Road Bike Lights | Everything You Need To Know

[@bikeradar]

What's your go-to bike light through winter?

[@catladyrai]

Niterider Lumina 1800 to see. And a helmet mounted 900 to be seen.

[@keaty1984]

Magicshine all night long

[@tosheshdaulta8899]

I love the pulse mode on my Blackburn Dayblazer 1200.

[@gerardcoull2338]

Definitely not Magicshine. Bought a set off the back of this video, which don't work. Don't reply to contacts, rotten bunch. I wish I'd checked Trustpilot first, the reviews are very poor. @BikeRadar should choose your friends better....

[@Gerald-iz7mv]

Any more suggestions?

[@matteo.ceriotti]

For expensive rechargeable light, consider those with replaceable battery. The battery life will degrade rapidly if you use it, and can then replace the battery, not the whole light. For example, Moon does powerful lights with replaceable rechargeable battery.

[@PRH123]

Have been using Moon lights front and rear for a few years, best out there in my opinion. They give 3 options for mounting the light right in the box, and all of them are very secure. Very well made. I use mine down to -20 C with no problems. Haven’t got to the need to replace the battery yet, but great to know it’s there…!

[@tosheshdaulta8899]

And Fenix

[@Cuzzazbuzz]

Just about to return my new Moon light as it keeps switching but realised there’s an ‘intelligent’ setting to turn off unless it is dark! I’ll be the judge of that thank you…

[@Gerald-iz7mv]

@@PRH123what moon light? Can you tell me exact model?

[@PRH123]

@@Gerald-iz7mv rear = “Moon Ring” and front = “Moon Meteor K Plus 350”

[@mopedvieh]

Here in Germany, lights have to comply with the StVZO, which is basically the road user guideline. StVZO does not describe a certain beam pattern 😅

[@bikeradar]

This is, strictly speaking, true, but outside of Germany at least, the term has become something of a generalisation to describe bike lights with a shaped beam.

[@MrMyleys]

I love the idea of the StVZO requirement. I'm in the UK, and there's no law like that here. Over the recent years more and more of the 'big beam' front lights are being adopted without consideration to other road users and are completely dazzling if you're on the wrong end of one. They are brighter than car headlamps. I created a simple 'hood' for mine to cap off the top of the beam so it no longer dazzles oncoming road users.

[@paulrowe9791]

In my view the advice on rear lights is the wrong way round. I think they need to be brighter in urban environments than in unlit ones, where a modest output will stand out in the dark. One thing I’m certain of is that a crazy bright, flashing rear light is a menace in a group ride. Lowest setting and steady is the way to go.

[@alasdairgardner3317]

800 lumens is enough for unlit country roads, any more just dazzles other road users, I sue Cateye AMPP 800

[@neilmat71]

I use a cateye volt 800 front light and exposure rear light. Both are very powerful for unlit roads on my commute.

[@vfclists]

The potholes on UK streets are now so deadly you need lights that shine brightly into the distance and immediately in front of your wheels to be safe, regardless whether your are in an urban area or in the countryside. Once you hit a certain speed a 500 lumen doesn't cut it. Better have 2 cheap ones than a single expensive one.

[@Terrierized]

Brighter isn't always better, angle the light slightly down to avoid blinding oncoming traffic Spend wisely, cheap is often nasty! But you don't need top line ones

[@savagepro9060]

How many 'loo men' does it take to light up a toilet?

[@kidShibuya]

I literally just got home from a night ride. Other cyclists with crazy bright lights are just dangerous, I was only out for around 1 hour but was blinded around 5 times. And I mean blinded, all I could see was light, everything else was black. I had to slow and just hope I didn't hit anything. These cyclists have crazy bright lights for "safety" but how safe is it when I literally can't figure out where they are? It's even worse when pedestrians are in between us, I only just avoided knocking over a couple because of an oncoming bike (shared bike line by the river). StVZO should be law, there is no excuse for lighting up the sky when riding. Plus you don't need crazy high lumen figures when your light isnt wasted going up. Light up the road only, then you don't need so much light. I take issue with your lumens figures though. 800 minium? I ride in the remote mountains and never go over 400, most of the time I am at my lights 290 setting. Maybe people are making their pupils contract with such bright lights? I never have a need to use my bikes brightest 500 lumens setting let alone 800. But my light is StVZO with a very focused beam pattern that only uses light to light the road, so its focused and I guess counts for a lot more.

