Best bike lights

We tested the most popular front bike lights and rear bike lights from Halfords, Lezyne, Knog, Moon, Cateye and more. 

These were then dropped, soaked in water, and put through their paces on roads at night, to reveal those that shone out. Five were good enough to be named Which? Best Buys. 

It's a legal requirement to have a white front light and red rear light on display when you're cycling at night. You will also be, and feel, a lot safer on the roads with a good front and rear bike light on your bike.

All of the bike lights we selected for testing are USB rechargeable. They're also all designed to illuminate the road in front of you, as well as be seen by other road users. 

Best bike lights

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The bike lights we tested

All the bike lights we tested are listed in alphabetical order below. 

Only logged-in Which? members can view the best bike lights from our tests. 

Join Which? to get instant access to our results and Best Buy recommendations below. 

Bikil Front Bike Light

Only available at Amazon: £28.97

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Date tested: October 2022

Weight: 200g

Claimed battery life: Four hours

Blackburn Dayblazer 800 Front Light

Only available at Amazon: £81.16  

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 128g

Claimed battery life: 1 hour 30 minutes

Cateye Ampp 800 Front Bicycle Light 

Cheapest price: £39.99 at  Amazon, also available at Halfords.

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 152g

Claimed battery life: 1 hour 30 minutes

Eilioc Front Bike Light

Only available at Amazon: £29.99

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Date tested: October 2022

Weight: 193g

Claimed battery life: Three hours

Halfords 1000 Lumen Front Light

Only available at Halfords: £44.99

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 213g

Claimed battery life: 1 hour 30 minutes

Halfords Advanced 1600 Lumen Front Bike Light

Only available at Halfords: £59.99 (out of stock)

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 225g

Claimed battery life: One hour

Knog PWR Rider 450 Lumen Front Light

Only available at Tredz: £37.

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 123g

Claimed battery life: Two hours

Lezyne - Lite Drive 1000XL front bike light

Cheapest price: £46.95 available at Amazon, also available at Halfords, Probikekit

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Date tested: October 2022

Weight: 152g

Claimed battery life: 1 hour 30 minutes

Lezyne - Micro Drive 600XL front bike light

Cheapest price: £34.49 available at Probikekit (out of stock), also available at Halfords.

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 96g

Claimed battery life: One hour

Moon Meteor Storm Lite Front Light

Cheapest price: £58.99 available at Merlin Cycles (out of stock), also available at Wiggle

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 232g

Claimed battery life: Two hours

Moon Meteor X Auto Pro Light front bike light

Cheapest price: £15.99 at Rutland Cycling (out of stock), also available at Amazon

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 109g

Claimed battery life: Two hours

Mr Bike Light Mercury 1000 front bike light

Only available at Amazon: £44.

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Date tested: October 2020

Weight: 212g

Claimed battery life: 2 hours 30 minutes

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The best rear bike lights

We tested seven rear bike lights ranging in price from £10 to almost £40. 

All of the lights were put through a bevvy of tests including durability, visibility, battery life and more. These are the seven rear bike lights we tested:

• Cateye Rapid Mini
• Halfords 25 Lumen
• Knog Blinder Road Light R70
• Lezyne - Strip Drive 150
• Lezyne - Zecto Drive 80
• Moon Arcturus Pro Auto
• Moon Comet X

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How we tested these bike lights

We sent the most popular front bike lights and rear bike lights home with one of our researchers, who is also a keen cyclist, to put them through their paces in our specially designed bike lights test.

We ordered and paid for all of the lights we tested, just like you would. 

Durability testing

We put each bike light through two key durability assessments: 

• How waterproof? 
• How robust?

How waterproof? We doused each light in a shower for five minutes, making sure each was subject to a steady stream of water droplets from every angle. 

How robust? There's every chance you'll drop your bike light from time to time when wrestling with the elastic strap on a cold, dark evening. We dropped all of the front bike lights from the height of the handlebars, 10 times, onto a hard surface. Disappointingly, not all of the lights were able to pass this relatively simple test. 

