The Ultimate Guide To Bicycle Lights For All Cyclists

There's so many bike lights out there for cyclists it can be hard to know where to start! In this video Sam Gupta breaks down everything you need to know about bike lights and what you should be looking for. It's important that we as cyclists get seen, so, ensuring you have the right lights for your riding is important especially when it can be the difference between seeing where you are or aren't going! We look at the different light requirements between road, gravel, commuting and mountain biking and tell you exactly what you need to have for those different types of riding.

Lights featured in the video:

00:00 - Intro
00:23 - Which bike lights are best?
01:40 - Bike light features you need
03:51 - What's seen by VS see by?
04:42 - Should cyclists use lights in the day?
05:27 - Best rear bike light?
06:15 - What's the law around bike lights?
07:10 - What are lumens?
08:21 - Outro

This video was produced in partnership with Lezyne.

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#bicycles #bikes #cycling #ad

[KNURKonesur]

3:45 "disposable batteries are very much a thing of the past" - except when they save your life on long trips in remote places :)

[ezralimm]

For visibility, definitely get a "retroreflective vest". It needs those prism based reflective strips that glow back at cars. Also, in addition to your rear bike light, get a headlamp with rear red-lamp. The red lamp on your head is much much more visible because it is higher, ... This is true even for me (with a 250lm NR Solas on the rear).

Can very strongly recommend the 21700 USB-C Anodized Aluminum Lumintop B01 - 450ANSI lumens for 5 hours at 4K temp (it's really eye friendly)... and also has car-headlamp style reflectors (doesnt blind oncoming cars/pedestrians. it's really amazing - doesnt get warm even after an hour of riding at 23C here in Melbourne - meaning the Cree XP-LHD is not being driven hard and is well in its efficiency zone...so should last long.

I paid AUD84 for it...(the OZ tax.) but im sure it''s cheaper elsewhere.

[draugmithrin]

A front light needs a solid mount when riding at speed in the dark, shame so many use elastic bands that can easily move.

[eloann]

Careful with the blinking lights recommandation. Here in Switzerland one must use a steady light in both front and back (but may have blinking ones in addition). In neighbouring France where I ride a lot the front light may not blink. If riding abroad, check the rules.

[br]

The lesson I’ve learned from nearly 20 years of night riding MTB’s?
Buy Exposure for the front, and any old eBay cheapness for the rear.
Job done.

[randorecumbent]

3:45 "Disposable batteries are very much a thing of the past."
Yes, everyone knows that all the cool kids throw away the entire light and buys a new one when the internal battery no longer holds a charge. It's just the price of being in fashion. Ugh.

[vincehe]

For urban night riding, I like to use high-lumen bicycle lights, and I am now using the Dlite 1800 of Towild

[QuixoteX]

I want lights that are durable, and serviceable. ON/OFF switch, no logic. Rechargeable is good, but no smart BS. I want a sturdy mount that doesn't drift down.

[dasyk]

For city riding or any road riding where you expect to meet oncomming traffic get a light that complies with the German StVZO standards (most will be rated in lux instead of lumens, go for one with at least 30-40lux)

These are fantastic as they give you a proper shaped beam like a car's dipped headlights allowing you to see without blinding other road users.

You can always add an additional cheap mega lumen LED to use as a high beam

[cauldron]

Lights are so simple in use that they need not to be smart. Waste of money.

[AlbaTech]

Exposure Lights for the front, Garmin Varia for the rear. Simple.

[KNURKonesur]

Visibility is one thing, but what most cycle light guides miss are people who travel/bikepack and don't need a strong light, but a light that holds well on a battery. I've been commuting and travelling and bikepacking at night in remote places for days on end without access to a charger and my 200 lumen (or 100 lumen on low mode) light beats any 1000 lumen one I had before, cause it holds 30-60h on a charge (over 100h on full power in case of my rear light), not 5-8h like most popular lights.

[petersage]

I prefer hard-wired handlebar mounted switches for my lights, thank you very much!
Part of my evening commute has a stretch of unlit road, so in addition to the low, wide, road-focused beam light that came on my e-bike, I have a high-beam thrower on a rocker switch. This light helped me avoid a few deer and dogs I otherwise wouldn't have seen until it was too late.
Don't forget to get the most out of oncoming vehicles' headlights by wearing high visibility reflective clothing. Looser is better so it flutters in the wind; we're hard-wired to notice things moving in the night.

[tomeklubomir]

On the point of dazzling other road users, it’s a good idea to dip your front light a little (esp. the bright ones, over 1000 lumens).
I set my front light beam to light up the road around 10-20m in front of me, so I can see any hazards on the road… No point pointing your light straight into the oncoming traffic, it wont help you to see where you’re going.
Perhaps use 2 front lights for commuting, one “to be seen” (on lower setting, not daylight flash) and one “to see what’s in front” on higher setting, but dip it.
I bet many cyclists don’t even realise how powerful modern LED lights have become. I still remember using front dynamo light… I know I’m a road dinosaur 😂

[Carlosediaz]

please dont use daytime lights there is absolute no reason for someone to have bike lights on a full brightness at 1pm in the afternoon when its the sunniest and brightest part of the day... like makes zero sense to me, .

[CLechleitner]

Switching lights on the smartphone, while riding the bike? That's a 50€ fine on the spot, and rightly so.
Blinking lights are extremely confusing, and illegal in some countries too, with good reason.
Thanks for the proposals anyway!

One more tip: A USB-rechargable head lamp (as in a lamp on a strap worn around the head) that can produce red or white light is a flexible backup for either of the regular lights, and is helpful when searching stuff in the dark, like a dropped key.

[jimm.]

I bought the Macro Drive 1300XXL and wow…..what an upgrade! Sturdy build and several brightness levels make this light an investment I’m happy with.

[ermac]

Your hands are abit too busy for no reason. You got karate chops, writing on an invisible surface, im holding an invisible basketball and hey i got parkinsons going on there.

[creeplickitaOFFICIAL]

I got myself a ultra strong Victoper l15. Im satisfied with my 200m light beam.

[tajulislam]

I agree, Lezyne are very good and I'm not saying that because they sponsor me or I work for them, because, I don't. I have the Classic Drive 500 and then beam pattern on that is definitely one of the, if not, the best. I've seen other brands around me which had more power than mine but the beam pattern wasn't that great.