bike lights

Most bike lights shine primarily forward or backward, with some side visibility thrown in. The Orb MKII, on the other hand, is specifically designed to make cyclists more visible from the sides … and it takes the form of a usable water bottle.

If you're the outdoorsy type, it's possible you might have use for a flashlight, headlamp, bicycle headlight and camping lantern. Well, if you wanna keep things streamlined, Xeter Spark combines all four in one modular system.

Back in 2015 we told you about Cycliq's Fly12, a combination dashcam and headlight for cyclists. Well, there's now a much smaller, lighter and sharper-shooting model available, known as the Fly12 Sport.

In most bike light systems, there's a headlight in front, along with a tail light, brake light and/or turn indicators in the rear. The modular Lumos Firefly setup takes a more versatile approach, as each light can be programmed to serve any function.

Motorists see a lot of lights on busy nighttime roads, so it's possible that a bicycle's tail light may not stand out as anything special. The Flock Light is claimed to address that problem, by illuminating the rider's legs as they pedal.

If a motorist just sees a red light up ahead, they might not realize it's a bike's tail light – at least, not at first. The VIS LightPool Taillight is designed to address that problem, by alternately shining down along with outwards.

We've seen bike helmets that fold up for storage and transit, plus ones that are equipped with lights. The Fend Super, however, is one of the first to combine both features in one helmet.

Although there are now a number of helmet-mounted brake lights on the market, they're almost all activated by an integrated accelerometer. The OxiLum takes what is claimed to be a better approach, as it's triggered by a brake-lever-mounted device.

It was seven years ago that we first heard about Garmin's Varia Radar tail light, which warns cyclists of vehicles approaching from behind. After adding smartphone compatibility in 2020, Garmin has now put a camera in the device.

Last year Redshift Sports announced its LED-equipped Arclight Pedals, which "magically" illuminate white in front and red in the rear, no matter which side of the pedal is up. I had a chance to try them out, and they're everything that was promised.

Over the years, we've seen bike lights/turn indicators incorporated into wearables such as helmets, backpacks, gloves and jackets. The Flasher system takes yet another approach, by fastening the things around your arms.

Bike lights are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but that doesn't mean they have to look that way. Two new headlights hit Kickstarter this week, and both feature the tech of today combined with the look of yesteryear.