Front light on the skis, hacked to them with a setup of two brake lever clamps. Also red blinker permanenlty on the helmet, sometimes white blinker on the handlebar as well.
i put them on the forks and on handle bars- rear lights i mount them 1 on the seat post 1 on my back 1 on the back of the helmet for maximum visibility
Cateye RapidX (forget which gen) front and rear… Front is around the headtube with two of the little rubber bands in a square knot. Rear is at the top of the right seat stay (opposite brake cable blocking the other side)
Buy a light twice as bright as you need, then drop the brightness. The battery will last longer and you have a brighter option for when you really need it. The lezyne strip rear lights are very good as you have a moving light but which is a decent brightness.
Cycling at night is absolutely wonderful -especially in winter, when daylight is at a premium and when there’s time to ride in it it’s usually at rush hour. Which is deadly around where I live, even if you’re as bright as a Tsar bomba. At night the air is cleaner, the roads are empty and there are stars and quietness: what’s not to love? I started appreciating it when I had to commute to the laboratory for the night shift and now I’m doing it deliberately. I find two 220 lumen lights (from Lezyne, should you ask) up front more than enough to see with at speed, especially when it’s properly dark, while at the back I have a good bright blinking light (that is always there). I’d advocate for two less powerful lights instead of just one at the front so you can have a wider beam and thus a better visibility when turning. When riding at dusk or dawn I’d use just one of the bright lights with a smaller one blinking up front, mainly for visibility. I’m not 100% sure it’s legal in Germany to have two (or more) lights on the front of the bike, but: each one separately is road-legal and I rode past some cops a few times and they did not seem to mind.
Reflective stickers in addition to lights is a great way of being seen. A single back light is just that, a red light being see by a driver from behind. Get Rydesafe or any 3m refelective stickers placed on frame or I love it on my cranks, that matches the paint of mount area, barely seen and not disruptive to your paint job during the day. A moving and subject describing reflection that every car will see at night!!
I tend to use Cateye lights on the rear. When I have used the belt clip light mount on Topeak saddle bags. If the light loop is quite thick then the belt clip can fall off if you hit a pothole. Common here in the UK. So what I did was drill a small hole in the solid part of the belt clip. Then when it's mounted then I use a ziptie to stop it bouncing off.
In Winter commuting these days I extend the strap of my head torch, that I had bought for running, to its maximum and wear it, turned on, like a necklace. Then, when riding on the hoods etc. it dangles and shines down on the bike and my pastey white legs (I seem to reflect sunlight in the Summer rather than absorb it) moving about. This does seem to help a lot with making me more visible. Despite having previously had all the usual lights and reflectors on the bike iluminating myself seems like a worthwhile addition as drivers do seem, thus far, to have stopped skittling me off my bike in to the road then to say "Sorry mate, I just didn't see you". A headtorch dangling from the neck and pointing down is therefore my Winter commute top tip.
Important to make sure front lights, don't dazzle drivers on narrow lanes and also when group riding, have the rear light solid or very gently flashing, again to avoid glare of the rider behind.
another top video, also worth mentioning is the position in which you ride when fitting a light to a rucksack, I have often seen lights illuminating the sky as they were fitted in a stand up position before getting on the bike !!
I’m wary about attaching lights (or a camera) to my bike helmet, it may seem like a good idea but helmets are designed to spread impact whereas any attached items are going to punch through the structure of the helmet. Some reports have suggested that Michael Schumacher’s brain injury was a direct result of a Go-Pro attracted to his ski helmet .... might be worth considering ?
Love this kinda stuff. I am fairly new to cycling and have been binge watching GCN to catch up. I had noticed several times that you guys seem to not run any lights. So it’s nice to see some attention to the fact you do. I never thought about a back up light but now I’m going to order one for sure!! Thank you all for the great info!! Edit: I have my front light on top of the bar on a quick release (prolly change it to under bar) and the rear is mid way on my seat post. “2400 lumin” on the front. And a 100 lumin on the rear... both have flash capability and the front has a low medium and high setting. Also have one on my helmet for the rear...
