Lighting 101

With Daylight Savings Time coming to an end, now is a good time to start thinking about a lighting system if you plan on riding in the winter months. We’ve got a lot of great options for lights and picking out the best style for your needs can not only make your night riding safer but much more enjoyable.

To help you pick out a light, we’ve placed some of our different lighting systems into three different categories.

The first category is what we’ll call Casual Night Riding. Basically, these lights will provide you first and foremost with the ability to be seen which is absolutely vital when riding in the dark. The higher end lights in this category boost the power to a level add a lot of visibility to the darkest streets.

Some of our favorites in this category include:

Sette Elumin-X Safety Light

For under $10 you can get a front and a rear light and stay safe and legal. For its size the Elumin-X puts out a good amount of light but keep in mind it would be considered the bare minimum. If you don’t plan on being caught out in the dark a whole lot or you’re going to be riding on very well lit streets, the Elumin-X will get the job done.




Knog Frog
This little puppy is a single LED light but packs a pretty good punch. Like the Sette Elumin-X, the Frog is primarily for being seen but its unique design and ease of use make it a very popular light. The Frog installs in seconds without needing any tools and can be mounted quite a few different ways on your bike. It’s not uncommon to see multiple Frogs on a single bike.




Cateye EL410
This is where lighting starts to get a little more serious. The EL410 uses three LEDs to pump out 180 candlepower which is sufficient light to see potholes on even the darkest street. The run time is great too- between 30 and 60 hours depending on how much the light is used on flash or steady mode. Finally, the innovative mounting strap allows you to mount the EL410 in a variety of places including your helmet.




The next category we’ll call the Super Commuter. These lights are for folks who do a lot of city riding and want to see just as well as they can be seen.

NiteRider UltraFazer Max
The UltraFazer Max is one of the brightest lights you’ll find without having to rely on an external battery pack. The Max uses a 1 watt Luxeon LED bulb with three settings- high, low and flash. One of the more innovative features of the Max is that it can run on standard alkaline or rechargeable NiMH batteries. If you plan on doing a lot of night riding this light can help save some cash and more batteries from ending up in the landfill.





NiteRider New MiNewt Mini-USB w/ Helmet Mount
The MiNewt Mini USB is far and away the most popular light amongst folks looking for maximum power in the smallest possible package. The battery is ridiculously tiny and can be charged with either the included wall charger or through your computer with a standard USB cable so it can easily be recharged at the office. Its 110 lumens of power makes it the perfect commuter light.



On the mountain bike side of things the MiNewt Mini USB is a decent starter light for off road riding. If you know you’ll be doing a lot of mountain biking at night you might want to consider a light with a little more juice. Then again, start with the Mini USB and if you upgrade you can always make use of the helmet mount and have a very capable second light.