Lights for eBikes, See & Be Seen!
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- čas přidán 2. 01. 2019
- electricbikereview.com/forum/... While visiting my buddy Chris Nolte at Propel Bikes in Brooklyn, NY we spent some time talking about bicycle lights. Chris runs an electric bike shop, so most of the models we looked at had the option to wire-in some lights to run off of the ebike battery. Some of these lights would work just fine on their own, being powered by independent rechargeable cells. Many electric bikes come with lights already wired in. I hope this guide helps you understand why lights for bikes are important, what some of the options are, and why ebikes can be a great choice for commuting in different conditions. They help you go further, carry more weight without struggle, and can be convenient in low light night/morning conditions if they do have lights.
Popular brands we covered here include:
- Busch & Müller ($40 to $120), can be seen on Riese & Müller products, official website at www.bumm.de/en/
- Supernova M99 Pro ($449) can be seen on the Stromer ST2 S and R&M Delite GX Rohloff, official website at supernova-lights.com/en/
- Supernova E3 E-Bike V6s ($149) can be seen on many Riese & Müller models, official website at supernova-lights.com/en/
- Light & Motion official website at www.lightandmotion.com/ at 5:33 in video
- Fuxon has a lot of decent headlights that I've been seeing on BULLS electric bike models, and they do have the side window cutouts. These lights tend to be plastic vs. metal for the more premium products. They alloy does add to your bikes weight and the cost, so it's not necessarily always better.
- Tern has a cool proprietary headlight that fits on their Andros adjustable stem on the Vektron ebike that allows you to physically turn the light on or off. You can see my review of this at electricbikereview.com/tern/v...
Most ebike lights are direct current (DC) powered, some dynamo powered lights are alternating current (AC) but it's rare. That said, Chris said that all rear lights are DC and they usually get their power from the headlight as it converts AC to DC and sends it back. I like how some of the newer ebike lights have side windows, so the beam will shine in more directions and keep you visible. I've seen more electric bicycles that now have rear lights that activate whenever the brakes are pulled. This is a European requirement. Chris had some really cool light mounts that help you adapt to handlebars, stems, and the bracket for ebike displays like the Bosch Intuvia. I always aim to mount my headlight up near the stem so it points where you steer and is sprung vs. being down on the suspension arch unsprung and potentially bouncing around. Something I consider when mounting a rear light is that if you place it on the seat post, a loaded cargo rack could block the beam or your long jacket could hang down below the saddle and block the light. Consider the right seat stay, the back of a rack, or your own backpack or helmet for best results. Higher is usually better so cars and trucks can see you. I've seen a couple of ebikes with seat-integrated backlights, and this makes it less easy to swap a rigid post for suspension seat post or different saddle... so it's not my favorite design, it's also very easy to block with a long shirt or jacket.
In closing, many states actually require you to have lights on your bike by law. New York is one such state. Many newer ebikes actually have "always on" daytime running lights (DRL) following automobiles. The LEDs don't use that much energy, and it could save your life, but sometimes it's also annoying, so I appreciate bikes that let you turn them off manually if you want. Usually, ebike shops can show you how to do this or update your software to make it possible (if you've got a Bosch powered ebike especially). Many of the fancier headlights from Germany have a design that aims down, so it won't blind oncoming traffic. EBR was paid to perform this review #Sponsored We try to be honest, thorough, and fun! Comparison tools, shop directory, and forums at: ElectricBikeReview.com - Auta a dopravní prostředky
Does this dude every smile? I'm sure it's big fun working with him
Wow😃 Happy New Year... I can't believe your in Brooklyn... I love your videos they are so informative and I learned so much watching... I wish I could meet you since you visiting my city to show my you my sondors ebike... But unfortunately I have to work...😔
Years ago, I got tired of friends bragging about how much they paid for the retina burning lights they almost never used (I was a daily commuter leaving before sun up and returning after sun down). So, just as a joke, I bought a million candle power spot light for $20. They have a threaded insert in the handle, so I used a warm gear clamp to hold a bolt to my bars and mounted the spot light to it. It looked rediculous, I got a lot of laughs, but it did work!