As usual a great video, you are very clear and fluent. Please don't blind cyclists coming towards you, especially a problem in places like bear flats tunnels.
I take a clear water bottle, and glue a cheap front light onto the bottom. Fill it up with water, turn on the light, and it will look like your bottle is one big lightbulb! It makes you a lot more visible from the side, and looks awesome when you’re drinking 🤘
I’ve got the Garmin varia lights front and rear, front one mounts under the computer and the rear on the seat post with a little bracket, both release with a quarter turn, so easy to take with you. They adjust to light level automatically, so go from flashing to solid as it gets darker, the front one adjusts the height and width of the beam as you speed up and the rear one light s up brighter as you slow down just like a car brake light. Plus you can control them from your computer or watch, and they turn off automatically when you put your computer to sleep at the coffee stop. I think they are just brilliant. Also got the radar rear light which is even better as it shows you when and how fast cars are approaching on your computer. Forgot to charge it last week and felt more vulnerable without it.
How's the battery life on the Varia UT800 when you got it controlled by ANT+? I think I can only get around 3 hours of battery life before it warns me of low battery
goondu86, yeah around three hours is about right, some times a bit more maybe 4 hours max. But not a problem for me, most I ever ride in the dark is about an hour each way, 2.5 hrs total.
I've got a wish that light manufacturers would provide a GoPro 2 prong mount or at least provide a 1/4" threaded hole that you could use a GoPro tripod adapter to mount a light. Apart from Lazyne, most of the lights I've seen have an M4 screw to attach the strap/mount to the light so you can't just add the GoPro adapter with some hacking. There are plenty of computer mounts that have a GoPro mount underneath so it'd make perfect sense to utilise this as a light mount. I suppose in the world of cycling that it's too simple to have one standard.
If you run a 1600 lumen front light on full power as suggested you are going to blind oncoming road users. A dipped car headlight puts out about 700 lumen, and a high-beam headlight is about 1200 lumen. It's good to be seen, but it's not fair to blind everyone else.
On my Salsa Journeyman they have mounts for front panniers, made a mount with a piece of rack strut so the light covers the road shoulder and exposes rocks & potholes better than on bars. Ymmv.
I great solution I had before my bike got stolen in the fall, and then returned, sans accessories, is a pocket flashlight mount as a back up. I got a handlebar mount by Olight for attaching ~ 1” 25mm diameter “tactical” flashlights. I normally carry a Streamlight Protac 2LX in my pocket on bag on the daily, and it’s perfect to throw onto my handlebars if my standard light is insufficient or has dead batteries. It’s bright enough to light up a whole street without street lamps, 500 lumens and 7000 candela.
I use an F3 FormMount with a Lezyne 1800i (+ GoPro mount), it lets me install the light without having it point upward right in the face of oncoming cyclists, unlike what Chris has going on here.
I have a K Edge computer mount with a Go Pro Mount underneath. Light and Motion and some other manufacturers are now making lights with Go Pro adapters. I like this because it keeps the cockpit clean and the light doesn’t move around when you hit a bump or pot hole. I use a Bontrager Flare R City on the rear. It’s a very small light with a very big output of light. On day time flash these lights run in excess of 6 hours. I easily get through a 100 mile ride. The lights are small enough that it’s easy to carry a spare! I don’t do rides without lights anymore. I consider them as essential as my helmet!
I have the Lezyne macro drive 800 XL (I think this will work for most of the Lezyne range), I removed the bar cup and stretch band (3mm hex bolt) and screwed in a GoPro mount. I have then mounted it upside down under my Garmin outfront mount. This also allows for angle adjustment and easy access the the power/mode button. Looks really neat, you wouldn't even know it was there. 👌🏼
@@kastallion I use the F3 form mount with the underside gopro mount www.f3cycling.com/formmount and I have replaced the Lezyne rubber stretch mount for one of these. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1-4-Screw-Adapter-Mount-to-fit-any-Camera-to-a-GoPro-Mount-Fitting/133496158184?hash=item1f14fdb7e8:g:Y6UAAOSwhlNfOqEo You will need to change the attaching screw for one with a match thread (like a bottle cage bolt). Looks really clean.
