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In this article, we review and highlight some of the best mountain bike lights. Our selection contains various options that differ in price, brightness, durability, and battery life. Plenty of choices to find perfect lights based on your needs.
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5 Best Front Bike Lights For Commuting
7 Best Rear Bike Lights For Cyclists
Introduction
Mountain biking at night is an amazing experience that brings out new emotions and can give a rush of adrenaline. Since you already landed on this article we will assume that you realize the importance of proper bike lights for riding at night. Generally, the brighter the lights you use the easier and safer your riding experience will be. In this article, we prepared a list of the best quality mountain bike lights for different needs and at multiple price points.
When choosing perfect lights for you keep in mind a few things.
First, the duration of your ride. If you plan on riding in the dark for 2 hours or even more, then you will need bike lights that can last this long in one go. So definitely consider battery power, its charger type, and the time it takes to charge.
Second, the place where you plan to ride. For example, If the trail is partially lit, then most likely you will not need extremely bright lights. On the other hand, if it is pitch-black then your choice of lights will be different. For night trail riding, we suggest a minimum power of 1300 lumens. But we strongly encourage you to go higher than this number. Most lights will have different modes, and you can select appropriate brightness based on your needs.
Third, you should also consider mounting options, especially if your bike has oversized handlebars, but this does not apply to most riders. Also, if you plan to lock your bike outside you would need bike lights that can be easily taken off.
We hope you will find our reviews and suggestions helpful.
1. Knog PWR Mountain 2000 Lumen Light
- Charging Type (USB vs Battery): USB Rechargeable
- Lumens: up to 2000
- Run time (max): 2 hours at max light output | up to 200 hours with eco-flash mode
- Charging time: 7 hours
Positives
- Long battery life
- Thermal management system
- ModeMaker app connection
- Twist mode operation
- Can charge other devices
Negatives
- Quite heavy
Knog PWR front light projects a unique circular light beam of up to 2000 lumens. The brightness level and light distribution is perfect for mountain biking at night through different trails.
In addition to high brightness levels and long battery life this light has a lot of unique features. For example, modemaker app connection, which allows you to adjust brightness. Also, the battery can be detached and used for charging other devices.
The thermal management system automatically regulates the light output for optimum performance and reduces energy waste. You also get a battery indicator with 4 LEDs that displays the remaining charge.
The light can be attached to a handlebar or a helmet.
2. Exposure Toro MK12 Front Light
- Charging Type (USB vs Battery): USB Rechargeable
- Lumens: up to 3200
- Run time (max): 2 hours at max light mode | up to 36 hours
- Charging time: 6 hours
Positives
- Brightness
- Great battery life even at max output
- REFLEX+ system
- OLED status display
- Intelligent thermal management
- Water-resistant (IP6)
Negatives
- Price
- Charging time
If your budget allows then Exposure Toro MK12 is a light you can’t ignore. In addition to its great battery life and its brightness, it has so many other amazing features to offer. For example, REFLEX+ system automatically adjusts the brightness based on your speed. This is done to reduce energy waste and provide you with a perfect brightness level.
OLED Status Display shows your current light mode, the remaining battery life in hours and minutes, percentage charge, and additional feedback information.
The light is also equipped with an optimized mode selector so you can easily choose a mode to fit your needs, for example, run time.
Last, but not least, it comes with a quick-release bracket and smart port technology plus which allows you to use the battery as a charger for other devices.
3. Lezyne Super Drive 1600XXL Front Light
- Charging Type (USB vs Battery): USB Rechargeable
- Lumens: up to 1600
- Run time (max): 1.45 hours at max light output | up to 148 hours at 15 lumens output
- Charging time: 7 hours
Positives
- Waterproof
- Great battery life
- Auto Day/Night sensor automatically adjusts lumen output
- Easy to mount and very secure
Negatives
- It takes roughly 7 hours to fully charge
Lezyne 1600 XXL has a lot to offer for the price it retails at. The light can produce up to 1600 lumens for a fairly long period of time. It contains built-in cooling fans that help to prevent overheating. The light is waterproof so can be easily used in any type of weather condition.
It features three high output LEDs with multiple light outputs to adjust the brightness. The lens is powered by the Tri-Focus optics lens technology that projects ultra-bright lights and stretches sideways for better side visibility.
The light is mounted with a strap that fits most handlebars.
4. Ravemen PR1600 Front Light
- Charging Type (USB vs Battery): USB Rechargeable
- Lumens: up to 1600
- Run time (max): 1.40 hours at max output | up to 24 hours at flashing mode
- Charging time: 3.5 hours
Positives
- Road and MTB light modes
- Fully waterproof
- Wireless remote control
- Runtime display
- Remaining power and mode display
Negatives
- Not the brightest light
Even though Ravemen PR1600 is not the brightest light out there it has a lot to offer for the price. It is perfect for those who want to use this light for road and mountain biking as there different models for both types of riding. The light comes with a wired remote control, which is pretty cool and makes mode changing very easy.
A small display/screen shows a lot of useful information, such as runtime, remaining battery life, and current light mode. The light is also fully waterproof so you don’t need to worry about getting it wet.
The battery life is also quite good and in general, this is a great choice for the money.
5. Nite Rider Lumina 1800 Dual Beam Front Light
- Charging Type (USB vs Battery): USB Rechargeable
- Lumens: up to 1800
- Run time (max): 45 minutes at max light output | up to 20 hours at day-flash mode
- Charging time: 3 hours
Positives
- Side visibility
- Water-resistant
- Mounting options
- Charging time
Negatives
- Battery life
Nite Rider Lumina 1800 offers great light visibility with the claimed maximum output of 1800 lumens. It could also be a perfect light for helmet mounting, however, you do need to buy a helmet mount separately so keep this in mind.
The light is equipped with dual LED lights with great side visibility, which is ideal for twisty trails. The outer casing is very resistant to vibrations and scraping, which makes this light super durable.
The charging time is around 2 hours, which is great if we compare it with similar lights at this price point. Also, the mounting options allow fitting to handlebars of various sizes (standard and oversized 35mm).
CONCLUSION
Each of the lights above has some pretty amazing features and offers a great deal of functionality. We highly encourage you to analyze your needs and price range to choose the best option for you. For example, if you plan to ride on rainy days then the waterproof feature is really important. Also, if you need very bright lights, then lumen output would determine your choice.
We hope you found this article helpful.
Why should you trust us?
In order to feature and review any products on our website we do extensive research, read user feedback, carefully review forum threads, look at search trends, brand popularity, try to actually use and test as many products as possible ourselves, and evaluate other factors depending on the product category. By doing extensive research and incorporating it with our own experience we are able to shortlist only a handful of products out of thousands of options.
We want to bring value to our readers and help them find answers to questions and buy the most appropriate cycling products. Brands and cycling professionals always try to innovate and improve to get the best possible outcome. Unfortunately, innovations and product improvements these days result only in marginal gains, but the price increase for these gains is not equally proportional. In economics, this behavior is defined as “diminishing returns”. Knowing this we focus on featuring the best value for the money products that are affordable, but at the same time have a lot to offer. We don’t want our visitors to overspend on something they will not benefit from.