[@chamansw]

Agree 100%

[@PedroStringhini]

Most countries have laws related to vehicles lights, I think that as assisted bikes, bike lights should also have regulations. I saw a 4000 lumens front light for sale, not even for mountain biking in trails during night demand that much brightness...

[@PRH123]

Agree 100%. I ride with a 350 lumen light on 50% power. And I put my hand over it when approaching someone else, be it cyclist or pedestrian. When I see people as in these comments saying they have 1600 lumen headlights….

[@NRBD2]

I ride a route that goes in and out of darkness, so my eyes don't completely dark adapt. I need a moderately powerful light to even things out. Part of the problem is riders who have their 1200 lumen light pointed far too high. They should be pointed slightly downward. My light is on a mount that can be adjusted.

[@event4216]

Same applies to those who run head mounted lights - great when you are alone in woods, but not on roads or bike path.

[@danielletendre654]

Thank you for being so thorough on such an important bike accessory.

[@yamspaine]

The german pattern makes it so much more likely to dazzle other drivers. They did it very very wrong. The edge of the beam should change in intensity gradually. the dazzeling occurs when the threshold goes over other road users eyes.. also, one cannot see the person using the light with a projector housing.

[@MrLuigi-oi7gm]

My Garmin rear radar light is one of these best bike purchases I have ever made. In also use a Garmin front light which allows me to control both my front and rear lights remotely from my Garmin bike computer. Being able to control your lights from your bike computer is a big plus, IMO.

[@SHWELL11]

Those Magicshine lights changed my life with their features and output. The price was very affordable. I dont know if they are the best, but thy are effective for me. I have the 12000 lumen and the 8500 lumen versions. I find the output of the 8500 lumen model to be perfect. The remote is a game changer. Money well spent with no regrets at all. The only downside is the need for the remote battery packs that can add bulk to some bike setups, I sacrificed one of my bottle holder positions..

[@hurbrowns5397]

you mean 1,200 and 850 lumens right? 12 thousand and 8 thousand and 500 lumens would blind you to the core!

[@darrenhitchcox6345]

Ultra bright bike lights are a pest and leave you unable to see. I use a head torch for my main light, so it lights where I look and and can turn my head to avoid blinding other riders. Several times I have been riding on the Bristol to Bath path at night and had to stop from being blinded be other cyclists

[@event4216]

Maybe your torch on head have blinded them too? There's a reason cars can't use roof mounted lights on roads.

[@davidhakes5141]

My bike is for commuting, grocery getting, and just plain living my life. It's my only vehicle, so it has to have a practical setup.

[@Mark__A]

Running Olight RN 1500 for 2 years and very happy, but sometimes can blind other road users.

[@alexanderakins5777]

Light and motion lights are WAYYY better

[@blaze1148]

I must admit Magicshine Olights are the best IMO.

[@richardhaselwood9478]

My top tip for the rear lights has been my new (ish) Giant helmet that you can mount a rear light to. I never, ever, ever, ride without lights (day or night), so, I have a light on the seat, and light on the helmet chirping away merrily. When one dies, no drama, the other has a decent amount of life left, and just charge them both together. Front light, certainly, if you don't use the max brightness setting, they do last an impressively long time. But, if you need it for gravel or outside cities, you will chew through charge quickly.

[@yamspaine]

Color temperature /frequency composition and beam pattern are very important. Some lights may have a bad CRI and have a sharp patten that leaves the rider invisible... Either by blinding the onlooker or not shining at the onlooker. Projector housings are not appropriate for road applications. They dazzle and harm so much stuff. The beam intensity should taper off grandually. The CRI should be above 90 and the tempurature 2500 to 4000 kelvin and not over 4500.

[@Mr.A_nyc]

Anything with AAA batteries. Then get rechargeable AAAs and always have extra charged if needed.

[@NRBD2]

Secondary point. Rechargeable batteries work better in the cold which is obviously a consideration in winter

[@ilovephotography1254]

I have to call BikeRadar out on one point... NEVER run your front Lights on the Strobe setting at Night time, unless you wish to blind on coming cars, bikes and or pedestrians.

