What to look for
Shedding light on the night riding options
The first thing to know is that lights are a really weird part of the mountain bike componentry market. Despite the fact that a failed light can be disastrous and extremely dangerous, lighting has always spawned a DIY culture that doesn’t exist with any other piece of gear. We regularly see people using £30 lights that they’ve bought direct from China on the internet on a £5,000 bike, when they’d never dream of using the carbon bar or frame from the next page of the same website.
Obviously it’s your choice if you want to take that chance, and to be fair, for the past few years the direct-buy ‘Chinese lanterns’ have often worked as well and been just as powerful as much more expensive lights. If you’re going to buy a Far Eastern light, we’d definitely advise spending a bit more to buy one that comes with UK support and back-up though (Magicshine, Beema, One23, etc), just in case something does go wrong. It’s also worth noting that UK manufacturers including Hope, Lumicycle and Exposure, and other Western brands such as Niterider, Light & Motion and Gloworm, have all really upped their game, with better value, features and reliability than in previous years.
The first thing to check when buying is that the light and battery (if external) actually fit on your bike – this is especially important if you’ve got one of the latest 35mm diameter handlebars or a compact, curvy, carbon fibre frame. The next obvious criterion is power. Firstly though, you need to realise that ‘theoretical’ lumen counts, based on LED power and battery charge in perfect conditions with no heat issues or circuitry to reduce efficiency, are sometimes 30 to 40 per cent higher than the actual real-world ‘measured’ lumen output of a light.
Power isn’t any use in the wrong place either, so decide whether you want a narrow spot beam for straight and fast riding or helmet use, a wider beam for slower, more technical terrain, or a balance of both – which is likely to be more expensive. If you ride really technical, twisty trails then a cheaper bar light and head light might give better overall illumination than a single more expensive light.
You then need a battery that gives enough run time to cope with your longest rides, plus a bit extra for emergencies or when the battery gets old or cold. If you’re likely to be pushing its limits, check it has a battery indicator for rationing power, rather than relying on an emergency alert – these often come on way too late. Finally, ask yourself whether you want the convenience of a remote switch or the ability to tune power output, and are willing to pay extra for those features.