Bike Lights: Our Buying Guide
What is a Lumen?
Basically, A Lumens is brightness! – Lumens equals Light Output. You will see it mostly characterised as LM on packaging.
Bike lights can range from around five Lumens, all the way up to a blinding 2500 Lumens!
What is Better: Rechargeable or Battery?
This is essentially personal preference. Although the stats show that nowadays, rechargeable seems to be the way to go!
The two most popular types of batteries are either Lithium Ion (Li-Ion) or Lithium Polymer (Li-Po). They are much lighter than standard batteries which is ideal for bicycles – keeping them as lightweight and portable as possible.
To see our range of Rechargeable and Battery Lights, click here.
Most rechargeable lights on the market will be charged through a USB cable. This can be inserted into a plug with a USB port, and then plugged into the socket. Most modern lights will have a indicator on them to show the user when it’s low on charge, fully charged and that it’s successfully charging.
What is the Best Bike Light for Me?
- Commuting – for commuters we strongly urge you to be as visible as possible. This means having a decent quality front and rear light that has at the very least a solid and flashing mode for extra visibility. Ensure you’re not using a Bike Light that’s incredibly bright and therefore potentially distracting or dangerous to other road users. The team at OverLive recommend the Thunderbolt Front Light and Thunderbolt Rear Light for commuters.
- Off-Roading – when you’re cycling on paths or cycle routes that aren’t well-lit, we recommend not just being visible but also a Bike Light that’s bright enough to light up the terrain so you’re not in danger of crashing. The team at OverLive have picked the nice, bright and compact E-Lume Front Light for Off-Roaders.
- Major Road Riding – if you plan on cycling on dim roads at faster speeds than an average commuter you might want to consider a higher end Bike Light setup. A powerful front and rear light to keep you visible and safe as well as lighting up the path/road ahead should be perfect. You may also want to consider helmet lights that can be clipped onto the front or rear of the helmet for that added visibility. The E-Lume Front Light is ideal for Major Road Riders.
How Do I Mount My Bike Light?
This depends on whether it’s a Rear or Front Bike Light and the style of said light. There will be multiple ways to mount your Bike Light. The ones you will notice on the market are simple strap mounts and more secure and heavy-duty clamp/bracket mounts.
Most rear lights or cheaper front lights will have the simpler band or strap mount that easily wraps around your seat post. More advanced front lights will have a bracket that can be attached either to your handlebars or stem. They may have one or maybe two screws and then will usually have a quick release system. This allows you to quickly attach and detach your light in order to charge them without needing to remove the whole bracket.
Standard front light bracket mount
Standard rear light bracket mount