The Night Descender

[@waynewang4312]

Great video! just wondering if the gloworm light unit work with other power bank?

[@ridesofjapan]

Don’t know, but I would guess no since the “brain” sits in the battery

[@waynewang4312]

@@ridesofjapan Thanks, i have asked the same question to gloworm team and they have confirmed it will work as long as the powerbank support USB-PD.

[@ridesofjapan]

Awesome, good to know 👌

[@ridesofjapan]

Just plugged the light into my wall charger directly, and it worked… I could even pair the remote and all my light level setting are intact.. so the brain is actually in the light unit. This is a massive advantage compared to most other lights I never even thought about! Thanks again for digging in to it!

[@ariffau]

You take your time. But your videos are ALWAYS worth waiting. Don’t compromise. Keep it up 👍

[@ridesofjapan]

Cheers mate!

[@thedarkst4r]

A eurobeat track during descend might add some watts during the night! That's a really nice descent! :)

[@joaocastro924]

Listen to it while playing "Path of desire" its perfect!

[@philippang07]

"The sound of the mountains (in the night) are so therapeutic....." ha ha a true blue cyclist brother amongst us... thank you for sharing your videos with us!!! RIde safely.

[@craigwilson118]

Amazing video! Brings back memories of many blissful kms riding at night during Japanese Odyssey 2018. It's a real adventure riding remote areas in the dark. I agree that big tyres are good insurance as you cannot read the road surface as well, even with bright lights, and a loud hub probably does help warn the wildlife... I had a loud Hope Pro4 and saw many deer disappearing as I rounded corners. A rider behind me did blow a skinnier tyre on a rock, and I did hear of another rider crashing into a small bear(!) so there are certainly risks, but I've had deer nearly take me out during the daytime on a flat straight road... the fewer humans in cars tends to balance out the other night riding risks for me. Very peaceful... and you can't see how steep the road is.

[@roadyeti3697]

Yeah, critters always my biggest fear at night. Funny you mention the HOPE hub. What is it about HOPE hubs. My SP24, great hub but loud af. I sound like a kamikaze dive bomber on a fast descent. I guess the payoff is the wild life warning. If only you could turn it off when not needed

[@chrissinclair6086]

The sound of the DT Swiss wheels and hubs is superb. Oh, and your riding is second to none.

[@soulscreamz]

I absolutely love descending at night, it makes me feel so dynamic and almost as if i was flying. Another great Video + the extended descending clip was soothing to watch. Great work man !

[@tehdopefish]

I live somewhere extremely flat and I have no words for how jealous I am of all the amazing hills featured on your channel!

[@FlatSpinMan]

Japan has tons of hills plus lots of of other beautiful places to ride. Once you get away from large urban areas, and if you’re able to avoid the bigger rural ‘highway’ type roads.

[@gravelpack8536]

Fellow night rider here started because of my schedule but man I love it especially for single over nighters

[@TrevorGay]

I too hold riding at night dear to my heart. Absolutely love it!

[@MediumHalf]

Really enjoyed that end footage. Watched while on my spin bike and could almost smell the night air. Love night rides.

[@spin2win721]

Sick edit as usual. Another option to try out one day is outbound lights. Absolute game changer.

[@christopherhood9241]

another great film - love the intro. I'm after a new set of lights - this is very useful.

[@coldbrewcyclingcrew1011]

Just love Japan and miss it. Been there many times but have never had the chance to ride there. Beautiful videos mate.

[@alexv5473]

I'd recommend using a secondary helmet light as a compliment for the main beam on the bars, so it can follow the path of your eyes, which it's usually a bit ahead on the road.

[@TheBRad704]

He is. You can see him looking through the turns many times based on the additional light.

[@jaro6985]

In the vid he says he is using a helmet light 9:29, but doesn't normally use it.

[@larrycox3378]

Very cool I like riding in the early morning, before sunrise been looking for new light options thanks

[@Tethysmeer]

That there are mirrors calms my anxiety a little. Thx for that info.

[@necrossis]

Very initial D vibes in the intro, cool video and setup!

[@davidstihler9689]

The only word which comes to mind is breathtaking. I have a similar downhill here in the Santa Cruz Mountains and have done the descent well over a hundred times but never at night. This really does inspire me. I use exposure light Strada which I like.

[@KerryJapan1]

I’ve lived and rode in Japan for the past 25 years (China)so I know Japanese roads well. This video gave me so much anxiety it was not even funny. The thought of a inoshishi 🐗 waiting around that next corner was just too much for me. 😂. Amazing descending skills sir…truly.

