Lights

Bumping this back up. I've been invited on a couple rides recently that I couldn't do because I don't have lights, so it's time to bite the bullet. I'm not feeling compelled to obsess over which model (which is my normal tendancy). The Night Rider Pro seems to get enough love here to make it a worthy choice, so I'm leaning that way. Is there a sweet spot for lumens I should look for, primarily for Santa Monicas or San Gabes type riding? Also, everyone seems to always refer to lights (plural), but recommendations here seem to be for a singular bar mounted head light. Is that all that is typically needed, or is some sort of helmet mounted light recommended as well?

 

Spend the ducats on the NiteRider. They won't fail you.

I tend to refer to lights in the plural because I run both headlight and tail light on all bikes, but you could probably use a headlight on the handlebar and headlight on the helmet in your stated areas. Never hurts to be able to see around that corner....

 

I'm still using the two magicshine lights I purchased back in 2008. I think they're cheapo Chinese lights that were branded? Anyone have a link to share?
I think they're 900 lumens each.

 

Every other year, I buy whatever is $100. That becomes my new bar light, the old one goes to the helmet.

Looking just now, the niterider lumina micro is now 850 lumens for $75. Helmet strap is another $15. And there is a lumina 1200 for $110. Amazing. So for $200 you could get a setup that would have set you back thousands back in the heyday of 24 hour racing, plus the battery is 5x lighter.

add a blinky light for the back too.

 

Get two. Bar and helmet.

my rec: https://www.outboundlighting.com/

 

I still recommend the Chinese knockoff such as https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C2MHNJK/?tag=imtbtrails-20 or a MagicShine for around $100. Have had very few issues with either going on 10-12 yrs.

For normal riding you can get by with one light. Handlebar vs head mount has been an ongoing debate for years. If I only have one light its a helmet mount so I can see where I'm looking. Handlebar mount helps show the terrain better since the lower mount position throws shadows. For riding technical terrain at night you're better off with both.

Someone mentioned not getting a light with a rubber band mount. Pretty much all of mine have those. It is not an issue whatsoever when the light and battery are separate units. The light itself doesn't have enough mass to rotate on rough terrain. One with an integrated battery does, so you definitely want a clamping mount for those.

I bought a Portland design works USB chargeable light around 5 yrs ago, its still going strong at around 700 lumens. That's what I use most of the time now. Magicshine for the handlebar when needed.

 

Just picked up a gloworm alpha to run on my helmet. Reviews seem good and its good to support a kiwi company. Looks the business and is bloody tiny. I'm going to pair it up with the cygolite of my commuter on the handlebars. Hoping between the two I'll have enough to not go sailing of the side of B* tomorrow. I'll report back afterwards

 

6 years later, my Magicshine is still going(knock on wood).

Depends on what you really want. I do a lot of riding with only a Niterider Lumina 900. For a really technical ride, I'd probably run the Magicshine 1500 on the bar and maybe the Lumina 900 on the helmet.

I also believe that you CAN have too much light.....basically washing out the trail features in front of you.

If your rides are short or on the shorter side, I'd look at one of the Niterider Lumina's....not having to deal with external batteries and cords is great. Plus they will burn for 2 hours on high. I massages about 6 hrs out of mine on a night ride.

 

I did an amazon search for the micro via the search bar here on the forum, and in the "items frequently bought together" it combined all 3 pieces that you mentioned (minus rear blinky) for $175. Seems to be a nice compromise of good lighting, and no fuss (don't want to deal with mounting separate battery packs). Done deal, plus a little something for the IMTB kitty.

 

Cool, this reinforces the decision I just made, more or less. I think to start I'll be using lights primarily for the tail end of rides that start much later in the day, and end as dusk turns to dark. Maybe it will turn into more than that, but I'll cross that bridge when and if.

Thanks, all, for the feedback.

 

Fully agree. Not to mention blinding you by reflecting off all the dust in the air from riders in front of you. My headlamp is about 700 or 750 lumens. My new magicshine might be 1200.

I tried the helmet strap and found it to be almost unusable - won't hold the light tight enough so the beam bounces around when riding. Instead I got a magic shine mount and glued it to my helmet, then I use the light's handlebar mount on that. Not perfect, but much better.

