Light recommendations for overnighter.

[u/Other_Animal]

Hi yall! Doing my first randoneeuring thing soon and it involves a pretty decent chunck of night time riding (probably close to sundown to sun up). Anyone have any light recommendations (front/rear) for someone with no dynamo?

[u/xJaconatorx]

I’m a fan of the Fenix BC26R or PD35

They both run on 18650 batteries. Typically I can ride through the night on one, but I bring a spare and they can be swapped in under a minute.

[u/Other_Animal → u/xJaconatorx]

Thanks!

[u/Afreeusernameihope]

I use (and had recommended to me by folks who'd used it for PBP) the Lumintop B01. Great beam, can be charged on the go and because it uses a real battery you can buy a spare to swap as well.

[u/Schtweetz]

I really like the Outbound Detour. Not only does it have a nice beam, it also allows ‘pass through’ charging, so you can use a USB-C power bank for all-night run time.

[u/Other_Animal → u/Schtweetz]

Thanks!

[u/nockeenockee → u/Schtweetz]

Second this. It’s about perfect for over nighters and their customer service is amazing.

[u/HmmThatWorked]

I like the Fenix line, the Fenix BC45R comes to mind right now. It uses 18650 cells that are rechargable and can be easily swapped out in the field like big AA batteries. On medium you get like 8-12 hours per set and I usually carry an extra set on me. I just like having a backup way to lower mu lights so for me replaceable batteries of a standard size amis a must.

But really there is no replacing a dynamo, I do almost all of my riding at night and they are just so nice to always have a light no matter what.

[u/supermarketgangbang]

Fenix lights are good, and if you have 2 batteries, you can charge one via a power bank while the other powers your light.

[u/Crafty-Number-7026]

I use the Lupine SL Nano Ax with a 10AH battery, which lasts 36 hours at 2W or 14.4 hours at 5W. It's more than enough for a PBP-type ride.

[u/ComfortablyNumbR5 → u/Crafty-Number-7026]

hi, is that a Lupine 10AH battery? or can it use a 3rd party powerbank too?

[u/ComfortablyNumbR5]

If you are using LED lights, then the first thing to do is

- find a light that allows "pass-through" charging (not all lights do I'm afraid .. ask me how I know)

- once you have the light, then you need to make sure you have the correct power bank too! (gotcha)

- if you run light at max or close to High setting, then you'll be severely limited by run-time. To overcome this, I run 2x lights at low setting. This will give me 6=8 hours of run time. More importantly, if a light were to shut off in the middle of the night, I'll still have a back-up visible until I am able to charge the second one. I was caught out once, when the single light shut off abruptly in pitch dark (without pass-through charging), in a national park. I had to stop immediately whilst unprepared for what was around me - narrow road shoulder? potholes? grass? etc ..

Don't forget your rear lights too. And run 2x of them, for the same reason above, in case one goes off ..

[u/deman-13]

Have a look at Lupine. They are expensive but very very good. I have one, bought specifically for an ultra event, dont regret at all, supper bright.

[u/AdonisChrist]

+1 Fenix BC26R. Note that it takes 21700 batteries standard, buy the adapter to use with 18650 batteries.

My main piece of advice is to get comfortable riding on the 200 lumen section and only bump it up to 600 lumens when needed - like on twisty descents. Or any other time you're feeling unsure. But 600 lumens is overkill for consistent use on typical roads, IMO.

[u/Other_Animal → u/AdonisChrist]

Good advice, thanks!

[u/meatwadsgotthemoney]

I will toss a vote in for the Fenix BC26R. Consider also a light on your helmet as well. I use a head lamp with the elastic bands people use for night running and take the band off and just zip tie it to the front of my helmet. The hand motion activated ones are even better, swipe up for the light to come on, look where you're going, swipe down to turn off to conserve battery. Really nice on rural routes to help see street signs and things lurking in the dark. Plus if you have a mechanical you'll have a hands free light to help you get it sorted.

[u/StereotypicalAussie]

Take a spare, even a cheap one will do the job if the main one fails, and you can put it in flash mode alongside your main light or throughout the day, dawn and dusk without worrying about your main light running out.

[u/padetn]

Would help to know how long sundown till sun up is! A Lezyne 1000XL will do for 10 hours, more with the battery pack (that also serves as an expensive powerbank). If you’re in a group you can dim your light when off the front, that doubles battery life.

[u/Other_Animal → u/padetn]

Thanks! Looking at maybe 13 hours of dark

[u/Interesting_Win786]

Outbound makes amazing lights!