[@diowade1784]

Oh man, that was a top tier intro! I wish it was longer

[@rm709]

You’re my favorite new YT channel. And, well, you’re an awesome person. Thanks for sharing your experiences in Japan!

[@raceace]

All the feels, Love riding the Chichibu passes at night. So safe you can really hammer the corners and generally stay out of trouble.

[@alexharris222]

Managed to find some black packing foam yesterday, so tried out the Varia mount hack. 24g saved, very pleased. Thanks

[@sirces9]

I love your reviews on products. The reviews are so well in depth, that I can’t help but considering making a purchase.

Damn! I wouldn't dare to descent here even during the day! BRAVO!

[@oheso]

I can totally sympathize about the serenity and lack of traffic (particularly after having a lorry up my backside for the steepest part of the Otarumi Touge ascent last weekend). But I also have direct experience of the far longer road rash recovery time now that I'm 60 -- I'm not about to take up night descending, but my Kabuto is off to you!

[@matthewshaw3747]

I loved on the decent that you could see you sighting the corner as you turned your head and the smaller light moved. Keep up the great work. Always a real treat when you post a video. Content and production are always on point.

[@dietbruboy]

Brilliant video and first comment from me, only to say that sketchy right hander towards the end, with that little rough patch had my heart in my mouth… 👍

[@flaviodui6658]

This is some initial-d level production s***! Absolutely incredible

[@jordandupont7430]

such a cool shot - I know it was hard work to get them this clear too. This is fun

[@tomcruz3774]

The night descent clip is so good man. Legit ASMR 🙌

[@randorecumbent]

This was so cool! I appreciate the light setup info as well as the dramatic decent footage. It would have been nice to have a GPS speed overlay. Thanks for the video!

[@MrJob91]

never stop uploading! ur videos are great

[@mlegrand]

Amazing video! 🙌 The new mount on the bigger heavy camera Varia is more secure. But it's all a bit too beafy for your liking. I'm glad you know these descents well 😬

[@ayowser01]

the NITECORE BR35 uses Cree LEDs and has a focused beam pattern along with a splash/spill beam pattern. The battery will safely last between 4-6hrs. From the research I've done, it's the best setup without going custom or wired. It has three different modes: trail (focus/splash on), road (switch between either focus or splash), city (splash)

[@Joshuavoice29]

That looks like an amazingly fun ride!

[@JakeMay]

Soothing. Great video - thanks!

[@BritishEnglishJapan]

Beautiful. With the rainy season on its way, and the summer to follow hot on its heels, if you ever felt the need to share your thoughts on how to keep cool on long days in the saddle....I for one would be very happy to read about it!! I do generally around 90kms around Mie / Gifu border on Saturdays and have to leave at 5am just to avoid the heat later in the day....

[@ridesofjapan]

Find streams and waterfalls to cool off in :)

[@BritishEnglishJapan]

@@ridesofjapan 😉The voice of reason! Cheers... both for the excellent channel and the inspiration to do more!

[@ucdescents]

Great video! You should post the speed next time for the descent

[@FfortheT]

Just excellent. I have opted for dynamo + Edelux for my incoming Ritchey Outback for exactly those kind of rides.

[@craigwilson118]

The Edelux is great, but you will want an additional helmet light for twisty descents as the shaped beam of the Edelux throws no light into a tight corner. Reading signs over the road can also be problematic... but not everywhere has those.

[@FfortheT]

@@craigwilson118 thx!

[@Charles_on_the_Line]

Seriously.....when did your channel get soooo gooooood!!! Long time sub and loving the new stuff brother!!!

[@ridesofjapan]

Cheers mate!

[@markjthomson]

Interesting indeed. As a rider watching the video I appreciated the "light in the correct position" rather than the "better video" light. I like the Glo worm products (good local company for me) and I need to investigate if they do any batteries that can be charged off the pedal cell unit. I currently run a Ravemen 1600, great light but a heavy unit to have on an out front mount.

[@larrymcgoldrick3471]

Thanks!

[@YuoTubeTobi]

A new videooooooo, finally!

[@GmailNexus]

I know it's Knight Rider themed but also offers some nice Initial D Vibes! Was subconsciously waiting for the Eurobeat to start 😅

[@wannafart]

Love your videos, keep up the great work! I hope to ride around Tokyo myself in the future, pre-covid my job took me to Narita regularly (I know, wrong side of the city 😬) will definitely look up your rides on Strava for inspiration! Regards from Amsterdam.

[@AlexanderSio]

Beautiful descent.

