This video contains product placement for Magicshine Lights.
A set of lights should be one of the first accessories on your shopping list. They are essential when cycling at night or if visibility is poor, making lights a must-have during the winter and a smart addition to your road or urban commuter bike even in the summer.
It’s a legal requirement in the United Kingdom, and many US states, to have lights on your bike if you’re cycling after sunset, but what should you buy?
In this video, we tell you how many lumens you need, the best features to look for, and why Germany has a law we might want to copy.
Leave your favourite bike lights in the comments 👇
#bikelights #safety #cycling
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:55 What Do You Need From A Light?
02:15 How Many Lumens?
03:46 Battery Life And Modes
07:32 No Batteries Needed
08:20 Beam Patterns
10:55 Lessons From Germany
11:49 Mounts
13:29 Camera Integration
13:50 Final Thoughts
If you want to know more about Magicshine lights then check out the links below:
https://magicshine.com
Best Bike Lights 2021/2022 | 10 Mountain Bike Lights Tested & Rated
→ https://youtu.be/Fnpj1GqFP4o
Joe & Reuben’s 240km Overnight Extreme Commute (In The Rain)
→ https://youtu.be/PdIqTr3Ib48
How Not To Ride A Winter 24-Hour Race – Kielder Chiller 24
→ https://youtu.be/t9e6jGsp8bE
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Bike Dynamos
→ https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/bike-dynamos/
StVZO Bike Lights: Everything You Need To Know
→ https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/stvzo-bike-lights/
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16 Comments
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.
I use a cateye volt 800 front light and exposure rear light. Both are very powerful for unlit roads on my commute.
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.
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.
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
I love my Garmin rear radar light especially as I live out in a rural forestry area
I must admit Magicshine Olights are the best IMO.
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.
What's your go-to bike light through winter?
Olight and magic shine… In a sale 1500 £60..3000 lumens £80/90
Nearly as good as exposure lights to be honest.
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.
Thank you for being so thorough on such an important bike accessory.
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!
How many 'loo men' does it take to light up a toilet?
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.
Check out Outbound Lightning, they have road specific lights with a cut off but much better beam pattern than the one in this video, it’s a dual beam with wide and spot. Their mountain specific lights don’t have the cut off so you don’t take a tree branch to the face. They’re made in the USA and price competitive with big name brands