Bike Lights
Having a good set of lights is a must for any year-round cyclist.
As winter rolls in and the days become sadly short, having a good set of lights is a must for any year-round cyclist. Whether you’re commuting to and from work, squeezing in those last few road rides or hitting the trails for some winter mountain biking, these three light sets will take away darkness as an excuse not to ride.
::GEARBOX
2300 Plus Combo $215
Magicshine
16063
Geoman, the company behind the Magicshine brand of lights, isn’t exactly the biggest player in the cycling light market. However, more and more riders are discovering how well these inexpensive lights work. The 2300 Plus Combo is named after its total lumen output. There’s a three-bulbed 1,400 lumens light that makes for a great bar-mounted option and a 900 lumens single-bulb light that works well on a helmet-mount. Truthfully, each of these would be fine for most rides on their own, but together they light up the night extremely well.
::GEARBOX
Photon 8 Enduro $350
NiteFlux
16074
The Photon Enduro set uses two separate headlamps with high-watt LEDs to put out a lot of light in a convenient setup. There’s a 15 watt high beam and a seven watt low beam. The two can be mounted either together on the bars or you can mount one on your helmet. NiteFlux uses a compact design with its VisionStick batteries (there is one for each light) that can both be mounted to the downtube using a battery bracket under the bottle cage. The light housings are built out of metal to help dissipate the heat and to keep the LED bulbs protected.
::GEARBOX
MiNewt.350 $310
NiteRider
16073
If you’re looking for something a bit smaller and more convenient, the MiNewt.350 from Nite Rider is a great option. At just 82 g for the headlamp and 340 g for the whole system including the battery, this is compact enough that you can throw everything into your jersey pocket just in case you need it on a late-afternoon ride. The 350 in the name refers to the 350 lumens output, which is a 75 per cent increase over last year’s model. You’ll get more than two hours off the full power setting and up to nine hours off the lowest setting.