[@Ryan97beyond]

Great video as usual! Just be careful descending at nightfall. I hear that there's a tofu delivery guy notoriously drive reckless in the mountain passes. Especially in the Gunma prefecture.

[@andycorso8498]

Inspiring….light coverage seems really good……stay safe

[@rlanger]

Watching the descent at 1.5x really gets the heart racing.

[@woodsdavid2887]

Nice descent! Be careful of wildlife, though. I dodged a fawn last year here in Mie-ken that crossed the road suddenly; my friend hit the mother deer's ass! Had a close call with a tanuki once as well. Anyway, cool video.

[@brianmaldonado3723]

Very cool. Ty.

[@grahamwynde1176]

Scared me just watching but still a great view! I ride with lights daytime too - and won't leave home without my Garmin Varia - too many nutty drivers out there. Agree with you how crumby the mount is though. Now drone footage of night descent please...joke!

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

The loud hub as wildlife deterrent 🤣👍

[@anton8187]

Nice light, thank you You also can check Moon Rigel Pro 1000, it's also small and you can use it with external battery Also it has Type-C and some cool unique features

[@stephencaringal354]

The Safa Brian of Japan

[@supeinjinsan]

Totally Agree, one of the best things of Japan were those night rides :)

[@Miekzz]

I've started riding in the night this year and really enjoy it, but I live in a super flat are and am already jumpy when riding at speed in the dark. Can't imagine actually doing a descent 🤣 looks like a cool light though.

[@TheRokko66]

Good descend disciplines😄

[@YukiTsunoda7]

*Pure Fire* s i l k y smooth

[@lordalfa600]

Initial D vibes. Speedy speed boy.

[@zokuwu]

Great vid!! would love to see a video on that barbag!

[@ridesofjapan]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3m2XpSpiL18h7M

[@mimisheean6648]

Awesome!

[@cronos_78none47]

also with this mountains i can good understand why in the past japan had build cool cameras like the widelux :)

[@Ron_Boy]

Fascinating to watch this. Can't really tell from the video, but it looks like you're overriding the light beam. That is, if there is something on the road -- a wild animal, for instance -- are you able to stop before hitting it?

[@LZWEHDKE]

Lumonite also has some great headlamps

[@hbade]

Once this has a rear exit port rather than a side exit port, I'm buying one!

[@StephenLaneHPTek]

I love my V1 gloworm system. A bit jealous you got the V2. I wonder if that battery pack can be recharged off a battery bank 🤔. I’ve run the 4cell battery with a 2 cell backup for some bike packing races. The wireless switch is awesome. Love your work Japan Man ❤️

[@ridesofjapan]

Charging a battery pack with another battery pack… that would create some kind of wormhole no? 😝 With the speed to ride your ultra events, I can’t imagine you need more than the 2cell battery though 😎 Cheers mate!

[@jpoodle]

I like the lezyne 1300 personally, now I'm surely going to look at it like it's a brick next time I see it hahaha

[@ridesofjapan]

Excellent light! If you have a sturdy enough mount to get it off the handlebar it’s pretty much perfect 👍

[@mozismobile]

you added weight!! OMG! I think I just died.

[@fradd4045]

awesome!

[@Dramboli]

You can mount the Lezyne lights the same way as you did it with the gloworm. They have several adapters.

[@frankyfung6491]

too heavy for his weight weenie garmin mount

[@DeathScy7he]

Luckily there does not seem to be many houses on the decent. It's hard to tell but the noise from the hub seems to be quite loud, either way very cool!.

[@user-cx2bk6pm2f]

For fast descents, you want LUX! Which is a measure of throw, as opposed to brightness {lumens}.

[@weedseed2]

I use a lupine piko, a very similar design to this. It can also be mounted to a helmet or used as a head torch , which is very helpful, I find... unfortunately no usb-c

[@ridesofjapan]

Gloworm comes with a helmet as well. My top two picks was actually the Piko and the Gloworm, in the end the lenses and usb-c tipped the scale

[@weedseed2]

@@ridesofjapan ah, it comes with the helmet 😜... the lenses seem nice though

[@ridesofjapan]

🫣⛑

[@dgianstefani5694]

Fenix bike lights are good, removable batteries and type C charging.

[@dgianstefani5694]

Means you can carry a spare.

[@jeancena8761]

You have to check out Lupine lights. My SL AX was a hefty investment but worth every penny once I went for a few night rides.

[@marciooki5820]

This was definitely scary 😂

[@el3ktrik0]

I’ve mounted my Varia on 3d printed Spec’s swat compatible mount. It has a small hiding place for Apple’s AirTag ;)

[@Oli_CH]

Can you send me the step file :)?

