itm/281808762841 (which I can't believe I only paid $2.84 incl. shipping) On the back, I have just a red solid/strobe light which is pretty bright but I'd like to upgrade to a turn signal/tail light set-up. Any suggestions on either the front or back set-ups? Thanks
lights.jpg
lights.jpg
light1.jpg
 
Links to eBay may include affiliate code. If you click on an eBay link and make a purchase, this forum may earn a small commission.
I have a custom turn signal set up, with a constant on rear light, and a headlamp that's not super bright, and a brake light, all made from led strip lights, the kind you cut up in bits of 3 leds.

It's a Harbour freight 18 volt ni-cd drill, I cut the drill bit part off so I can use the end that holds the battery as a battery connector. That 18v runs to a 12v drok power converter, and that 12 drives the turn signal relay, and other lights, headlamp runs from the handlebar controls with a switch, and so do the turns, and brake lever has a momentary switch for the brakes.

Power and relay stuff is in a plastic ammo box from Harbour freight.

Works great and very reliable, as long as I keep it charged, I'm honestly trying to find a good system for power to use on my bike that's not easily broken, but has better amperage since I want to run a very powerful headlamp, and would like to add more accent lighting. Thinking of going to lead acid, sealed,and charge it now and then, if I could put a generator that charges it then that would be my unobtainium.
 
I normally head to work at night and run a Blackburn central 300 I bought from a buddy for $20. Has 3 brightness settings, a pulse and a strobe. USB charging so no more buying batteries. Has great range and battery life. Only issue is hard bumps makes it aim down a little, gotta fix it on the fly, that's with it's rubber strap as tight as I dare...
 
I don't ride at night but the problems I encountered with the lights is that the cheap plastic breaks off with road bumps (mine currently held together by black electric tape) and the ones with the lithium battery pack died on me because water got into the connection I think. My current light houses the battery inside the light itself.

I think if you can assure that the light wont rip from the mounting plastic with normal road use either with black electric tape or something you will be saving yourself an expletive tirade when your light falls off into the road at 30-40 mph. :D
 
The slippage thing happened to me with the cheapie that has the rubber band mount. Easy fix was friction tape. Increases the diameter of the handlebar and totally stops any slipping instantly. That tape is part of my essentials that I always carry in my little "bike bag"
 
I have a cheap-o schwinn branded wally-world flashing headlight...maybe 15 lumens max. Mainly for folk to see me and not pull out of a driveway/cross street. It consists of four 1st gen 3mm white LEDs. Nothing spectacular.

On the rear, I run a Cygolite 80lumen flasher set to slow flash during the day, and steady on with burst at night. Basically, a 1W 3rd gen LED, similar to emergency vehicles, but only one LED instead of a crapload. Hurts your eyes if it fires in your hand. ;) My LBS sells them for $80, but its $44 on Amazon.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B013FIVU0C/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I prefer to have my lighting power concentrated to the rear, as I ride according to local laws in the same direction as traffic. Since I cant actively watch what they're doing behind me, I want to have the greatest effect possible to get their attention off of their phones.
 
My main rear light is about a foot of bright red led strip light, that alone in the dark makes you wonder wtf is on the side of the road, usually wear bright yellow with very bright white reflective tape on it, seriously I can be seen from the moon with it all together.
 
Should you like a visual, since this is a thread about a visual topic, here's a photo of my bike from the rear, about 50 feet away, the vest (above red stripe) and helmet (to the left of the stripe) have reflective accents on them, both are being reflected back solely by my phones camera flash, a vehicle has many times more powerful lights, so it would effectively be much more vibrant.

No way you can't see me, the front of the vest and helmet are just as brightly reflective, and the front headlight is even more obnoxious than the rear. The turn signals (not pictured) are a bright yellow and flash about twice a second, making them impossible to not see as well.
 

Attachments

  • bikelight.jpg
    bikelight.jpg
    201.1 KB · Views: 227
Back
Top