The best bike lights to see and be seen when cycling in the dark, tried and tested

The Guardian

13-02-2025

I am a bag of meat. I'd long suspected as much, and a run-in with a car windscreen last year provided confirmation. It was unpleasant, seeing the inner workings of my thigh, but it reinforced my decision to take certain safety precautions while riding my bike.
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As my accident proved, bike lights alone won't prevent collisions with motorists – only proper cycling infrastructure and a shift in attitudes towards bikes can do that. Still, as long as I'm forced to share roads with unpredictable lumps of metal travelling at four times my speed, I choose to illuminate myself like a Christmas tree.
Improved visibility isn't the only perk – bike lights can also extend your riding hours in the dark winter months. But with hundreds of options and lots of confusing tech jargon, finding the right ones is no small feat. So I've tested a selection of bike lights and compiled a list of my favourites below. Read on for a plain-English guide to seeing and being seen.
Best overall front bike light:
Knog Blinder Pro 900£52.09 at Fawkes Cycles
Best value front bike light:
Ravemen CR450£32.99 at Merlin Cycles
Best rear bike light:
Garmin Varia RTL515£114.99 at Decathlon
Cycling is my first love. I rack up thousands of miles every year, and when I'm not riding bikes, I'm writing about them. I'm a self-confessed gear junkie who's always on the lookout for anything that might improve my riding experience, which, over the years, has seen me testing all manner of cycling kit, equipment and tech.
Since becoming a parent, my leisure time is usually confined to a small window between 4am and 6am. This often means I'm riding in the dark, which puts me in an excellent position to test bike lights.
I tested a total of 20 front and rear lights, both on unlit roads in the wee hours of the morning and after the sun had risen. This allowed me to assess suitability for riding in night-time conditions and in daylight. Decent battery life is crucial, so I ran the lights at full power until they died, making a note of how long they lasted. Once all of this was done, I whittled it down to seven favourites, including three top picks.
I returned the bike lights where possible. Any that couldn't be returned are being donated to Recyke y'bike, a charity local to me in the north-east that refurbishes used bikes and donates them to schools, community groups and people on very low incomes living in the area.
If you're looking for a one-stop-shop front light that's bright, robust and easy to use, it doesn't get much better than the Knog Blinder Pro. This aluminium option is built to take a beating, with USB-C charging, a generous run time, and six lighting modes.
Why we love itIn the three months I've spent putting various front bike lights through their paces, I often found myself hankering for the Knog Blinder Pro 900. From the fuss-free mounting clip to the USB-C compatibility, everything about it just works. And while the maximum output of 900 lumens may be insufficient for racing through dark woodland, I found it to be more than enough for riding on unlit country lanes in the dead of night. The beam pattern provides a wide spread up to 100m, angled to avoid dazzling oncoming traffic.
The silicone finish on the one and only button means it's easy to locate, even with a gloved hand, and the tactile click makes it easy to cycle through the various light modes, turn the device on and off and check the battery level. When turned off, the light will remember what mode it's in.
The Blinder's clever fixed U-shaped mount secures the light in the perfect position and makes it a breeze to detach from the bike for charging.
It's a shame that … there's no USB-C charging cable supplied.
Light type: frontRechargeable battery: yes, USB-C cable (not supplied)Maximum output: 900 lumensIP rating: IP67Modes: 6Full-beam run time: 2hrs
£52.09 at Fawkes Cycles£54.90 at Amazon
Light, compact and affordable, this cylindrical light from Ravemen may not be the brightest of the bunch, but it's long lasting, practical and perfect for urban cycling and commuting in the dark.
Why we love itThe CR450 is a solid little light that performs above and beyond its relatively modest price tag. The rubber strap is easy to mount on most handlebars (those with super fancy aero bars may struggle), and there's a handy release clip mechanism that allows the light to be quickly removed from the bike for charging.