Hi court I had no option but to fit (extra) lights on my lovely trekking 7.0 as the standard 150 lux didn't cut it. Being a full motorcycle licence holder you can Never have enough light mate so I purchased two Niterider 850s and use the low setting x2 along with the standard light and then use the second and third settings on the niterider lights in darkened roads and its epic! I would love to get the light Chris was holding fitted at some point as daytime running lights even on cycle tracks is important for pedestrians walking dogs to clock from a distance. Cheers
Excellent as always you wanna good job
About the "European thing" with Lights (I can only tell about German laws but because of the German ones must fit the EU ones most is similary in other countries of the EU.
In germany there are since centuries in the StVZO (Strassenverkehr Zusatz Ordnung, engl. Road Traffic Licensing Regulations) rules that street legal bicycles must have (active light) a generator driven (6V 3W max. power of generator) Front and rear light. Front light white, rear light red. Always visible with full loaded rack (Thats why rear light is mostly at end of the fender). Front light must be a dimmed headlight (must be constructed and installed in a way that it can not blind somebody).
All Lights must be certified (mostly E Number printed on the lights) to make it possible for the Police to see that the light is street legal.
Exceptions for these rules: "Rennräder" (literally "racing bicycles" in engl. named street bikes - these Tour de France bicycles) with weigth less than some kilogramm or bicycles for little children (as I remember).
Because changing (better adapting to new technology) laws is a slow, very slow, needs centuries process (in germany) battery lights where official not street legal until June 2017 (no mandatoy "generator powered light).
Now Battery powered lights that indicates "only 10% power left" or when powered by eBike battery - the eBike will stop driving support before the power is totally lost (but keeps the ligths burning for additional hours) are allowed.
Additionally Braking ligths for bicycles are now allowed (I think so).
Still not allowed are flashing ligths (because could confuse other drivers).
In real life (because many bicycles where driving without or not working lights in the dark) the police was happy when bicycles have some ligths and as long as you didn't drive as an drunken idiot or hooligan they don't care about Street legal or not - Better a working non legal light that doesn't confuse others than laying under a truck while driving without ligths).
This is only about Street legal. If you have an Bicycle without or with "Airplane landing ligths with more power than the sun" you can use this bike only out of the streets or cities on trails and paths in the forrest or fields.
Greet you're customers with a smile😂
Hi people , I bought a nice little flood light for my mountain/road bike a couple of years ago , the led light assembly is separate from the battery and straps to the handle bar or frame , the light output is quite good ,
i cant remember the specific output , but imo it was good for travelling and supplying enough light to light your road possibly up to about 20 mph and have some reaction time in most circumstances in pitch dark which is not bad i think .
It also came with a short wired remote flurecent high/low button which could be mounted on the handle bar which i really liked .
the light had a bunch of settings ,
but for steady beam there where 3 out puts , low beam which was adequate for low speed and usable , but not preferable unless battery was getting low ,
the medium beam was not bad , it was a good compromise being enough light to see with and also save some battery while also not blinding oncoming traffic ( imo) .
High beam was almost like a car headlight , nice brightness and good spread , but probably not ideal for being among traffic unless you had it aimed down a lot , which might compromise your seeing efficiency if traveling at speed .
IIRC the high beam would shorten the battery time down to about an hour , but you could save some battery time by using flash on any beam , if i was going any more distance i would buy a spare battery .
the way i worked it was i also had another led head light with more of a short but reasonably bright spot beam which would light the road directly ahead of my front wheel about 3 ish metres , and i had my main light on medium beam giving me a reasonable flood of light ahead .
The high output light i bough came as a kit in a nice little case , and the brand was moon , it cost $ 350 australian a couple of years ago .
i have no affiliation with the company , but i liked the product for my use , i was doing 15/20 k night rides in summer ( i cant handle the cold ) and it did the job nicely .
As an old fart and ex trucky , i`m a firm believer in having lights to not only be seen with , but too also have decent road vision ahead for whatever comes at you , be it animals , potholes , pedestrians , cars , etc .
lights are not something you should cut costs with imo , those pissy 20 dollar weak beam but bright flashy head lights you get from the market are probably ok to be seen with(and better than nothing ) , but not great if you want to see the road conditions imo .
I`m sure there are better more upgraded lights out there now , i would be spending the bucks on the good lights .
Love this channel, I've got a GT Everb MTB here in New Zealand and it's awesome fun (61 year old). Would really like to see you do a video on cameras for bikes. I've already had a friend hit by a car that didn't stop and he was seriously injured. Driver never identified.
I have several. Even the cheapest worked great. I quit using them when police said it isn't court advisable because there is no way to prove the angle at which the camera is mounted.
