Night time mountain biking.

CardinalJ

Was talking to a few mates about night time mountain biking.

None of us have done it before but given its approaching the time of year when post work daylights spins won't be possible, so Im looking into it.

Trying to figure out what kind of lighting I'd need. Id guess handlebar and helmet lamps. Also need to figure out how many lumens I'd need. The price of some of the gear is mind boggling. Some lights for €600+ on CRC

Anyone have any experience of it?

Cheers,

John

Peterx

I use a Light&Motion Stella 200 which has comes with attachments to be either helmet or handlebar mounted. It's much better on the helmet as your light following where your head is looking and the light is mounted higher so going over small drops you can still see the trail ahead.

The 200 lumens are adequate - ie: on trails I know well or the Coillte built trails I can get around fine.

I would definitely like more light and a wider beam spread and if buying again would probably go for at least 400 lumens as when you go a bit faster the trail can come up too quickly for the light available - or I could eat more carrot.

There are plenty of websites such as deal extreme (I think) which have less expensive lights.
A quick google search will probably bring you to the MAD, EPIC or IMBRC dedicated MTB forums who have reams of detail on this stuff.

Tenzor07

Voila!

http://www.madmtb.com/forums/showpost.php?p=84163&postcount=2

CardinalJ

Interesting, I hadn't a clue how many lumens I'd need. 2500 lumens seems to be as high as it goes, but you could buy a bike for the cost of the light!

tomc

Lots of the MTB guys use these, more than adequate.




http://dx.com/p/ha-iii-cree-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-headlamp-set-4-18650-included-844029489

Tomred13

Hi
i use a hope vision one (400 lumens) for the handlebars and an exposure diablo (975 lumen) for the helmet. the hope cost 70 euro off crc and the exposure cost 250 euro off css. I know the exposure lights are expensive but its worth it and it will last forever, they are waterproof, they recharge quickly and are very very bright.
have to say i love nite-time mtbing and you will be surprised how many people do it, you will always meet someone out on the trails even in the worst weather. some of my fav spins this year were at nitetime in the sleet and snow..

deandean

Hi, I do a lot of night time MTB riding and I suggest the following: You want 400+ lumens, any more is good for mickey-size comparison but is a bit surplus to requirements.

Helmet mount is best; with an extension lead so you can have the battery in a pocket or rucksack - best not attached to your helmet.

The number one, best overall, light in my experience is the Hope Vision 2 currently costing about €200:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29380

it comes with a decent set of accessories, includes helmet & handlebar mounts, etc. Go for the 2-cell battery for runs <= 2 hours; or the 4-cell battey for longer runs.

I have used more powerful lights, e.g. I currently use the Vision 4, but I reckon the Vision 2 is the best all-rounder. And the Hope kit is faaaaaaaaaarrrrr more reliable than the Magisshine etc stuff that lasts 1 or 2 seasons.

Anyways, don't get caught up in the technology of the lights: pretty much any light will get you out on trails at night. You still have to pedal the damn bike. That's the hard bit. Enjoy!

CardinalJ

Thanks for all the replies so far.

I presume the lights are supposed to disperse the light rather than have a narrowish beam?

Just trying to get my head around the whole thing.

I'm imagine I'd be sh!ting myself up there for my first trip.

FISMA

Cardinal,
We do a lot of mtb'ing at night here in the States. Once day light savings time arrives, my after work cycle becomes too dangerous and we hit the trails.

You will not need a lot of light, but you will need two: one for the bike and one for the helmet. When you're on the trail, the helmet light will be the one that you are able to control and point where you want it to go.

Something like this for the bike is grand and this for your helmet.

CardinalJ wrote: »

I presume the lights are supposed to disperse the light rather than have a narrowish beam?

I would prefer the flood light (wide and short) for the bike and the farther, longer, more focused light on my head. In general, your head will be looking ahead, no pun intended :-), whereas the bike's light will often be pointing off the trail. This is especially true in twists and going uphill when you tend to rock the bars a bit.

sherlok

FISMA wrote: »

Cardinal,
You will not need a lot of light, but you will need two: one for the bike and one for the helmet. When you're on the trail, the helmet light will be the one that you are able to control and point where you want it to go.

