Night Riding Lights

[Foster]

Looking at getting my own light now for riding at night during endurance races.  I have looked at a couple companies but can't really come to a conclusion on what is a better value.  Looking at getting a light at least 750 lumens.  I was looking at niterider and cygolite.  They both have what I am looking for, but can anyone tell me from experience if there are any major function issues with one or both of these companies?  Or suggest another company if there is something better.  They need to be very durable, waterproof and have the best battery life possible, planning on doing the TD this summer, so it needs to suit that as well. 

Thanks

Eric

[redtabby]

My impression is that many TD riders run lights powered by standard AA batteries,
which can be found easily on-route.  For 24hr or 1-2 night endurance racing, if
you do it regularly (and maybe have a bicycle commute?), then you might look
at something rechargeable.  I think there are a couple of TD threads on this site
about light selection.  I saved up and bought some Lupine lights with rechargeable
batteries; they're great, but you have to be sort of nuts to shell out that kind of
money for lights.  Having pedaled through many different light technologies over
the years, the output/runtime/weight properties of today's LED gear are amazing.

[aaron w]

I agree it seems like the light you want for shorter endurance racing is different that what you'll want for the TD.  For shorter stuff I love my Ay-Up lights.  Super bright and light weight.  For longer races I've used lights that use AA/AAA. 

On the ctr I used a 60 lumen light on my bars and 100 lumen on my helmet.  I could have probably gone downhill a bit faster with brighter lights but usually it was not the lumen of my lights that prevented me from going faster.  It seems to me that for the TD you don't really need anything super bright mainly riding dirt roads and all. 

[nick]

I don't know about ultra distance like TD but for regular use, the most important things for me to have are: different light outputs (low, med, high and flash mode), not to heavy, a very good mounting system for your helmet so it doesn't move around all over the place as you ride (that can be a royal paint on tech/fast trails). I'v been using Niteriders for many years on the Shore and always liked them. Never tried the new ones (still using my old HID) but as soon as I have spare cash I just may splurge on some.

[ImAFred]

I run a 220 lumen 3 aaa handlebar flashlight and a 250 lumen niterider mininewt rechargeable ... and was able to negotiate my way through the goose

[Foster]

Thanks for the help, I think I found what I was looking for.  I did end up buying 2 lights for 2 different types of racing.  Couldn't get and all in one light.  So basically a light for rides under 500 miles with a rechargeable battery, and one that uses AA's for the TD.

Got one of these.  This one has a 25 hour battery life on low which I believe is 250 lumens which is plenty for a 300-500 mile race.  And if I'm cruising really fast I can bump up the lumens a bit to 750 for a shorter period of time.

<a href="http://www.cygolite.com/products/tridenx750xtra.html"[/url]

And got one with AA batteries that can mount on my helmet.  50 hour battery life.

[Dumpster Juice]

I use a rechargable Niterider Moab. It is great for short races, but i would look for something that runs on AA or AAA batteries for longer events. I really like having the trail in front of me bright at night...

[bmike-vt]

Anyone using one of the Dinotte's and AAs?

I run a dyno on my rando bike, will eventually build up something like that for my Fargo, but need to replace a broken battery light (also took AAs) to get me to next spring. Was liking the price and that I can use AAs...

I have been playing with a Fenix LD20, might even pick up another, or one of the CR123 versions.

[Rob Colliver]

Fenix LD20 did me fine on the Tour ... just kept my speed down to about 15mph to stay in the beam on the downhills  - for ups/flats and camping it was superb.

[Dave-W]

Eric - This light http://www.geomangear.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=4_19_22&products_id=319 is by far the best light I have ever used or seen.  The construction and weight are excellent.  I rode the whole coco loop with it on my helmet and could not even tell it was there.

If you got a second batt. you could have 100 hour of run time...

[bmike-vt]

Fenix LD20 did me fine on the Tour ... just kept my speed down to about 15mph to stay in the beam on the downhills  - for ups/flats and camping it was superb.

Bars or head? Or both.
I have one, been playing with it on the head.
I have a Dinotte XML1 for AAs on the way to me.
Run time isnt' great - but it puts our 300-400 lumens (they haven't run extensive tests on it yet, brand new) on high, for 2 hours, double that on medium, and more on low. But, I wanted replaceable batteries...

Will combine this with the LD20 and see how it goes.

For TD 013 I'm looking at a SON and a Supernova E3 triple as primary.
Secondary will likely be the LD20 or something smaller.


DaveW - the new Lupines look great. If I was into singletrack / 24hr racing I'd have a setup.
I've had bad luck with proprietary batts in the past (I'm looking at you, NiteRider from the early 00s).

[afie]

Anyone using one of the Dinotte's and AAs?

The 200L (5W?) was fine for me on the TD in 2007.

[Rob Colliver]

LD20 was on my helmet - held in place by a cunningly shaped bit of innertube (I borrowed the idea from a thread on this site). I test rode at tour speed for  a night ride and decided one light was sufficient - I would not change that decision.

