Best Road Bicycle Safety Lights in 2023

1. NiteRider Pro 2200 Race Front Bike Light

The NiteRider Pro 2200 Front Bike Light is a hardy unit that performs its job extremely well. Your way will be well-lit with this little light!

What We Like

The NiteRider Pro 2200 is a surprisingly powerful little light! It features three CREE LEDs, which, when used together, can put out an astonishing 2200 lumens – more than enough for pretty much anywhere you want to go in darkness.

A wide beam with a bright white color does an excellent job of illuminating everything in front of you as if it were day. While it may not quite be wide enough for fast trail rides, it’s more than enough for road use.

You’ll have 7 mode choices: 4 solid and 3 flashing. There’s no indicator of which mode you’re on, but it’s easy to cycle through them using the main button on the housing.
Also found on the housing is an LED screen with an 8-step battery indicator.

Take note that the lighting unit and the battery unit are actually separate pieces, but somehow the system manages to remain pretty compact.

The 4-cell, 2500mAH, separate lithium-ion battery can last anywhere from 1.5 hours on its highest solid setting to 25 hours on the lowest flashing setting.

Speaking of the housing, the bulb is protected by a fiberglass case that is IP-64 rated, meeting the Formula 1 impact, dust, and water-resistance standards.

A tool-less mount makes it easy for cyclists of all technical abilities to stick it to their 31.8mm or 35mm handlebars sturdily and safely. The external battery comes with plastic grippers to mount it to the frame.

Why We Like It

It’s super easy to mount, brighter than you’d expect, and surprisingly compact for its power. Worth the price tag, in our opinion!

2. Blackburn Design Dayblazer 400 Front Light

This light is the lowest of the range, but it does its job nicely at a decent price. If you’re looking for your first bicycle light, this is an excellent choice.

What We Like

The 400 lumen output is perfectly good enough for wherever you plan to ride. Whether taking a bumpy night-time trail ride or zooming through town, this light should illuminate your way quite well.

Apart from the full power 400 lumens mode (Blitz), you can also use Low (200 lumens) and both pulse or strobe on 200 lumens.

Take note that driving into traffic with the full 400 lumens blaring can momentarily blind drivers. It may be best to go for 200 lumens when riding in traffic!

It’s also really nice and compact. Weighing a touch over 2 ounces, you won’t even feel it on your handlebars.

There’s very little guesswork involved in using this light. An easily visible switch on the top in the center switches it on and cycles through settings.

It takes around 3 hours to charge the lithium-ion battery fully. Unfortunately, the battery life is a bit disappointing, with just an hour or so of run time before needing another charge.

You can also ride happily in the rain with this little light, as it’s IP67 rated for waterproofing.

Why We Like It

It’s affordable, compact, and does exactly what it’s meant to. We highly recommend this as a first-time bicycle safety light.

3. Garmin Varia RTL515

The Garmin Varia RTL515 is pretty much perfect for making sure you’re visible to motorists driving up behind you.

But that’s not all – it also lets you know when vehicles are approaching so you’re forewarned.

What We Like

This radar/tail light combination is the perfect warning for both you and the drivers coming up behind you. Firstly, let’s have a look at the light part (considering we’re technically talking about lights here).

Four modes are present on the red light. Your main light is solid, always-on mode, which comes in at 20 lumens, enough to be seen but not to blind anyone behind you.

The new Peloton mode has a lower brightness to protect the eyes of cyclists behind you, and it’s specifically designed for those who ride in groups often. It puts out just 8 lumens.

Then there’s a super bright mode, day flash mode, which gives off 65 lumens. Night flash mode puts out 29 lumens. If you aren’t sure what that means, you should be visible from about a mile away in the daylight.

You should get up to 16 hours of battery life in a flashing mode, or up to 6 hours in a solid mode. More than enough for some long rides!

Now for the radar information. You mount this light/radar combo on the back of your seat post, and it alerts you when vehicles, motorbikes, and others things are approaching or passing you.

You can pair it up to any Garmin device. When paired with a Garmin Edge bike computer, you get the fullest experience of the device. Audio and visual cues give you the most well-rounded knowledge of your surroundings.

