Despite the head unit’s diminutive size, the beam’s gentle green hue is well-balanced between spot and flood, giving a long throw down the trail.

Bright Mountain Bike Light Throwdown: From 1600 Lumens to Bright Mountain Bike Light Throwdown: From 1600 Lumens to

The amount of lumens needed for a bike light will depend on several factors, including the type of riding you plan to do and the conditions you’ll be riding in. For general commuting, a light with around 100-200 lumens should be sufficient to provide visibility to other road users. For off-road riding or in very dark conditions, a light with 500-700 lumens or more may be necessary to provide adequate visibility. It’s important to choose a light that is bright enough to keep you safe, but not so bright that it will blind other road users. A more intuitive method of selecting modes and the addition of a battery life display are the only factors that stop this light scoring higher. Powered by six LEDs, Moon’s Rigel Power features three different programs, each with eight modes. The light has an intelligent function, where the unit can change its brightness, depending on the ambient light. Don’t be fooled into thinking that the lumen rating of a bike light is the only thing that matters, though. A super-bright light that only has enough battery power to put out that headline figure for half an hour isn’t likely to be particularly useful, especially if you’ll need to use the most powerful setting for extended periods. A smaller, lighter unit than many, the Light & Motion Seca Comp 2000 is controlled by two buttons, with the main one illuminated and the second operating orange sidelights for on-road use.The Countdown 1600 is perfect if you don’t want to wonder how much battery life you have left. The timer is a fantastic feature that I would love to see integrated on more lights and batteries in the future. It’s an easy light to use, with five default modes and an additional three that can be accessed. Our only gripe is the unit tended to shift closer to the ground on rougher terrain. It’s a beautifully made light, if expensive, although there are lower-priced options that don’t include the AKTiv tech. For easily dimming the light while riding, a handy wired remote button allows you to change modes without having to move from your riding position on the handlebar. With five LED lights and a whopping 6,500 lumens total claimed output, the Magicshine Monteer 6500 is a seriously capable unit.

2000 Lumens | Knog PWR Lighthead | 2000 Lumens | Knog

StVZO bike lights conform to German Road Traffic Licensing Regulations, with beam patterns shaped to avoid dazzling other road users. The Moon Rigel Enduro front mountain light gives a good mix of spotlight and wide-angle illumination. Ian Linton / Immediate Media While power feels less than claimed, it’s ample to ride gnarly trails with confidence, although a better beam spread would be helpful in tight turns.The clamp is super easy to use and – while its real-world usefulness is questionable – the Bluetooth integration, which allows you to control the light via a Garmin or Di2 shifter, is fun. It’s also simple to operate. You can customise the optics of the Gloworm’s three LEDs by replacing the lenses, with spot, honeycomb and wide angle options and there’s a smartphone app, so you can fine-tune the light to match your riding. Two different battery cable lengths cater for bar or helmet mounting of the light unit. You get a wireless remote too and you can buy yet more lens options. We set a lower limit of 1,500 claimed lumens when testing mountain bike lights, which is more than ample to provide safe and well-lit shredding. You could get away with less, but how suitable that is will depend entirely on how fast you want to go and how technical the trails are. The head unit has a single button that illuminates blue when the light is in one of its three constant modes and red when it’s in its single flashing mode. The button also switches colour once the battery has 10 per cent or less charge remaining.