Being passionate about biking means that you are required to invest in additional accessories, especially those that concern your safety. If you've purchased a helmet, it's now time to find an appropriate light that can be mounted on it. Some people prefer to have their light mounted on the bike's handlebars, but a helmet mounted light means that the path before you is lit as you move your head around, providing extra visibility when needed. But how can you be sure what type of light you need?
This guide will break down what helmet light is best for your night riding.
Table Of Contents
The Top 6 Best Bike Helmet Light Comparisons
Brand | Details |
|---|---|
 Topside Bike Helmet Light | |
 Maketheone Bicycle Light for Helmets | |
 BLITZU Bike Helmet Light | |
 Serfas Helmet Light | |
 Bright Eyes Bike Headlight | |
 SIGEM LED Safety Lights |
Important Bike Light Info
A bicycle headlight fulfills two simultaneous roles. First, it helps you see the road ahead in low light conditions and poor weather ones. Don't underestimate how invisible you can become for drivers when there's heavy rain pouring outside or when mist falls heavily before you. That leads to the second role of a bike light: it helps other drivers see you. A moving light clearly indicates that someone’s there, preventing collisions in the darkness. You can also get bike wheel lights as an even stronger indicator for navigating traffic.
Lumens
There's one term to know before going bike light shopping: lumens. A lumen is a unit that measures the brightness of a light.
Batteries
The second thing to pay attention to is batteries. Cycling lights will often run on disposable batteries, which automatically means that you should travel with spares at all times. However, more modern options have integrated the power of rechargeable batteries. Most of these batteries are either lithium polymer or lithium ion and are more powerful than disposable batteries.
Some bike lights can be charged with a USB cable, which provides you with additional power sources, just as a portable charger, a laptop, or a computer. In addition, most modern bike lights have integrated battery warning features to inform you when a battery requires a recharge.
Types of Bike Lights
The following lights have been divided into categories depicting the cycling habits of bikers:
Urban
The first category of lights is dedicated to urban use and communing. This means that it's super important for the biker to be seen by other traffic participants. In this case, it's important to choose a taillight that makes you visible for obvious safety reasons. If you are an adventurous commuter, you will also need a powerful front light. Any light above 200 lumens should do the trick. Urban biking means that you also rely on street lights, so there is no need to purchase something more powerful.
Granted, just having a light might not be enough in urban areas. Keeping bicycle mirrors on your ride will help you navigate traffic. Like side mirrors in a car, bike mirrors help you see what’s right behind you.
Rural
The next level covers unlit roads. If you often find yourself taking rough paths, a powerful front light is very important. It needs to be bright because you cannot rely on street lights anymore. In this case, you should opt for lights above 600 lumens. You also need to choose your lighting mode carefully and use your battery juice wisely. Another important trick to keep in mind is to look for front lights with a concentrated beam.
The advantage of concentrated beams is that they provide more power for the road ahead, so you can see exactly where you're going. The disadvantage is that concentrated beams are less visible from the side. As you can imagine, having a taillight on unlit roads is essential. Whether it's mounted on your helmet or under your seat, don't leave this light out of the equation.
Off Road
Last but not least, we have the extreme biker, the one who enjoys off-road pedaling. As you can imagine, bike light usage is taken to a whole new level, especially when you're going down roads you've never explored before. The power of the front light is essential, as you will need perfect visibility that your commuting light surely won't cover. Anything above 1,000 lumens should do the trick. These powerful lights are often characterized by a wider beam, providing you with more depth and visibility.
The Top 6 Best Bike Helmet Light Reviews
In order to help cyclist in discovering which types of lights are more suitable for them, these lights have been divided into categories that depict the cycling habits of bikers.
Topside Bike Helmet Light
We've chosen the Topside model as our opening model. Made from a Lumen Cree LED light, the Topside comes with many features to empower the safety of cyclists. The dual headed light will illuminate both the path ahead of you and signal the others behind you, warning other traffic participants about your presence on the side of the road. It takes 3 hours to fully charge the light, and you'll get about 18 hours of juice on a full charge. The light hosts a USB port, so you can conveniently charge it while you're checking your emails.
There are 5 different lighting modes for the top flash: aflash, constant rear flash front, constant, double flash, and constant front flash rear. A battery indicator will notify you once you have about 25 minutes of battery power left, so you'll never be caught by surprise and left stranded. To mount the light on your helmet, use the 2 available mounts, straps, and ties to secure it in place. It can also be used as a handlebar light if it's more convenient for you. You can pick either of the 2 mounts included, depending on what works best with your setup. To fix the light onto the mount, place the mount on a flat surface and slowly push the lights in.
Pros
Cons
Maketheone Bicycle Light for Helmets
Moving on to a more sophisticated option, we'd like to present the Maketheone helmet light. The product's versatility allows the user to mount the light on the handlebars of the bike or on the cycling helmet, but it can also be used as a handheld flashlight. This light is as bright as 1,200 lumens and features 5 different lighting modes: SOS, strobe, low, medium, or high. Red silicone backs this zooming light. The backlight comes with its own set of 4 lighting modes: highlight, strobe, and slow flash.
By ordering this product, you will receive a kit that also contains a battery smart charger, a rechargeable battery, a red LED silicone rear light, one front light mount, and an adjustable helmet mount. The included Velcro strap allows you to attach the light to your helmet's airflow holes. Depending on the lighting mode you choose, the battery's life also varies. For example, if you like to pedal with the lights on steady bright mode, you will get about 2.5 hours of battery juice, while the strobe mode should keep the battery alive for about 5 hours.
