Choosing the best mountain bike light is not an easy task with all the different types of lights on the market today. There are many things that you need to consider when shopping for the best mountain bike light on the market. The right light will depend on the intended use and the other features of the trail light. This article provides information on what you should look for when choosing the best mountain bike light.
The first thing to consider is how much light you actually need. In fact, 700 lumens is the minimum for mountain bike trail riding. You can ride at a decent speed while clearly seeing the periphery with such a light. Two lights are even a better set-up for your mountain bike. In fact, you can use a 1,000 lumen light on the handlebar of the mountain bike and a 700 lumen light on your helmet. The faster you ride, the lighter you will need. For commuting purposes, 400 lumens is the minimum light output recommended by the experts. A tail light is also important since it will let you be seen by the other drivers on the road. This combination will increase rider visibility in traffic situations during the daytime, too.
Once you have decided on the output of the mountain bike light, the next important thing is to decide on the beam pattern. In fact, the beam pattern is the size and shape of the light that is projected by the mountain bike light. The brighter the light is, the wider and even the beam pattern should be. In fact, a bright light is more powerful when the beam is evenly dissipated over a wide area. It should also project out a fair distance. You should look for a clean beam pattern without dark artifacts and hotspots. The color of the light is also an important factor to consider when choosing the best mountain bike light.
A slightly yellow or white color is the best for your mountain bike. Such a light isn’t harsh on your eyes as well as it reveals the trail contours much better than most of the other colors out there. In fact, bluish or pure white lights may be brighter, but they are very difficult to see and will increase the eye strain over time. These are some of the most important factors that you need to look for when shopping for the best mountain bike lights on the market.
The next thing is to consider if you need a bar light or helmet light for your mountain bike. A bar light with a wide beam pattern is ideal to clearly see the periphery. It is quite powerful and will augur for a longer battery runtime. On the other hand, a helmet light is much smaller with a tighter beam pattern. The beam can see a much longer distance compared to a bar light. It will follow the rider’s eyes in order to help him/her see through corners. The best thing is to opt for both types of lights so that the rider can easily see the periphery with the bar light and see through the corners with the helmet light. If you have to choose between the bar and helmet light, the helmet light is the best choice for you. In fact, a helmet light helps the rider to effectively use the lumens – aiming it from left to right with appropriate head movements.
The heat and runtime are other important factors to consider when shopping for the best MBT light on the market. No bike light can run at full power without airflow. Hence, the LED technology uses various strategies to move heat away from the LED bulb by using heat sinks. In fact, when there is low airflow or bike speed, the LED light will grow dimmer. The advanced lights will automatically sense the airflow and throttle the light back up when the rider speeds up the bike. The runtime is the total time that the light will function until it dims down or shuts off to half its brightness. This happens when the battery starts to lose its energy.
The next thing is to decide if you need wired or self-contained mountain bike lights. All mountain bike lights used to be wired in the past. But the arrival of LED bulbs and lithium-ion batteries has helped combine the light and battery into one package. There are no connections or wires to deal with under such circumstances. On the other hand, the self-contained light could be used around the house or campsite since it is quite powerful and bright with a longer battery life. There are many other things that you need to consider when shopping for the best mountain bike lights on the market.
With a host of mountain bike light brands on the market, finding the brightest bike light isn’t going to be easy. There are many things that you should be looking for when choosing a high-quality mountain bike light on the market. In fact, you have to conduct a thorough research when shopping for the best bike light product out there. A search on Google or Bing will give you a list of mountain bike light brands on the market today. Don’t just pick the first product on Google SERPs or the cheapest product amongst them without doing the necessary research. Make sure you buy a quality brand from a reliable manufacturer on the market. That is the way to get the best bang for your buck. You will save a lot of time and money in the long run when you do the homework properly.
Mountain bike lights are quite popular with riders out there. If you plan to buy a quality mountain bike light on the market, you should do the research first. There are many brands of MBT lights on the market. All of them are not top-notch. The above read offers information on how to choose the best mountain bike light.