Riding when it is dark can be intimidating in a city with cars. So make sure you make yourself clearly visible on the streets!
When biking at night, you need to stand out and be visible among all the other lights and moving objects.
Cyclists, these tips will help keep you safe on the road by guiding you on what you can do in practice: how to be visible at night, tips for cyclists, how to choose your lights and more advices!
We will first go over the easiest and most common ways to be visible while biking at night then we will go over other ways that can help.
While you probably have heard this many times the top four ways are as follows:
- Front light
- Rear light
- Reflective clothing
- Reflectors on bike
Choosing a front light
I’ll start by saying that not all front headlight do the same job.
Lights are measured by lumen output. So when choosing a light make sure you read the lumen output. It is highly recommended to have a light that has a minimum 500 lumen this way you can use both during the day and night. For comparison a single car or motorcycle low-beam output is around 700 lumen.
Pro tips: A great light should be USB rechargeable and has a base that allows you to mount on your helmet.
Choosing a rear light
When looking at options for rear light you have to consider the following: a minimum of 200 lumen.
Pro tip: You can have multiple lights! For example one on the bike and another one on the helmet.
Reflective clothing
Lights can be bright but a bit of reflective or bright colored clothing can go a long way.
You can wear things you may already have such as a construction vest, a reflective elastic band, or a sports vest.
Reflectors on bike
Lastly reflectors on a bike can seem a bit dorky but I always leave them on my bike. Make sure you have the following set of reflectors on your bike:
- Front white reflector
- Rear Red Reflector
- 1 white or orange reflector on each wheel
- and 1 rear facing reflector per pedal
Additional tips to be visible
Here are other ways you can make your self more visible:
- Pick a light and bright colored helmet. A helmet is the highest element when riding a bike so this way lifter trucks or even commercial vehicles can see you.
- Make the bike a rolling disco! Half kidding! The more light the more visible. So consider lights that go on the wheels or lights that flood directly beneath you or even an LED stick that you attach to you bike rack for example.
We hope you now feel more confident riding before sunrise or after sunset! Being visible on the streets is key for your safety. Don’t hesitate to really make an effort on visibility because on the road, your visibility will be compared to that of car lights.
Although you make many efforts to be visible, always be careful when you ride at night and take into account the fact that in the dark, reactivity times are longer.
In addition to paying attention on how to be visible at night, tips for cyclists include: always make sure your bike is reliable! Get your bike checked by a professional mechanic once in a while or whenever you notice a problem. At Remotion, we provide at your location maintenance services in San Francisco, we are a mobile bike shop! Visit https://remotion.xyz for more information.
Feel free to share your own experience riding at night by tagging us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/remotion.xyz/
See you in the hills of San Francisco!