Charge up, see the light

In the early days of 24-hour racing, team members would draw straws to determine who would be the unlucky teammate to ride the most laps at night. But today, people often fight for the privilege of riding after dark, citing spectacular views of starry skies and riders strung out like fireflies, the thrill of hearing animals scampering through the bushes and the cool, relaxing, less-sweaty ride. Plus, you can see the trail as well as in daytime. The lights are bright these days, but they aren’t cheap.

“Plan to spend at least $200 for a basic, safe setup — and up to a grand for ‘virtual daylight,’ ” says Roger Johnson, a manager at the Bikecology shop in Torrance, who’s been night-riding the Santa Monica Mountains since the early 1980s.

At the low end are no-frills halogen systems that include single-beam handlebar- and helmet-mounted lights, the latter needed because bike-mounted beams don’t follow your line of vision.

Top-end lights use the same powerful High Intensity Discharge, or HID, beams found in Porsches, BMWs and other expensive cars, and may include dual handlebar beams, LED accessory lighting, adjustable output controls and rechargeable batteries.

“If you night-ride more than once a month, rechargeables are the way to go,” says Johnson.

There’s something for everyone:

Good

Bare-bones illumination

Models: NiteRider’s Headtrip helmet light ($119) and Trail Rat handlebar light ($109).

Features: 10-watt halogen lights. Rechargeable batteries with 2-hour, 15-minute burn time.

Contact: (858) 268-9316, https://www.niterider.com

Better

Bright idea

on a budget

Models: Nightsun’s SpARC Team dual-beam handlebar light ($299) and SunSport helmet light ($99).

Features: HID flood light paired with 20-watt halogen spotlight; with 2-hour, 30-minute burn time. SunSport is a six-watt halogen with a 3-hour run time. Batteries are rechargeable.

Contact: (626) 799-5074; https://www.night-sun.com

Best

Instant daytime

Models: NiteRider’s Cyclone helmet light ($459) and Flamethrower handlebar light ($469).

Features: 50/45/40-watt HID adjustable lights. Rechargeable batteries with 4- to 6-hour burn time. Array of three LED reading lights with 100-hour burn time.

Contact: (858) 268-9316, https://www.niterider.com