Starduster
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@Judd 226505 wrote:
The bad patch of trail bumps on the north end of Gravelly Point were removed on Saturday by Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail.
Check out the work at https://youtu.be/RNmQVDHWjVQ?si=73xYS4ZKDcK_1Pq4
I recognize that song!!!
#Vezzaford, welcome back! If I may offer my own input, based on 10 years as a bike commuter (The Bicycle Exchange, VA), all the Monuments at Night rides I led for Papillon Cycles, and a self taught “Universite du CIBIÉ” education…
I have always considered a bicycle “incomplete” unless it is set up for night work. It is confining to be limited to daylight hours. With great lights, night riding can be an *absolute blast*. But it can get very scary very quickly if your lights fail you. Being seen is important, but *being able to see* is more so. Quality lighting is now available regardless of the format you choose- rechargeable battery, permanent dynohub installation, or E-bike.
For *off-road* trail riding, there is already plenty of product out there. Perfect, provided you don’t point your driving lights at oncoming cyclists (que the “Cover your lights!!!” rant). If you are illuminating someone’s face, you are blinding them. Simple. But most of us are riding on the street or the W&OD, with oncoming traffic. I run European spec *layered beam* headlights from Busch+Muller on everything but my vintage Peugeot (which carries period correct “glowing filament” lighting. I have the other bikes for serious night work). These lights have a sharp cutoff, for maximum forward range *without* blinding oncoming traffic. *Just like* a good automotive low beam headlight- the headlights we and our parents and grandparents grew up with. Many of them designed to meet European road approvals. The best known of these are the German road traffic standards- StVZO. If you ride a recent E-bike, you likely already have a headlight like this installed as original equipment. That’s a *good* thing. Even better, we’re now seeing switchable low beam/high beam lamps for the trail. Just like a motorcycle…
First & 3rd pics are a B+M CYO Premium, showing the sharp cutoff, and a wide even spread of light with forward range. The 2nd, a more recent B+M IQ-X, which my Trek 412 currently runs. I should mention that *both* USB-rechargable and permanent dynohub lights offer the same output levels now. E-bike standards & requirements have evolved to now allow even more lumens & lux plus a high beam function. Regardless, just like your headlights on the car, you should properly aim those lights for best results, keeping the top of the beam’s hot spot at or below 0 degrees horizontal. These lights are no longer the exclusive province of the Europeans- Busch+Muller, SON/Schmidt, or Supernova. Check out product from Trek (their Kindbeam lamps) or Outbound Lighting.
On my wife’s Breezer, battery powered Euro-spec taillights from B+M and Spanninga. Both steady lights, and despite their diminutive size, each is motor-vehicle-taillight bright, as they should be. Most new E-bikes are equipped this way.
On flashing lights…Be honest, they are a *defensive* lighting measure needed to make sure a distracted/inattentive motorist sees you. Hopefully. Such is our reality on the streets. It should not be, but it is. But *not* needed on the bike trail, where you are the biggest meanest whatever on the trail. If you run bright flashers on the road after dark, I recommend pairing them with a steady light. I found it is difficult for a driver to accurately judge closing distance to a blinking light. I, as a driver, once had a close call with a cyclist that way.
Hope I haven’t thrown too much at you. But I also want you to be safe out there.