Our choose
Brilliant and reasonably priced, this headlight has good aspect visibility and a long-lasting battery—higher than different lights we examined in its value vary. Its quick-release mount is sturdy and simple to make use of however lacks a practical swivel.
You may, after all, spend much more cash on a motorcycle gentle that’s brighter or has an extended run time. However we expect Portland Design Works’ Metropolis Rover 700 USB Headlight provides all the things most commuters want (and nothing they don’t) at a wonderful value. When selecting a great bike gentle, we think about battery life to be a high issue. And although few metropolis commuters might have to make use of this gentle at its full, 700-lumen energy, its medium setting has longer-than-average run occasions (4 hours at 350 lumens), as does its low setting (eight full hours at 200 lumens).
That medium setting ought to be vibrant sufficient to chop via city gentle air pollution and to light up the occasional darkish alleyway. Plus, after the low-battery indicator comes on, the sunshine mechanically dims itself to its lowest setting, the place it stays for an extra quarter-hour to permit for a last-ditch dash dwelling. The Metropolis Rover 700 additionally has generously sized sidelights, for visibility at intersections; we discovered them to be extra eye-catching than these on many different fashions we examined.
There are some trade-offs that include the affordability: The Metropolis Rover 700 is waterproof—not waterproof—however its most weak level (the charging port) is tucked underneath the sunshine and fitted with a cosy rubber cowl to maintain out water. The physique is manufactured from plastic, fairly than more-durable machined aluminum (as on our improve choose, the Lezyne headlight). Lastly, although the Metropolis Rover (which makes use of a quick-release mount) stays put over tough terrain, it will possibly swivel just a few levels in both course (limiting your potential to regulate for variations in handlebar angles). And we must always word that its beam was not the widest of the beams on the opposite lights we examined.
Runner-up
This gentle’s mount is extra adjustable than that of our high choose, and the battery life is comparable. Nevertheless, its beam is dimmer, narrower, and yellower, and the aspect visibility isn’t nearly as good.
With its yellowish-tinted beam and considerably sophisticated cam-hook-style mount, the Serfas E-Lume 600 Headlight differed from the remainder of the headlights in our take a look at in each performance and design. We did come to understand the mounting system: It incorporates a bracket, thumb lever, cam hook, and rubber strap, and it allowed us to direct the beam the place we preferred. And the sunshine by no means budged, even when it was put to the take a look at on a mountain-bike experience.
The narrowly targeted, yellowish beam was not as vibrant or as huge as that of the PDW Metropolis Rover 700, however its 600-lumen output by no means wavered throughout its promised run time of 2¾ hours. And its low-flash mode runs for 90 hours at a extremely respectable 100 lumens, with an easy-to-gauge color-coded battery indicator. The E-Lume 600 is much less waterproof than the Metropolis Rover, nevertheless it does have a sturdy, heat-dissipating extruded-aluminum housing. And although its ¼-inch aspect cutouts will not be as attention-grabbing because the Metropolis Rover’s ¾-inch cutouts, they’re bigger than these on our improve choose.
Price range choose
This plastic gentle is small and durable, with a swiveling strap, and it has first rate aspect visibility too. It’s vibrant sufficient for city riders with quick, well-lit commutes, nevertheless it’s not suited to longer or darker routes.
In case your commute is brief or frivolously trafficked, the NiteRider Swift 300 could also be all you want to see and be seen on the street, and it’s properly priced. A tiny headlight that’s in regards to the measurement of a nail polish bottle, it’s going to kick out 300 lumens for as much as two hours and flash for 12. The Swift 300 has an all-in-one swiveling rubber mounting strap (fairly than a fast launch, like on our high and runner-up picks), and it adjusts to suit most configurations and dimensions of handlebars. However it’s not fairly as straightforward to take away when you’ve reached your vacation spot.
Regardless of its low value, this plastic gentle consists of many options discovered on our high and runner-up picks, reminiscent of aspect cutouts for visibility, a low-power indicator, and a lock-out mode that stops it from by chance turning on in your bag. Of the 5 modes, the bottom one (aptly named “stroll”) produces solely a feeble 20 lumens.
Additionally nice
With a wonderful price-to-lumens ratio, this gentle is vibrant and waterproof, and it might be the only option for riders with very lengthy commutes.
Once we first began testing bike lights, in 2013, the brightest gentle we examined was simply 500 lumens. Ten years later, you should buy a lightweight that boasts as much as 2,500 lumens. However brighter is (usually) not higher for the city commuter, who shares the street with others who additionally have to see the street in entrance of them. We capped the utmost output of the lights we examined for this information at 1,500 lumens, and we finally determined that something over 800 lumens was overkill for many riders—and a hazard to different customers’ eyes.
Nevertheless, some riders could profit from stronger lights, together with these with very lengthy commutes, which regularly begin or finish at the hours of darkness. These riders want a really vibrant gentle that may swap into decrease modes as soon as the solar has risen they usually’ve reached busier streets. And so they doubtless additionally want totally waterproof lights, since longer commutes convey extra probabilities of being caught in inclement climate.
