Night Riding

Darkness, it all its veiled secrecy, uncovers a side of cycling that lifts inhibitions and kindles in riders a certain weightless stealth as they carve a trail of light deep into the night. Routine night riders may claim that riding under the shroud of night demands better bike handling skills, but most night riding handicaps are easily snuffed out with the proper equipment.

Lights

Bike lights come in a variety of styles with varying degrees of potency. The three most common locations to mount lights are the helmet, handlebar and rear flashing light. While a debate smolders as to which is better — helmet of handlebar-mounted lights — many agree that having both is optimal. If you must choose between one or the other, below are a few elements to consider when deciding whether to use your head or your hands to light the way.

Helmet or Handlebar?

Helmet or handlebar-mounted lights should throw enough light on the trail ahead to help guide you through turns and over obstacles without slowing your speed too much. The basic difference between a helmet and a handlebar-mounted light is that a helmet light lets you see exactly where your head is pointed and a handlebar light lets you see exactly where your bike is pointed. The benefit to a helmet light is having an advantage when riding sharp switchbacks or labyrinthine single-track. The disadvantage to a helmet light is the way the beam reflects off of airborne particles, which evens out the landscape and makes trail detail difficult to see. The benefit to a handlebar light is having better depth of field perception. The lower positioning of a handlebar light casts shadows off of large objects and gives the rider a better idea of size and proximity of obstacles. The disadvantage to a handlebar light is its fixed position where only the trail in front of the wheel is visible, which may be a problem on fast descents and tight curves.

Halogen vs. H.I.D.

The strength of your light’s beam depends on the type of lamp — incandescent (halogen) or High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D.) Typical halogen lamps throw a yellow beam on the trail at a distance of 6-7 feet and have a burn time of roughly two hours depending on wattage. Halogen has long been the gold sandard of bike lighting systems and many cyclists — especially urban cyclists — swear by its negotiability when external light (streetlamps, car lights, neon signs, etc…) affect cyclists’ path of vision.

Through a transfer of technology from the emergency room to the outdoors, perhaps the new standard in night riding is H.I.D. lamps. The crisp, wider beam of an H.I.D. lamp throws light that is 300% brighter than halogen and, according to popular opinion, once you try an H.I.D. lamp, you will never go back to halogen. The Nightpro