Jenson USA carries one of the most extensive selections of curated bike gear online. We’ve developed learning guides to aid you in making informed decisions and we have backed this up with our expert Gear Advisors who are available by phone, chat, or email 7 days a week.

 

HOW TO RIDE YOUR BIKE AT NIGHT: OUR GUIDE TO LIGHTS

For many riders, the change of seasons can lead to rides getting cut short due to lack of sunlight.  Luckily, bike lighting solutions have improved immensely over the last few years and riding at night is easier, safer, more fun, and cheaper than ever before.  We’ve put together this guide to teach you the basics of bike lighting and give you the knowledge to find the perfect light setup for your riding needs.

SHOP LIGHTING
 

LIGHT MOUNTS

The first decision to make when buying lights is to determine how many lights you want/need and where you plan to mount them. The two most common places to mount your bike lighting for night riding is on your helmet and on your handlebars. Each mount position has its benefits and drawbacks. If you can afford to purchase two lights we highly recommend having a light for both your helmet and handlebars. This combination gives you the best of both mount options, allows you to ride faster or more aggressively, and makes you safer. If you only have budget for one light, we recommend starting with a helmet mount as it is the most versatile setup for seeing what’s ahead while still being able to look around you. Most lights will come with either a handlebar or helmet mount, but some come with both. Often, you can buy additional mounts for your bars or helmet as well as some other unique mounts. We’ve broken down the pros and cons of both mount options below.

SHOP LIGHT MOUNTS & ACCESSORIES
 

HELMET MOUNTED LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:


PROS

  • Light points wherever you look letting you see around you, spot corner exits or jump landings
  • Can be used to gain the attention of drivers or other riders who may not see you
  • Able to use the same helmet to ride multiple different bikes without swapping mounts
  • Ideal for single light setups

CONS

  • When you move your head, this leaves areas dark that you may want illuminated
  • Light can be aimed in a different direction than your bike is pointed
  • Either need a lighter weight all-in-one with limited lumens/run-time or deal with cables and battery
SHOP FRONT LIGHTS
101
 

HANDLEBAR MOUNTED LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:


PROS

  • Always aimed where your bike is going
  • Easier to mount bigger/brighter lights
  • Bigger lights can have multiple LEDs for multiple beam patterns
  • Great for flood or wide light pattern
  • Ideal for dual light setups matched with a helmet mount

CONS

  • Light isn’t always pointed where you’re looking
  • Difficult to spot corner exits or jump landings
  • Not ideal for single light setup
SHOP FRONT LIGHTS
101
 

LIGHT TYPES AND RUN-TIMES

Bike lights come in 2 primary styles; internal or external battery lights. Internal lights are sometimes referred to as all-in-one lights because the LED(s), battery, and all components are encased in a single unit. These lights are very convenient and can be fairly bright, but sacrifice run-time or extreme brightness for better size and weight. External battery lights have a separate LED head unit connected to the battery pack by a cable. These lights can be brighter with longer run-times, plus they have better cooling. They tend to be heavier/bigger and require managing multiple pieces.

If your rides consist of commutes or hot laps at your local trail that last around one hour or so, a light with a 1.5hr run-time on high should do just fine. If you’re the type of rider who’s putting down big rides or multi-day adventure rides, you likely will need to opt for lights with longer run times or consider spare lights or batteries. When you are climbing or riding slowly, you can run your light on a low or medium setting and extend your lights run-time. When the time comes to hit a descent with speed, chase a sprint, or smash a tech section, you can quickly bump your light to full brightness. Some lights even come with a bar-mounted controller. Heat can reduce the run-time of a light significantly. Manufacturers add multiple heat management systems to dissipate heat from the light. It is also a good idea to make sure you’re moving when running your light(s) on its bright setting to allow the cooling fins to do their job and dim or turn off your light(s) when stopped. We’ve put together a quick cheat sheet below to help you choose what’s right for you.

SHOP FRONT LIGHTS   SHOP REAR LIGHTS
 

ALL-IN-ONE LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:


PROS

  • Super convenient
  • No battery to mount or cable to manage
  • Can double as a normal flashlight

CONS

  • Limited run times
  • Reduced brightness
  • Can feel “heavy” when mounted to your helmet
101
 

EXTERNAL BATTERY LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:


PROS

  • Brightest options available
  • Longer run times
  • Can carry extra batteries, if needed
  • Only the light unit is on your helmet making it feel lighter

CONS

  • Must manage cables
  • Have to use a backpack, hip pack, or pocket to carry battery
  • Easier to misplace apart from the system
101
 

BEAM PATTERNS

Beam pattern is also are crucially important. Beam patterns can range from flood, which spreads a smooth diffused light over a large area, to spot, which has a narrow beam pattern that penetrates farther. A good option is to combine a wide/flood light pattern mounted on your handlebars with a spot pattern light mounted to your helmet. This allows you to illuminate what’s around you while still allowing you to look far down the trail/road and spot the exits of corners. With any light pattern you will want to be sure that there are not “hot” or “cold” spots that cause an uneven spread of the light or dark spots.

 

FLOOD LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:

  • Even diffusion of light across a broad area including vertically or down trail/road
  • Lights up the largest area allowing you to see around you
  • Good for bar mount light or helmet mount when used as a single light
101
 

WIDE BEAM LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:

  • Creates a broad, rectangular pattern with little vertical light
  • Great for road riding and handlebar mount
  • Ideal for combining with a spot or flood helmet mount
101
 

SPOT LIGHTS

Some Things to Consider:

  • Furthest penetration with the narrowest beam pattern
  • deal for helmet mount
  • Allows rider to see down trail/road or highlight specific areas
101
 

LUMEN RATINGS

Lumens is a brightness rating.  The higher the lumen number, the brighter your light output will be.  It is important to have enough lumens to allow you to see far enough ahead to ride at your desired speed while still having time to react to any obstacles, trail features, or changes that are upcoming.  The faster you ride, the more lumens you will need.

SHOP 0-1000LM   SHOP 1000-3000+LM

Here are our recomendations for road and mtb riding:

 

ROAD RIDING

Minimum Lumens: 500-600lm

Preferred setup:

  • ~750lm – helmet mount, spot of flood pattern
  • ~1000lm – bar mount, wide or flood pattern
  • ~50+lm - Red tail light
101
 

MTB RIDING

Minimum Lumens: 700-1000lm

Preferred setup:

  • ~1000lm – helmet mount, spot or flood pattern
  • ~1500+lm – bar mount, flood pattern
  • ~50+lm - Red tail light (Optional)
101
 

SHOP WITH CONFIDENCE

We want to make sure you can go from shopping to riding as soon as possible. We’ve provided fit charts on all our mountain bike clothing products and have additional customer feedback in our reviews sections on product pages to help you choose the correct size. If the fit isn’t quite right, we’ve got you covered with free returns on all unused apparel and protective gear