Cycling Lighting

Lights

If you are riding at night, or potentially riding at night, you will need lights.

Front Light

• Serves 2 purposes

  • Illuminates road/path ahead of you

  • Helps cars and other bikes see you

• Urban Riding

  • Daytime

    • You want a specially designed light that is bright enough to be seen in the daytime

  • Nighttime

    • Lights help you see the road in front of you, but more importantly make is easier for cars to see you

    • You don't need the brightest, most expensive lighting system

• Gravel Biking and Mountain Biking at Night

  • Lights made for urban use leave much to be desired

  • You will want a much brighter light to illuminate the trail

  • Lights can get pretty expensive and you'll need to consider how much light do you really need (as opposed to want)

• Examples of Urban Riding Lights

  • Trek/Bontrager Ion 200 RT / Flare RT Light Set

    • Brightest daylight available

    • Front/Rear set

    • Expensive but worth the cost if you are doing a lot of road riding

  • Knog Plus

    • Affordable daytime light

      • Can get front/rear kit

  • NiteRider Swift 300

    • Economy night option

    • Bright enough for urban areas at night

  • Cateye AMPP900

    • Economy night option

    • Bright enough for urban areas at night

  • Amazon Economy Light

    • amazon.com/dp/B07VG7Z2JS

      • Front/Rear Set

      • Most bang for the buck!

      • Not so bright rear light

Rear Light

• Required for night riding on roads

• Ideally, get one that not only blinks, but doesn't consistently blink as the same interval

• A blinking light is more noticeable than a solid light

  • A light that blinks at different intervals is more noticeable than one that blinks as the same interval over and over

• Some rear lights work as brake lights

• Some rears light auto dim when other bikes are behind you

• A few lights have radar to alert you a car is approaching

• Examples

  • Trek/Bontrager Ion 200 RT / Flare RT Light Set

    • Brightest daylight available

    • Front/Rear set

    • Expensive

  • Knog Plus

    • Affordable daytime light

      • Can get front/rear kit

  • Amazon Special

    • amazon.com/dp/B005DVA57Y

      • Reasonable brightness

      • Good Value

  • Fenix BC05R Taillight

    • Economy option

    • Battery drains when not in use

  • Exposure Boost-R + ReAKT & Peloton

    • Auto dims when you ride in front of another rider

DynoHubs

• NOT Recommending for Scouting

  • Complex

  • Expensive

  • Soon to be outdated?

• Specialized generator hubs able to power low wattage devices

• They power on as you pedal the bike

  • 5mph can power a dim light

  • 9-13mph to reach full brightness

    • Still not as bright as a quality battery powered lights

• Useless at slow speeds

• Not able to keep up with power of high watt devices, such as cellphone, while they are running 

• Read more at bikepacking.com/plan/dynamo-hubs-lighting-charging-guide