Pros
Cons
BLITZU Bike Helmet Light
The first thing that makes the BLITZU light stand out is its super lightweight build. But there's more to it than just the 0.3 ounces. The Cyborg 168T light can be charged via your laptop or computer's USB port. It takes less than 2 hours for a full charge. In addition, the 260-degree beam angles will make sure that the street in front of you is visible at all times.
It features 6 different lighting modes that are changeable with a single press of a button. You can opt for steady high, steady medium, steady low, flashing high and low, and strobe. Depending on the selected mode, the battery life will vary. For example, using the light on low mode will provide you with about 6 hours of run time, while setting it to a higher intensity will ensure about 1 hour and 30 minutes of battery power.
Since it's waterproof, it can withstand harsh weather conditions without suffering any damage whatsoever. Thanks to the variety of mounting options, you can place the light on your helmet, handlebars, bike frame, scooter, wheelchair, and more. When set to high, the light intensity is about 168 lumens, while the lower mode provides about 45 lumens.
Pros
Cons
Serfas Helmet Light
The Serfas rear light is a pretty basic and straightforward product, for those looking for something that will alert the other traffic participants of their presence on the road. It covers the basic aspects of what a rear helmet light is supposed to do. It comes with 3 different lighting modes: chase, flash, and steady. As expected, the battery power depends on the mode chosen. In consequence, you'll get about 95 hours of power when the light is set to steady and 130 hours when set to flash or chase mode. That's pretty effective when you're looking at a long cycling trip.
The Serfas light requires 2 lithium CR 2032 batteries to operate, both of them being included in the package. Thanks to the built-in belt clip, the light is also suitable for runners and can easily be mounted on your pet's collar if needed. As for the bike helmet, the light is mounted on the back, as long as your helmet has ventilation air passages. There is a rubber spacer included alongside the Velcro strap. The rubber spacer is pretty easy to install, as all you have to do is align the cylindrical post located on the back of the light to the matching sole of the rubber piece and press them against each other.
At the center of the triangular light lies the power button. Aside from switching the lights on and off, this button is also used to shuffle between the 3 different lighting modes mentioned earlier.
Pros
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Bright Eyes Bike Headlight
Even if the title implies otherwise, this bike headlight can also be mounted on your helmet. This waterproof light is as bright as 1,600 lumens and features 3 different lighting modes that also add or take away from the battery's juice. By setting the light to high, you will get about 4 hours of power. The medium setting will keep the battery alive for nearly 6 hours, while setting the light to low mode will provide 16 hours of continuous use. The light includes a head strap with a removable mounting piece to easily attach the light onto your helmet.
Aside from the actual light, the package also included a diffuser lens, 4 heavy-duty O-rings so you can mount the headlight on your handlebars, a rechargeable battery pack and a wall charger, a head harness, Velcro ties, and a LED silicone taillight. The head light comes with a lifetime warranty period, but there is also a 1 year warranty included for the battery.
Pros
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SIGEM LED Safety Lights
This is yet another basic but very useful pack that features 3 compact lights. You can opt between 6 different light configurations or buy them all in the same red color. Each of the light features 5 ultra-bright LEDs that are powered by 2 small batteries. They can provide you with enough light to last about 100 hours.
Aside from the pre-packed batteries inside the lights, the kit is also delivered with some extra goodies: like 2 more batteries, a mini screwdriver, and 3 adjustable Velcro straps that aid cyclists in attaching the lights to pretty much whatever they want. Due to their compact size, the SIGEM lights are suitable for several types of biking helmets, but they can also be used on scooters, leashes, wheelchairs, baby strollers, and more. They are good for bikers, joggers, and even hikers.
You can opt between 3 different lighting modes: steady, flash, and fast strobe. Each light has a clip attached to its back side, to make it easier to secure the light on your belt, if needed. Since the lights are water-resistant and not waterproof, they will withstand moisture and a little bit of rain, but completely submerging them into water or using them under heavy rainfall could cause damage.
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The Bottom Line
To determine which of these lights is better for you, you should assess your cyclist type. If you only want a light for commuting and helping you stay visible in traffic, the Serfas should do a pretty good job in keeping you covered. The generous battery life makes it a viable option for other types of cyclists, provided that they use it as a secondary safety light.
However, if you're more of a hardcore cyclist rather than one who just likes to ride the bike in a park on a Sunday afternoon, you will need that extra lumen power so you can see and be seen. For you, the Maketheone helmet light is a much better option. With 1,200 lumens in power and the capacity to zoom the light to get a narrow or a wide beam, this helmet light seems to have everything you need to be fully aware of what the road has in store for you. Upon ordering, you will receive a very generous kit that contains other useful items, such as the red LED silicone rear light and mounts for both your helmet and your handlebar.
If you’re looking to protect yourself and your ride, here are some great ways to prevent loss or theft:
Bike chain lock: Keeping your bicycle locked up makes sure you’re the only one who walks away with it.
Bike alarm: If that’s not enough, many bikes come equipped with a loud alarm to warn you when someone tampers with it. Sometimes seeing the alarm itself stops thieves!
Bike GPS tracker: Find your bike anywhere and get notified when it leaves a certain location. Never lose your bike again!