Bike Lighting

 

Summer is deigning to fade as earth continues on its merry journey around the sun, bringing with it not only reduced temperatures but also shorter days.  What does that mean to the cyclist?  Well, apart from donning a few extra layers of clothing for warmth, it means we need to ‘light up’.  If we can’t rely on the sun to brighten our rides we have to do it for ourselves

Users of bike lights can be pretty quickly filtered into two distinctive categories; those that wish to rule the night-time trails and those beating a path on the roads with the rest of the traffic


Off-Road Riders

It goes without saying that the more light you can lay down on the trail the easier it’s going to be to ride at night.  There are those that might argue this takes away from some of the mystery, intrigue and danger associated with night riding, however we will be advocating for a ‘brighter is better’ standpoint.

Like most products we purchase, the more we spend the more we get and this is, unfortunately, also true of off-road lights.  Finding a balance between budget and performance is a tricky tight-rope to walk but hopefully we can assist.

The four key components to consider when purchasing a set of off-road lights are: 
     - Power: better measured in brightness (lux)
     - Battery: your light needs juice, right?
     - Optics: how the light source emanates
     - Mountings: the light actually has to attach somewhere, and do it well

 

Power
As a basic guide 1 lux equates to a clear full-moon night, 320-500 lux is comparable to your standard office lighting and 32,000 lux plus is direct sunshine.  What this means for you, the rider, is that you should be aiming for a focused 150 lux output as a minimum to avoid stumbling around in the dark.  300 lux or more will give you enough light to really go out there and push the pace

 

Battery
Without the juice to run the light even the best lamps in the world with the greatest intentions aren’t going to be much use.  Thankfully battery technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and most off-road systems are Lithium Ion powered which are both light and long-lasting.  There are other battery types ranging from Nickel Cadmium, through to lead acid and finally to the humble AA batteries we all know and love.  The lower the grade of battery the heavier and shorter running your lightest becomes, but conversely it also gets cheaper to purchase.


Remember to check how long a system will run as a fading light isn’t much fun and can be quite unsafe.  Many manufacturers sell extra batteries (or have an option to buy a larger, longer-life battery at first instance) so consider purchasing these and carrying them with you, fully charged of course, when you go out on your epic night ride.
Some lights mount their battery in a simple bag with a Velcro strap which can work okay, but can also slide about and scratch paintwork. Batteries in a converted water bottle are great if you need a big capacity cell. Integrated batteries are neat, but some of the big ones are very bulky on the bars

 

Optics
The way in which the light source is projected can have a big influence on the light that actually emanates from the head unit.  The light is projected through a combination of lenses and reflectors.  The lens sits ahead of the light also acting as protection and waterproofing whilst the reflector sits behind the light.  Lenses influence the ‘spot’ of the beam and reflectors influence the ‘spread’ of light.

 

Spot beams are useful for providing powerful lighting concentrated into a relatively narrow field, allowing you to see ahead clearly which is great for direct vision and high speeds.  Spread beams give lights their breadth allowing you a wider field of vision.  This is particularly useful in singletrack where the trail is constantly shifting and turning ahead of you.

 

It is a delicate combination of the two types of beams that you, the rider, require.  If necessary, check out which lights offer what you believe you will require most of.  It is worth noting at this stage that some riders actually use two night lights for off-road riding, choosing one light with a focussed spot bean for their helmet and one with a good spread for their handlebars.  This leads us nicely to:

 

Mountings
No matter how good your light source is, if it doesn’t fit anywhere it’s going to remain pretty redundant as an off-road light.  Consider where you want the light to mount, how securely and if it has any adjustment to alter where the beams point.

 

Some handlebars, particularly riser bars, can have a decent backsweep on them and also a large rise leaving very little room for your light, which can also end up pointing to the side rather than straight ahead, which is where you want it!  So a light with an adjustable head unit would be essential, unless you feel the need to wonder about ‘what’s going on over there’.

 

Do you want to have the light unit mounted on your head, handlebars or a combination of both depending on your mood?  Many lights come with attachments for both, but do make sure there is enough cable between the head unit and the battery if you are going to run it on your helmet as the battery could be buried deep inside your hydration pack.

 

Consider how much you love your paintwork!  The reason for this is that some batteries use Velcro to wrap the battery to your frame and can cause unsightly scratching and scarring no matter how tightly you wrap it up.  Also, all that extra cabling can wreak havoc to your precious frame.  Consider very carefully where and how you want the cables to run.  Lastly, if choosing a system where the battery mounts into a bottle cage, make sure that:
      a) you have a bottle mount, and that
      b) the space around your bottle mount will accommodate the battery

 

Although all the talk is about the front light, unless you’re incredibly fortunate to be able to ride straight out your back yard onto your trails (or if you have driven to a trail centre) and never leave them until you return home for well-deserved nourishment, you’ll hit the road at some point which means you’ll need a rear light.  Read below for rear lights and also why running just a set of off-road lights might not be the best idea.


Commuters and Road Riders

For those of us not wishing to ride off-road and simply want to stay safe and visible on the road the choices are much simpler

Off-road lights can be used on the road very effectively but one has to remember their actual purpose.  They are designed for the rider to be able to see as much of the trail as possible and are not designed to be seen by other road users.  This is fundamentally important.  Nearly all off-road lighting systems cannot be seen from a wide angle and are almost invisible when viewed from the side.  Lights being used on the road serve two critical functions:
       a) to provide the rider with light in order to see
       b) to provide light so as to be seen by other road users, ie other vehicles

 

Even if you do use off-road lights consider using a commuting light at the same time to allow you to be seen by others.  As off-road lights are hugely powerful they can also drain their power source relatively quickly when compared to simple commuter lights which can run for over 200 hours in some cases.  The security of knowing you have at least a backup light source is incredibly comforting.

 

For the front light, choose one that runs off batteries and offers a number of display options.  Having a static front light provides a constant, even, light source and having another with a flashing LED will help you get noticed by other road users.  Ideally you would have two.

 

For the rear light again choose one that has multiple display options so you can pick which one works best for you, and team it up with another using a different display, leaving you with one constant and one flashing.  This will help you get noticed on the road.  Most of these run off readily available batteries, much like the front lights.

 

We would advocate the use of two front lights and two rear lights, as you may have gathered from above, so that if the unthinkable happens and one of your lights runs out of battery you will still have another to keep you safe.

 

Finally, that bike you bought would have come with reflectors which you may (or may not) have removed, it’s probably time to put them back on as staying visible on the road is, along with your sense of awareness and intelligence, your best way to stay safe.