There is no doubt about it. If you are biking in the dark, bike lights are a must for bike safety! In some places, it’s even against the law to be riding a bike in the dark without lights. (Check your local laws if you’re bike commuting at night!)
The most common reason people think about buying bike lights probably is when they know they’ll be riding at night or in the evening when the sun is starting to set.
But bike lights can also help you be safer on the road during the day too so think about using them any time you are out for a bike ride.
Think like a driver for safer biking
When you’re thinking about your safety on the road, you want to think about not only you as the cyclist being able to see well and be aware of your surroundings, but you also want to think about the driver’s perspective and how you can help drivers see you better. A safer cyclist can make a safer driver!
Consider how you feel when you’re driving a car about what makes you more aware of a fellow cyclist on the road. Maybe it’s the bright colored clothing, or maybe it’s the flashing tail light. Think about yourself as a driver to make yourself safer as a cyclist!
Side note!
See about the best shoes for hiking in Hawaii and what to wear snorkeling in Hawaii! And for Hawaii vacation ideas, see the best things to do in Waikiki that will give you Hawaii vibes!
Types of lighting for your bike
In your search for the best bike lights to make you safer at night, there are a few things that you’ll come across that can make a difference in the price of bike lights.
– Lumens and light intensity
Many bike lights have a number in their name. This number indicates the measurement in lumens and tells you the intensity of the bike light. The higher the number, the more intense you can expect your bike light to be.
– LED lights and energy efficiency
This indicates the consideration of energy efficiency in the bike light.
– Beam pattern and light direction
Consider that brighter doesn’t always have to be better. The direction the light points can make a difference in how well you are able to see the path in front of you. It can also make a difference for oncoming traffic, including pedestrians. Think about when a car approaches you when a driver has on their bright headlights. At a certain angle, it can sometimes make it difficult to see for a moment. The same thing can happen with super bright bike headlights.
That said, brighter bike lights can help you be seen better! And generally speaking, the brighter the lights (the higher the lumens), the more expensive the bike lights are.
– Light battery
In your search for bike lights, you’ll also want to consider how you can replace or recharge the battery of the bike light. Some will use batteries that will need to be changed out once they are dead, and some bike lights offer a rechargeable method. You may also want to consider how long the battery of the bike light is made to last, which will generally be included in the description of the bike lights.
Best bike lights to have a look at
Now whether you find yourself on the road because you’re bike commuting around an urban city or for your triathlon training, have a look at these high tech bike gadgets to keep you safer on your bike!
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Bike headlights
– Smart bike headlight
So what makes a bike headlight smart?
One that will take into consideration your speed on the bike in determining where to shine the light!
The Garmin Varia smart headlight determines where to shine the light based on how fast you’re going on the bike.
Having a smart headlight will adjust the light so you can see the path in front of you better based on the speed at which you are biking. It lights the way where you need the light the most! The faster you’re going, the further out the light will shine. The slower you’re going, the closer the light will shine directly in front of you. This is what the Garmin Varia smart headlight does. Being paired up with a compatible Garmin Edge bike computer helps the headlight to determine the speed at which you’re going.
To learn more about the features of the Garmin Varia smart headlight, see here.
To read the positive and negative reviews, have a look here.
Bike rear lights
– Rear light with a camera
This isn’t about biking, but did you hear about this crazy video that recorded a pick-up truck swerving all over the road? (The video contains strong language – the truck driver was driving crazy!) At 0:11, you see the truck in the wrong lane and narrowly missing an oncoming vehicle. At 6:29, the pick-up truck is completely in the lane of the opposing traffic and coming up on a hill. This swerving then continues. Unfortunately, some time later, this situation ended in tragedy with deaths when that truck in Texas hit a church van full of people.
Cameras and video recordings on their own may not be able to prevent accidents, but time and again, cameras have shown to be useful in showing what happened leading up to accidents.
And you can have a camera that records your entire ride! So long as your ride doesn’t last more than 6 hours. 😉
The Cycliq Fly6 HD Taillight Camera allows you to record the scene behind you every moment you’re on your bike.
You can think of having a camera on your bike’s taillight close to an equivalent of having a dashboard camera on your car!
And for times when you don’t care to record, you can have the rear light turned brightly on so you can be seen better during the day and at night on your bike!
Take a look here at the features of the Cycliq Fly6 HD Taillight Camera.
To read the positive and negative reviews, have a look here.
– Rear light with radar detection of vehicles
With almost half of cycling fatalities involving accidents in which cyclists are hit from behind, the Varia Rearview Radar Tail Light acts as your eyes in the back.
This innovative bike gadget is from Garmin. They say that it is the first cycling radar in the world that detects cars that are approaching cyclists.
The Garmin Varia Rearview Radar Tail Light can alert you of cars that are coming up behind you, and it can alert the cars that are getting closer to you of your existence by changing its flashing pattern.
Having a compatible Garmin Edge bike computer like one of these will let you make the most of the radar, as you can mount your Garmin computer to your bike handlebars so you can be notified of approaching traffic. It can show you cars that are coming up behind you, how fast they are going, and how great of a concern the cars may be.
Even without a Garmin Edge, the radar can help keep you safer by lighting up and flashing when it senses cars approaching you when you’re on the bike. This can help to alert drivers of your presence so you can be seen better.
To learn more about the features of the Garmin Varia Rearview Radar Tail Light, see here.
To read the positive and negative reviews, see here.
For the Garmin Edge bike computers, see here.
Basic bike lights
For a look at bike headlights without smart features which can do their part in keeping you safer on the road than without them, here are some to take a look at.
Light and Motion Urban 350 Rechargeable Headlight $$
Blackburn Central 700 Front Light $$$
Light and Motion Vis 180 Micro Taillight $$
Knog Blinder ROAD R70 Rear Light $$
Front light + Rear light combos
If you’re looking to light up in front of you and behind you, there are a number of packages that you can get both the headlight and tail light as well.
Blackburn Click USB Front and Rear Light Set $ USB front light 40 lumens, USB rear light 40 lumens
NiteRider bike light combo $ Lumina Micro headlight 450 lumens, Sabre tail light 50 lumens
Knog bike light twinpack $$ Blinder ROAD headlight 250 lumens, rear light 70 lumens
Garmin bike light bundle $$$ Varia smart headlight 600 lumens, Varia smart tail light 22 lumens, tail light turn signal
HAPPY BIKE LIGHTING!
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🐠 Here are things you must consider packing!
- Swimsuit or swimming shirt aka rash guard
- rash guard: swim set for women and swim shirt for men
- Water shoes
- Waterproof phone case (so you can capture pictures of fishies underwater!)
- cheapo phone case OR waterproof camera
- I also have this "camera" wrist float to attach to my cheapo waterproof phone case so my phone won't sink to the bottom of the ocean in case I somehow let go of it. (Mine does stay afloat - test this for yourself before completely trusting it!)
- Swimming goggles or snorkeling mask set
- Reef-safe(r) sunscreen
- lightweight travel towel:
- walking sandals:
I also don't go snorkeling without a personal swim float buoy. Not only does it help to keep me visible, but it makes for a perfect way to rest out in deeper water! Oh, and it also serves as a dry bag so I can take stuff into the water with me.
Another way I have taken valuables into the water with me is to wear a travel money belt that I don't mind getting wet with salt water (it's not waterproof but I have several so I just use one of them) and then I put things in a ziplock freezer bag, and put that freezer bag in the money belt.
There are also designated waterproof waist pouches that you can store your valuables and take into the water with you.
see more:
- What to wear hiking
- What to wear snorkeling