Our decide
Vivid and inexpensive, this headlight has good facet 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 useful swivel.
You would, after all, spend much more cash on a motorbike mild that’s brighter or has an extended run time. However we expect Portland Design Works’ Metropolis Rover 700 USB Headlight provides every thing most commuters want (and nothing they don’t) at a wonderful value. When selecting bike mild, we take into account battery life to be a prime issue. And although few metropolis commuters may have to make use of this mild at its full, 700-lumen energy, its medium setting has longer-than-average run instances (4 hours at 350 lumens), as does its low setting (eight full hours at 200 lumens).
That medium setting needs to be shiny sufficient to chop by means of city mild 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 residence. 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 water resistant—not waterproof—however its most weak level (the charging port) is tucked underneath the sunshine and fitted with a comfortable rubber cowl to maintain out water. The physique is fabricated from plastic, somewhat than more-durable machined aluminum (as on our improve decide, 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 only some levels in both path (limiting your capacity to regulate for variations in handlebar angles). And we should always notice that its beam was not the widest of the beams on the opposite lights we examined.
Runner-up
This mild’s mount is extra adjustable than that of our prime decide, and the battery life is comparable. Nevertheless, its beam is dimmer, narrower, and yellower, and the facet visibility isn’t pretty much 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 check 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 check on a mountain-bike experience.
The narrowly centered, yellowish beam was not as shiny or as broad as that of the PDW Metropolis Rover 700, however its 600-lumen output by no means wavered at some point of 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 water resistant than the Metropolis Rover, nevertheless it does have a sturdy, heat-dissipating extruded-aluminum housing. And although its ¼-inch facet cutouts will not be as attention-grabbing because the Metropolis Rover’s ¾-inch cutouts, they’re bigger than these on our improve decide.
Price range decide
This plastic mild is small and durable, with a swiveling strap, and it has respectable facet visibility too. It’s shiny sufficient for city riders with brief, well-lit commutes, nevertheless it’s not suited to longer or darker routes.
In case your commute is brief or flippantly trafficked, the NiteRider Swift 300 could also be all you’ll want to see and be seen on the highway, and it’s properly priced. A tiny headlight that’s in regards to the dimension of a nail polish bottle, it should 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 (somewhat than a fast launch, like on our prime and runner-up picks), and it adjusts to suit most configurations and dimensions of handlebars. Nevertheless it’s not fairly as simple to take away when you’ve reached your vacation spot.
Regardless of its low value, this plastic mild consists of many options discovered on our prime and runner-up picks, akin to facet cutouts for visibility, a low-power indicator, and a lock-out mode that stops it from unintentionally 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 mild is shiny and waterproof, and it could be your best option for riders with very lengthy commutes.
Once we first began testing bike lights, in 2013, the brightest mild we examined was simply 500 lumens. Ten years later, you should purchase a lightweight that boasts as much as 2,500 lumens. However brighter is (usually) not higher for the city commuter, who shares the highway with others who additionally have to see the highway in entrance of them. We capped the utmost output of the lights we examined for this information at 1,500 lumens, and we in the end determined that something over 800 lumens was overkill for many riders—and a hazard to different customers’ eyes.
Nevertheless, some riders might profit from stronger lights, together with these with very lengthy commutes, which regularly begin or finish in the dead of night. These riders want a really shiny mild that may swap into decrease modes as soon as the solar has risen they usually’ve reached busier streets. They usually seemingly additionally want totally waterproof lights, since longer commutes deliver extra possibilities 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 stage supplies 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 check 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 hooked up rubber strap that swivels to accommodate handlebars of varied sizes and shapes.
Our decide
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 facet in addition to the rear.
The Cygolite Hotrod 50 was our prime taillight decide within the earlier iteration of this information. And we’re nonetheless impressed by this small taillight’s capacity to face out on the highway 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 highway customers gauge your distance from them), the entire seven modes on this taillight are really arresting from all kinds of angles. That’s largely because of the mild’s development.
As a substitute of 1 massive 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 mild. (It’s form of how pavé diamonds catch the sunshine higher than one large solitaire diamond.) The truth is, although we may inform the distinction in brightness between the 50 and the 120 when them face to face, we’d say should you already personal a Hotrod 50, there’s little purpose to improve it. The removable (and versatile) silicone mounting strap we’ve praised prior to now stays the identical, and the battery run instances are roughly comparable (they’re barely decrease on the 120’s brighter settings). The Hotrod 120 is water resistant, with a well-fitting USB cost port cowl on the again that snugs up in opposition to your seat submit (for further safety from the weather).
Runner-up
An attention-grabbing mild with a enjoyable flash sample, the 100-lumen Blinder V is waterproof, in contrast to our prime taillight decide. Nevertheless it’s not as shiny, and its mount feels much less sturdy.
A very powerful 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 by means of city mild air pollution just because it’s totally different. (The opposite model of the Blinder, the Site visitors, has a much less whimsical, bar-shaped sample.) Whereas the Knog Blinder V will not be as shiny as our top-pick taillight, it too contains a mass of COB LEDs (189, on this case) that seize consideration in the identical approach. We most well-liked this mild’s Low Flash mode, which flashes that lightning-bolt sample on prime 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 highway customers’ consideration—and it lasts for 16 hours.
Not like 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 by means of puddles. But Knog taillights nonetheless fall brief in terms of mounting {hardware}. The Blinder V attaches through a single silicone band (you will get totally different sizes to match the diameter of your seat submit). 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 laborious to plug right into a crowded financial institution of USB ports.
Price range decide
Though it’s not as eye-catching or shiny as our different taillight picks, this properly priced mild has good lateral visibility and features a belt-clip possibility.
A real workhorse for the value, the Blackburn Grid 2’Fer toggles between pink and white lights with a double-click of the ability button. Which means you’ll be able to run it as a modestly shiny (175 lumens) headlight or a fairly shiny (55 lumens) taillight. Whereas the headlight possibility wasn’t robust sufficient for us to incorporate it in our standalone headlight check, we have been impressed with the respectable 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 should you’re in pulse or strobe mode and nearing the tip of the battery’s cost, providing 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 almost all the time ran it on pulse mode, which has the always-on background we want. Nevertheless it does have an amber ring that enhances lateral visibility. With its chunky development and plastic housing, this mild doesn’t look as smooth as our different two picks. Nevertheless, it contains a belt-clip attachment, which can be utilized in tandem with the broad silicone strap mount or eliminated for a slimmer profile (if, say, you utilize this mild solely in your seat submit). It’s additionally extra water resistant than the Hotrod 120, and it has a USB-C port, which continues to be a rarity in bike lights.