Two lights? Or is one enough?

[adaib]

Hi, I'm going to buy a proper bike light so i can start doing 12 hours and make my way to doing a 24 solo (its a long term goal ok!!)
But I've been looking around and they are not cheap :/
So i was wondering, is it really worth the extra $200 or so to get a helmet mounted light, or will having one on your bars be suitable?

I'm looking at either Ay-Ups or Niteriders, both a mid range in price and lumen output.

Please let me know what you think

 

[Ivan]

I prefer 2 lights, especially on tight switchbacks.

 

[Nerf Herder]

I think you need 2 lights with the yups ...

I've had problems with the older NR HiDs with mysterious blub issues and battery life ... not sure if that is all resolved now.

Aussie, reliable, I still reckon great value ... bit under gunned, but for first lights they are worth it.

Best of all you can use them for light sabers if you have kids

 

[Lard]

Definately 2 lights, if you want to save some $$, look up magicshines, there's several threads here about them already so I'm not going to go over it all again

 

[softek]

Mate, if you value your life, then get 2, if you got a deathwish, try 1

 

[diskoe75]

mad...

You'd be mad to just run with one light on your bars.............get a helmet light it's a must. You see so much more, as the light goes where ever your head moves.
Means more enjoyment and you will find you're a little bit quicker too.

 

[Hugor]

I don't think Ay-ups are powerful enough to use just one.
I've been using a helmet light (not Ay-up) by itself now for a year and I'm not sure how useful bar lights are anymore.
I'd like to see the performance of both Ay-up lights mounted on the helmet.
I reckon it would be better.

 

[pi11wizard]

2 lights is the go. It hasn't been mentioned yet, but most races mandate that you have two forward facing lights. I.e a backup. If one of your lights dies (e.g battery probs) then you have a second light to get you home. There is nothing worse than being stuck trailside with a dead battery.

 

[vtwiz]

You can run 1 light and if you do then put it on your helmet. For racing though, I'd recommend 2. I'd go for more of a spot beam on your helmet and a flood type on your bars. Podium lights are hard to look past if your on a tight budget although I'm not sure you can specify different beam types.

 

[DaGonz]

I don't think Ay-ups are powerful enough to use just one.
I've been using a helmet light (not Ay-up) by itself now for a year and I'm not sure how useful bar lights are anymore.

Brighter than what most people were running 5 years ago!! Bar lights show irregularities in the trail better than just a helmet light and they don't reflect off of dust into your face. As a result, I get better performance *for me* by having a bright bar light and slightly less bright helmet light. others seem to prefer the opposite

2 lights is the go. It hasn't been mentioned yet, but most races mandate that you have two forward facing lights. I.e a backup. If one of your lights dies (e.g battery probs) then you have a second light to get you home. There is nothing worse than being stuck trailside with a dead battery.

most rules don't get fussy about what your 2nd light is, but I can say being thrown into darkness (or relative darkness depending on what your 2nd light is) at the most inopportune time is not fun.

Back to the OP, if you want to get into night racing & 24's, then you should try and get as much light (including bar and helmet) as you can afford, or a system which will allow you to expand easily. Also try to aim for something with about 4hrs burn time on full power and make sure the charge time is less than the burn time. You will need at least 2 sets of batteries too but if you buy the right system, is something you can build up over time.

More light = less mental fatigue & faster night racing. An important part of 24hr racing

HTH

Cheers
Spoonie

 

[spikenet]

I'll echo the above comments, 2 lights are the go. Its funny how times change, I remember riding with a 10w downlight bulb years ago.. now it seems you need eyeball melting lumens to do the same thing

My setup is one of those cheap 900lumen jobs on the helmet and my old 600lumen dinottie on the bar. Works great and only issue is when I have a space pilot with 10000 lumens behind casting a shadow for me. 5+ hours runtime and batteries are dirt cheap!

 

[akashra]

Might I suggest that two light is always more sensible than one for when (not if) one light one day disconnects, or one battery goes flat?

There is nothing worse than being stuck trailside with a dead battery.

Really? Call me over-dramatic, but I can think of plenty worse things. Hell, we hold races in venues with snakes and emus, around rocky mountains with fast descent through trees. So I'm going to go with there being many worse things that could leave you stuck trailside

 

[adaib]

Thanks. there seems to be a very consistent answer coming through... I'd better look at getting two.

But I am still on a tight budget, son is there a light that offers exceptional lumens for value? Or a specific brand that some one could recommend that are hard wearing, have good battery life, pump out the light and aren't too expensive?
cheers

 

[quiggs]

Agreed with most others 2 lights are more effective than 1, then the next discussion will be how much power (lumens) do I need?? As I see niterider have just announced they are doubling their lumen output on lights across the range for next year http://reviews.mtbr.com/niterider-technical-lighting-systems-unveils-impressive-2012-product-line which i think becomes over kill. I have a set of HID Techs which are amazing lightsets and generally run them at medium power as I find full power washes out the trail with too much light and find it difficult to pick up the irregularities in the trail with shadows.

quiggs

 

[jathanas]

I'll add my support for 2 lights.

I've ridden the last couple of years with a single 900 lumen Lupine helmet mounted light. Bright enough.

Last Thurday I missed a rut, which ended up being a bit scary. A handlebar mounted light would have helped me see the trail better.

 

[Fruitbat]

2 lights always for me, and I can't go past the Klite.
Good battery life, great charger, locally made and supported (Kerry generally answers emails within a few hours) and reasonably priced. Although they don't have a huge range, they do have complete compatability between different lights and batteries. Important when you have been riding for a while, get a new upgraded light but still want to be able to use batteries from your old light with you new light (nite rider take note!)

 

[sean_23]

Back in the day...

As someone mentioned we used to go around with a halogen globe gaff-taped to the bars, lead acid brick under the saddle, and if you were lucky a dim head torch. Which was dodgy as hell but did let you get into the wonderful world of night riding.

So I think if your budget doesn't stretch to it just get one light for starters and get a second one later. You just have to adjust your speed to your lights... if you're mostly riding firetrail one light will be fine.

Lights are always getting cheaper and better, so waiting a bit for the second light will probably save you money and get a better light in the end.

 

[spikenet]

But I am still on a tight budget, son is there a light that offers exceptional lumens for value? Or a specific brand that some one could recommend that are hard wearing, have good battery life, pump out the light and aren't too expensive?
cheers

Dont think you can go past these for value.. they are cheap enough if you break them just chuck and get another. Batteries are dirt cheap also. Worked great for me at the worlds (and a couple of mates also) and only needed 2 batteries for each light.

Agree with quiggs, in alot of situations to much light can washout the view and make it even worse then not enough!

 

[spudatm]

I run two of these one on my helmet one on my bars. Works as well as Ayups

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ultraf...d-flashlight-with-strap-1-18650-1-17670-36356

 

[Dozer]

I think running a light on your handlebars is a complete waste of time. I run a light on my helmet and have tried a helmet on my bars as well and it was totally unnecesary. I found with a handlebar light you only see what you need to see after you've run into it / over it because you aren't looking where you should be riding, instead you're looking at where you stem is pointing. With a helmet lightyou only see what you are looking for and that is what is up ahead of you, not underneath you.
I will never use a handlebar mounted light again. One great light on my helmet is plenty.