[@Chunky246]

Good to see another country that drives on the correct side of the road 😊

[@wsbygt]

I´ve been using for about 18monts the Lezyne Macro Drive 1300XXL+Strip Pro 300 and its a great product the only obvious downsize is its weight that changes the handling performance just a bit. Great video RoJ how arr the LighBicycle rims holding? I´m getting the WR45 delivered soon for my gravel\training bike! Cheers and ride safe!

[@ridesofjapan]

No problems this far Cheers!

[@anthonytroise1278]

What time of night was this? Thanks for the great vid.

[@ridesofjapan]

Don't remember exacly, I'd say 8~9ish in the evening

Love to know what mic you are using from 1:01 - really great sound!

Or is it just the wireless mic for the DJI? If so maybe your conditions or PP are better than others!

[@ridesofjapan]

dji mic (I EQ, compress, etc all my audio)

@@ridesofjapan thanks, the EQ between scenes is notable. I wish more people would do it - I notice bad audio more than bad video editing most of the time! Maybe it's just me :)

@@ridesofjapan I've been playing around with some speak-to-camera ideas on the bike with a DJI Pocket II. Current learnings seem to be, fixed focus and fixed exposure, hold the camera off the bars for smoothness, and ride into the light. Any other top tips from your experience? BTW if you want to try our kit at some point drop me a line for a code. We are as obsessive as you about...well, everything....and I (really) think you might like what we have done. We do things a little differently!

[@winaa270]

I would love to know your camera settings. I take it it's a Gopro on a chest mount. My night ride footage doesn't look any where near as good as yours and certainly not good enough for KZbin.

[@ridesofjapan]

That because it’s not a GoPro… they are useless in the dark. I use a DJI pocket 2. Not ideal either but better than GoPro

[@vivaaloha2020]

That was my question, thank you!

[@vivaaloha2020]

@@ridesofjapan yes, definitely not ideal set up, but pretty good night footage. Two wheel Cruise did a night time video about that. Unfortunately GoPro sucks at night...

[@flooooooo0686]

May I ask how you set up the camera and which one it is? GoPro? Chesty? A video on recording tipps for wonderful descents would be great content :)

[@WowRixter]

Another great video. Such awesome production. BTW do they have deer in Japan? That would be my biggest concern about descending a mountain at night

[@ridesofjapan]

Yep, Cheers!

[@WowRixter]

@@ridesofjapan 😲

[@eurobeatmachinist732]

Initial d vibes

[@Ropetable]

the ratchet exp freehub sound is so sexy. i'm twisted like that. And someone seriously told me to use the bell when approaching after noticing me coming with the loudest no grease ratchet sound you have ever heard....

[@karlstine2065]

Good stuff. I’ll stick with my two flashlights and electric tape.

[@leftymadrid]

I think night time rides are fabulous but I would really worry more about an animal crossing at the wrong time!! Just three days ago a family of 4 nutrias (spanish) crossed right in front of me while I descented at 53 klms luckily I was able to ride right behind them!!!

[@tewaewae]

04:35 was that paint chip from a mounted light swinging around? Love the videos as always.

[@ridesofjapan]

That was caused by a Tanuki running into my front wheels and taking me down on the first ever ride on this bike 🤬

[@tewaewae]

@@ridesofjapan that is a very good reason not to touch it up. Stay dry down there.

[@Amir-cu4qp]

1:18 what is that thing under your left sleeve? The video quality looks nice, I wouldn't mind more night riding oriented content from you

[@ridesofjapan]

HR monitor

[@docmccoy9813]

1:57 I'll ask instead: "What kind of shades are you using". I'm interested in buying something like yours, without the frame at the top, because I found out it takes quite a lot of vision when you are riding in the "looking-at-the-front-hub position". Riding or driving alone at night is so calm, only you and the road. But beware of wildlife!

[@ridesofjapan]

They are Roka sunnies (photochromic for night riding)

[@docmccoy9813]

@@ridesofjapan Thanks!

[@bugabutu]

so SICK ! I'd shit my pants cornering in the dark lol

[@markmarlatt1105]

Was that "Kavinsky" as the intro music?

[@SimonA-ov7vm]

Dear RoJ, Where in Japan is this lovely ride?

[@DamnitsAdriel]

This should've had eurobeats playlits..

[@sfasto1]

Imagine going down that hill in the dark and see Sadako Yamamura waving at you......

[@stevegavin3327]

Who calls for help when the bear cat takes you out?