I use upto 3 rear, on helmet adjustment dial, seat post and seat stay, for different heights. And 2 on bars up front, both with power for day flash or to see with. The small helmet rear light (a Blackburn 2fer) can swap thru red and white, both flashing and constant, so gives me a 3rd option for the front.
I use a Bontrager Ion Pro on a gopro mount on the underside of my garmin mount. The light is a little on the heavy side, but really lights up the road and will last an entire summer night for something like Vätternrundan or other long distance sportives. I use it at the lowest setting for most of my riding and pair it with an Ion flare at the rear, which I usually just clip on my saddle back or back pocket.
I always run daylight running lights, it's been a legal requirements for cars for many years now so why not bikes? I use an Exposure Trace mounted on a GoPro style mount under an out-front computer mount (I have a K-edge one but there are others available). Standard Tracer on the back, both usually in the 'Daybright' mode. Not the cheapest by a long way but they're high quality, very bright and prominent even in bright day time. They last 6hrs in flashing mode and are very bright, I can highly recommended them.
I use the Bontrager blender stem, this allows me to mount a garmin GPS on top with a go pro type mount underneath. The Garmin UT800 mounts on the go pro type mount. On the rear I run a varia radar. This radar show traffic coming up behind on the head unit. I also have two varia smart rear lights that can attach to the seat stays. These unit as well as being red lights can be used as indicators and if you slow down quickly will get brighter and act as a brake light.
I like to add a light wrapped on my left ankle here in the United States. A red blinking light with the movement of pedaling is easily seen by other road users. Ride to the level of your smile.
My best advice would be to stick adhesive grip tape for pc mouse where you are going to mount your light. The mount wont wobble at all and if you want to remove that tape for some reason, the residues come easy with izopropyl alcohol. Im using a Nitecore BR25, can put a spare battery in my pocket but i dont, i carry an Olight Baton 3 ProMax with a rubber mounting system as backup. This light is in warm white, so awesome for fog conditions. On the rear: magicshine seemee300 and another quality light (forgot the name but its awesome quality too).
I used to use the Bontrager Flare RT rear light & it was amazing. I only stopped using it because I got the Garmin Varia RTL510 radar and won't ride outside without it anymore.
I use a Barfly Universal Mount, at the top you can mount any cyclocomputer. It includes different mount for every imaginable cyclocomputer possible, underneath you the mount you have options to mount a di2 juncton box or go pro/action cam mount. With the go pro/action cam mount they have an option where you can strap your headlights.
I ride with Blackburn lights. In front a Central 100 & 20 both in strobe mode at daylight, in steady mode at night (mandatory where I live) to get seen and if I really need to see, I have a Dayblazer 800 in the front.
Are any safety tests done on helmets with lights on them? That's why I have a helmet with the rear light built in (and the whole helmet is also reflective)
Indeed. I'd never mount anything to my helmet for fear of an accident forcing the light through the helmet (a la poor Michael Schumacher).. Probably invalidates any helmet warranty as well (even without screwing anything in but using bands instead)???
since you mentioned topeak I now use the whitelite 500 mounted to the go pro mount of my garmin mount for side visibility I have 2 little clip on lights cliped into rubber/velcro straps on my upper arm they can be used on blinking mode even in germany because its not attached to the bike so I use an aditional blinking light on my helmet I mainly ride in the dark and i can say the blinking red light on the helmet made a huge difference - cars outside of the city spot me way earlier and pass me with more distance
One low power front light on my lid (100 lumens), variable brightness Lezyne macro drive 1100XL on handlebars in flash during the day, 800 lumens at night. Smart V2.0 on the rear, just under the seat, flashing during the day, mid setting at night high setting in dark & rain. Mudguard on the rear keeps all the crud off the rear light & thus maintains visibility, and helps to increase useful life of the light.
