I love riding at night. It really expands on the magic of biking in general. I am like many others on this thread, loving dyno lighting for active lighting at night. Steady lights front and back. For passive, I have a Riv ankle band strapped to each side of my basket, reflective plastic on each wheel, something like this <https://www.walmart.com/ip/Aktudy-Bicycle-Spoke-Plastic-Reflective-Lens-Wheel-Rim-Reflector-Safe-Warning-Clip/846882037>, a yellow reflective triangle hanging off my saddle, and all of my pedals have reflective strips. What is nice about my setup is I don't have to grab anything special out of the door: it is all on the bike, all the time.
Ride like the wind, under the moon, Edwin On Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 10:10:49 AM UTC-6 Coal Bee Rye Anne wrote: > This thread reminds me I'm long overdue for a greatly needed head clearing > night ride and still have a roll of 3M reflective tape and some reflective > dots I've meant to apply. I keep stalling because I haven't actually > cleaned my bike(s) in forever and whenever I do it's because I'm swapping > something or another and then wait to be sure I want to keep the build > before I further accessorize. > > I really enjoy night rides and being fortunate enough to reside in a > complex directly across from trail access to a network of multiuse trails > through a sprawling park mostly consisting of open meadows means leisurely > riding under nothing but the moon and stars with little need for much > lighting except for the few sections that run though more heavily wooded > areas with a full canopy, Though I've tended to not venture too deep on the > longer loops any longer and more or less stay nearby the more open trails > which also intersect the local road crossings to allow easier detours and > bail-out options since the park closes at dusk. > > I have not yet ventured into Dyno or generator hub territory, although I > did have prior plans to attempt an LED set up with a vintage Sturmey Archer > Dynohub on an abandoned 3 speed project, but that fell through for > unrelated reasons I won't get into here. For lighting I have a couple > Princeton Tec Eos lights which have 3 brightness settings and the brightest > does a pretty good job lighting up the trail under the darkest canopies in > our local trails. I keep one mounted on the bars (currently on a drop bar > single speed) with a second on the helmet for peeking around the curves > during the darkest parts. I've played around a bit with light placement > and although I really liked having a light mounted low near the wheel since > it really highlights any irregularities or obstacles in the trail ahead, I > really didn't care for the shadow from the wheel/tire on one side. I tried > a fork crown mount on my recent build but it was awfully close to the tire > and offered neither the same detail of the terrain like low beam near the > hub or midfork mounts nor the convenience of the bar mount for easy on/off > for when riding in those open air moon lit smooth trail sections where I > really enjoy the complete lack of any artificial light and a leisurely > pace. This is all a very personal approach for my particular route and if > I were doing more commuting or riding after dark in busier areas and with > more car traffic I think I'd already have converted to a generator of some > sort. > > The Eos 'Bike' models I have are very outdated and likely have long been > replaced with newer models but I've no plans to upgrade until they meet > their demise and still run on a few AA batteries (I think, should probably > double check and refresh with the time change that just occured since I > can't recall when I last put fresh batteries) and I really liked the > multiple mounts they came with: bar mounts with rubber shims, helmet mount > with velcro strap, plus an elastic headband for regular headlamp usage. > If/when I do replace I'll look for something rechargeable, so the > consumption of standard batteries is certainly the biggest drawback. > > I have a back-up Planet Bike Beamer light mounted similarly to the > handlebars of another bike but it comes nowhere near the brightness of the > EOS so I rarely use this one alone and try to remember to bring the helmet > light to supplement whereas if I take the Eos equipped bike I'm otherwise > more confident with just the single bar mounted light. > > Now I just need to get back out there one of these nights. > > Best, > Brian Cole > Lawrence NJ > > > On Thursday, November 11, 2021 at 8:10:05 AM UTC-5 Bill Schairer wrote: > >> Please don't ride with one of those blinding, pulsing, rear strobe >> lights. On my ride home last night somebody with one of those decided he >> had to pass me and I could barely see anything. I guess he probably felt >> safer but he was definitely putting me at greater risk. I also try to >> remember to put my ankle reflector bands on - the argument I read that made >> sense to me being that the motion clearly identifies one as a cyclist. >> Cheap and easy so why not? >> >> Bill >> San Diego >> On Monday, November 8, 2021 at 3:57:10 PM UTC-8 Adam wrote: >> >>> I tried to post this yesterday, but it doesn't seem to have popped up. >>> >>> It's the time of year for riding at night. (??) I'd like to hear other >>> folks' strategies and recommendations for fun rides at night. >>> >>> My rides at night have mostly been 15-20 mile road rides, fairly fast. >>> The main problem I've had is relaxing, especially at higher speeds with the >>> reduced visibility. I've been curious about trail riding but haven't tried >>> it. >>> >>> thoughts? I'm not buying dynamos right now, but have adequate lights, >>> backups, vest, etc. I'm mostly looking for ride ideas, things not to do, >>> things that are more fun than they sound, etc. >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> Adam >>> >>> >>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/05dea126-b9e7-465a-ad41-aa0fab7ee636n%40googlegroups.com.
