A great high-performance bike light is vital for cycling, both for seeing the road ahead and to be seen. When compared to cars where the choice of lights is not a huge consideration, it is necessary to select the right bike lights depending on several aspects. Some people take this decision for granted but remember that your safety hinges on the lights you have, and it is advisable to select the best one. With the wide variety of high-performance bike lights in the market, it might be overwhelming for a rider to select the best one from the lot. One person’s bike’s needs may vary with what your needs are, and there is no perfect bike light for everyone. The best investment I ever made was a foldable bike from ecosmo – its been everywhere with me! Your choice depends on several factors and here are some important ones to consider when selecting the best high-performance light;
To See or To Be Seen?
This is the first question that you should ask yourself when shopping for a bike light. It essentially determines the role you want the lights to play, and this divides all the several options into two broad categories. Lights that are sued to see have higher brightness, larger battery, and a narrow beam to illuminate into the distance. The ones used to be seen have a side illumination and broader beam. These lights are smaller, contain smaller batters and come at a lower cost. Well, both of these lights are important, and you cannot use a light designed to see for the reverse role. They are placed on different parts of your bike, and you should get the one you need.
Brightness Levels
The number of lumens describes light brightness and while you might not get an accurate picture of how bright one is, it is vital to start from here. The more lumens a light has, the more light is emitted. It is not always advisable to go for the brightest light as there reaches a level where these lights become too bright. Keep in mind that your lights might affect other road users, and it is vital to get a light that can be tilted downwards and not blind oncoming commuters if you opt to get one that is very bright. If you wish to have a couple of options on your bike, you could consider getting two lights and have one with fewer lumens so that you can use it when being approached by commuters.
The Mounting
When buying a high-performance bike light from Outbound Lighting – Bike Lights, you will need to mount it on the handlebar or any other place. All bikes have different kinds of handlebars, and you should find a light that can be easily mounted on what you have. Most of the lights you will get can be secured using a Velcro, which a screw that is used to tighten a bracket with a home around the bar or the seat post depending on the type of light. If you have a unique handlebar such as the non-circular or double ones, you might be forced to find another way of mounting the lights since most of them are designed for round bars. Ensure that the mount is suitable and that the light is firmly attached to it so that you can easily go about your expedition without worrying about accidentally dropping your lights due to a loose mounting. If your bike has a carbon bar, ensure that you do not overtighten it as this material can easily crack when exposed to a lot of pressure.
Power
Your light needs to be powered, and you should look into the battery and mode of powering it. Most modern high-performance lights can be charged by USB or may require the non-rechargeable batteries. It is better to select lights that can be recharged to save on money you will need to buy batteries time from time. If you need the high powered extra bright lights, you will find that some of them come with a battery pack and you need to create space for this pack. This is because you will have to mount it separately and if you have several other things mounted on your handlebar, you could end up missing out on space. The brightness of the lights you select affects the battery you will get, and you need to ensure that you get one that won’t be too heavy for your handlebar.
Run Time
This is the time that a light can last from the moment you fully charge it to when it becomes flat. While this can depend on the battery quality, it also depends on the light you select and how much energy it draws from the battery. Lights have different characteristics associated with the runtime, and while some keep their brightness at a constant level even when the battery goes down, others will reduce the number of lumens produced gradually until the battery is flat. It is evident that the ones that reduce the lumens will have a longer run time and you should select the best one based on your specific requirements.
Type Of Bulb
One major thing that influences the operation of your bike light is the kind of bulb. Modern daylights use LED lights as the halogen ones are being phased out. LED lights for bikes are brighter and are more energy savvy among a host of other advantages. Nowadays, you can also pick the high performance HID lights which are on the high-end side of bicycle lights. It is essential to find out some information about these bulbs and select the best one, which is arguably the LED one based on the cost, brightness and energy consumption.
Some vital factors that you can look into when selecting high-performance bike lights have been highlighted above. Once you set a price range, you should go and decide what you need your lights to do and then check out other factors that will help you to pick the best bike lights for you. Do not pick on the first one you come across and take your time to analyze all the options at stake so that you land the best one.