I just did some surgery on a light.
Sue and I tried a night ride at Whopper Wednesday night but one of our lights wouldn’t mount on the bar. Turns out the nut for the quick release became wedged. No amount of prying or cursing could dislodge it. My fix… I took the innards and placed them in an old BLT housing. It took some frankensteining to make it water tight but seems to work good.
Now Sue has a helmet mount which she prefers.
that will rock
have u ridden grunter at night i bet that would be a serious chalenge
Perfect, haha
I have a few questions about lighting. They all really boil down to what types of lights are the best all around on a mountain bike? I probably won’t use it all that much but I would like to upgrade from the cheap led one I have now because it’s not bright enough. I need something tough, small and not too expensive with decent lighting. Battery life isn’t too important to me as I can’t see any of my night rides lasting too long but I’m sure thats what they all say when you get stuck in the woods at night with a dead light.
I was writing a big lengthy answer for you, and this stupid computer crashed again. One more time, and it gets the broadsword…
Anyways, look for something bright and fairly well supported. BLT, Light and Motion and others are there with parts and accessories for you. Budget at least 150 bucks for something decent light. Your first light will probably be a halogen light. Try to get a helmet mounted light so you can see where you are looking. Stay away from commuter lights. You need a dedicated MTB light. You can also build your own, and there are DIY guides around the net, but building battery packs and the like is not for everyone.
I'll try find some decent links and maybe an expert for you.
Yup night riding is just around the corner and I’m stoked for it!
I built my own LED lights.
I’d say steer clear of the halogens, heavy batteries, short run time, lots of heat… There are lots of options for LED’s ranging from DIY to crazy $600 lights to the cheapie commuter lights from MEC.
If I was lookign to buy somethign just to use or to tinker with, recon you can’t really go wrong with this:
Yea, most people seem to prefer a helmet mount around here. I was surprised to hear MBA suggest a bar mount if you only ride one though… their reasoning was that a bar mount has a lower beam height with respect to trail features so they will cas a larger shadow and will thus be easier to see. I had never considered that! I prefer a bar mount for my only system too on account of my tendency to look around too much! When you have a helmet mount system and you look away from the trail (don’t ask me why I do it, but I do it a lot!) you lose your peripheral vision on the trail.
But again, I think I’m in the minority who prefer the bar mount in Maritimes.
It seems that most of the decent systems come with both options these days anyway! Try it out and se what you prefer.
Yea, most people seem to prefer a helmet mount around here. I was surprised to hear MBA suggest a bar mount if you only ride one though… their reasoning was that a bar mount has a lower beam height with respect to trail features so they will cas a larger shadow and will thus be easier to see. I had never considered that! I prefer a bar mount for my only system too on account of my tendency to look around too much! When you have a helmet mount system and you look away from the trail (don’t ask me why I do it, but I do it a lot!) you lose your peripheral vision on the trail.
But again, I think I’m in the minority who prefer the bar mount in Maritimes.
It seems that most of the decent systems come with both options these days anyway! Try it out and se what you prefer.
I look around quite a bit too trying to break thatr habbit maybe enough night time crashes will help
I suspect the MBA crew ride different trails than we do. Our trails are tight and twisty, low speed with lots of turning. A bar mount doesn’t shine around corners, which is my main complaint with them. For open high speed trails, with more gradual turns, a bar mount might work better.
I’ve only had one situation where my helmet-mounted light didn’t work well. I was on a dirt road, where the light washed out all the details in the road, so I couldn’t see the contours.
I originally got a light in case my rides lasted past sunset to get me home. I still find that’s my main use, but they really do open possibilities for riding. No more rushing to get off the trail back to the trailhead before darkness. No more ‘I’d love to go for a ride, but it’s too dark, so I’ll have to wait to the weekend.’ I’ve also had some spectacular night rides, especially under a full moon on snowy trail in the winter.
I just read that MBA article it's conclusion isridiculous
All the good reasons why you should have a helmet mount are mentioned,
but they choose a handlebar mount saying that the headlamp is on the same plane as your eye sight and doesn't create shadows. BUT YOU CAN SEE
I say a headlamp should be your first purchase because you can see where you look.
Abar mountilluminates the direction thefront wheel points which may not be illuminating up the trail or around corners.
My Spin on this;you should have both or at least a back up light for emergencies.
A bar mount is necessary if you encounter fog wherea head lamp is useless.
A note to all the Newbies; winter will soon be here mountain biking does not end it only gets better.
The trails smooth out
There are no bugs
Swampy trails become accessible and lakes can be crossed.
I am sure there will be some ice races this year.
Now is the time to shop for a suitable set of tires to stud,
STORE BOUGHT STUDDED TIRES SUCK
Locally groups of people get together after a fresh snow fall and snowshoe pack the trails.
If you don't have snowshoes ask Santa for a set.
.
.
I think you need to spend at least $200 to get a decent light. However I seem to recall that MEC had a low cost light at one time that might be a good starter option.
Ideally, you should find a light you like, bite the bullet and spend the money on it. They last a long time. We have several lights between Bikergrl and myself and our oldest ones are some lead acid 10Watt BLT lights, one or two are still using the original batteries.
Maybe your best bet is to borrow someone’s light, and see if you really want to do it. (Which will no doubt get you hooked)
Then, it’s a lot easier to justify spending a bit of coin for a decent light. And since you’ll be spoiled with a good one, you will not be able to make do with a crappy one!
