6 tips for cycling at night - don't let the dark stop you riding

Point 1) is actually an area where riders need a tip about being considerate.

In this era of cheap LED's, too many riders overdo it and then needlessly blind everyone oncoming, from other riders, to pedestrians and even drivers.

You don't need the "brightest light in the shop". A modest amount of lumens is enough for the job.

Point your light downwards, not forwards, and it doesnt need to be illuminating the road (and everyone else) 30 yards away from you. At night you should be riding more carefully anyway.

Your relfectors are what most of you need to be visible rather than blinding everyone with the most "powerful" light in the shop.

If you're on narrow lanes, ALWAYS ensure to ride centrally particualrly around bends, in fact riding just to the left of the centre white line if there is one means those coming up from behind you will see your light far earlier on that bend than hugging the gutter.

Getting a brighter light so you can go faster is typical of the more is better and ignoring the Highway Code Rule 126 regarding going at a speed you can stop well within the distance you can see to be clear.  The brain can only take so much information in and react in a finite fashion, the less time you have because you're going at increased speeds means you're less able to react to stuff which = more chance of incident, even if you have a very good light.

Always, always ride within yourself, it's not a race and a few mph slower could be the difference between you getting home that night and not.

No-one has mentioned this, but I find drivers immeasurably more considerate at night than in daylight.  I ride rural roads at the moment, so no kerbs or white lines at the sides, the white lines in the middle of the road are faded or not there at all; whether it is this that makes drivers more cautious I don't know, but on an hour commute in the dark I rarely get one close pass.  Same road but in the daylight, it could be as many as 10.  In the dark they hang back and wait to be able to see much longer than in the daylight.

Something else to consider at night is really minor narrow country lanes may be worth avoiding.  In the daytime, these can be cycling heaven with little traffic.  But at night it's harder to see potholes and gravel on the surface, never mind branches overhanging or sticking out.  After heavy rain the surface of the road gets covered in small stones, leaves and other detritus, so the clear line for cycling is oftehn mych narrower.  It's also harder after rain, wet roads at night don't contrast with the verge, whereas a dry road surface is easier to spot. 

The comments at the start about what level of lumens you need seem way off to me.  If there are street lights, you don't need a bike light to see (or I don't, and I am mid fifties with one working eye) but to be seen.  I still have my front light on flashing when under street lights - the flash bounces off signs and other reflective surfaces too so pedestrians are more aware too.  Once out of town, I go to steady, probably something around 250 lumens is enough if you are cautious.  If you still want to charge around at 30kmh then go brighter, but please angle it down so it doesn't dazzle.

Sigma lights are my favoured, I bought some to hand out recently, the older PAVA is brilliant as the run time on high with 4xAA rechargeables exceeds anything on the market currently, you can also fit/remove in seconds, the beam pattern is perfect for road use and every bit lands in the areas you need.

The newer AURA series is pretty good, recently bought a new 60 Lux version as an additional light but only as it was a bargain private sale, I really didn't need another but you never know. Even the Aura 25 is very good and uses a 2xAA system, perfect for the casual user but still able to give you a light to see by in unlit conditions and excellent run time in excess of lights with internal batteries.

I found out that Lupine make a few STVZO lights, powerful and yes, expensive.

Exposure have had some on their website for a while now, and some bike sites have them for preorder, there are prices but so far very little extra information.

I had asked on a previous zombie article about lights, has anyone had any experience with the newer STVZO lights?  I'm thinking the current crop of powerful Exposure or maybe Lupine.

It might be nice to have a front light that would be dipped on roads, enough ompfh to see the road but patterned so as not to dazzle drivers, but then to be able to whack it up to full to see the complete trail.

New technology and all of that.

Simon E has it on the flash/strange light traces making the bikes look like tHey're going backwards.