@@MHH3180 interesting, thanks
I have Lupine SL in my ebike and I like it a lot. It is compact and also does have automatic daylight driving mode with couple of different levels in the main beam. Also I like that I will not blind others with it since it is approved for road use in Germany and all the light goes on road
Lupine has new model SLF with high beam ;)
I have this also....not really good for off road...especially given the price. I figured I could not go wrong with Lupine...I figured wrong :)
Thanks
gotta check this store out !! Brooklyn babe
Interesting video, just what I was looking for. You and Chris know you're stuff, very informative. I would like to buy a supernova v6e3 light like the one you mentioned and mount it as on the bike it was shown. I have searched for a mount like it without look so far, do you know where I can get one please or failing that, can you send a link. I am in the UK.
Thanks for this overview. Please consider an update to this with more of a focus on actual light lumens, coverage, voltages, wattage, and connectors? Does anyone make a bar mounted voltage converter? Ebikes have various voltage outputs, and a converter could make more headlights available to the rider.
You mean u want to see a real video on lights? Me too! Geez
Solar storm x3 and x2 for me.
Fake get gutted and setup for ebike usage with a switch mode PSU a lense and a mount.
X2 at the top x3 at the bottom which gives me a high low setup.
If they arrive and the are real ones pretty rare now then I just make up a battery pack and use them for mtb.
But for under $15 for the light I think they are great. It's the batteries that are the main issue.
Rear light is just a couple of cheap USB cob lights.
If I lived close,I’d be at this shop a lot. I live in California. 🙈
I have a cube bike with a Bosch Battery and Motor , was wondering bout getting the bike shop to mount a light for me, I was thinking bout the led light with the blade and the one that has brake lights and wire into the bosch system...was also wondering if you can send me a link as to which light would be suitable, am after a light in the front, with super bright lumens for off road and on road cycling.
I bought a Bulls mtb partly because it featured the much touted MONEKYLINK-CONNECT system (sold separately, of course)... a year on, i still can't even find the lights here in the U.S. Anyone know what's going on ?
Hello and thank you guys for this video. Please can you reccomend powerful intregraded dual light system for bocsh cx system?
I do lot of trekking and trakcs and backlight placement will be on seatpost.
Exposure has new ebike lights out now...they are the best for the front so far. StVO rated one also.
Anyone have any info on wiring lights into an Aventon Level?
What type of water bottle holder is that one at minute 3:16?
Can we order form you as long as we pay shipping?
What about a rechargeable electric horn, I find a bell just doesn't do it when riding in the city? I've only been able to find one, on the Juiced Bikes website.
dznrboy hornit have a good one
"Loud Bicycle Horn": is a mini bike horn which sounds like a car. Works great in NYC.
I have the Juiced Bike one... well, I should say Juice-branded, cause it's actually a generic Chinese horn you can buy off AliExpress. That said, it's generally well made. Mostly metal, except for the mounting bracket. Pretty loud too, and critically it sounds like an actual horn! This being courtesy of the moped horn diaphragm that’s mounted to the front of the device. This was really the selling point for me. Based on reviews of the Hornit, people often just ignore the high-pitched sound it makes. They’re less likely to ignore something that sounds like a vehicle!
I did look into the "Loud Bicycle Horn”. From what I can tell, it uses the same diaphragm as the “Juiced” one, but doubles it up. For that reason I fully expect it to live up to its name (if you’re willing to deal with the extra cost and bulk)!
You can get a 48V bright ebike light for $6 delivered off aliexpress. You might have to wire it yourself, but that's easy enough. Why you spend $35+ for it?
The guy working at the store has the emotion equivalent to squidward
Can you use supernova m 99 pro for not a Bosch system?????
yes but only with bosch performance cx
In Denmark and Germany, and I think the rest of Europe, A bicycle light must be clearly visible at a distance of at least 300 meters without appearing dazzling. The 300 meter rule is a rule of thumb - if it e.g. is foggy, the lamp cannot be seen at a distance of 300 meters.
The lamp MUST be visible FROM THE SIDE.
The lamps must not dazzle oncoming traffic. Therefore, you need to angle particularly powerful headlights so that they shine obliquely downwards and do not dazzle other road users. The rear lights must be mounted so that they illuminate at the rear. Neither the rear or headlights must not only light into the ground.
