Lighting suggestions for Hains Point, Rock Creek park?

[A.C.]

I’m looking to get some fitness rides in several times a week after work at Hains Point. In order to get there I’ll be going through some of the main roads of NW DC and using parts of RCP trails. I also thought of doing a short loop in and around RCP using Ross Drive and Beach. However, I realize that this area is dimly lit and wanted to get some thoughts on whether it’d would make a good alternative to the flat and windy Hains Point.

My question is, how much light is needed to bike these parts? This is about all the nighttime riding I’ll do, so I don’t want to go overboard and purchase a lighting system that is overkill. Obviously, if I plan to ride through the dark sections of RCP at night then I’ll have to consider going with more powerful lights. I’m on a budget and would rather not spend more than $200. Would a 400 lumen bar mounted headlight combined with a rear cherry bomb light be sufficient or do I need to go with a combination helmet and bar mounted lights? How important is it to have a backup light if I only plan on not riding any more than 2 hours at a time and only a couple of times a week?

thanks in advance

[DismalScientist]

The cheap way to do this is to buy a 400 or so lumen Chinese flashlight on ebay for about $10. (These can take 3 AAA cells or rechargeable 18650 batteries) You can get a handlebar mount for about $1. I tie a second flashlight to my helmet with a piece of inner tube. I figure if the quality is insufficient, I haven’t invested much.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@A.C. 66281 wrote:

I’m looking to get some fitness rides in several times a week after work at Hains Point. In order to get there I’ll be going through some of the main roads of NW DC and using parts of RCP trails. I also thought of doing a short loop in and around RCP using Ross Drive and Beach. However, I realize that this area is dimly lit and wanted to get some thoughts on whether it’d would make a good alternative to the flat and windy Hains Point.

My question is, how much light is needed to bike these parts? This is about all the nighttime riding I’ll do, so I don’t want to go overboard and purchase a lighting system that is overkill. Obviously, if I plan to ride through the dark sections of RCP at night then I’ll have to consider going with more powerful lights. I’m on a budget and would rather not spend more than $200. Would a 400 lumen bar mounted headlight combined with a rear cherry bomb light be sufficient or do I need to go with a combination helmet and bar mounted lights? How important is it to have a backup light if I only plan on not riding any more than 2 hours at a time and only a couple of times a week?

thanks in advance

I think you’d be fine with a 300-400L bar-mounted light and a good rear blinkie (something like the PlanetBike superflash). Personally, I like to supplement my “to see” lights with a “be seen” light, so when I’m on the roads I run a white Knog Blinder in blinkie mode in addition to my headlight. My opinion is that having a blinkie draws driver attention to your light, rather than it just fading into the see of headlights already on the road (but don’t use that bright blinkie on the trail!). In addition, I have a couple of BikeArlington freebie lights permanently attached, so in the absolute worst case, I still have something…

Right now, on my main commuter bike, I have a CatEye NanoShot+ (600L) on the front, backed up by a Knog Blinder. Out back, I have a Cygolite Hotshot backed up by a superflash. I also have a Cygolite 300L that I swap between my two road bikes. The CatEye is overkill for the city and most of the trails, but it’s great for the darker parts of Fairfax county that I ride through when I’m working at my home office (I’m working downtown until January).

[ronwalf]

@DismalScientist 66282 wrote:

I tie a second flashlight to my helmet with a piece of inner tube.

That’s what I do.

[A.C.]

thanks. I think I’d feel safer with a good set a of bike lights rather than mounting a flashlight to my bike. So 400 lumens would be enough to go through some of the dark sections of RCP trails? I was thinking of going with that and then possibly combining that with a 400 lumen helmet mounted in the future if needed.

[DismalScientist]

@ronwalf 66287 wrote:

That’s what I do.

Ah… my inspiration.:cool:

[mstone]

@A.C. 66288 wrote:

thanks. I think I’d feel safer with a good set a of bike lights rather than mounting a flashlight to my bike. So 400 lumens would be enough to go through some of the dark sections of RCP trails? I was thinking of going with that and then possibly combining that with a 400 lumen helmet mounted in the future if needed.

If I had to have just one light, it would be the helmet light (the directionality is very useful). I use the older model of the vis360, which is 110 lumen and plenty bright for my needs. (You can get away with a dimmer head lamp than handlebar lamp because you can point it where you need light.) That said, you do need more light the faster you go. I have a brighter handlebar lamp which I’m planning to upgrade when the new B&M models show up.