I would prefer the flood light (wide and short) for the bike and the farther, longer, more focused light on my head. In general, your head will be looking ahead, no pun intended :-), whereas the bike's light will often be pointing off the trail. This is especially true in twists and going uphill when you tend to rock the bars a bit.

This is exactly the setup i use - flood on the bars and a spot on the helmet. you can get by with just a single light but you lose some perspective, so drops can get very exciting!

When i started off night riding we all used DIY set ups using incredibly heavy burglar alarm batteries and domestic downlights. Piddly light and run time by today's standards, but a lot of fun - so it's do-able without having the very best lights

I use one of these now, which I've found to be fantastic:
http://www.glowormlites.co.nz/products?product_id=24315

CardinalJ

Thanks.

Is there anywhere 'dodgy' in terms of weird people up the mountains at night?

Tenzor07

CardinalJ wrote: »

there anywhere 'dodgy' in terms of weird people up the mountains at night?

Probably, plenty of them up there during the day time also!

C3PO

CardinalJ wrote: »

Thanks.

Is there anywhere 'dodgy' in terms of weird people up the mountains at night?

Loads of them ..... most of them on mountain bikes!

CardinalJ

deandean wrote: »

The number one, best overall, light in my experience is the Hope Vision 2 currently costing about €200:

Looking at this at the moment. Seems to be pretty old but it has good reviews and is relatively (€178) given its power.

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/hope-vision-2-led-front-light/

Is the beam very concentrated?

C3PO

Loads of the guys in the club use the Vision 2 and swear by them! Personally I'd prefer a bit more power but that's probably just the old age!

CardinalJ

C3PO wrote: »

Loads of the guys in the club use the Vision 2 and swear by them! Personally I'd prefer a bit more power but that's probably just the old age!

Good stuff. Guess I'll have to get one so. Im not sure when the last month was where I didn't spend a load of cash on something bike related.

Have to get my girlfriend to sign up for wiggle to get the 10% referral voucher now......

karltimber

hi

have a look at this thread here -

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=77359193

good info from different folks.
I still use my Skyray - both on handlebars & helmet.

even to get one to try out - you'll need a charger & batteries too. euro40 total.
divide the order by 2 -- torch in 1, charger & batt in other order to eliminate customs charges.

at the time I made a vid of my torch too - here

k

edit : and a full section here - http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/

CardinalJ

Was up at three rock last night in the snow. If anyone can get up before the weekend I'd recommend it. Still huge amounts of snow up top.

Stayed on the two marked trails as I thought they'd be a bit more used and easier to get around. Top trail is hard work, only have around 12 inches of trail to stay on or your tyre burrows into the snow. The snow is also very chopped up so it's hard to keep your momentum. Lower trail is much easier, bit still a few chances of going over the bars but more enjoyable.

I wasn't on spiked tyres and didnt have much trouble.

John

ford2600

What light set up did you go for after?

Any bother with deer where you go? They are by far the biggest hazard I have to deal with when out at night!

CardinalJ wrote: »

Was up at three rock last night in the snow. If anyone can get up before the weekend I'd recommend it. Still huge amounts of snow up top.

Stayed on the two marked trails as I thought they'd be a bit more used and easier to get around. Top trail is hard work, only have around 12 inches of trail to stay on or your tyre burrows into the snow. The snow is also very chopped up so it's hard to keep your momentum. Lower trail is much easier, bit still a few chances of going over the bars but more enjoyable.

I wasn't on spiked tyres and didnt have much trouble.

John

CardinalJ

ford2600 wrote: »

What light set up did you go for after?

Any bother with deer where you go? They are by far the biggest hazard I have to deal with when out at night!

800Lm on bars 400Lm on helmet. There's deer about but I havnt had any close shaves at night. The snow shows exactly how many of them are up there. Tracks everywhere.

Bikerbhoy

CardinalJ wrote: »

Was up at three rock last night in the snow. If anyone can get up before the weekend I'd recommend it. Still huge amounts of snow up top.

Stayed on the two marked trails as I thought they'd be a bit more used and easier to get around. Top trail is hard work, only have around 12 inches of trail to stay on or your tyre burrows into the snow. The snow is also very chopped up so it's hard to keep your momentum. Lower trail is much easier, bit still a few chances of going over the bars but more enjoyable.