There's also a remote switch that can be attached within thumb's reach, allowing you to change through six light settings without taking your hands off the bar. Among those settings are a nice bright pulse flash for daytime visibility and a max power mode that casts out 450 lumens in a T-shaped anti-glare beam.
It's a shame that … it only runs for approximately 1hr 30mins on max power, and there's no side visibility.
Light type: frontRechargeable battery: yes, USB-C cable (supplied)Maximum output: 450 lumensIP rating: IPX6Modes: 6Full-beam runtime: 1hrs 30mins
£32.99 at Merlin Cycles£36 at Tredz
I was sceptical of Garmin's Varia rear light. A built-in radar? Seriously? Surely that was something I could live without. How wrong I was. In five years, it has rarely left my bike, and on the odd occasion that I have left it at home, I feel as if I'm missing a limb.
Why we love itPeace of mind is valuable when cycling on busy roads and the Varia delivers it. The light itself is fantastic, offering visibility from the back and sides, but the real star of the show is the radar system that alerts you to approaching objects. The unit pairs wirelessly, either with a Garmin cycling computer or a smartphone. It then uses the display to show you vehicles approaching from behind, giving you a rough idea of their speed and proximity. It's no substitute for having your wits about you, but it's certainly a useful tool.
The Varia sits on the seat post using a rubber band, a small plastic quarter-turn mount and one of three rubber bungs supplied to accommodate different seat post shapes and sizes. It can be removed from the mount quickly with a firm twist for charging. Battery life is good at about 16 hours in day-flash mode, and it can automatically switch light settings based on ambient light – handy for boosting visibility when vehicles approach.
It's a shame that … it's a tad bulkier than standard rear lights and considerably more expensive too.
Light type: rearRechargeable battery: yes, micro-USB cable (supplied)Maximum output: 65 lumensIP rating: IPX7Modes: 4Full-beam run time: 6hrs
£114.99 at Decathlon£169.99 at Garmin
Best for: effortless operation
I thought long and hard about whether to include the Volume 800 in my top picks. Its USP is that it has a chunky dial rather than a button for selecting light modes, a simple yet highly effective design element that I wish more brands would employ. The unit weighs next to nothing, looks great, and is excellent for seeing and being seen, with a good variety of modes to choose from.
Bookman is still in its infancy, and there are a few issues that I'd like to see addressed. The quarter-turn twist-and-click mounting system, for instance, is great in theory, but I found it a bit loose, to the point that I had to keep recentering the light.
It didn't make the final cut because … the way the lens protrudes from the housing means that it throws light out at the sides. I found this to be somewhat dazzling on the odd occasion I glanced down.
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Light type: front; rechargeable battery: yes, USB-C cable (supplied), replaceable battery; maximum output: 800 lumens; IP rating: IPX5; modes: 10; full-beam run time: 3hrs
£82.50 at Santafixie£87 at Bookman Visibility
Best for: adding a camera
Cycling with a camera may seem a tad excessive … until it isn't. If you experience an incident as a result of bad driving, the first thing the police will do is ask if you have footage.
The Fly12 Sport combines a solid urban-commuting light with a powerful HD camera. Footage is recorded on a continuous loop, saved as multiple short segments and eventually automatically written over if it's not needed. If an incident occurs, you can easily lock the recording segment so that it can't be recorded over. There's also a camera-only mode, with a maximum run time of seven hours.
At 400 lumens on maximum power, the light is far from the brightest on the market, but it's perfect for urban environments and partly lit streets. The flashing modes are bright enough for daytime riding, but side visibility is limited. Video is clear and crisp, recording up to 4K, which makes it easy to zoom in and pick out number plates.
It didn't make the final cut because … it's expensive, and I was surprised there was no wireless file-transfer option, nor the option to view and edit video in the CycliqPlus app without an SD card reader.