[creadinger]

@A.C. 66281 wrote:

I’m looking to get some fitness rides in several times a week after work at Hains Point. In order to get there I’ll be going through some of the main roads of NW DC and using parts of RCP trails. I also thought of doing a short loop in and around RCP using Ross Drive and Beach. However, I realize that this area is dimly lit and wanted to get some thoughts on whether it’d would make a good alternative to the flat and windy Hains Point.

I took the plunge and got a NiteRider MiNewt 600 last fall. It’s been pretty awesome. I prefer the helmet mount to the handlebar, and the settings allow for bright enough -> super bright. We took it to the abandoned turnpike in PA and had no trouble seeing in the tunnels. The USB charging is easy too. You could probably get away with a 300 for what you want to do (cheaper). It’s way more $$ than what these guys were suggesting, but unless you’re deciding between food and a light, I think you’ll be happy with the purchase.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&productId=1126782&utm_source=Google_Product_Search&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=datafeed&cm_mmc=Google_Product_Search-_-PLA-_-Datafeed-_-NiteRider%20MiNewt.600%20Cordless%20LED%20Headlight%20Null%20Null&CAWELAID=1447490670&catargetid=1630495524&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla

[A.C.]

@creadinger 66298 wrote:

I took the plunge and got a NiteRider MiNewt 600 last fall. It’s been pretty awesome. I prefer the helmet mount to the handlebar, and the settings allow for bright enough -> super bright. We took it to the abandoned turnpike in PA and had no trouble seeing in the tunnels. The USB charging is easy too. You could probably get away with a 300 for what you want to do (cheaper). It’s way more $$ than what these guys were suggesting, but unless you’re deciding between food and a light, I think you’ll be happy with the purchase.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&langId=-1&catalogId=10551&productId=1126782&utm_source=Google_Product_Search&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=datafeed&cm_mmc=Google_Product_Search-_-PLA-_-Datafeed-_-NiteRider%20MiNewt.600%20Cordless%20LED%20Headlight%20Null%20Null&CAWELAID=1447490670&catargetid=1630495524&cadevice=c&cagpspn=pla

thanks, that’s happens to be the same light I was looking at getting

[JimF22003]

I’ve been happy with the Serfas True 500. I only use it on the second lowest brightness when I’m on the trails, and even then I have to redirect it when there’s oncoming riders. It has an easy mount clip for the handlebar, and can swivel left to right, so it’s easy to direct away from the trail for oncoming riders, so I don’t have to cover it with my hand.

[Hancockbs]

Very pleased with my Nightrider Lumina 650. I use the medium of three intensities with great illumination. It also has a strobe mode for brighter weather. Comes with helmet and handlebar mounts. I’ve used both and prefer the latter.

[cyclingfool]

I had stopped thinking about lighting last year once I got my dynamo hub and lighting setup installed, but since all that was stolen, I had to rethink my strategy. Pre-dynamo, I used a tactical flashlight with about 300 lumens (claimed) that I’d picked up for about $25 a few years ago. TerraLux was the name IIRC. It ran on 2 AA batteries which lasted a solid two evening commutes at high power. I used a 2Fish lockblock to mount it to the handlebars, and it worked pretty well. Just had to remember to bring my AA charger with me or charge at home.

This fall, as darkness approached, I got one of these Magic Shine knockoffs on Amazon. Less than $30 shipped. I still eventually want to build up a new wheel with dynohub and get a nice light again, but for now, I am quite pleased with the new light. It is much better than the flashlight I had been using, and should meet my needs nicely for riding in the dark this winter. I picked up a wide angle lens for it, too, but haven’t tried it out yet. The light pattern as is seems acceptable, though I probably will experiment with the lens at some point soon.

The old flashlight might go on my helmet for the really dark months of winter.

[Mike]

I use a nitecore mt26, 800 lumens for 63.95. It is super bright and lasts 1.5 hrs on high, about 4 hours on med ium (500 lumens) . I attach it to a stem which is mounted on my handlebars. The flashight is held by QRs . Hard to describe but once I figure out how to post pics I will show you the setup. Works great and when I get to my destination theQRs allow me to detach it in a second.

[KLizotte]

I love my Exposure lights.

http://use1.com/homepage/exposure-lights

[off2ride]

Light & Motion Urban works for me. I have the 500. Easy on/off the hbars. Compact modular design. I also use it off the bike. Doubles as a flashlight. Fairly priced.

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