[crystalcai]

Recently I have seen many videos and tips on night biking ,but never tried. Has anyone here tried ,can you share some experience with me?

 

[maxfrm]

Is this some sort of joke??? Did you ever BMX as a kid with your friend's possibly at night? If you are actually serious about this, what are you wanting us to share? The equipment we use or maybe the clothing we wear?

 

[nolight]

That's the only thing I ever do. Day riding is too hot.

 

[Bill2]

I used to commute to/from shifts at night in northern Cali (north of Roseville) and here in northeast Italy. Very peaceful and tranquil- I loved it. Do get a bright headlight and taillight though.

 

[Mr_Clean]

Night rides - only with my mountain bike. A helmet plus a bar mount lamp works best for me.

 

[tlg]

Has anyone here tried ,can you share some experience with me?

Yes. It can be fun. Except when you crash and break your shoulder

Make sure your light is bright enough. One on the handlebar and one on the helmet is a good idea. Then you can light up the road and where you look at the same time. Plus you have a backup. Don't forget the blinker on the back too.

Riding with a group at night is fun too. You don't need to run your lights as bright since all the lights together light up the road quite well. I think it's a little safer too. We ride back country roads, and it's pretty hard to miss us.

 

[JCavilia]

All winter I commute home in the dark every day. You need good lights. Fortunately, with the huge advances in bright LED technology in the last few years, bright lights with decent battery life are widely available and much cheaper than just a few years ago.

There are many threads discussing lights (and reflectors, clothing, etc.) on this board. Do a search.

 

[marhot]

Only in group rides.
But on a summer's night ... they are the best !

Advice: lights, lights, and more lights...

 

[Litespeed_96]

Buy the brightest light you can afford.

 

[mpre53]

If you're serious about it, and employed during normal hours, you'll want to ride in the winter, weather permitting. And in much of the US, that means riding at night.

 

[Sisophous]

If there are no cars where you are riding it may be fun. I'd be very concerned about drunk drivers at night.

 

[LostViking]

Used to ride to and from work at night/early morning in Copenhagen, Denmark - street lighting and summertime half-light up North was good enough so I didn't need lights. Loved it - no traffic - I was haulin'!
These days, the only time I ride at night is by accident - I have electric lights on the bike just in case...will probably take them off as Summertime light increases.

 

[JCavilia]

If there are no cars where you are riding it may be fun. I'd be very concerned about drunk drivers at night.

Granted, drunk drivers can cause hazards, but that's true in the day as well. And while they may be statistically more numerous at night, it is not the case that all drivers are drunk. So it's not really necessary to limit riding to where there are "no cars". (where is that, anyway?)

You have taillights and reflective material so that drivers can see you. You pick routes to avoid the worst hazards; e.g., narrow roads with heavy, fast traffic (just like in the day). And you ride with care and attention. No activity is perfectly safe, but riding with traffic at night is not some kind of suicide mission.

It's fun, actually.

 

[tarwheel2]

I bike commute year-round, so I am riding in the dark during at least one leg of my commute about 8 months out of the year. With good lights, riding in the dark is great but I must admit that I prefer daylight.

 

[B_arrington]

Most of my road riding is done at night too. After getting home from work and putting the kids to bed, it's when I have time. I find I actually prefer it - less cars, peaceful, hear the night bugs and birds, and with lights you can stand out more than daytime.

Last time I rode during the day I was annoyed how many more cars there were.

Here's my setup:

• Front light: Niterider Lumina 650 mounted on helmet. This light is exceptionally bright.
• Front light: Bontrager Ion2 light mounted on bars, set to blink.
• Rear light: Bontrager Flare 3 on seat post, set to blink. Very bright.
• Rear light: Bontrager Ember, mounted on rear of helmet. Set to steady.
• Reflective material: I buy clothing with reflective material and have a ton of this sewn into it. It's on: hem of my jerseys, arms of long sleeve jersey, heels of my shoes, backs of my gloves, seams of my bike shorts and tights.

As others have said, the key is lots of lighting both to see and be seen. My wife was initially very nervous about my riding at night. Then she saw me coming down the street all lit up and decided my get-up bordered on being obnoxiously visible.

 

[mpre53]

Most of my road riding is done at night too. After getting home from work and putting the kids to bed, it's when I have time. I find I actually prefer it - less cars, peaceful, hear the night bugs and birds, and with lights you can stand out more than daytime.

