The Best Bike Lights (2024) see and be seen

In recent years, significant advancements have been achieved in the realm of best bike lights, leading to brighter and lighter illumination options.The progress in this area is due to the use of LED lamps, which give off much more light per watt than older bulb technologies like halogen and metal-halide. Also, the use of lithium batteries has made it possible to store more power in smaller, lighter packages.

So, current bike lights can be brighter while still lasting the same amount of time or even longer than their predecessors. In some countries, like the UK, it is the law to have lights on your bike after dark. Some bikers also choose to use them during the day, especially in the winter, to make themselves more visible to other drivers.

Best Bike Lights Comparison Table

BONTRAGER ION FLARE RT

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Bontrager says that you can see the 200-lumen Ion 200 RT (front) and Flare RT (rear) daily lights from 1.25 miles away, which is a lot for such small lights. They are also the easiest to use on this list because they have multiple steady and flashing modes and can be controlled by your cycle computer. The rubber straps on the Ion make it easy to take off or switch to a different bike because they don’t need any tools. The light can also be turned so that it shines in the best direction based on where you mount it.

The angle of the taillight clip matches the angle of your seat tube, so the light shines straight back instead of slightly down. The USB charging port has an IPX7 rating, which means it can be immersed in up to one meter of water for 30 minutes. When you take the light off the charger, make sure to put the rubber cover back on the charging port. If you forget, road spray can get into the USB port and cause the light to stop working. It’s a pricey set, but it will last for a long time.

ASCHER USB RECHARGEABLE BIKE LIGHT SET

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These lights are larger and have a less refined shape than the set of Bontrager Ion 200 and Flare RT lights, but they are $110 less expensive, making the larger size and less refined shape a good trade-off for the extra space they provide. Choose from two different steady modes as well as two different flash modes, and you can be sure to get anything from 2.5 to 10 hours of run time, depending on the flash mode. This is one of the Best Bike Lights.

We consistently obtained more than 10 hours of run time when the lights were set to fast flashing mode, and we really like these lights because we can safely take numerous rides on a single battery. To make matters even better, the performance of these batteries does not degrade easily; in fact, we have been using the same set for more than a year. Because the micro USB charging port includes a rubber cover, there is no need for you to worry if you get caught in the rain because you can still charge your device.

Lezyne Hecto Drive 500XL

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The Lezyne Hecto Drive XL has 500 lumens, which is sufficient for maintaining a respectable pace on unlit bike lanes. However, because the Hecto only has a run period of one hour at its maximum output, it is best suited for usage as an urban light.

It charges rapidly, remembers the mode you were using it in the last time (which is quite convenient), and offers a total of eight flashing and constant modes, with run periods that are reported to range anywhere from one to twenty hours. This is one of the Best Bike Lights.

Exposure Strada

Exposure has been manufacturing high-performance, high-tech lights in the United Kingdom for more than a decade, and every year they improve their products by including more power and additional functionality. The most recent iteration of the Strada Mk11 SB AKTiv road light now has 1,600 lumens, an increase over the previous 1,200 lumens. Because it has such a high output, it has even more technology built in, including the possibility to detect oncoming traffic, which then automatically lowers the beam. This is a really handy function.

You may also hardwire a remote control so that it works from the bar top.The remaining battery life and duration are displayed on an LED display located on the back of the device. The light is capable of determining whether it has been positioned above or below the bars, and it then adapts its beam pattern to correspond appropriately with each of these orientations. On full power, the battery should last for about two hours. Exposure comes with its very own specialized charging wire for when it’s time to top off the battery. This is one of the Best Bike Lights.

Lezyne Macro Drive 1300XXL

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The Lezyne Macro Drive 1300XXL just beat out the NiteRider 1200 OLED Boost as the best bike headlight. Both are very good lights, but the Lezyne is $70 cheaper than the NiteRider. At its brightest setting, the Macro Drive lasted longer than any other headlight in the test. It lit up for just under three hours. At 450 lumens, the Macro Drive worked for a little less than eight hours.

The mount is a stable system that is easy to change to fit handlebars of different sizes. It’s a thick band that looks like it will last a long time. In fact, it’s so thick that it can be a little hard to pull it to the right length to hook it to the hook on the other end of the mount. But once it’s in place, it’s easy to change the angle, and the light stays put. This is one of the Best Bike Lights.

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