Bicycle lights are small, compact lights designed for easy mounting on bicycles. They let drivers see you, and they let you see the road, trail or trail ahead when you're riding in low-light conditions or after dark. Headlights are as bright and dazzling as bike headlights. Rear lights, or bicycle tail lights, are red to help people see the rider ahead. Both are generally powered by replaceable or rechargeable batteries.
Night riding is definitely one of the activities that the majority of riders love to see, especially for newcomers. Since it is necessary to ride at night, the lights must be indispensable. After all, safety is the first priority when riding at night. Good lights can make everyone ride with peace of mind, so that they can ride happily.
Speaking of bike lights, the general bike lights for cycling can be classified into the following categories according to different uses and needs.
The first category is for daily night riding, suitable for short-distance riding, and in scenes with certain lighting conditions. For example, commuting in urban areas or riding in the suburbs, such usage scenarios do not have particularly high requirements for the brightness of bike lights (about 100-500 lumens), but relatively high requirements for weight and volume.
The second category is long-distance use. Riders who use this type of headlights are usually independent or small groups haunting mountains and mountains, they are not so sensitive to volume and weight, but they will need greater brightness of headlights (generally about 1000 lumens), and at the same time, the battery life of headlights , there are higher requirements for waterproof and shockproof performance, and sometimes it is even necessary for the bike lights to be used as charging treasures to feed other digital devices.
The third category belongs to warning lights, including headlights and taillights, which do not play any lighting role. They can be used during the day and night, mainly to make you more conspicuous in the traffic flow. At the same time, you can also enjoy some decorative and personalized functions.
How to choose the brightness？
As the most basic parameter of bike lights, brightness is often the most valued by bike fans. Manufacturers will also use brightness as a promotional selling point when promoting bike lights. So the brighter the lights, the better? The answer is no, the one that is suitable for the current use environment is the best.
At the same time, in order to ensure the safety of the night riding environment, more requirements for lighting are better floodlights and larger spots. This is also a major reason why it is necessary to use professional cycling lights instead of strong flashlights.
Generally speaking, the lumens of road riding lights are about 800 to 1200 lumens. This is enough to meet the lighting and warning needs for daily riding on the road at night. At the same time, the lights for road riding also need to consider whether they will affect the oncoming vehicles. Therefore, whether the lights have a clear cut-off line should be a priority consideration point for such riders when purchasing.
Mountain bike lights, because the riding environment has more uncertainties, there will be higher requirements for brightness. Since there is almost no lighting in the mountains and forests, it is not an exaggeration to say that the brighter the better.
Battery and battery life
The best road cycling lights are integrated batteries, which are simple and easy to install. The lights for mountain biking are preferably split lights. One is that it is convenient to replace the battery to extend the battery life, and the other is that it is easy to install, so that too much weight will not be concentrated on the installation position (the lights used for mountain biking, relatively speaking, due to the corresponding requirements, their volume and weight will be larger).
Regarding the battery life, we can't just look at the battery capacity. Anyone can make their own lights have a long battery life by stacking the battery capacity, but this will bring about impacts such as weight. At present, the battery life of the integrated bike light is 2 to 3 hours at the highest brightness; the battery life of the split bike light is 3 to 3.5 hours at the highest brightness. This can basically meet the needs of daily night riding.
Waterproof rating
If you're riding in the rain or wet, you'll want a light that can handle those conditions. Bike lights have the same waterproof rating as the ANSI FL-1 standard used for headlamps or flashlights. Before you buy, look at its IPX rating (for example, IPX4 means it's waterproof) to determine its water resistance.
A good headlight is one of the foundations for safe night riding. However, if we want to truly ride in the dark, we still need to pay attention to many aspects:
Try not to ride alone at night, choose an area with less heavy traffic, stay away from areas with many urban construction sites, areas with large earthwork and building materials vehicles, and areas with poor security environment, and let people know where you are at any time;
Wear qualified helmets and gloves, wear eye-catching reflective logos, turn on the strobe warning taillights, prepare a backup lamp, replacement batteries and survival whistle in the backpack, and check the brakes, tire pressure, and transmission lights before leaving the bike every time Is it working fine.
Stay vigilant and concentrate your attention. It is absolutely forbidden to ride a bicycle while wearing headphones and listening to music. Control the speed of the vehicle and do not go too fast, especially in the suburbs, countryside, and even mountainous roads.
Finally, I hope that all friends who love bicycle riding and night riding can ride in the dark and ride safely.
Read about the UK legal requirements for bicycle lights: https://www.olightstore.uk/blog/bike-light-laws-in-the-uk-what-you-need-to-know
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