I always bring a light on any ride starting in the afternoon or evening. And on most big rides starting in the morning. Nothing worse than needing a light but not having it. Riding past sunset into dark is one of my favorite things.

 

I have the 750 usb rechargeable as a second light... only a year old, and it failed. There has to be a loose connection inside, because I can get it to turn on if I have the charger in and wiggle the port.

I emailed them yesterday, so we'll see how they respond...

My primary light has been the 1600 lumen version of these: https://www.brighteyesproducts.com/collections/frontpage It's three years old now, and still holds a full charge. It's been down Motorway, San Juan and the Luge more times than I can count- often in the rain. As I'm not familiar with the trails up here, I'm thinking of picking up another. El Prieto at night is calling me...


Edit: I see above that some have issues with the rubber band mount type. Mine flopped around a little, but that problem was solved with a small piece of gorilla tape on the bars. It gives the Bright Eyes just a little extra grip.

 

I've been using the gloworms for many years and love them. helmet i run the x2 and handlebar i use the xs. plenty of light and the battery life is plenty even for my slow climbs.

 

Hey @buggravy now that you have lights you should join a few of us about 3:00am in Wrightwood later this summer. It’s great fun following @Faust29 and dodging Bambi bones falling from trees and trying to hang on to @mtnbikej ‘s wheel while barreling down log jammer and leprechaun in the dark.

 

I actually cancelled the strap right after I ordered it and ordered the Best Tek camera mount adapter. I'd forgotten that my helmet actually has an integrated camera attachment. It looks like it will put the light a bit aft on the helmet, but I assume if it's suitable placement for a camera, it will work for a light. Fingers crossed.

 

This WILL be happening. Maybe more than once.

 

I'm in... One of my favorites.

 

It's about the right time for a PC version of that ride (*Palm Canyon)

 

Reporting back on this one, lights did their job, very impressed by the output and was glad I had something up on the helmet and not just on the bars. The lamp unit is so light you really don't notice its even there, I left my battery in my backpack but have heard of others attaching it to a strap at the back of their helmet. I get about 2:20 runtime on full power so the company quoted numbers seem to match up.
Have got one issue which I wrote to Gloworm about, the battery pack doesn't give any indication when its finished charging (its supposed to). They say its a common known issue and they are revising their battery charging instructions as a result. "Just make sure you charge for at least 4 hours and you'll be fine". I've run the battery right down and recharged to test and it gave the same runtime so I have confidence the battery pack takes a full charge. Still its a bit annoying that you have no way of really knowing how much charge the battery is holding. The light gives you an indication when you plug it in but all it will tell you is whether its dead (0-9%) nearly dead (10-39%) or show signs of live (anything above 40%)

 

I finally found the charger for my light... Even though it was on the kitchen counter in the old house, it ended up in a box marked "Garage Tools". The light has been shining on high for 4 hours and 2 minutes. I'd say she's still holding a charge. No low power warning yet...

As for my backup light, I emailed customer service last Thursday about the non-functioning Lumina 750, and haven't heard back yet. They say it may take up to 10 days to get a response. Thanks to Covid for the long wait times...

 

I’m still rolling on my old school NR 550 & 650. I like it dark to add a little challenge to my night rides. No need to start a brush fire with a 2000 watt beam.

 

Anyone have experience with Outbound Lighting products?
https://www.outboundlighting.com/

 

I used to ride with a helmet light, have not in a long time. Night riding started this week. I ride sunset so I have lights on my bar all year long. I lit one up last week for 10 minutes, this week for almost the whole ride. Tonight too if I get out

 

My wife and I have both the headlamp and bar lamp. Rode last season with them and very pleased. Very high quality, American made, unlimited warranty. Built from the ground up by a mountain biker that worked previously in the auto headlight industry.

 

My two old magic shines are finally starting to fade.
Took them out last night for a ride and they only lasted about 2 hrs. And, compared to some of the other much smaller lights people had on Their bikes I realize it’s time for new lights and the tech has come a long way.

 

I use the Niterider Lumina, have 3 different models with the brightest at 1800 lumens. Goods lights at a great price when on sale. I barely use them 3 times a year.