How to Compare Bicycle Lights
Most cyclists need to use bicycle lights for two reasons. First, cyclists need to strengthen their visibility, and ensure that motorists can see them, when riding at night. Second, several states, counties and other municipalities have laws mandating the use of lights when riding between certain hours. Clearly, using a front headlight and rear tail light when riding at night, regardless of the law, makes sense. While most relatively inexpensive commuter lights do not light up the road, they provide improved visibility.
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Instructions
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Determine if you need a front light, rear light or both. Many states--and other jurisdictions--require both. Laws that require a white headlight and a red tail light are common. From a safety standpoint, the more lighting the better, irrespective of what the law mandates.
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Decide between lights with a halogen or Light Emitting Diode (LED) system. LED lights are by far the most efficient and common among sub-$100 lights, as of April 2010. Most bike shops stock LED lights, while having only a few, if any, halogen choices. Battery life on LED lights can double and triple that of halogen models.
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Consider the way your light is powered. Some operate on batteries, usually double- or triple-A type. You recharge other lights, such as the Blackburn Flea, using a USB port, or the sun. Battery-operated lights are low maintenance. Many run, on flashing mode, for up to 100 hours. Lights that need re-charging are more like cellular phones in that, if you use them often, you must recharge them often.
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Look at the size of the lights you are considering. Less-expensive lights are usually bigger and bulkier than more expensive models. For instance, the Blackburn Voyager 3.3./Mars 1.0 combo pack, which sells for about $35 in 2010, contains lights that are larger than the Blackburn Flea set, which retails in 2010 for around $50. Bigger lights take up more handlebar space and add more weight to your bicycle.
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Evaluate how lights mount to your bike. Most tail lights attach to the seatpost of the bicycle, but also have a belt clip that can slide on and off of a backpack strap. A majority of front lights slide on and off of a bracket that you mount on your handlebar. Other lights use no bracket system at all. They can wrap around your handlebar or seatpost, attaching to themselves. For example, Knog makes an entire series of lights that require no mounting device.
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Tips & Warnings
Some lights are much more powerful than standard commuting lights. Meant for night-time mountain bike trail riding, these lights generally exceed $100 in price in 2010. They are not necessary for road use. While they light up the road in addition to providing visibility, they can also "blind" oncoming traffic.
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- Photo Credit Muddy Ride image by G.Baker from Fotolia.com
