Best Light for Night Mountain Bike Riding

[tinmug]

My 2c worth: break the bank and buy something with a replaceable battery (you'll definitely save in the long run). And it's available locally (haven't read the reply schpiel up above but I'm sure somebody steered you in the right direction.

So in short, I reckon, +1 for going local. 

[droo]

2 hours ago, madmarc said:

Extreme Lights have great products but at extreme prices

Nope.

THIS is expensive.

Extreme are Magicshine marked up so you don't have to ship them back to China to get a warranty. 2 or 3 grand for a decent light with local backup is very reasonable.

[Mongoose!]

2 minutes ago, droo said:

 

THIS is expensive.

 

with the physical size of that battery, it should power an e bike motor as well 

[droo]

1 hour ago, Mongoose! said:

with the physical size of that battery, it should power an e bike motor as well 

8 000 lm with a proper beam pattern and 20h of runtime on low beam. Something's gotta give. Well, in this case 2 things cos your wallet will take a beating as well.

[Sprockets]

Pretty happy with my Ryder Concept light! Affordable and nice to use in loadshedding

[117]

We've recebtly bought a set of the Outbound lighting lights. Best in class and we ride alot of single track at night.

But, it is expensive

https://www.outboundlighting.com/collections/mountain-bike-lights/products/evo-downhill-package-best-bike-light

[The Ouzo]

4 hours ago, Duane_Bosch said:

For mountain biking at night. Just my humble opinion I used 2 lights. A bar mount AND a head mount.

The head one lights up where you want to go and the bar one lights up where you are going. Not necessarily the same thing.

Having said that night riding is not for me.

having done many many rides equating to many hours of night riding, but on the road, I can see where you're coming from. I'd hate to be trying to navigate a technical offroad course in the dark, at speed.

I have 1000lm Lezyne light, its sometimes not enough on the road. Although I do find when there is less ambient light around the 1000lm seems a bit more adequate.

 

Having said that, there is something magical about riding at night.

[Spinnekop]

I have been riding with https://www.exposurelights.co.za/ for close to 10 years now.
Not one day wasted on thinking this was a waste.
Night rides on the MTB and then loads and LOADS for rides starting at 4/5am heading out.

Expensive.
But
it lasts a lifetime.  Serious strong.  No external battery pack.  Solid mount.

[ChrisF]

4 hours ago, Duane_Bosch said:

For mountain biking at night. Just my humble opinion I used 2 lights. A bar mount AND a head mount.

The head one lights up where you want to go and the bar one lights up where you are going. Not necessarily the same thing.

Having said that night riding is not for me.

 

In my humble opinion ... anybody wanting to a night ride at an event.  Do a few short nights rides to get comfortable with this.

 

It is SO different to day riding !!!!!

 

 

Maybe I need to try it again one day, with GOOD lights ... both bar and head mounted ....

 

My first try with a poor bar mounted light on a new trail left bad scars in my memory bank ...

 

EDIT - I have done many road rides starting in the pitch dark night.  As long as the light is okay to properly see the road ahead thats fine.  Actually something soothing about being out that early and experiencing the dawn and the start of the day .....  doing single tracks needs a whole different level of lighting ....

 

And yes, most of the lights on the shelves only have about 3 hours of battery life at full blast.  I have started a road ride using a smaller light on full taps .. knowing it will only last until dawn, then switch on the second light for the next 5 hours in the saddle, on slow strobe.

 

PS - fast strobe can DRAIN the battery !

Edited October 6, 2023 by ChrisF

[The Ouzo]

21 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

And yes, most of the lights on the shelves only have about 3 hours of battery life at full blast.  I have started a road ride using a smaller light on full taps .. knowing it will only last until dawn, then switch on the second light for the next 5 hours in the saddle, on slow strobe.

on a cold winters morning, my Lezyne will do 1 hour at @ 1000lm and then its flat.  Have to charge it daily.

One needs to factor in the ambient temps into the run times of battery operated devices.

[droo]

48 minutes ago, Spinnekop said:

I have been riding with https://www.exposurelights.co.za/ for close to 10 years now.
Not one day wasted on thinking this was a waste.
Night rides on the MTB and then loads and LOADS for rides starting at 4/5am heading out.

Expensive.
But
it lasts a lifetime.  Serious strong.  No external battery pack.  Solid mount.

These are some of the best available in SA for sure.

[stringbean]

After 30 years going thru most brands I must say extreme lights range have been the best for me and worth every cent

[PhilipV]

I have been night riding for 20 years  Mtb rides, including many 24 hrs solos. I’ve had lights duct taped to bar ends, head lamps, big multiple lights and now found the sweet spot. 

People over think lights. You don’t need to break the bank and buy a lot of light for Ezel. Any of the 1000Lm -1200Lm lights offered by Extreme or the generic rip-off’s will be fine. One of these on the bar and a headlamp zip tied tot the helmet and you are fine.

on the climbs power the light down to a mid setting, or switch it off and use the headlamp and use full light blast when descending. 

Side note: I wish more people would use a single non flashing red light on the back. it makes you more visible to faster riders approaching from behind. This is something that will happen at Ezel. Gauranteed. 

Edited October 6, 2023 by PhilipV