Looking for night equipment recommendations

I have an led light attached to my helmet.
When I turn my head the focus of my light is in the direction and
location that I am looking.

Rear light is also a blinking led light. It has 7 modes of flashing
patterns.

Reflective tape on my T7 Bar on back bumper and side.

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I am a night rider every day and I do the same. My helmet is an older
one that is kind of flat and I can put a Petzl LED headlamp on the
front, with an LED blinker on the back. The modern helmets are more
sloped and to put a light on them, I would use some sticky-backed
velcro on the helmet and light. That way you can tweak the alignment
as needed. They work well and they won't get broken unless you really
smash your head into the ground at which point you may be less worried
about the light. :-)

There is no doubt in my mind that the best light answer for night-time
riding is a light on the helmet...on the front to see, and on the back
for others to see you.

I also wear reflective ankle bands which I use to gather my pants and
shoelaces when I put them on. If a car's headlights hit me, the ankle
bands are moving rapidly up and down and they show up very well. The
comfort of knowing your shoelaces aren't going to get hung up and pitch
you off on your nose is a nice additional benefit.

Carey

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Iridemy29 said:

I want to get my 29'er road-legal for night riding, and here in PA a
"lamp" visible 500 feet away is required for the front, a reflector
visible 500 feet from the rear, and orange side reflectors. I don't
think I'll have any problems with getting reflectors, but I'm worried
about a light:

1) How will it mount on the frame? most bike lights mount on the
handlebars, and I don't have a T7 so have no place for a light.

2) Size. I considered just mounting a bike light sideways on the neck
of my frame, but the lights I found would hit the ground in a UPD.
Also the lights I saw might get in the way of my legs while pedaling.

I have a Yuni (nimbus II style) frame with a 25.4 mm seatpost; I don't
know the diameter of the frame neck.

For lights on the frame, there are loads of LED ones that will fit on
the frame, and not hit in a upd. Cateye are the most common brand.

I think it makes sense to have at least a rear facing LED on your frame
as well, helmet lights are okay from a distance, but when a car is
close to you, or you are looking to one side, your helmet isn't in the
driver's field of view, and isn't where a driver is expecting lights to
be.

Also, reflective trim tape for cars (like 'this'
(http://tinyurl.com/yuygle) with red facing backwards, and white facing
forwards (and sideways), put on your frame, is amazingly bright in car
headlights. I have this on my frame, and when a car is coming up behind
you, it is way brighter than any rear light. If you get the car stuff,
it's very easy to put on, and doesn't rub off. It's also super cheap.

On my unicycles that don't have brakes on, I have strips of this tape
on the side of my rim, which means that anyone coming from the side is
confronted with a really bright spinning thing, the effect looks pretty
cool too. I haven't worked out a place to put it on the wheel for the
ones with brakes.

Joe

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For several night rides I've done on the local single track trails
around my home I've used a 12 led petzl head lamp that uses 4 C
batteries in a seperate battery pack. Kind of "rigged" but I removed
the headlamp straps, wrapped the connected cord around the battery pack
and sinch tied the pack and lamp to my 28" Yuni frame just at the
cross bar. Turns out the crossbar worked great to secure the lamp
facing foward and the seat post to secure the battery pack. Doesn't
wobble at all and stayed secure even during some pretty good night
UPDs. I do get a little bit of "leg shadow" sometimes as my legs clip
the sides of the light beam but to counter that I also where an equally
powerful led headlamp on my helmet. So I've got 24 leds going, pretty
good for lighting up the moderate single track around here; probably
more than good on the road...

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Oh yeah, for a cheap way to ride off road at night, get this
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4238 and strap it to your
helmet somehow (gaffa tape / zip ties etc.) it's significantly brighter
than a petzl head torch, and gives you enough light to ride with.

Joe

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joemarshall said:

Oh yeah, for a cheap way to ride off road at night, get this
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.4238 and strap it to your
helmet somehow (gaffa tape / zip ties etc.) it's significantly brighter
than a petzl head torch, and gives you enough light to ride with.

Joe

is this "dealextreme" company a secure company with which we could
deal?
thanx

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wobbling bear said:

is this "dealextreme" company a secure company with which we could
deal?
thanx

I've bought loads of stuff off them, no problems. It's paypal checkout,
so they don't get your credit card details.

Some of the stuff they sell is a bit cheap and nasty, but that torch is
solid, good quality.

Delivery to the UK takes a bit of time, but has worked alright for me
every time, I think it comes from Hong Kong.

Joe

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I suggest getting a surefire and attaching it to part of your unicycle.
They are incredibly bright and have a really long battery.

If the beast isn't enough light for you I don't know what is.

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my brother said:

Unicycling - It impresses people but also makes them feel a little sad
for you at the same time.

Spencer said:

procrastination is just setting you up for max efficiency and therefore
a good thing

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mornish said:

I suggest getting a surefire and attaching it to part of your unicycle.
They are incredibly bright and have a really long battery. If the beast
isn't enough light for you I don't know what is.

Yeah, for a mere $4000.

the 20$ one I posted is enough light to ride with. You can always buy
two, they don't weigh very much, and the batteries last quite long
because they use the latest LED technology (well almost the latest -
and if you're really wanting the most light, you can always upgrade
them with a soldering iron and a replacement LED).

Joe

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joemarshall said:

Yeah, for a mere $4000.

the 20$ one I posted is enough light to ride with. You can always buy
two, they don't weigh very much, and the batteries last quite long
because they use the latest LED technology (well almost the latest -
and if you're really wanting the most light, you can always upgrade
them with a soldering iron and a replacement LED).

Joe

That was the extreme example. They make quite a few much more
affordable smaller models.

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my brother said:

Unicycling - It impresses people but also makes them feel a little sad
for you at the same time.

Spencer said:

procrastination is just setting you up for max efficiency and therefore
a good thing

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The bats last months. I use one that straps to the seat post. You can
twist it left or right , and it also pivots up and down, so it's easy
to put the light where you want it.

A helmet light would be a good second light IMHO. I prefer not to have
all the light move every time I turn my head. So if you look to the
right, you can't see what's straight ahead out of the corner of your
eye anymore.

Here is a good selection from a company with good prices I have dealt
with a lot.
http://tinyurl.com/2uxobg

Also buy a red blinky for the rear of your seat post, and you are all
set.

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I like how it's waterproof , and has a magnetic switch. Corrosion and
rain are a problem in the tropics.

Brightness is fine for 99% of my riding. For places that are pitch
black on the 36, I sorta wish it was a touch brighter. But the bats
last for months. It is quite tiny, and sits under the seat where it is
protected well. It is very tough looking, and I don't worry about
smashing it at all.
http://tinyurl.com/3834u3

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mornish said:

That was the extreme example. They make quite a few much more affordable
smaller models.

Sure. But looking at their page, the LED technology they're using is
about 3 years old, whereas the cheap china ones update the LEDs every
year. The brightness of LEDs has doubled in the last 2 years for the
same battery usage, so you're better off getting a China/Taiwan built
one, given the quality is so good nowadays. A big advantage of the
cheap ones too, is that they're typically built in a modular fashion,
as they bring out new ones every 6 months when a new LED appears, and
that means that you can buy yourself a new LED for $10 and easily
solder that in, meaning instant light upgrade. I'm currently running a
2 year old luxeon torch that I upgraded.

Joe

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