Babacom Bike Lights, 2000 Lumen Super Bright USB Rechargeable Bicycle Light, 5 Adjustable Lightness Cycling Front Light & Rear Light for Cycling Safety with IPX5 Waterproof & 6-50 Hours Running Time

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There’s an ambient light sensor that puts the light in standby mode during the day so you don’t burn through the battery while it’s still light, and you can choose to vary output continuously rather than via the eight set modes. It’s good to remember your battery life so you don’t get caught in the spook-zone. Alex Evans / Our Media The Moon Rigel Enduro front mountain light gives a good mix of spotlight and wide-angle illumination. Ian Linton / Immediate Media The front light will almost always have much more power because its role includes lighting dark roads and cycle paths. However, while the outright lumen count of most rear lights won’t come close to the front, the spec is just as important.

Bright Mountain Bike Light Throwdown: From 1600 Lumens to Bright Mountain Bike Light Throwdown: From 1600 Lumens to

Hope’s R4+ uses four LEDs that form a cross pattern. Power is impressive and it feels as though you’re getting the full claimed 2,000 lumens. There are four LEDs that deliver a fantastic mix of white and green light, making everything stand out, helped by its massive 4,500-lumen output. But we feel the Apogee could still do with a bit of an illumination boost outside the spotlight’s strong focal point. It projected plenty of light downward, too, helping to avoid most of the shadows normally created going off drops, over jumps and up rises. This isn’t necessarily a problem in itself, but many road cyclists won’t want something overly large to spoil the sleek looks of their road bike or clutter the handlebar. Likewise, some commuters will want lights that are small enough to be stuffed easily into a work bag.The Seca Enduro with 6-cell battery from Light & Motion boasts long run times on max power. Georgina Hinton

Bike Light Brightness – How Many Lumens Is Enough? Bike Light Brightness – How Many Lumens Is Enough?

If you’re looking for a set of bike lights for gravel riding there are several things to keep in mind. It’s a beautifully made light, if expensive, although there are lower-priced options that don’t include the AKTiv tech. When buying a set of lights, it’s also wise to consider the balance between the front and the rear. With 350 lumens, it puts out an enormous amount of light. The payoff for this is a short run time in static mode, lasting only a few hours. Our test unit’s thermal throttling was quite sensitive, and after two minutes of being stationary with the light on max power in 14°C temperatures, it reduced output to the middle setting.

Moon Meteor Storm Pro performance

The Reflex++ mode senses movement, adjusting power output to the difficulty of the trail. Stop riding, or cruise along a smooth section of trail, and the light dims slowly so your eyes can adjust. Setup is fiddly both for the alloy mount and for the different beam patterns, which you need to select with the light off, meaning you have to go through the process again if you don’t like the result. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the lumen rating of a bike light is the only thing that matters, though. A super-bright light that only has enough battery power to put out that headline figure for half an hour isn’t likely to be particularly useful, especially if you’ll need to use the most powerful setting for extended periods. It's not the worst interface I've used on a light, but neither is it the most intuitive; given the sheer volume of modes it's a light that would benefit from some kind of editing functionality, to let you choose the ones you're going to use. Cateye’s Volt 6000 is a technological marvel, squeezing 6000 lumens out of a single, powerful LED. The light is crazy bright with a wide beam that easily encompasses everything in front of you, but to me the most exotic feature is the built-in cooling fan. On hot summer nights, many of the lights in this test easily get hot enough to burn skin if left on high while just standing around. The Volt 6000 remained at a reasonable temperature through it all.