With winter upon us and the days getting ever shorter, bike lights are an essential cycling accessory. Not only do bike lights help road users see you, but they can also help you see! Manon takes you through the different types of bike lights and how to choose which ones are right for you. From wearable lights to rear lights, we are here to help you keep cycling through winter…
00:00 Intro
00:33 Bike light laws
01:08 Front lights
02:49 Rear lights
04:09 Wearable lights
05:28 Batteries
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here in the northern hemisphere the Dark Knights are drawing in and for many of us the temptation to snuggle up in front of the fire and hang the bike up for the winter can be quite high but many of us don’t want to hibernate all winter long we want to keep riding our bikes but to do so we need to make sure we are seen by putting some lights on our bikes now the selection of Lights can be bewildering so I’m here to break it down for you let’s get cracked first up let’s have a look at the law shall we so here in the UK it is actually a legal requirement to use lights on public roads between sunset and sunrise there’s also some rules out there about flashing lights as well so in Germany the Netherlands and Australia you can’t actually have flashing lights they are only allowed on emergency vehicles there’s also some rules in US states where flashing lights at the front aren’t allowed so before you start buying lights make sure to have a quick Google to know what lights you are allowed in the area you live now let’s have a look at some options and we’re going to start with the front lights now in the past 10 years technology and lights has advanced so much and for as little as30 or dollars you can get a light that produces around 500 lumens or for a little bit more money say 50 or dollars you can get a light that’s close to a thousand lumens but if lumens don’t mean much to you rest assured it is a lot of light and for example a typical car headlight can produce between 700 to 1,200 lumens so assuming you can buy a life that is plenty bright enough the next thing you want to think about is how you mount your light a light with this much power should come with responsibility too it’s really important that your light is angled in a way that you can see the road in front of you but also other Road users can see you but at the same time you don’t want to be blinding other Road users if you do have a really strong light because that can be just as dangerous and we’ve all been there out in the car and a car’s coming towards you and they’ve left their full Beam on and you literally can’t see anything because the light is so blinding to help with this I suggest that you find somewhere dark facing a wall and you basically have a little play around with the mounting of your lights you want it so you can see the road in front of you and you don’t want it angled up too much so it’s blinding other Road users cyclist and pedestrians coming towards you I’d also strongly suggest having your front lights on a steady beam the only time I choose to have my light on flashing is if it was quite low visibility in the daytime and you need it to be visible to other Road users which brings us on to the rear lights now there is a lot of debate out there should the rear lights be flashing should they not well there is actually evidence out there that shows that with your light flashing you are a lot more visible to other Road users they can spot you from further away which means you will be noticed sooner however there is also evidence out there that drivers find that flashing lights can really affect how far away they think a cyclist is so one way around this is to Simply have two lights on your bike one flashing and one constant but however if you do choose to ride in a bunch I would stick to a constant light because if flashing light in a face of a cyclist is going to be quite offputting they can be quite strong and dazzling especially when you know Riders are sitting on your wheel and that close to them as well so stick to the constant light another thing you want to think about with rear lights as well is where you mount them it’s pointless having a rear light if it is obstructed by a saddle bag or a saggy mud guard or anything that’s blocking it you can also get lights that give off light to the side as well like this one um but also you can get one that are just directly behind but the ones that give light off to the side are really good when you come to Junctions and cars being able to see you from the side as [Music] well another alternative to a flashing light could be having a light mounted to a part of your body that moves so your leg or your heel this is going to make you more noticeable without having the downsides of a flashing rear light that isn’t legal a study in 2017 actually found that a light mounted to your heel is 1.7 times more noticeable than a flashing rear light but personally I would go for both more the Maria have a light mounted to your leg or your heel and have a light on the bike as well now there are actually overshoe brands that have lights incorporated into the overshoe that can help you be more seen another option that is becoming increasingly more popular these days is incorporating lights into bike helmet so we have this helmet from met and this is more of a urban bik helmet and it has the light incorporated into the back of the helmet and it pops off nice and easily you can charge it then just pop it back in and make sure you’re seen But for standard helmets like this one you can actually get attachments that clip on to the top of your helmet that you can just take on and off whenever you need them but again with this one you need to make sure that is it’s angled correctly as well so you can see but also people can see you from the rear as well now when it comes to charging your lights and the batteries in the lights I’d always go for USB charging lights they are a lot easier and they obviously work out a little bit cheaper than having to buy batteries for your lights as well you can charge them on the go using a power bank using your laptop whether you’re in the office having a busy day you’ll always know that you know it’s easily chargeable rather than having a battery when you never quite know when it’s going to run out and you’re always kind of risking being stuck in the dark so definitely go for the rechargeable U USB lights a few more little tips that you can do to make sure that you are seeing out in the dark is having something reflective on your cycling kit or your clothing or maybe on your bike as well so then when car lights shine at you it reflects from the light and they know you’re there but hopefully I have covered most things to do with bike Glides In This Very video but let me know in the comment section if I have missed anything if you have any of your own little tips for riding in the dark share them in the comments help everybody out and make sure if you did like this video give it a big thumbs up I’ll see you in the next one
42 Comments
What type of bike lights do you use? 💡
I have always been annoyed by lights that have one button and a dozen different flashing patterns you have to cycle through to turn the light on and off. I want full on and slow flash. Does anyone really care about up down/side to side/alternating/ slow and fast versions of all of these? it's just annoying to have to cycle through all these useless patterns every time.
