Bicycle Lamps - In Different Environments
When darkness falls, it's time to light up the roads with well-chosen bicycle lamps. Whether you are looking for a strong bicycle lamp for mountain biking or a small and practical bicycle lamp for city cycling, you have to know what usage it's needed. Here you will find different models for all types of bikes and needs. What kind of bicycle lamp do you need?
Bicycle Lamp For City Cycling
In the city, the roads are often well lit, making it not as important to have a bicycle lamp that is very strong for you to see where you are cycling. A bicycle lamp with a brightness of 100-300 lumens is suitable. Reduce the risk of glare by pointing your bicycle lamp down.
Bicycle Lamp for Road Cycling
Country roads often lack road lighting, the bicycle speed is usually higher, so it is necessary to have a lamp with a long range. If you cycle at 40 miles/h, you must see about 35 feet in front of you to have time to stop for an obstacle. For road cycling, a bicycle lamp with a brightness of 400-800 lumens is suitable. A bicycle lamp with this brightness risks dazzling oncoming traffic. Therefore you should point the bicycle lamp down at the road surface.
Bicycle Lamp for Competition and Exercise Cycling
When racing and exercise cycling, you often reach high speeds, which means that you have to look far ahead of you to have time to stop for an obstacle in time. For example, if you are cycling at 70 miles/h, you must see at least 80 feet in front of you. For this type of cycling, a bicycle lamp with a brightness of 600-2000 lumens is suitable. Do not forget to point the light downwards since you don't want to dazzle your fellow bikers.
Bicycle Lamp for Mountain Biking
When mountain biking, you want to light up as large an area as possible. Since you rarely encounter oncoming traffic when mountain biking, the risk of glare is minimal, which in practice means that you can choose which brightness you want. Feel free to supplement the lighting with a helmet-mounted lamp.
What should you do in the dark?
If your biking in the dark, from dusk to dawn, your bicycle should be equipped with bicycle lighting consisting of:
Have a rear bicycle lamp with a red light that other bikers can see 600 feet away. If the bicycle rear light has a flash option, it should flash at least 200 times per minute.
A biker should use a front lamp with white or yellow light with such brightness that the cyclist can bike safely. This lighting must also be visible from a distance of at least 600 feet.
Your bike should have a white reflector at the front, a red at the back, orange, yellow, or white one at the sides.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bicycle Lamps
How strong a bicycle lamp can you have?
Bicycle lamps have no rules regarding the strength of the bicycle lamp for traffic safety. One should only aim at not blinding your fellow bikers.
Which bicycle lamp best seen in traffic?
With a bicycle lamp with a brightness of 100 lumens, you are visible.
Which bike lamp should I choose?
Based on the environment you ride in and whether you will take the lamp on and off often or not.