Last time I rode during the day I was annoyed how many more cars there were.

Here's my setup:

• Front light: Niterider Lumina 650 mounted on helmet. This light is exceptionally bright.
• Front light: Bontrager Ion2 light mounted on bars, set to blink.
• Rear light: Bontrager Flare 3 on seat post, set to blink. Very bright.
• Rear light: Bontrager Ember, mounted on rear of helmet. Set to steady.
• Reflective material: I buy clothing with reflective material and have a ton of this sewn into it. It's on: hem of my jerseys, arms of long sleeve jersey, heels of my shoes, backs of my gloves, seams of my bike shorts and tights.

As others have said, the key is lots of lighting both to see and be seen. My wife was initially very nervous about my riding at night. Then she saw me coming down the street all lit up and decided my get-up bordered on being obnoxiously visible.

I actually agree that being well-lighted makes you stand out more at night, than you are during the day, when you can easily get swallowed up in the surroundings. Even with bright clothes.

 

[Sisophous]

So it's not really necessary to limit riding to where there are "no cars". (where is that, anyway?)

My favorite ride is on trails, paved preferably. The Bronx River Parkway trail in Westchester County New York has some road crossings otherwise, there are no cars. I take a 5 mile trail to the top of the Kensico Dam a couple times each week. The top of the dam is 100 feet high. I never did it at night.

Bronx River Pathway Bike Map | NYC Bike Maps

 

[oily666]

I prefer it in hot weather. I'm one of a group of four riders who will do two or three night rides a week. In summer, it's not dark until 9:15 or so, but we often finish later than that. It's also a way to get miles when you can't get away from work. We have rural roads we can access within two miles of the start that are very low traffic and good to ride.

Our lights vary from one rider to the next, but none of them are cheap. I have what I'd call a "nominal set-up. Cygolite Turbo 740 extra (longer life battery) and a Radbot 1000 1W LED Tail Light. DiNotte at both ends if you have the $$$. Strobe settings on head lights until / at dusk. I also run Princeton Tec Eos on my helmet as a back up. It's also great for getting the attention of cross traffic.

Long battery life or a couple extra rechargable batteries are a good idea. Get a head light that doesn't have to be on the high setting to do the job. Reflective add-ons and clothing also. The best thing we've got going is that we're a group, not a single rider.

 

[gabkr]

bright lights

Yes. It can be fun. Except when you crash and break your shoulder

Make sure your light is bright enough. One on the handlebar and one on the helmet is a good idea. Then you can light up the road and where you look at the same time. Plus you have a backup. Don't forget the blinker on the back too.

Riding with a group at night is fun too. You don't need to run your lights as bright since all the lights together light up the road quite well. I think it's a little safer too. We ride back country roads, and it's pretty hard to miss us.

2nd the bright light comment,visible to cars and seeing road was okay w/ prev. light,but seeing objects in road caused a couple of ripped tires/rim scrapes...purchased a N Rider 650 to use now. Only other things are dogs chasing when you can't see them and the possible drunk driver.

 

[marhot]

Most of my road riding is done at night too. After getting home from work and putting the kids to bed, it's when I have time. I find I actually prefer it - less cars, peaceful, hear the night bugs and birds, and with lights you can stand out more than daytime.

Last time I rode during the day I was annoyed how many more cars there were.

Here's my setup:

• Front light: Niterider Lumina 650 mounted on helmet. This light is exceptionally bright.
• Front light: Bontrager Ion2 light mounted on bars, set to blink.
• Rear light: Bontrager Flare 3 on seat post, set to blink. Very bright.
• Rear light: Bontrager Ember, mounted on rear of helmet. Set to steady.
• Reflective material: I buy clothing with reflective material and have a ton of this sewn into it. It's on: hem of my jerseys, arms of long sleeve jersey, heels of my shoes, backs of my gloves, seams of my bike shorts and tights.

As others have said, the key is lots of lighting both to see and be seen. My wife was initially very nervous about my riding at night. Then she saw me coming down the street all lit up and decided my get-up bordered on being obnoxiously visible.

Nice set-up.... :thumbsup:
I use:

• Helmet mount: a 100 lumen headlamp
• Handlebar mount: 1200 Lumen CREE XML T6 Bulb
• Handlebar 2nd mount:300 lumen CREE tactical light set to blink
• Rear: 30 lumen Knog Boomer
• Rear: Knog Frog Strobe (2)