Lights for night riding, sponsored by AY UP Lights

WHAT YOU NEED
Basically what you need is a light that will get you around one lap with sufficient light to see the track ahead and any dangers and obstacles. From this basic you can get lights that you cannot outrun, so that you can power as fast as you like around the course, coupled with batteries that will give sufficient power for 6 or more hours of riding. The other question to ask, is do you need the light bar mounted or helmet mounted? Again the best kits provide both. It is much safer to have a helmet mounted light as well, as this gives you the ability to look around twisty corners, as bar lights only shine where the bike is pointed.

LIGHT OUTPUT AND BATTERY POWER
Strong light output necessary to light up the trail, is provided from a combination of output from the battery and quality of the bulbs and optics. The higher the battery output the shorter the burn time or heavier the battery. Halogen lights tend to need higher output batteries, which make the systems heavier. The heavier the system the more weight you will have to carry which impacts on higher rider fatigue. High intensity LED lights tend to be lighter systems. Make sure your system is waterproof, you don't want it failing if there is rain - it's not called the Lake District for nothing! Buy a system that will stand a wipe out and carry a small spare so at least you can limp home.

BEAMS
You will need a beam that will light up the ground in front of the bike and ahead up the trail. With a helmet and bar mounted system this is easier to achieve than with just one light, as you can focus the two lights on different ground areas. Bar mounts are more stable but on twisty trails your vision is limited to where the bars are pointing. If you have a helmet mounted light make sure that it is lightweight enough so that the neck muscles don't tire quickly, max extra160 gms on the helmet should be OK.

PRE-RACE PREPARATION
Buy your lights early and get used to riding with them at night and how they operate. Know how long the battery power will last and how long they take to charge. Make sure the batteries are fully charged for race day and all the cables and kit are working and fixed on your bike well. Bring your charger to the race so that you can charge your spare batteries at the AY UP Lights charging tent - open to all brands of kights.

AY UP Lights
Ay Up make the lightest, best value, strongest lights on the market with excellent light output and great battery burn times, check out our website www.ayuplights.co.uk to find the MTB kit with a twin bar and helmet lightset and 3 batteries for 12 hour of light, for a great cost of £250.