Brightness

The brightness of a front bike light is more than just the stated lumen output on the packaging. We wanted to see how well this stated lumen output transfers to the road, and your surroundings, when you're riding. 

To do this we strapped each of the lights to a bike (in turn), wait until it got dark, and head out to an unlit country lane. 

After painstakingly ranking each light for how well it illuminates the road and its surroundings, it's interesting to note that lights with higher claimed lumen output aren't always better at lighting up the way while you're riding.

For the rear bike lights we conducted a visibility test at a variety of ranges and at as much as 180 degrees (to the side) of the light, as well as directly behind.

Battery life

All of the lights we tested will last at least an hour on their brightest setting. And in some cases, they'll last days on their least bright setting. 

For our battery test, we wanted to do something a little different and recreate a scenario that all cyclists will have faced. The dreaded flat battery test. For this we: 

• Completely drained each light of all of its charge, and then gave it a quick 10-minute charge. 
• Then timed how long the light would last on its least bright continuous setting.

Most of the lights we tested will last more than two hours from a 10-minute charge. But we tested one that we found will only give you 20 minutes of riding time from this emergency charge, and another that was just under 40 minutes - it's worth knowing which these are if you have a long journey home.

Ease of use

We assessed each light on how easy it is to:

• Attach to a bike while wearing thick cycling gloves
• Remove and switch between bikes. Some lights have fiddly straps that are difficult to attach securely. 
• Turn on and flick between the settings. Some lights have stiff buttons that are hard to use, or in awkward to reach places, particularly with thick gloves on. Whereas others are a joy to use, and easy to operate, even while you're riding.

Weight

We weighed each light on the same set of digital kitchen scales. 

The weights in our reviews are often a little higher than claimed by the manufacturer because we include the rubber or plastic strap that you use to attach the light to the bike, in our measurement. 

We feel this is a more accurate weight, as you'll be carrying these attachments with you on the light when it isn't attached to your bike. 

The different types of front bike lights

Front bike lights broadly break down into two categories, those that allow you to be seen, and those that will allow you to see the road. 

• If you're mostly riding in well-lit urban areas, then the best type of lights for you will be lights that allow you to be seen. You can get a good pair from £10 with a long battery life and a variety of flashing settings to help other road users pick you out. 
• If you ride on unlit roads or trails, lights that illuminate your surroundings are the best choice. These are the types of lights we've focused on in our front bike light test. 

Where to put your front bike light

• The front bike light should always be positioned as close to the centre of the bike's handlebars as possible. Make sure the light is attached tightly and securely so it won't budge as you roll over bumps in the road. 
• Some front bike lights can also be mounted on your helmet. But only do this if you also have a light on your front handlebars. Use a sole light mounted on your helmet and if you turn your head at the wrong moment, or look down, you could become much less visible to other road users.
• Angle the light slightly downwards towards the road so the centre of the beam falls on the road between 10 and 20 metres in front of you. You can also angle the light very slightly towards the kerbside of the road, as this is where most of the glass, sharp stones and debris will gather that you'll want to be avoiding.
• Don't angle the light upwards. Firstly, much of the light will be wasted if you do. And secondly, you don't want to inadvertently dazzle oncoming traffic. Many bike lights, including some of the ones we've tested, are brighter than car headlights even when they're on full beam (c.1,200 lumen). 

Where to put the rear bike light

• The rear bike light should be positioned on the rear seat post, or underneath the seat on the rail bars. 
• Make sure that the light is free from any obstructions such as saddlebags, panniers, or even loose clothing that you might be wearing.
• Some lights can also be attached to backpacks or clothing, but you should only do this if you also have a light attached to the bike too.
• The rear light's flashing settings are most likely to draw the eye. We'd recommend choosing one that doesn't leave long gaps between flashes.