Bike Lights

If you ride at night or in foul weather, you would do well to equip your bike with some lights.

In an urban setting, I think the primary function of bike lights is to help motorists be aware of your presence on the road. Since you’re not a salmon and you ride with traffic, a taillight is therefore the most important light in your arsenal. LED lights are bright, affordable, and have excellent battery life. I use an older Planet Bike Superflash.

Headlights are important for visibility, too, especially along routes with many intersections or places where cars may enter traffic. Of course, bright headlights can also illuminate the road in places where street lights are absent or insufficient. I’m sure my Cat Eye EL320 is not the brightest headlight out there, but it is bright enough to illuminate potholes, patches of gravel, and the other unseen hazards that lurk along the road at night.

Proper headlight angle adjustment is important if you actually want to illuminate the road, path, or trail. Too high, and the brightest part of the beam will never touch the ground.  Too low, and you won’t see obstacles until it’s too late to maneuver around them.

Posted on Monday, October 11th, 2010. Tags: bike.