It also works with Wahoo ELEMNT devices, Hammerhead Karoo, and Stages L50/M50 units. If you don’t have any of the above, you’ll need to pair it up with your smartphone and use it with Garmin’s Varia app.

In certain third-party apps, the radar can be integrated with GPS so you can get proximity alerts on your maps.

Why We Like It

It’s compact, easily seen from behind, and has the added safety feature of a built-in radar. Great for knowing what’s going on around you, and for being more easily seen in low light conditions.

What’s New

The Varia RTL515 is the third generation radar. Nothing has changed, but there have been some add-ons – a new smartphone app, an added “Peloton mode”, and some tweaks to the battery life.

4. Lezyne Ktv Pro Drive Tail Bike Light

This robust tail light’s ability may surprise you, given its extremely affordable price. If you’re looking for a warning light to others approaching, you can’t go wrong with this easy-to-use, effective tail light.

What We Like

For an affordable tail light, this little guy packs a decent punch. It’s pretty small and light, weighing under 2 ounces and fitting easily on any seat post.

Five built-in lighting modes cover your every need, day or night. Two steady modes include Blast, which puts out a solid 20 lumens, and Economy, which drops that to a dim but visible 3 lumens.

Flashing modes include Daytime Flash, the most powerful mode at 75 lumens; Flash, which spits out short 25 lumen bursts, and Flash 2, which comes in at 10 lumens.

You can expect up to 4 hours of use on full Blast, and 19 ½ hours on Flash 2. The other settings give you various run times in between. Three hours of recharge time should see the battery up to full.

In a kinda cute, kinda handy way, this light fits right into your computer’s USB port. Simply pop off the bottom piece of plastic, and a USB plug appears. Pretty nifty, but it is a bit of a chunky thing to have sticking out of your laptop.

You also don’t need to worry about riding in the rain with this light, as it’s IPX7 waterproof. Robust and affordable – well worth the buy!

Why We Like It

It’s small but mighty! Small in price too, but perfectly adequate for most of your lighting needs, especially if you’re going to be spending most of your miles on the road.

What’s New

Not much has changed since the original design of this light. The latest version has an increased illumination field from 180 degrees to 270, about 40% longer battery life, and a revamped seat post interface.

5. Light & Motion Urban 1000 Commuter Combo

We highly recommend this set if you want the best chance of being seen from every angle on the road. It’s extremely powerful and versatile enough for use in multiple bicycling situations.

What We Like

This thing is powerful! A serious front lamp with a handy rear light makes the perfect combo, and here’s what we really love about it.

On the highest setting, the front light throws out a serious 1000 lumens of illumination. Medium will give you a still-impressive 500 lumens, and low outputs 250 lumens.

Then there’s SafePulse mode. This handy setting puts out flashes of light between 250 and 500 lumens, with a bright 100-lumen burst every 8 or so seconds. On this setting, you can get a solid 12 hours of use before needing to recharge.

Running the light on high mode will give you 90 minutes of run time. Medium will run for about 180 minutes (3 hours), and low mode should see you through 6 hours of riding. Charge it for about 3 hours to get it back to full power.

Other thumbs-up features include amber sidelights, a quick-release mount, 1-meter impact resistance, water-resistant, and it’s super easy to charge.

The tail light comes in at a much more chilled power, about 150 lumens. It lasts between 6 and 12 hours, depending on the power setting you choose.

Why We Like It

You get a ton of power in a small and easy-to-use package. Long-lasting, extremely bright, and 360-degree visibility. Nothing more you can ask for!

6. Lezyne Led Femto Drive Led Bike Light Pair

This stylish little front and rear light set is affordable and looks good on the bike. They’re easy to mount and nothing fancy, but they light your way quite effectively.

What We Like

Compact and super easy to use, these lights are both affordable and effective for lighting your way in low light conditions. Upfront, you should note that they’re not strong enough to throw out a beam in front of you, so you should probably not use them for high-speed riding.

They weigh just over an ounce each, using 2 CR2032 batteries. The rear light offers up to 60 hours of use in flashing mode and 30 hours with solid light. The front light should provide less, between 15 and 22 hours of run time.