Aiming and brightness should depend on the situation. Please people, aim them downward or do something to shade your 400 lumens on your local MUPs. It makes you and everyone else less safe if oncoming cyclists can't see where they're going.
few thoughts: a light should point downwards and not in the eyes of someone coming your direction and blind them (very annoying and i see it a lot these days on new bikes, esp. e-bikes ... sometimes it looks like a motorcycle is nearing you in stead of a bike ... the lights are often way to bright too) a light shouldn't blink because that setting makes it harder for someone coming in your direction to guess how far you are away from them in distance...
1 Dollar hat-lights modified to be powered from an old phone battery. Disassembled and integrated into the stem and rear rack with the power switch hidden under the nose of the saddle. No blinking, but a reflective pizza under the tail light flaps about causing a pseudo strobing effect. The battery no longer charges a phone, but still manages to provide 3.75 volts for well over 10 hours. It's rechargable, and I can wire almost any other battery to the setup on-the-fly. I feel like attaching hard bits of plastic to a helmet is probably advised against in the helmets owners manual unless the device is specifically designed for that usage.
Lezyne sells a GoPro mount adapter that bolts in place of their strap-on mount system. This same mount can also be fitted to the Topeak 450 light Chris is using. I found a GoPro adapter on eBay that bolts directly to the bottom of my standard Garmin mount. Using the GoPro mount system with my lights allows them to be aimed precisely.
Hi, I have two rear light , one in the saddle bag. One in the front , close to the gps. Two lights in both arms to be seen . Also a Proviz reflective jacket. It is important to carry a spare light in the saddle bag in case you run out the battery.
I ride with a Bontrager 'Flare' tail-light and a Topeak under seat bag. The quick release for the light is permanently screwed to the bag, and the bag's quick release bracket is epoxied to the bottom of the saddle. Both can be removed quickly and there are no rubber bands to break or lose on the road.
I have an aero handlebar (Ursus H.01), quite the nightmare to figure out the best way to make this work together with a Wahoo Element Bolt. In the end, I managed to get a custom out-front mount from Two Hubs Cycling for the Wahoo Element, which I then combined with a Knog PWR Road using their helmet mount, and a K-Edge Camera/GPS mount which makes it nice and clean up front. In the back, I use a See.Sense Ace smart light. I dislike the tendency of people to use flashing lights up front as I find them rather blinding!
Thank about clothing as well... yeah black on black is cool, but you better have a death wish if you are riding like that in dusk. lights help, but a bright jacket does wonders as well.
My understanding of the evidence was that an irregular flashing light, preferably with motion too,was picked up better than bright or reflective clothing. That said, I use both, usually.
@@andrewbackhouse5828 , that flashing light may be "picked up better" but it doesn't localize your position very well. Both depth and proper motion can be confused.
great video Chris, I use two Bontrager Ion 800 R front lights one on full strobe, and one on steady mode, and one Flare R rear light on full strength flash...
Great content. Thank you, much needed. K-Edge makes a fantastic dual sided mount for all Garmin Edge units and which can be used with Garmin’s sleek Varia UT800 with 800 lumens. Lights are absolutely essential gear. I use the Garmin Varia front and rear light. The rear Varia light is a Radar unit sending me instant vehicle presence info to my Garmin 530 head-unit.
Another vote for the varia rear light. When the radar detects a vehicle approaching from the rear, the flash pattern changes to a more attention getting mode (and you get visual and audio alerts on your head unit).
I think lights and being as visible as possible is essential to bike rider survival. I therefore have a couple of questions and comments for you. Your DTR light seems to be pointing slightly up. I always have mine pointing straight out and slightly to the left to get the oncoming drivers attention. What are your thoughts ? Also, I NEVER wear dark or black cycling tops. Always bright colors - again, its about visibility. Finally, you seem to be riding two up on the road. Why not stay in a single file and respect the other drivers on the road ? That kind of riding is part of the reason some drivers hate us. Keep up the good work, thanks .......
I have 4 sometimes 5 headlights and 3 taillights 2 headlights 1 for flashing and one for seeing.. Nd two back ups or 3 and always carry extra batteries
I want to start running two lights, one blinking, one constant, for my commute. I swear drivers look around so quickly they often only look in my direction while the blink isn't on. Over the winter I seem to have near misses almost every ride despite all my lights and reflective jacket.
