• You wouldn’t drive your car at night without headlights or tail lights, so why do so many cyclists risk riding at dawn or dusk, or even in the black of night, without suitable bike lighting?
• You have many different lighting sets available that are relatively cheap and easy to install.
• So, there is no reason not to have suitable bike lights when you are riding in conditions of low light.

While some riders think that having reflectors on their bike is enough when riding in low light, this is not the case. Reflectors alone are not adequate for riding in the dark.

Bike lights allow you to see more clearly in darker conditions and most importantly allow other road users, such as cars and trucks, to see you.

When choosing a bike lighting set you have many options to choose from. Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you need to determine which bike lights will work best for you based on your bike, the kind of riding that you do, as well as the conditions in which you may find yourself riding.

One aspect of your bike lighting that you will need to consider will be how you will power your bike lights. You can power your lights with batteries, ad these may either be rechargeable or disposable. Battery powered lights may not be suitable for all riders however. If you are touring for example, batteries may not be convenient. If you are out on the road for days or even weeks at a time, then you will find it hard to recharge batteries, and buying new disposable batteries may be inconvenient or not possible at all if you are riding in more remote areas. If you are regularly commuting, batteries may also be inconvenient as you will need to replace or recharge batteries regularly. So, what do you use to power your bike lights? Well, you could use an electric generator, or dynamo.

Unlike batteries, a dynamo will generate power for your lights for an unlimited amount of time. Dynamos generate power from the effort you put into your pedaling. They do however, generally produce less power, so you will need to ensure you use the right lights, and they may not be suitable for everyone.

When choosing the bike lights themselves, you have a number of options available. The cheapest option is generally lights using a tungsten filament lamp. These are also generally less efficient and output less light than other options available.

LED, (light-emitting diode) lights are becoming increasingly popular and provide a viable alternative to the tungsten filament lamp. But if you want a brighter light, especially for your headlamp, then you may want to consider a high intensity discharge (HID) light. These are high-powered lights but they will generally cost you more than the other two options.

When installing an effective bike lighting set on your bike, you may use a combination of different bike lights.

For example, you may use an LED or quartz halogen headlight powered by a rechargeable battery pack or dynamo. You could also install a flashing LED front light for added visibility and as a back up. For the back, you might use an LED tail light that either flashes on and off or provides a constant light. You mi

Whatever option you choose, it should provide adequate visibility for other road users as well as provide you with sufficient light to help you see any obstacles that may be in your way. You also need to have the right power supply and sufficient back up in case of emergencies.

Tags: bikes lights, lighting sets

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 6th, 2009 at 10:40 am and is filed under Bike Lighting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.