Best Bike Lights 2024 | Rated & Reviewed
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
- Illuminating your ride when it gets dark is really important. Being able to see where you’re going after sunset will enable you to ride safely and with the right front light, you might even be able to ride faster.
Our expert testers have been running the rule over some of the latest front bike lights for road bikes, and these are the best models we’ve tested so far in 2023.
Which front light do you swear by for cycling at night? Let us know!
#cycling #bike #light
Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:39 Lezyne Macro Drive 1400+
02:25 Magicshine Ray 2600B
04:29 Exposure Toro MK14
06:51 Oxford Ultratorch CL1600
08:51 Ravemen LR 1600
10:36 NiteRider Lumina Max 1500
12:09 Conclusion
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What's your favourite bike light? 👇
Outbound lights!
Garmin UT800
Lifeline Pavo - Auto Brightness Control 1800 lumes, currently on CRC/ Wiggle down from £120 to £64.99. Amazing light check it out. Would love to see it tested against some of the brands mentioned
NiteRider
Outbound Lighting. I own the MTB "Trail Evo Bike Light" & Road "Detour Bike Light" and love them both.
For really dark roads or tracks with possible obstacles I would recommend one long-range light which forego cyclist's trajectory that is fixed on the frame (like car-lights), paired with the second shorter-ranged on the steerer that illuminates near surface closer to wheel. Because sometimes when you have to make sudden sharp turn you may lost visual awareness on what comes next and therefore have shorter time left for reaction when straighten the steerer again, also play of the shadows can be deceptive on rough terrain with single source of light that constantly moves.
I'm actually often use pair of fixed long-ranged with pair of mobile short-ranged lights on my long night commutes thru various environments, of course taking care not to blind other incoming driver, rider or pedestrian.
Lezyne with USB-C finally! They should revamp their rubber straps for aero frames as they break from the constant stress in the winder seatpost and handlebars.
The brighter the light, the longer it will last at lower settings and the less you need to charge it. If you do a lot of riding at night, I would recommend a back-up light just incase your main light brakes or runs out of power. You can also use the back-up light in flash mode to make you stand out more.
Fuck flash mode. Strobes on headlights, wtf. Imagine if cars did that.
The NR Dual 1800 es best light of the Brand. Because rarely you’re going to need more power than the low and medium range. And long lasting on that power output even on darkest roads.
Lights have improved so much since I regularly communed back in the 90's with NiCd and filament bulbs. illumination and beam pattern are not an issue by comparison, what is more of problem, or one that has never gone away are brackets, particularly if you want to populate your bars with storage, a phone mount and maybe a computer or e-bike controller. In any case most brackets break, go floppy or ar lost between winters. It would be nice to have standardisation or mandated fittings for bikes expected to be on the road. An M5 boss on the stem and on the head tube or forks, purists will hate it but good design will mitigate aesthetic objections
I was just doing research for a new bike light to replace/supliment my lezyne macrodrive 400xl. I ended up going with the Fenix BC26R. I liked its replaceable battery and price to lumen ratio, as well as its battery life. I would love a dynamo light, but in the meantime, I can get a backup battery for longer rides. I was interested in STVZO lights but couldn't find one that I liked enough
I was considering a BC26R as the runtime at 9hrs for 600lm looked great, could carry a 2nd 21700 as backup for an all nighter. But i found out that it will only output 600lm for a few hours then drop to under 300lm for the remainder of the advertised runtime. Would be great to find a light with a replaceable 21700 that could run even 500 lumens for 5 or 6 hours without dropping output
I have an old Niterider light I use for road, but since owning it I am trying to aim for something that adjusts brightness like the See.Sense Beam or one that has a cutoff beam like Outbound Lighting Detour.
Really would have liked to know which if any of these have user replaceable batteries. I have a pair of Exposure Diablos and its pretty frustrating that Exposure makes it as far as I can tell impossible to replace the battery.
Lupine with StVZO to avoid running "high-beam" towards other traffic
Like Lupine SL AX it burns a hole in the night.
just take 2 seconds and tilt your light down
lupine sl af 🤩hands down the best and it does not dazzle incoming traffic.
Lmao, that light costs as much as my bike.
Best light, one in which you can replace battery, even if it takes some soldering. Most lights are dead in two years. On winter I just ride to commute.
i use moon vortex.. with the thought of replaceable battery.. after two years and extensive use, the battery has given up a little but apparently, battery is not normal .. they are in house brand battery which is a pain in the as* finding one
Thanks very much
I didnt know my olight have the same app things of magicshine
Be cautious. A USB-C "connector" does not always = USB-C specification. Best way to test without a current tester is if it will charge using g USB-C to USB-C cable. If it requires USB-A on the other side, it's NOT USB spec.
