We've preached this for years with our automobiles: the purpose of exterior lighting is both to help you see (headlights) and be seen (tail, brake, and signal lights). If you ride a bicycle, and more and more ordinary folks are riding, then you owe it to your own safety to look into adding or improving the lighting on your bike.
For baby boomers who can remember back this far, we made do with nothing more than reflectors or, if you were lucky, a generator-powered headlight that relied on a gear rubbing against the front tire. One problem with that set-up was you needed to be moving to generate power, and the slower you rode, the dimmer the light!
Now that we're well into the 21st century, improvements in automotive lighting have trickled down to bicycle lighting. That's good news for all of us as we shop for bike lights. In this article, we'll examine a sample of the lights available in the "Bike Lights" category at our RECREATIONiD website. To make your shopping easier, the lights below are grouped by location on the bike.
Front Lights (Headlights)
If you're on a budget, start by checking out the Pilot Light from our friends at ZF bikes. It's got a powerful LED light, mounts easily to the handlebar, and is available with either a black or white housing (make the color selection within the Product Options drop-down).
The NiteRider brand specializes in bicycle lighting (you may have guessed that from their name), and you have a number of options from them at various price points. The Swift 450 LED Light emits 450 lumens, and puts out 4 different light levels, plus a daytime flash mode. Stepping up to the Lumina Micro 550 LED Light gives you more light (550 lumens) in a package that weighs only 130 grams (under 5 ounces). If maximum light output is required without budget constraints, you must check out NiteRider's Pro Series lights, including their Pro 1800 Race LED Headlamp (1800 lumens) and Pro 2800 Enduro LED Light (2800 lumens) with dual custom reflectors.
Rear Lights (Tail Lights)
Tail lights may not seem as important as headlights at first glance. But for some riders, they will consider a tail light to be MORE important. Why? Well, if most of your riding is done during the daylight, then the critical safety factor shifts from SEEING to BEING SEEN, and it's the vehicles behind you (that you can't see) that you want to be certain are aware of your presence.
The Race Sport Laser Tail Light offers both LED and laser light functions, steady-light and strobe modes, and is available as either a red light or blue light (in Product Options). Race Sport's Super Bright Laser Tail Light features two lasers, which can also be used in steady-on or strobe modes, and can also be bought as a blue or red light.
The Easetour High Beam Rear Light from ZF Bikes can be installed without tools, and its 3W red LED light can be adjusted from off, to steady, to flashing. The Princeton Tec Swerve Red Tail Light uses two LED lights which alternately flash to create a large 180 degree pattern of light. The tail light runs on easily replaced AAA batteries.
Some of the brightest tail lights available come from NiteRider. Their Sabre 80 LED Tail Light (80 lumens) and Solas 100 LED Tail Light (100 lumens) both can be installed without tools, and are rechargeable via a USB port.
Side Lights
You might dismiss bicycle side lights as unnecessary compared to headlights and tail lights, but before you do, consider your riding environment. If you're at riding with traffic, you and your bike are regularly facing vehicles passing at 90 degree angles in front of and behind you. To those drivers, your bike's front and rear lights may be all but invisible, and side lighting in your wheel spokes or elsewhere certainly increases their awareness of your presence. Our recommendation? Given the low cost, light weight, and easy installation, we think it's a no-brainer in go with some side lighting. Here are some choices.
The Nite Ize See'Em Mini LED Spoke Lights are available in several colors, and simply clip to your bike's wheel spokes. They have a tiny but replaceable battery, and are extremely affordable.
ZF Bikes again comes to the rescue with their 2 LED Reflect Band, a rectangular strip of light for the wheel spokes, available in blue, green, red, white, and yellow. The Maxsa Reflective Safety Band with 4 red LED lights flashes its lights about 150 times a minute to really draw attention to your two-wheeler.
If you desire greater visibility from the side, consider the ZF Bikes CycleLights LED Light Rim, which encircles each entire wheel. For something completely different, if you want more than wheel lights, or for some reason don't want wheel lights at all, Nite Ize offers the GripLit LED Handlebar Lights, which fit into the open ends of the handlebar.
As we stated earlier, this selection of headlights, tail lights, and side lights is just a sampling of what can be found in the Bike Lights category of our website. Be sure to visit there to see other products, as we are updating our product choices regularly.
Everyone at RECREATIONiD wants you to enjoy biking, and wants you to be safe while riding. Good lighting is just one of the ways to help ensure your safety, so take advantage of the opportunity to shop from the comfort of your home, or if you prefer, give us a call anytime with any questions you may have.