[@event4216]

Driver with induced flicker vertigo potentially can unintentionally hit that flashing object....

[@TheInfidel_SlavaUA]

STVZO is the collection of laws regulating all things related to public road usage. And trust me you dont want the overly zealos often even SILLY laws of german safety sallie karens. Concerning bike lights i boldly claim that 95% of all german after market bike lights do NOT adhere to the road legal standards. Concerning bicycle lights and the massive influx of thousands of sudo brands made in china this has become nearly impossible to enforce and only extremely unlucky people will run into a random dedicated bike safety checkpoint some day in their lives, or a really overzealous cop trying to write you a ticket. Let me give you the example of a Crown Jewel of reta... laws by the german government STVZO regulations. You are not allowed to install a "signal device" other word would be bike horn other than a small bell on the technical level of the 19th century, signal devices also cover OPTICAL signaling such as turn indicators. ILLEGAL to install on bicycles in germany. The rather have you stick out your arm and risk a crash in a dodgy traffic situation than to use a totally safe but maybe slighlty non standard turn indicator. These laws are written by mentally ill people.

[@savagepro9060]

Forgive me for my crazy bike logic. You see, I thought adding 'lights' to your bike should make them, well, 'lighter'? I was wrong, so wrong!

[@rrosomasa]

please do not procreate

[@savagepro9060]

@@rrosomasa ‘Procreate’? Is that a bicycle light?

[@rowerowysztos]

what was the light that you have used to ilustrate a cutoff?

[@childofeternity]

Magicshine Evo 1700

[@BrendanECasey]

Driver blinding road lights are a bad idea imho.

[@3811eric]

Niterider Dual 1600 has been great for day and night riding for me. Offers many different light patterns and 1600 full lumens if you need it at night.

[@thefrener794]

You can make a simple good for your light with tape and a piece of paper or card.

[@kienfung3045]

I had in the 90's as kid brakelight on my bike. Just from the shelf in a bike shop. Why not bringing it back? With left right blinkers maybe?

[@kalilebron007]

Great video! Much needed info for cyclists from all backgrounds! Love Magicshine!

[@isabellam1936]

I’m a long time bike messenger in nyc and I’ve tested out every flash pattern there is and cars give you the most distance and slow the most down with fast irregular flash patterns like with the Super flash Turbo by Planet Bike. They have the perfect flash pattern and brightness. The worst flash patterns where cars go fast by you and extremely close to you are constant on and also slow pulse. Fast slash is good but not to fast where it just looks like it’s constant on basically, the best is irregular flash pattern though.

[@allanpettie862]

Interested in your thoughts on the brand Reelight? Induction self-generated power...

[@shahbazahmedkhan3659]

Very informative video over bike lighting and I loved the camera you have shot this video with. Exceptional picture quality if I may know the camera?

[@stronginhim2008]

This is one of the best best information on types of lights and different places to use them. Well done.

[@MM-kt5dv]

Comparing a flashing bike light to a strobe is nonsense. They are nowhere near the same thing. The bottom line is a flashing light enables cars to see me better, so that is what I will use. Period.

[@ronaldjosephmedina710]

Hi May I ask what’s your front and tail lights set up?

[@plunder1956]

Positioning of lights is also important. A moving rear light can help, possibly on the back of a helmet.

[@krissk77]

I prefer a bright rear light. With auto brake options.. visibility at the back a must in my kind of roads.... for cars to see you from far... i concentrate on the rear lights. At least i can see front .. mostly do early morning rides... and few night rides. ❤

[@simonrood1731]

How did you get on with evo1700, the shaped beam pattern one, was it enough for road riding in the dark? I love the proper beam dip that it has.

[@daxolivares6939]

Outboundlighting trail evo package

[@patrickwong4824]

Cygolites, especially their front light, are the best. Tough as Hell, crazy bright depending on the model, batteries that last and have a great lifespan. I have been using Cygolites for well over a decade. As for the rear light, I switched from Cycgolites to some made-in-China Amazon models that work great.