Light type: front; rechargeable battery: yes, USB-C cable (supplied); maximum output: 400 lumens; IP rating: IP56; modes: 5; full-beam run time: 3hrs
£299 at Cycliq
Best for: urban commutes
If your main goal is to get from A to B on city streets, you probably don't need a bells-and-whistles bike light that's powerful enough to toast a slice of bread. What you want is a set of lights that are simple, easy to operate, affordable and sufficient to keep you visible to other road users. This twin pack from Knog, with the five modes, takes care of all of the above.
They don't look like conventional modern bike lights, mainly because they're so light and small, but they're surprisingly bright. There are two strap options to cater for different bikes, which means they're a breeze to mount and operate.
The cable-free design means the end of each unit slides off to reveal a USB connector that can be plugged directly into a laptop or a USB plug. Removing this part also converts the unit into a clippable light that can be easily fastened on to a piece of clothing or a bag. Run time is good at two hours on full power or a whopping 40 on eco-flash mode, and side visibility is excellent thanks to the wide beam pattern.
It didn't make the final cut because … the small rubber button is infuriatingly tricky to operate with gloves on.
Light type: front and rear; rechargeable battery: yes, direct USB; maximum output: 40 lumens front and 20 lumens rear; IP rating: IP67; modes: 5; full-beam run time: 2hrs
£34.99 at Freewheel£26.49 at Amazon
Best for: rear light visibility
If you have any concerns about being visible from behind, day or night, attaching Cateye's aptly named ViZ450 light to your seat post will soon put them to bed. This firework of a rear light spits out up to 450 lumens and has a transparent body that provides 300-degree visibility.
The ViZ450 is the best light I tested for daytime visibility. It's bright enough to spot from a long way off even in some of the more conservative flashing modes, and the side visibility is unrivalled.
Some may argue that 450 lumens is excessive for a rear light. In most situations, that's probably true, but it's still nice to have the option of a high-visibility daytime mode. For example, I found it useful when riding into the low winter sun – a scenario in which I'm always acutely aware of how hard I might be to spot through the glare.
It didn't make the final cut because … battery life isn't the best on the market for a rear light (I got 5hrs 10mins in constant mode), and the mounting-clip design is a bit fiddly.
Light type: rear; rechargeable battery: yes, micro-USB cable (supplied); maximum output: 450 lumens; IP rating: IPX4; modes: 4; full-beam run time: 5hrs
£32.49 at CatEye Cycling £37 at Merlin Cycles
Lumens are a unit of measurement describing the amount of visible light emitted by a light source. It's expressed as a number. The higher this number, the brighter the light.
The best type of light depends on when and where you're using it. For staying visible at night in urban environments, a relatively modest 200 lumens upfront and as little as 100 at the rear may be sufficient, but for seeing where you're going in unlit woodland or country lanes, anywhere between 800 and 1,200+ lumens might be necessary. This chart from Halfords illustrates things nicely.
Front lights are designed to keep you visible, but most are bright enough to illuminate the route ahead to some extent. The UK law requires them to be white. Rear lights, on the other hand, are purely for visibility on the road; because of this, they're usually not as bright as their handlebar-mounted counterparts, and the law requires them to be red.
Most front bike lights are made to be mounted on the handlebar, but designs vary. Most often, it's some sort of rubber band or clamp mechanism, and it's increasingly common for these to include a quick-release system.
For people who use cycling computers, many light brands include a GoPro-style attachment that can be fitted to the underside of the bike's computer mount. This allows the front light to sit neatly beneath the computer slap-bang in the middle of the 'cockpit'.
Rear lights tend to mount to the seat post, or, in some cases, the saddle rails. Many come with adaptable mounting systems to accommodate different shapes and sizes of seat post.
Paddy Maddison is a freelance consumer journalist, outerwear enthusiast and exercise addict. If he's not hiking in the hills, he's grinding up them on his bike, hurtling down them on his snowboard, or lacing up his running shoes and hitting the pavements. As a result, he gets plenty of time to put all the latest and greatest gear through the wringer for the Filter