[mtnbound]

I have the Fenix LD20 and have been testing it for the CTR.  On 3 rides, I have only gotten about 45-50 minutes on turbo using normal AA batteries.  After 45 minutes, it dimmed considerably and I could hardly use it.  I switched to my backup light for the helmet - BD Storm headlamp (100 lumens that runs for 50 hours on 3 AAA batteries - at least that is the stated run time), which works pretty well, is waterproof and lightweight and has a really long battery life.

I have noticed that many posters like the LD20 for endurance events.  On long distance events like the TDR and CTR, do riders use the turbo (180 lumen) or the regular (80 lumen)? 

I love the turbo when combined with my mininewt but 45 minutes just is not going to cut it for endurance events.  Is there something wrong with my light since the stated run time on turbo is 2 hours?  Or do I need MiNh batteries to get it up to 2 hrs?

[Done]

Hi mtnbound,

On the CTR, I have come to accept that I just can't have that many lumens when riding at night. Batteries are heavy, and even the most efficient lights will burn through batteries quickly if they are very bright. While I have an awesome Gemini Xera for rides like Kokopelli's Trail, I used a MUCH dimmer Bike Planet bar light and Petzle headlamp on the CTR. Disposable lithium batteries are good, as they have a much higher energy/weight ratio than alkalines. Rechargeable batteries and systems are, in my mind, a little scary since there's no reasonable way to charge them on the trail.

But a lot really depends on how much you intend to ride at night, and how many days you expect to take. I'm a slow guy who rides a fair bit at night, so long-lasting (albeit dim) lights work OK for me. I may upgrade to the Dinotte with AAs (it's somewhat more energy-efficient than my Bike Planet light), but I expect that I'll be using it mostly on its lowest settings.

[mtnbound]

Hi Toby,

Thanks for your comment.  I have been working on how to get the most lumens and hours of light with the least amount of weight.  I guess I have to scale the lumens down. 

With my CTR plan, I expect to stay in 2 hotel/motels (likely BV and Silverton) and plan on recharging batteries there for mininewt 600 cordless.  The mininewt is waterproof, relatively light (190 grams), though not as light as some, but powerful.  Since it runs around 4 hrs for 250 lumens, I was thinking of taking a two extra batteries for it and recharge at the motels.  The batteries are about same size and weight as a AA and you only need one at a time (it takes less than 5 minutes to replace the battery).  I plan on riding a few hours at night and maybe 1 hour in the dark before dawn (so around 3 hrs each night), so each battery should last at least one night.  Of course, this may drastically change as I continue to prep and learn about my abilities and the CT.  Thus, I was thinking 3 batteries will last the planned 3 nights until BV, recharge to get thru to Silverton, recharge again.  My overall goal/plan is that CTR will take me 9-11 days, so I will definitely not be in the lead pack!  Toby, I looked at your 2010 route that shows the mileage for each of your days and I hope to be somewhere close to that.

The more I think about it, the LD20 just isn't what I am looking for.  It is a bright light but the batteries just aren't worth the weight for so little run time (even assuming I could get 2 hrs on turbo - 180 lumens).  And to run it at 80 lumens for around 3 1/2 hrs just isn't that long and would require new batteries every night.  The BD Storm headlamp, on the other hand, is waterproof, weighs about the same as the LD20, and runs high (100 lumens) for about 50 hrs (enough to get thru the CTR, though carrying 3 extra AAA batteries isn't a big deal).

[chrisx]

Fenix LD20  gotten about 45-50 minutes on turbo using normal AA batteries.  

  Or do I need MiNh batteries to get it up to 2 hrs?

rechargeable batteries last a while.  Fenix doesnot recommend lithium batteries
http://www.energizer.com/batteries/rechargeable/Pages/aa.aspx

[RossC]

Check out K-lites as another versatile option. You can customise the output levels depending on the application and get some ridiculously long run times out of them (Anywhere between 5 hours and 120 hours ) and they still put out more light than my AAA Princeton tec Eos.  I don't think there is a AA option although I'm pretty sure Kerry would come up with a solution, he likes a challenge.

http://www.klite.com.au/

[Done]

I'm digging into the possibility of using disposable lithium AA batteries with my Gemini Xera. It's programmable to any brightness, so I should be able to reduce its draw to an acceptable level that a stack of AAs can handle. I'm planning on making a case over the weekend and giving it a try. Might be the best of all worlds: a highly efficient XM-L emitter, adjustable brightness, disposable batteries--and no need spend more money on additional lights. I'll let everyone know how this works.

[Area54]

For the Kiwi this year, I'm running an Exposure Race, top it up with power from a SON 28 NEW via E-Werk. Not a cheap option, but I like the integrated nature of the Exposure (internal battery) and external charge port availability during use.

Ayups as backup.