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Bicycle Lights

Lights aren't really a winter cycling issue, but since it is dark longer in winter, you tend to need bicycle lights in the winter. You want to be sure that your choice works in the cold.

Remember, that if you ride the roads, you need brighter lights than on the trail, because roads tend to be cleared of snow and ice, making the surface darker, taking more light to illuminate it  Snow is very bright. Even a wimpy light provides enough illumination for snow covered trails and roads.

On the other hand, if your winter has much rain, there is nothing darker than a wet road at night, and the bigger the lights the better.

Vision is affected by age. What is adequate light for someone in their twenties is very likely inadequate for someone over 40.  As we age, the lens of our eyes grow stiffer, and less elastic.  The pupils can no longer dilate to the degree it did in youth.   This means we simply need more light to see well.

Road surfaces normally reflect light in all directions, including back toward the source.  That portion reflected back toward you is the only part that does you any good.  The rest is wasted (other than allowing other road users to see where you are).  Wet or icy roads, especially roads covered with a thin layer of black ice reflect almost all light forward. Very little bounces back to you.  If you want to see the road surface you have to but more light on it.

Finally, cold weather affects both bulb output and battery output, making lights dimmer.  We will address this below.

All of these factors argue for bigger and brighter lights for winter riding.  Yet there are folks who can get by on just three watts.  It depends on age, road surface and snow cover.

To avoid being blinded by oncoming headlights a high beam of at least 20 watts is very useful. It will usually illuminate the road a few feet ahead even in the "teeth" of oncoming cars.

But bear in mind that, just because you can see, does not mean that others can see you.   Lots of motorists are of an age where they can not see as well at night as younger people.  Further, the headlight in the eyes from oncoming cars that makes it so difficult for you to see the road also makes it more difficult for overtaking motorists to see you.

Remember, half the job of lights is to make sure motorists see you.

 

Performance of Lights in Winter

Some riders (and dog mushers) keep flat battery packs inside their jackets to keep them warm for maximum running time.

Also affected will be bulb performance, especially if you are using Halogen bulbs.  

Tungsten-Halogen lamps feature a tungsten coil filament mounted in a quartz glass envelope that has been filled with an inert gas plus a trace of halogen (normally bromine).

This gas creates the “halogen cycle”:

• Tungsten that has evaporated from the filament combines with the halogen gas.
• Convection currents within the bulb carry this gas to the quartz wall where it is cooled and then returned to the proximity of the filament.
• The heat of the filament causes the tungsten and bromine to separate, and the tungsten is then deposited on the cold portion of the filament.

This regenerative process prolongs the life of the filament considerably, and also eliminates blackening of the bulb by preventing the evaporated tungsten from condensing on the envelope.  Tungsten-Halogen lamps must be operated at voltages that maintain an envelope temperature between 250 and 350 deg. C. Cooler temperatures will not allow the halogen cycle to take place, tungsten is simply deposited on the inside of the glass, not re-deposited on the filament.  This causes bulb blackening and shorter life; higher temperatures will cause oxidation of the conductors and lead to premature lamp failure.

Bike lights typically are hard pressed to maintain that high temperature in seriously cold weather.  Expect to replace bulbs every other year or so as they grow dimmer.

When do you need lights:

In most states and provinces you need lights beginning a half hour after sunset till a half hour before sunrise, or any other time that persons or vehicles are not clearly discernable on the highway, (this could include heavy snow falls).

On nights where there is a good full moon you can ride on snow with no lights at all, but just make sure there are no cars around. Frozen solid lakes where roads have been plowed or the wind has blown the snow off can be especially enchanting on a moonlit night.   Back woods roads where the snow cover is not too deep are almost magic to ride at night.

What do you need?

VistaLight 700

Well, we each have our own preferences, but my personal first priority is brightness. Not just because its hard to see, but because being seen is even more difficult. If you are doing city riding, you need more light than country riding. 6 watts is adequate on a dark country road, but would be totally overpowered in a city environment. Don't make the mistake that just because there are street lights that you don't need much lighting on your bike. In the city, or dense urban areas 6 watts is minimum. And, a headlight is way more important than a tail light, but most states and provinces require both. Don't discount the effectiveness of reflectors, reflective clothing and reflective patches on your shoes These things get noticed. The NightRider Tail Light is the brightest in the business as of this writing. Blinkie tail lights, like the VistaLight 700 (under $20), one of the brighter of small self contained units, work best in pairs.  This is because they will get our of sync with each other, and appear to dart back and forth.  This gets noticed much farther away and holds attention longer.   These things are seldom affected by cold.

Special Winter Cycling Needs?

Are there special lighting needs for winter riding? Not normally, but when it is snowing heavily you might consider a strobe.   These produce a "Ball of Light" around you as they reflect off of the falling snow.  This lets motorists  see you a lot further away (squinting out of the little frost free patch they scraped on the windshield).

There are several strobes on the market which can be found at sporting goods stores. Click on the strobe pictured at right for one possible source. 

The legality of these for bicycle use is questionable, but if you attach the strobe to your arm and not the bike you probably won't have a problem. I've never been stopped by police for being too safe!

Some people say these strobes can irritate drivers. Good! Perhaps they will stay well away from me.  The strobe can be irritating to you the cyclist as well, so keep it behind you, out of your direct field of view.  Group rides at night should rely on the tail end charlies to run the strobes.

Additional winter concerns regarding light are waterproof  housings and connectors. Water and even road salt will get into everything.  Quick release battery attachments are nice because you often want to bring your battery (if not your whole light set) inside so as to prevent theft and keep the battery warm.

You will also find that switches are harder to operate with gloves on, so avoid recessed switches or tiny hard to get at and fragile little levers.

No Battery Solutions:

In addition to Lead-Acid, NiCads, and NiMH batteries, there is another solution for an energy source.  The Hub Generator.  This is a generator built into a front hub, becoming part of your front wheel.  These generators produce electricity only when you are moving, but the better units have enough associated battery power to keep you lights (or substitute lights such as  LEDs) burning while you are stopped at stop lights.

These units are unaffected by cold weather, and have no run time limitations.   While expensive, they are competitive with the higher priced lights, when you factor in the cost of replacement batteries every two or three years. 

Typically, these systems use much smaller wattage than the battery systems.  They attempt to compensate for this small output by having a much more sophisticated light bulb technology, producing a very focused beam just where you need it. See the excellent write-up on one such system located at ICEBIKER Peter White's site.

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The Best Bike Light Comparison:

Probably one of the better evaluation of various bicycle lights can be found in back issues of the old Bicycle Guide Magazine at your Library.  Ask for the October 1996 issue.   The information in there is somewhat dated, but it has good images of the light patterns of several lights, many of which are still on the market. Bicycling Guide was acquired by another magazine which has dropped the article, which was becomming somewhat dated anyway.

Some brands to consider:

Links to other Bike Light Information:

Probably the single most comprehensive source of detailed bike lighting information is The Bike Currents Mailing lists.  There is a FAQ provided in html form. It is rather new, but it covers the collected wisdom of several  years worth of postings to the mailing lists.  If you want to learn more about bikes and batteries and bulbs do Read the Faq.

The mailing list itself is available here:

Bike Currents Mailing list Archives discussions on lights/electronics on bikes. Archives also available on Alex Wetmore's site.

Reviews of Night Sun and NightRider helmet mounted lights by Marty Goodman.

Many Articles on Bike Lights from the Francis Cooke's pages

Jim Burnett's Home Made Bike Light How-To.