I’m not buying anything that’s not USB-C any more. Now that you can kind of see a life with only one charge cable I’m not going back
Q: Is it safer to ride in Bear Country in the dark with infrared lights, or no lights at all?
You guys should check out the options from outbound lighting.
I use "Kompilator K-3m" from Russia and it's still the best bicycle light (but it's no longer being produced)
Would be interesting to know how these would fare on a helmet, assuming it's possible, cheers.
My lezyne gives good sight, but the strap doesn't work with either my road or mountain bike without sliding down from its own weight.
This will be all change in a year or so ? USB-C all the rage now ,however with EU rules in having to have removable/ replaceable battery many of these lights will be old hat along with phones and laptops etc .
I cant believe there still isnt one option in this list which uses a cutoff beam, such as the Magicshine Evo 1700.
These lights seem more suited off road than on as they will dazzle drivers.
Would you consider doing a group test/review of beam cutoff lights for commuting/road riding?
Theres a few options around now, as i mentioned the Magicshine Evo 1700, Trek Commuter Pro/Comp, Outbound Detour, Gemini Atlas andvim sure theres many more.
The raveman is supposed to in effect have a cut off. Most if not all of their lights do.
Any opinion on the Towild Delite 1200?
Aldi Bike-mate for the win❤
I am tired of being blinded by oncoming cyclists because they use the highest lumen lights they can find. Light technology and regulation standards have come a long way and we need to keep safety in mind. Would like to see a showcasing of lights with STVZO standards. This keeps the light where you need it and not where it shouldn’t be, in the eyes of oncoming traffic.
that is one of my frustrations as well. I get blinded at least 4 times on my 15 minute commute.
I agree - especially when cycling in darker areas, e.g. commuting outside of the cities. High lumens are ok when the light creates a nice non-blinding beam pattern. In the video sensors are mentioned that automatically detect oncoming traffic and switch to a low beam. But these lights just have sensors to detect ambient light (daylight, twilight, dark night, unlit tunnel, etc.). They don't have any function to detect oncoming traffic. And they don't switch automatically to a low beam or passing beam.
Really? I find that cars are the bigger problem for me and half the cyclist here use halfords lights or no lights. Car lights seem to be getting brighter and brighter
@@samueltaylor2757 my comment was not about bikes vs cars. It was about another issue.
Switching to your new topic: I kind of agree with your point. Brighter car lights mean we need brighter bike lights. So the difference is not as big and our eyes are better adjusted to the brightness level.
Same here, as a running person I can guarantee how #^&!% irritating it is. And I wouldn't mind it in middle of forest, but in my case it's barely dark and middle of big city. People don't have a clue, or simply don't give a f..
You missed out the Fenix BC26R with replaceable 21700 battery. A 5000 mah battery last 3.5 hrs in 1600 lumens.
Another robust light, IP68 and spring loaded quick release mount.
i've got one half the price of the cheapest light showcased which has a 18650 battery that can be exchanged so you never run out of juice. My experience is that a USB-C connection is not all that usefull out on the bike...
You've got the magicshine Evo 1700 showcased in the intro, have you got a review for it?
I have it and it's brilliant. Light where you need it, with an even spread. The mount feels a bit like a weak point with imperfect tolerances but time will tell if it's a real issue or just an inconsequential imperfection.
@@orsations ah perfect! Have you noticed the color temperature on the light feel a little warm / yellow? Just received mine today and all my other lights are cooler white.
@@0views372 didn’t think about it while out riding, but I’d describe it as well balanced. Not overly warm, not overly cold. On a different note, one thing to be aware of is taking tight turns: due to the lens design on low beam and low power you may not see as far into the turn as you are used to with flood type flashlights. Generally not a problem unless you’re trying to get a KOM in the dark on a new road in a pitch black section.
Should do dynamo lights
So best fornt lights! Where are the rear lights
Why would i turn my headlights down when cars regularly pass at 10000+ lumen and these are less bright than low beams lol
I missed charging speed and the time you can use the light at a usable, similar brightness.
This is the CRUCIAL information
@@nl3712 can't find the word "crucial" in the headline. If you see it, maybe my eyes are not as good as your's.