What has Shakspeare got to do with anything? Britsh English uses got, wheras US English (or American as they prefer to call it in another attempt to put in distance between themselves and England) uses gotten,  in the current form of the language. It's an identifyer between the two countries, if the author was taught the language in the UK, they were taught to use  got, likewise gotten for the USA, If the author is British and uses gotten, then they are wrong.

Loads of 'Americanisms' are closer to the original English than our (UK's) current use - in many respects our English has evolved and deviated more. I suspect gotten is one of those examples - vaguely remember it popping up in some proper olde shitte at school.

'The choices for reflective clothing has gotten much better'

Really? This is what a professional journalist calls a sentence?

Please, somebody wake up the Editor and tell him his kids have hacked the site again.

I've been a regular nightrider for well over 30 years. 

The most important things that I have learnt are that the temperatures can really drop at night, so packing extra layers is really important.

Plan for the worst, so carry tools, spares and a headtorch. You may find yourself stranded and too late to use public transport if you can't fix your bike.

Lights are good, but on dark lanes, you will get used to the darkness, and having too bright a light means you have no awareness of what's going on in the hedgerows and fields around you which is part of the fun of nightriding. Good rear lights are important, but if it is dark, you will stand out from a long way back. Carry a spare and spare batteries though.

I actually think that having a light high up is deceptive. On a dark road, a high mounted light can give the false impression that the rider is further away from the driver, reflectives are more important than lights in my opinion.

Reflective spoke clips are a brilliant and relatively cheap addition to the bike and really visible from a long way off.

Riding with an organised group can be a lot of fun. I'd recommend the Fridays if you are London or South of England based: https://www.fnrttc.org.uk/ and of course everyone should try to ride the Dunwich Dynamo at least once!

https://southwarkcyclists.org.uk/product/dunwich-dynamo-xxvi-2829-july-2...

It's pleasant change to see two helmetless cyclists in a pic. on this site.

I have become a bit obsessed with safety after the deaths of Mike Hall, Michele Scarponi and others recently. Since then I now always ride with lights on during daylight. Normally they are on flash or pulse during the day and steady at night. I think the flashing daylight mode really helps drivers, dog walkers etc pay much more attention. There was a Danish study done which showed a significant decrease in the number of accidents among cyclist using lights in daylight.

For night riding I always carry a helmet light, the Lezyne one with both front and rear light. It serves as a spare light if the main ones go out and will be indispensable to fix a puncture or other mechanical.

Good lights are important, as is positioning of them but much more important is actually having lights in the first place which still seems to be a worrying issue that quite a few still don't bother.

I always commute with at least two sets of lights on my bike, one set to flashing (the brightest set) and one on steady; also carry a spare set - just in case.  I also wear the Proviz Switch jacket (high viz in daytime and reflective at night) together with the Respro ankle bands which are also reversible high viz/reflective.  On my longer rides I have a set of Lezyne Femtos plus a set of Moon Nebulas; people tend to give my bike a wide berth as the Nebulas are very bright!  I may look like a Christmas tree but at least I'm alive to tell the tale.

If on a long ride, take a portable power bank with you. Just in case your lights or phone fails (provided your lights are usb chargeable). Always take a spare rear light. I find positoning one on the bike and and one higher up (probably on the helmet) helps. Reflector strips are also good. I used these on the TCR on the back of the helmet, shoes and rear stays.  

On ebay I bought flashing light to go on my helmet. A red, flashing one facing backwards. It moves and at 7' up is more apparent to drivers.

I cycle after midnight in both towns and Shropshire countryside  - drivers are so dopey at night.

Prsonally found little difference between £80 lights and £15 ones but you pays your money ...

I think it helps if you know the roads too - night time isn't the time for discovering new pothole locations. 

And if you do have a mechanical remember you'll need a light to see by. So either a head torch or a light on your helmet.  You can't always use your main torch to fix punctures or whatever.

And yes always spare kit in case you need to stop. And I always pack a space blanket thing. Just in case I have a mechanical and I'm stranded for a while.