10 of the Best Handlebar Mounted Bike Lights

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10 of the Best Handlebar Mounted Bike Lights' Pinkbike.com

Lights, Action, Shred!
Night riding season is just around the corner. Lighting systems have historically been big-ticket items - a daunting financial investment for entry-level night riders. Today, however, several affordable options are on the market that over-deliver at entry-level prices. If you already have a bomber system, feel free to read through to see what’s new, but this review is essentially aimed at riders contemplating an initial purchase.

You'll need to know some basics on the science and technology behind riding at night. What are the units of lumens and lux? What’s better: a focused beam or a spread array? What about charging rates? How long are the burn times at different settings?

Putting a number on brightness: Everyone, makes a big deal about lumens. When people talk lumens, they’re talking about how many photons of light are emitted by a light source. lights that put out 2000 lumens are pretty bright - on paper - but a more useful measure would be "lux," which is a measure of how much light is actually hitting things in front of you.

Making shapes: Which brings us to beam pattern. Yes, 2000 lumens is pretty darn bright; but consider this: a typical car headlight only puts out about 1200 lumens [1]. On high beam. And 700 on low beam. With two headlights, that’s 2400 lumens and 1400 lumens, respectively. And yet you can safely rocket around on bumpy back roads at 100+ km/h.

Science & Technobabble
Reflectors: Your system may be cranking out 2000 lumens, but pointing them in the right direction is the key to performance. The lamp's reflector and lense determine how that beam is being broadcast to the landscape in front of you. A narrow beam only shows you a small soda straw view of the world and will bounce around with the slightest movement of the handlebar. Not good when you’re adrift in a sea of roots and rocks with multiple line choices on a technical trail. On the other hand, a very wide beam means that your precious lumens have to be shared across a large area, resulting in a dimmer view with reduced contrast, that doesn't project as far.

Focus: Another aspect to consider in the beam pattern is the transition from light to dark. A sudden drop-off from light to dark can strain your eyes and hide crucial information regarding line choice. Why? It’s because that hard edge from light to dark makes it more difficult to pick up clues with your peripheral Vision. A reflector and lens combination that offers a smoother light to dark drop off allows your eyes to see and analyze that data more accurately.

The Unicorn: Back to lux. Lumens aside, lux describes how many of those bright little photons fall on a surface and are being reflected back to your eyes. If a light emits 2000 lumens, but has a lousy reflector - measured in lux, your beam pattern will be less than ideal. A properly designed reflector and lens will let you see better because the light is being focused where it does the most good. In an ideal world this would provide a wide, flat, powerful beam, with an even fade to the sides for unhampered peripheral vision, that illuminates from just in front of your wheel to a distance ahead where you'd naturally be focused at speed.

Lamp technology: Okay, the last bit of tech has to do with light sources. LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) with shaped reflectors are now the norm for night riding lights. LEDs create light by resisting electricity. This generates heat, and heat robs LEDs of performance, making your light output fade as they get hotter. This is typically hard to notice because at the same time that your light is dimming, your eyes are adjusting and compensating to the reduced light available. It’s something to bear in mind as a light with a good heat sink will give you a longer lasting and consistent light vs. a light with a poor heat sink that fades minutes into your ride.

NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 Boost​

Pros
+ Bright, no hot spots
+ Good selection of riding modes
+ No small parts to lose

Cons
- Handlebar mount is bulky
- No mode or battery level indicator​

• $149.99 USD
• Weight: 258 grams
• 1800 lumens (boost mode)
• Runtime at full power: 45 minutes
• Recharge time: 3 hours
• niterider.com




Best Budget Light: Cateye AMPP 1100​

Pros
+ Easy and slim mounting system
+ Good beam pattern
+ Useful battery indicator

Cons
- Shorter view distance compared to others​

• $99.95 USD
• Weight: 200 grams
• 1100 lumens (boost mode)
• Runtime at full power: 1.5 hours
• Recharge time: 3 - 5 hours
• cateye.com​

Lowest Weight Light
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