I wasn't on spiked tyres and didnt have much trouble.

John

Was up there myself yesterday during daylight hours , it was awesome.

fenris

The biggest problem with deer is when they stand still on the trail dazzled by your light thinking that they are invisible as long as they don't move, looking away for what with your headlamp and hoping that you have remembered the trail works - sometimes!

ford2600

The bright light is the problem, a few dodgy hunters use lamps to shoot them at night.
The ones you can see are not the problem, a pretty large stag crossed paths with me about a month back. Very close call.
October is the worst when the rutt is on

fenris wrote: »

The biggest problem with deer is when they stand still on the trail dazzled by your light thinking that they are invisible as long as they don't move, looking away for what with your headlamp and hoping that you have remembered the trail works - sometimes!

fenris

Ballinastoe a couple of years ago was a nightmare in September/October, had a few close calls with deer standing or crossing the trail.

The cull up there made a difference, either less deer or more cautions deer.
Keep an eye on the signs at the entrance to the woods as in Ballinastoe they seem to cull the deer at night so there is usually a sign warning you to stay out of the woods during that period.

About 15 years ago in Waterford we decided on a post pub spin to the Minaun, one of our non-MTB friends was persuaded/decided that he wanted to give it a lash so we borrowed a bike frome one of the lads sisters that would be called a hydrid today. Our lighting consisted of various modified bike lights and Petzl headlamps that between them needed at least two changes of batteries per session.

Coming into a corner at the bottom of a section known as Ronan's Runway for the older folks our new recruit locked his back wheel, which meant that his dynamo stopped and his light went out, he missed the rest of the corner and ploughed straight on into the woods screaming like a banshee before crashing, luckily her was drunk enough to be laughing hysterically as he searched for the bike and the trail in the dark as his only light was the dynamo.

funkyjebus

tomc wrote: »

Lots of the MTB guys use these, more than adequate.




http://dx.com/p/ha-iii-cree-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-headlamp-set-4-18650-included-844029489

I use the magicshine, cost less than €100 a few years ago and is very bright, so much so that it is dangerous to use on roads. Good battery life too. I would have this on my bars and a less powerful one on my helmet, never felt the need for more light.

studiorat

I had one of the magic shines, it lasted about 3 weeks before dying completely...

C3PO

studiorat wrote: »

I had one of the magic shines, it lasted about 3 weeks before dying completely...

You're not alone there!

ford2600

Was going to buy one until I read torchythebatteryboy blog. He imports light for China, think in first batch he returned 20% or so. That was more than enough for me.
Got one from mtbbatteries.co.uk Very good gear

C3PO wrote: »

You're not alone there!

shaka

Using this on my road bike and find it pretty good ,don't know if it would do up in the ballyhouras

www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=73905

Wouldn't mind giving it ago but don't know anyone doing it , club has few MTB people

shaka

By the way got mine in LBS cheaper than the special offer price on chain reactions

CardinalJ

ford2600 wrote: »

Was going to buy one until I read torchythebatteryboy blog. He imports light for China, think in first batch he returned 20% or so. That was more than enough for me.
Got one from mtbbatteries.co.uk Very good gear

Have a magic shine on the bars. Read good reviews and a few bad ones. Lasted over two hours last night in the cold before signaling it was starting to get low. Hadn't read much negative stuff about it. Had a decent review on bikeradar so given the price I said I'd give it a go.

fenris wrote: »

The biggest problem with deer is when they stand still on the trail dazzled by your light thinking that they are invisible as long as they don't move, looking away for what with your headlamp and hoping that you have remembered the trail works - sometimes!

My run in with a deer was during the day. One of them tried running away from me on the way down a fire road and I was going so fast I hit its back legs while braking. Lucky it didn't kick out at me.

Biopace

shaka wrote: »

Using this on my road bike and find it pretty good ,don't know if it would do up in the ballyhouras

www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=73905

Wouldn't mind giving it ago but don't know anyone doing it , club has few MTB people

I have the double setup of those lights, they are fine on the road and battery life is very good, I find they just don't have the penetration off-road though. I use a pair of ebay specials now (headlamp and bar mounted), and they are much, much better, despite a tendency to switch off unexpectedly!