Flashing lights are also not allowed in Finland but the police seldom enforces that rule so you see a lot of them.Front and rear lights and reflectors are required during the dark time and riding without any lights may get you fined if you are unlucky, though often they'll just tell you to get lights. Unfortunately using a head lamp as a front light is allowed which is annoying as there are those who'll fix an anti-aircraft search light to their forehead and then point it straight in the eyes of the oncoming cyclists.
I have to say, that I use the flashing backlight that is powered by 2 "AAA" rechargeble batteries… I charge them once – and then use for the whole summer season… The light is bright enough to make me VERY visible to others, although it doesn't blind people behind me. Unlike the "Usb" lights – they need to be charged too often and they literally shoot too many lumens into the eyes of the ones behind you…
Additional to regular hub dynamo with perma-mounted lights, I really LOVE the combination of the LUMOS helmet plus their 'firefly' lights. The synchronized customizable flash patterns increase my visibility massively. Whether I snap them on my trailer or just the bike, it's crazy how much earlier cars and other road users react to me.
hey!! i love your guy's content! it is makin me happy :D. may you be blessed by jesus! god loves you so much and so do i!!!!
I go for redundancy.
Vis 360 red (back) and white (front) on my helmet (light in motion).
Red on Bike seat tube and white on handle bar.
I also like the idea of different heights of the lights in this setup. Better to be seen though car windows or over road obstacles.
EXPOSURE LIGHTS – Not cheap so maybe they could by your second set after you have broken the cheap one. But they can actually fix / repair them for most issues and warranty period is excellent. Probably the only lights you would then ever need. My out of warranty rear light was sent, fixed, returned in about 10 days.
Beam patterns suck on almost all lights. on my cargo e-bike, I rigged it up car style HID projectors, and it's awesome. Super bright light on the ground, with a sharp cutoff set low enough that it doesn't blind people. The only problem is that they''re enormous and gobble 35W each.
Flashing lights tend to save of battery too which makes me feel better when I know I forgot to charge them
this is the issue here in USA, the "It's all about me culture" not angling the light properly and blinding people and oncoming traffic
In the UK I really hate it when i see another cyclist with a flashing front light, blindes me and everyone around them, not many angle them down either. Lack of knowledge I'd say.
Always dual rear lights–Varia Radar on the bike, and a cheap usb light on the helmet. I figure having one on the helmet also brings it more level to the eyeline of all the people in giant trucks.
Likewise, dual front lights. High lumen (Outbound, currently) as the primary light, and a lower lumen spotlight on helmet for directional and to flash drivers at intersections at night.
And ALWAYS reflective and bright colours. It's a constant complaint of mine that very few bike clothing companies actually have a useful amount of reflective material on their garments. Two little tabs should not be advertized as "making you safer". Like….I want to wear a jersey for aero…but then I have to wear a safety vest over the top because the jersey doesn't have a useful amount of reflective. It's not a huge problem in the summer here, since it doesn't get dark until way late, but still.
Lovely lights excellent for being seen. But why do so many cyclists where black riding gear?
Excellent
Good, I head seeing flashing lights on bikes, when walking they basically blind you
Seen as though I work in the aviation industry, I'm looking to source an aircraft anti collision strobe light for my homemade recumbent trike, now if that doesn't grab attention then there's something wrong
Excellent tips, Thank you GCN.