@@TnFruit i am agreeing with you here - they left out the most important info in the review but NVM
3:10 yeah I try to make other cyclists and pedestrians blind too. Makes me feel like a big man. Seriously the lights you push are my nightmare. So many people have lights that you recommend and they are very dangerous. I cannot see anything when they are approaching. All bike lights need a cutoff stvzo beam, if you don't then you are simply dangerous. And for the "point them down" crowd, just look at the pics in this video. Even the branches at the top of the tree is getting hit by the beam which is pointed down. It's also why these lights need so much power, they wasting most of their light hitting everything that isn't the road.
If it's not the core hitting the branches, that that light is in the automotive world called "squirrel finders". It is not blinding but still illuminates things higher up than where the cutoff is so you can see reflective signs, road signs, etc.
As long as it's not a wide-spread high beam, it's fine. Some low level leakage is actually beneficial to the user of the beam.
That said, it WOULD be nice to have some actual LED lights that conform to automotive headlight standards, such as using a cutoff (much like in automotive single bulb setups, use a small solenoid to flip a cutoff shield up or down).
The automotive lighting world would be prime to bring in it's miniaturization work to produce an efficient LED projector usable on bikes.
As it is, most of these lights are being made by companies specializing in outdoor hiker and tactical use, where you want as much light as possible shot out evenly over its area. This is fine and desirable for handheld lights and for use on or in conjunction with firearms. Illuminate EVERYTHING. Also great for trail riding.
But I agree that conforming to US and EU automotive headlight beam pattern standards is desirable for bike lights intended to be used on the road.
People on bicycles don’t need more than 1000 linens they go 20 mph lol😂 but us scooter guys going 40 + mph need to see those pit holes I think that magic shine is perfect
For road use you might have a point of the 1000lumens for not roadbikers. But for road bikers and mountain bikers going out in the woods. You're incorrect. Roughly 5000lumens or more is the option most of those would want. Maybe not road bikers but mountain bikers do. Since most of these so called 'Mountain' riders are more Trail/Downhill/Enduro bikes that go around 30-50mph downhills and cut corners really sharp.
For the advent mountain rider that is more of a standard XC rider who just adventures slow and easy on level trails at a slow adventure pace to enjoy the scene. Then yes they won't need as much brightness as the above riders since they aren't traveling down hill at a fast pace and dodging trees within inches from their shoulders. Or the so called adrenaline junkies they would be called i suppose.
But normally in city riding. You won't go 1000lumens or more period no matter how fast due to the fact that it is dangerous to shine super bright bicycle lights on highways and streets because of cars. Unlike car headlights that narrow more downwards shape. Bicycle lights don't always have a block system above and so the casting ray circle shines quite alot of output in drivers eyes more then people think. So you won't really want to use a high output for city rides with lots of cars around. Unless you are pointing the light almost directly down at your wheel. But then you won't exactly see much ahead.
It's not hard to find 900-1200 lumen lights with run times exceeding 90 minutes for little more than £20. But it is hard to find RUclips videos reviewing them. Use two or three of them together if you want something extremely bright, and £300 for heating your home.
The problem with most such lights is they have suspect weather and dust ratings.
@@cjohnson3836 I've not found that to be a problem myself. I suspect vibration is more of a danger in general, especially for those lamps with inductors in their circuitry which are very firmly mounted to the bike. If things do go wrong, cheap lamps are cheap to replace and if you're using two or three at the same time you have some redundancy to get you home if a fault develops during a ride.
Why would you criticize not coming with an USB-C? Isn't everyone on this planet having a bunch of USB-C cables already??!
Unfortunately, not
Testing/reviewing non-cut-off beam lights for road use is just stupid. All of these are unusable with traffic around unless you point it way down, which makes having an expensive light pointless.
I'd say "stupid" in this case is... accurate.
Which one would you recommend then?
Magicshine Evo 1700 😊
Outbound has been an absolute pleasure to deal with, and their Detour is awesome.@@anouar8759
@@anouar8759Bontrager commuter pro
This video is out of my tax bracket
100 lumen is bright enough
Respect! 6 worst road lights. All the lights you have shown are total garbage for road use. If a light like that comes towards me, you can expect a crash because I can't see a thing.
Why do bike lights always look like they are from the 90's? Who is designing these things?
you have no idea what bike lights in the 90s looked like :)
@@thomasb.4219 they look old and dated like these lights but without the fancy LED tech and usb charging. It's 2023 and I would like something with a modern design.
@@thomasb.4219hahaha yeah..l cateye with two AA batts… runs for 1 hour perhaps yellowish lights color..
wich one more than 2000 lum? its all a trash
Buy a 2nd one. If you want more then 2000lums. Get more? you can set 4 lights on most handlebars. And 4 on the front wheel shock arms 2 on each arm post. (ones by the wheel axle) though mainly rubber straps with a mount that can point down.