[@n22pdf]

I like my exposure lights been very impressed with them 😊 Pete

[@reecedawson6113]

I love my Garmin rear radar light especially as I live out in a rural forestry area

[@Z-u-m-a]

Good video, sensible advice 👍

[@squidley1000]

Nice video 👍🏾👍💯

[@johnr5545]

Thanks god bless

[@stuartdryer1352]

I have a Raveman light that has one brilliant trick. It attaches to a Garmin mount. Then it has another Garmin mount on top that can receive the head unit. A simple great idea. The problem is the light is not very bright (even for simple purpose of being more visible) and the battery sucks (charges slowly, runs down quickly). Someone needs to take this idea and execute it properly.

[@nicholasyoong4978]

I've used Ravemen CR500 a while back and I like the sleek cylindrical shape when under mount. Brightness and battery time were decent but not a problem now when I've switched to the CR1000 a couple of years back.

[@kk-fo3zx]

I can recommend the cateye gvolt 70.1 as an alternative. When coupled with a separately sold adapter, it attaches to GoPro mounts. Personally, I use HideMyBell, a combination of bell, garmin mount and GoPro mount and it works great.

[@tomassanesson902]

awesome

[@danieldusentrieb9336]

None of yours, because they all blind oncoming traffic, making them unsafe and rightly banned in my country.

[@baum479]

StvZO basically means approved for road use. Its the Straßenverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung

[@bikeradar]

Give Liam a few drinks and let him try to say that

[@sp00n]

Here's that fancy StVZO written out for you: Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung We sure do love our composite words. But we also love to create abbreviations for them.

[@JamesSmith-qs4hx]

Who else just got the Aldi Bikemate set for 15 quid?

[@event4216]

Guys, please don't be that arse running flashing front light at night, or those household lights with a cone shaped beam. These are distracting as hell. I also highly doubt usefulness of high output rear lights - effect is pretty much as of fog light, it has very specific use and shouldn't be used all the time. Blinking lights for a reason are used on ambulances or police cars. You aren't either.

[@MM-kt5dv]

I'd rather be an arse than dead because someone didn't see me.

[@event4216]

@@MM-kt5dv Do you believe steady light at nigh isn't enough to make you visible? Or cone shaped beam blinding opposite drivers is helping them to notice you even better?

[@MM-kt5dv]

@@event4216 It's not about what I 'believe'. According to studies a blinking/uneven light is more visible. Period. Have you ever been hit by a car while riding a bike? You might think differently if you had.

[@event4216]

@@MM-kt5dv Agreed, it's quite visible and that's why police and ambulance cars use blinking lights. Though not every car uses flashing lights - otherwise there would be no point in using 'em. According to studies blinking light also may provoke cramps and epilepsy which may end other way - user of blinking light being hit by a car. In countries with somehow developed cycling culture there's rule or even a law forbidding use of flashing light on vehicles, including bicycles minus special vehicles. I guess they know what they are doing.

[@MM-kt5dv]

@event4216 ​Those epilepsy studies are with high frequency strobe lights, which are completely different altogether and don't apply here. Plus, my light has a pulsing function which produces irregular flashing/pulsing. You do what you want, I'm sticking with my flashing lights. I've been hit by cars several times both at night and during the day while using a steady light because they didn't see me.

[@LegSpinna]

I attach a candle to my helmet. It works for me.

[@vanbarrettdesign]

Sort of basic info here mostly suited for beginners. The pace of the presenter could have been sped up a bit. However, all in all this was an excellent video and more awareness of the safety aspect of bike lights like doe her need to be done more often. Kudos.

[@Ford-Sonyfanatic]

Should be a rule all over the world the bikes to have bikes mirrors in urban cycling .

[@jeremiahpowell3028]

I’m looking for another light for Turbo Como SL 5.0. It gets busy so I need more light. This bike has a basket with a light on it. When you turn the basket don’t turn so I need a light that will turn with me.

[@NRBD2]

Daytime rear lights need to be bright. Many times I have been right behind someone before I even realised that they had one. I had seen them long before the light, so they were wasting money and energy.

[@xyz8724]

I would have loved to hear you try to pronounce the full word from the StVZO. Straßenverkehrszulassungsordnung😂😂😂

[@bikeradar]

I've got Liam practicing now 😂

[@NRBD2]

Its German, so isn't it just said as it is spelled??