Speaking of modes, there are 4 different flashing modes and a single solid light mode for you to choose from, on both the front and rear lights. The front light has an output of 15 lumens, and the backlight is 7 lumens.

Made of aluminum with a high-quality optical lens, they’re weather-resistant and surprisingly durable for their size.

There’s no on/off button on these lights. You just press the lens to activate the light. They mount super easily to the handlebars with a silicone strap.

Why We Like It

This light set looks stylish, doesn’t take up much space on your bike, and is surprisingly durable. Worth the price if you’re commuting or doing recreational riding.

7. Garmin Varia UT800 Smart Headlight

This smart bike light is all you need for both day and night rides. It automatically adjusts the brightness as you go, saving you time, effort, and having to take your hands off the handlebar while riding.

What We Like

Firstly, the automatic brightness adjustment is super helpful. There’s no need for you to fiddle with settings – it’s easy, convenient, and much safer.

It uses the outdoor conditions, but also your speed to change to settings that would be more appropriate for your ride.

You can choose between a bar/stem mount, or a helmet mount, or you can buy the other one separately so you can have various mounting options.

The light settings include High mode, which shines at 800 lumens and runs for 1 ⅕ hours; Medium, which is 400 lumens and can go for 3 hours; Low, 200 lumens with 6 hours of run time; Day Flash, 700 or so lumens and can run for an astounding 25 hours; and Night Flash, 100 to 300 lumens for 6 hours.

Why We Like It

Not having to take your hands off the handlebars as you’re riding keeps you safer and more stable on the bike. You no longer have to think about increasing or decreasing brightness as you go, so it’s very convenient.

What’s New

The UT800 has been given a wider beam than the previous version, covering more ground in front of you. It’s also a good bit more compact.

8. Cateye Rapid X2

If you’re concerned about being seen from behind, the Cateye Rapid X2 is uniquely shaped, bright, and offers 180-degree visibility, ensuring that you’ll be seen by anyone approaching from the back.

What We Like

The uniquely-shaped design of this tail light allows you to be seen loud and proud from the sides as well as the back. Note that the lights don’t shine out of the sides, but the material is reflective enough for the light to be seen from a variety of angles.

It’s not huge, but it doesn’t have to be in order to make you visible. Chip-on-board LEDs illuminate almost the entire surface of the light, and the 50-lumen power is enough for most situations.

6 different modes give you a lighting option for any situation on the road. Depending on which mode you choose, the light can last between 5 and 30 hours. Charging for 2 hours with the micro-USB will bring it back up to full charge.

A handy feature is the built-in accelerometer, which changes the brightness of the light when it detects that you’re braking. In essence, a built-in brake light. This is still a bit of a work in progress, but it works alright if you aren’t doing speedy cycling.

The rubber mounting is probably the worst thing about this light. It’s not very durable, but you can buy replacements or make another plan when it does break.

Why We Like It

It’s easy to see from all angles, has plenty of modes and more than enough brightness, and the built-in accelerometer is a nice touch!

What’s New

The X2 is a step up from the original Cateye. Not only has the output more than tripled, but the battery life has also improved.

9. NiteRider Sentry Aero 260

This light’s unique shape enhances visibility on the road. It’s aerodynamic too (hence the “aero” in its name), so it won’t add much drag at all.

What We Like

First and foremost, the streamlined shape of this light won’t create much drag at all. It fits easily on both normal and aero seat posts.

It’s ideal for those who are training for speed, offering enough light for you to be easily seen without holding you back.

Secondly, the 260-lumen output is perfectly adequate for most rides. It’s easily seen during the day and the night, from directly behind and from the side.

6 modes offer all you need. Steady High will give you 4 ½ hours; Steady Low, around 30 hours. Four flash or pulse modes offer between 6 and 7 ½ hours of run time. A quick 2 ½-hour charge time means you can get back on the bike with the light asap.

There’s also a handy Group Ride Mode, which keeps you visible to motorists but doesn’t distract other riders in your group.

A sturdy plastic mounting helps to keep it stable on your seat post. This does wear out over time, though, and it’s likely to be the part of the light that wears out first.

Why We Like It

If you’re into a bit of speed on the road, the shape of this light makes it super aerodynamic. Keeping you safe and visible while you can focus on your speed.