The Blackburn Dayblazer 1000 can run for 90 minutes at 1,000 lumens, a really respectable three hours at 500 lumens, and 5½ hours at 350 lumens. That final degree gives sufficient time—and lightweight—for riders commuting lengthy distances to get safely to work or college and residential once more. Any longer than that, and also you’re an externally powered headlight (which we didn’t take a look at for this information) or a dynamo setup. The Dayblazer 1000 has a machined-aluminum physique with built-in cooling fins to disperse the (substantial) warmth the sunshine generates. And it has an connected rubber strap that swivels to accommodate handlebars of assorted styles and sizes.
Our choose
Small and simple to mount, this taillight is extraordinarily eye-catching, because of a cluster of 20 extra-bright LEDs housed in a clear, domed enclosure. This implies the LEDs are seen from the aspect in addition to the rear.
The Cygolite Hotrod 50 was our high taillight choose within the earlier iteration of this information. And we’re nonetheless impressed by this small taillight’s potential to face out on the street in addition to from its opponents. The 120, the newest model of the Hotrod, goes from 50 lumens to 120 lumens, and it has an additional mode with extraordinarily quick pulses that Cygolite refers to because the Bzzz Flash. Though we want the SteadyPulse mode (a gradual beam overlapped by pulses that assist different street customers gauge your distance from them), all the seven modes on this taillight are really arresting from all kinds of angles. That’s largely because of the gentle’s development.
As a substitute of 1 giant LED, the Hotrod 50 and 120 each function a cluster of 20 tightly packed chip-on-board (COB) LEDs—all protected by a transparent domed enclosure—that emit impossible-to-ignore gentle. (It’s form of how pavé diamonds catch the sunshine higher than one large solitaire diamond.) In reality, although we may inform the distinction in brightness between the 50 and the 120 when them face to face, we’d say in case you already personal a Hotrod 50, there’s little purpose to improve it. The removable (and versatile) silicone mounting strap we’ve praised up to now stays the identical, and the battery run occasions are roughly comparable (they’re barely decrease on the 120’s brighter settings). The Hotrod 120 is waterproof, with a well-fitting USB cost port cowl on the again that snugs up towards your seat put up (for additional safety from the weather).
Runner-up
An attention-grabbing gentle with a enjoyable flash sample, the 100-lumen Blinder V is waterproof, not like our high taillight choose. However it’s not as vibrant, and its mount feels much less sturdy.
Crucial job of a taillight is that can assist you be seen, but when a lightweight can also be enjoyable to make use of, that’s a bonus. The Knog Blinder V taillight’s “Bolt” model (the one we examined) has eight modes, six of which function a lightning-bolt sample that cuts via city gentle air pollution just because it’s totally different. (The opposite model of the Blinder, the Visitors, has a much less whimsical, bar-shaped sample.) Whereas the Knog Blinder V is just not as vibrant as our top-pick taillight, it too incorporates a mass of COB LEDs (189, on this case) that seize consideration in the identical manner. We most popular this gentle’s Low Flash mode, which flashes that lightning-bolt sample on high of a steadily lit background. This mode is simply 50 lumens, however the mixture of the flashing bolt and the always-on background helps with depth notion whereas concurrently catching different street customers’ consideration—and it lasts for 16 hours.
In contrast to the vast majority of the opposite taillights we examined, the Blinder V is waterproof—a compelling function for diehard commuters or those that continuously experience via puddles. But Knog taillights nonetheless fall quick on the subject of mounting {hardware}. The Blinder V attaches through a single silicone band (you may get totally different sizes to match the diameter of your seat put up). And although this mount design is sturdier than that of its sibling, the Knog Cobber, it nonetheless feels flimsy in contrast with the Hotrod 120’s wider, stiffer rubber mounting strap. It additionally makes use of an built-in USB fin, which will be exhausting to plug right into a crowded financial institution of USB ports.
Price range choose
Though it’s not as eye-catching or vibrant as our different taillight picks, this properly priced gentle has good lateral visibility and features a belt-clip possibility.
A real workhorse for the worth, the Blackburn Grid 2’Fer toggles between pink and white lights with a double-click of the ability button. Meaning you may run it as a modestly vibrant (175 lumens) headlight or a fairly vibrant (55 lumens) taillight. Whereas the headlight possibility wasn’t sturdy sufficient for us to incorporate it in our standalone headlight take a look at, we have been impressed with the first rate battery life, color-coded battery warning button, and visibility of its taillight mode. Just like the Cygolite Hotrod 120 and the Knog Blinder V, the Grid 2’Fer options COB LEDs that make it stand out in visitors. And it has an “eco mode,” which kicks on mechanically in case you’re in pulse or strobe mode and nearing the tip of the battery’s cost, supplying you with an additional two hours of run time at a dimmer setting.
The Grid 2’Fer doesn’t provide a dizzying array of mode choices; there are 4 for pink and 4 for white, and we practically at all times ran it on pulse mode, which has the always-on background we want. However it does have an amber ring that enhances lateral visibility. With its chunky development and plastic housing, this gentle doesn’t look as glossy as our different two picks. Nevertheless, it incorporates a belt-clip attachment, which can be utilized in tandem with the huge silicone strap mount or eliminated for a slimmer profile (if, say, you employ this gentle solely in your seat put up). It’s additionally extra waterproof than the Hotrod 120, and it has a USB-C port, which remains to be a rarity in bike lights.