I bought a Wahoo/GoPro combi mount for my bike and then a Cateye to GoPro adapter which allows me to mount my Cateye volt underneath my Wahoo. I also managed to angle the light so as to not blind others while providing good light for myself, nipping up the bolt means it doesn't move from this position.
I got a set of the old Ay Up lights for my mountain bike about 10 years ago. They're powerful and easily enough for riding off road so work happily on road and the battery lasts about 8 hours. I did a dusk till dawn ride in late spring on one charge. I think they can still be bought online.
Chris - nice overview on your light setup (I too was curious what light you had up front), and the overall information on a good light setup for daytime and night time. Cheers!
In addition to traditional lights, I mount lights on my hubs. These are cheap 120 lumen lights worn on your head for camping and work. Spin the wheel and you get a freaking light show. I've had people run along side me and comment on the cool lights.
You also have reflective stickers that motorcyclist has to put on their helmets in France. I usually buy a kit in a motorbike shop and use scissors to adapt it at the wanted shapes. It allow you to have you own reflective set up on your helmet and its unsual to see, so its attractive for motorist. I have a full black ekoi helmets and it shine as a star when you put a car headlight on it.
Have you heard about the Garmin Varia RTL515? It has a radar that shows indication on your Garmin bike computer or Wahoo element of car's approaching you from behind.
I take only Lupine Lights. They are expensive but high quality in all conditions. My oldest one are from 1997. It's the Lupine Passubio. It's in function at all the Time!!!
Yeah I don't like the idea of riding with anything on my helmet. It's too easy for it to get caught on something low hanging, or if I do go down and roll who knows what that would do
That is so sad to hear but I often question the wisdom of securing a heavy, often metal light onto my helmet. I only use one for mountain biking and then a small old Niterider.
I have 3 lights in the front (helmet flashing, fixed low or fixed high power as needed, one flashing and one fixed on the bar), 3 flashing red in the back (backpack, under the saddle, and helmet), a backup red and a backup that can flash white or red. Quite a Christmas tree but as you I like to be ssen
Great content 👍 I rock a Blinky white light mounted on the bars, a rear red Blinky mounted to the frame and another rear red Blinky on the back of my helmet. Little minimalist but gets the job done
I have a light mounted under my Garmin on an out front underbar mounted bracket. I have a rear light on the back or my helmet, one mounted on my saddle bag and on on the heal of each of my shoes. (I was hit by cars twice in a two year period. Hence the overabundance of caution with the many lights.)
Just have a look at GTN‘s recent video about 3D printed stuff from raceware components. I have a integrated Wahoo Bolt Mount for my Vision Metron Bars with a GoPro connector on the underside. I the attach my Knog light (with the helmet adapter) to that GoPro mount. Just awesome!
I like mounting my front light below the bars so the bars block any glare from the edge of the light that might hit my eyes. I uaually have a pannier rack on the back of my bike, and I think it looks really smart having the rear light mounted on the underside of the rack.
I have a Lumos helmet with the turn signal remotes built in. I wouldn't wear it in a group because it would be annoying, but for solo commutes even in daytime it feels like cars respond to me earlier.
There are so many super smart tips I‘d love to use but simply can‘t because of how severely regulated bike lights are in germany...especially the small light on top of the helmet, or blinking lights I know the govt. does have good reasons for that (blinking only for emergency vehicles/helmet lights are blinding and not fixed) but still, it‘s kinda stupid to sacrifice increased safety for that
I bought a 100 lumen flashlight at the Dollar Store and used one of those plastic wristbands to fix it onto my handlebars. I also use dollar store LED blinking lights and attached them with zip ties onto my frame. I am extremely visible at night!
The best headlights from Amazon is Touhuhot. 4000 lumens. I am from AZ and i love to ride my bike very early in the morning. I bought 4 of these 4000 lumens. They are super bright. Amazon
Just bought a KNOG R70 rear light. I'm scared it's going to fall off over bumps. How can I reduce that risk, guys? I can't afford a replacement. Thanks in advance. ;)