I wish flashing lights were banned in the UK as well. Also, the blinding bike lights.
Hard to pin down a good one that doesn't dazzle though. It's no use lowering the angle of a standard light, I've tried that.
The beam is adjusted on car headlights so why not cycle lights?
Mmmm great video but can't agree with the steady light for both front and rear (this assuming they are legal and that one is riding alone) . . . First, a FLASHING light is WAY more noticeable than a steady one ( a LOT of drivers are day dreaming at the wheel and some are even, dare I say it, either texting or at least having their attention diverted with phone calls etc.) A flashing light is more apt to "wake them up" to your presence on the road. Second, your battery life will be extended for each ride AND fewer recharging cycles means longer battery life overall. In my experience, (catching up to other riders) lights on helmets are not very effective unless they are strong and flashing and that if your head is not pointing straight ahead at a critical moment, a driver may miss seeing you altogether ! However I do agree that attaching a (steady) light to a heel seems a very logical option 🙂
The absolute FIRST safety rule in cycling is to se seen !!! Some of us may object to wearing safety vest, but at the very least we can wear yellow and or white BUT never black or dark colours! Here on the Island of Montreal, on my early morning rides, I actually see some people wearing dark clothing and NO LIGHTS on their bicycles! SUCH nonsense! They should actually be taken off the road by the police for their own safety as well as for the mental well-being of drivers who might have the great misfortune of actually running into them and causing either death or serious injury. Thanks ever so much for all your interesting vids, GCN!!
Should always have two lights at the front and two at the back in case of failure.
The two at the back should both be switched on at night, you can't tell if one goes out and you could be happily cycling along in the dark not realising your light has failed
Great idea with the ankle mount! I'm going to use that.
fwiw I definitely disagree with the StVZO regs mentioned in comments. No light is pleasant to look into at night, but to be as considerate of other road users as possible, I have done a comparison to my car to get an idea of how to mount my lights safely. Imho though, 205 lumens allowed under StVZO is useless. And they don't allow a high beam like cars have! Just another example of how bikes get the sh*t end of the stick when legislatures get involved. With 5000K HID LED lights these days on cars and trucks – they're gonna limit bikes to 205lm? Lol.
So yeah, In daylight I always, always, always run blinkies, front and (unless on group ride) rear to wake up the cagers before they hit me.
For winter, bike packing or night MTB trail rides I run two Fenix 1600 lumen lights (next-to-useless measure but that's what they list) which I normally run on the 600lm setting (9+hrs!)
Good one Manon stick with the constant rear light instead of the flashing rear lights which are banned in some countries for good reason
love manon
0:58 because of this stupid law my Reacto has built in rear light steady only mode 😬 Instead of 15-20h on battery I can get only 10h😡
😂
Wearables? Have a reflective strap around each ankle. For motorists behind they can a) see you easily and b) evaluate your distance away. And no batteries. (In addition to a steady rear light of course).
Hi gcn which type of lights are best in Australia please make a video like that have a nice day
And you left out the radar/light combinations. Why?
Use an Exposure(2400 lumen) in the front and second gen SeeSense i think it is for the back.
personally a fan of lights on my bag…. good eyeheight for cities and cant be stolen from bike.
I got brake lights, cube lite III
Dynamo lights all the way. You can't forgetting to charge them, switch them, or wear them. Those lights on your heel, you'll forget to take them off and look like a prick walking round Sainsburys.
Front lights (not little beacons, but actual LIGHTS) should never blink (I cannot see how this is legal ANYWHERE) and also NEVER be mounted to someones fucking HEAD! "Watch the angle" … yeah … guess where the angle is on your fucking helmet? RIGHT IN THE FACES OF ONCOMING TRAFFIC! NICE!
By cheap chinese crap it is guaranteed to get you killed as I have found out
I have an Olight/Magicshine 3500 headlight before they jacked their prices! And I angle my light right into the faces of oncoming traffic! 😮
They all suck 🤦🏻♀️
Car headlight brightness depends on the car and they can get A LOT brighter
I finally got lights, this means I’m cool
I usually have my light on flashing just to conserve battery. With the light I have (Lezyne Lite 1000 Loo Men), the difference between flashing and not flashing is 10 extra hours, which is important because I'm out for anything from 6 to 14 hours a day.
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.
Hi, please any advice on MTB – hardtail and full suspension – what kind of lights should I use here? Lumens and similar, since there are not so many cars on these tracks. Thanks in advance