Both the headlight and the rear light must be able to illuminate for 5 hours at 5 degrees celsius.
A headlight can be bright yellow, white or bluish. If yellow, it may not flash. If it is white or blue, it can flash, it must do so at least 120 flashes per minute. The same for taillight with at least 120 flashes per. minute, which is pretty fast. 2 flashes per sec
Lights must be mounted on the bike and not on the cyclist. Lights in the trouser pocket and around the leg may be in addition to the lights that sit on the bike, but not alone.
The XLite100 is a good rear brake light,& is cheap as chips! No apps or remotes like other brake lights,just an accelerometer that lights it up when you slow/stop. I use a usb cob/cree on the front plugged into the bikes usb port & the new wing lights on my bars finish it off. It’s crazy how much some lights are these days. I’d rather cheap ones that are easily replaced...China is spanking everyone with products like the xlite
The concept looks good, but with 15% 1-star reviews on Amazon, it looks like the build quality and reliability are what you'd expect for a cheap light. The prices for the lights shown in this review are pretty crazy, on the other hand. If you don't need integration, there are good self-powered lights that are well made and waterproof.
I use my lights Day & Night. Always.
Good lights are worth the money. I paid $170 for a wrap on and off light. USB recharge. Bright COMp Pro 1500. Wish it lasted longer than 90 minutes per charge.
Haha, seems like if you ride in the urban areas and don't just have a "Colorado" mindset, then mountain biking attributes become less important.
For urban areas, light options for e-bikes are improving a lot compared to just a year ago. My personal bias is I want flashing lights front and back for daytime riding, as I witness flashing gets driver's attention better during the day time. For night time, solid lights for the front are best in my experience. Flashing for the rear light at night seems fine.
As far as light output, it seems more and more in the U.S., all manufacturers are going to ratings in lumens and dropping the European "lux" ratings. Again my bias, 800 lumens is the bare minimum to see at night given potholes and road debris (glass, etc). Personally, I would not ride with less than 1,200 lumens at night, by I'm over 60 - so night vision is fading. Younger riders can probably get away with lower light ratings. For the rear lights, 50 to 80 lumens seems powerful enough to be seen.
Note, besides cities, counties and states, some college and university campuses have light "laws". We live near the University of Arizona in Tucson, and lights on both the front and back of bikes are "required" on campus - a big influence in communities surrounding large universities.
You want a pulsed that never goes fully dark or solid light alone or in conjunction with a flashing light in the back at night. Flashing is no good for two reasons, one being the "moth to a flame" effect with impaired drivers. The other is it is much, MUCH more difficult to track a flashing light at night. This becomes a problem on dark roads because to an approaching car you are much harder to determine where exactly you are in relation to the car. $0.02
I've wired in a motorbike bobber style headlight and a truck\trailer marker light for the rear. $25 from aliexpress, you don't need to spend a fortune
My preferences for bycicle lighting. Two side by side front light's adicuatly powerd, Two rear light's, Side by side, All lighte's Powered by front wheel Dynamo hub, When bike comes to stop, The lighters stay on for at least 5 minutes, When bike slows down, All lightes begin flashing. When would you need all that lighting, Any time you ride in the dark. Bike touring, Sunday nighte. In the winter, Riding 8 hours in the dark. Every nighte riding home from work, 1 hour in the dark, 2 lighte reflectors on each wheel, 2 reflectors front and rear, A racing bell. A hand pump multi Claxton horn, That sounded like a Mac Truck. I road with a touring club for 7 years, Many many miles, No crashes, No accidents. I'm not bragging, That's how it was.
And if these lights don't cut it you can always go to bladehq and choose some 1000 lumen usb rechargeable tactical flashlight
Please QUIT using LUX for headlight power and use LUMENS. It's a hell of a lot easier to understand.
Use lumens along with beam width say, 100 feet or 50 yards/meters, etc.
I get a huge kick out of comments on the price of lights. Don't get me wrong, I am a cheapskate that buys high lumen lights with built in rechargeable batteries. That said, the difference between the traditional bike buyer and ebike buyers is that traditional cyclists really don't see a $200 light as expensive. That might even be on a $1200 bike. Don't apologize for probably the best light of any type that is but 5% the cost of a $4500 ebike.
But those traditional riders expect light weight, great performance, and solid build quality for the premium price. These retrofits all look pretty cheesy for the asking price.
@@bjnslc gotta give you that one
Why does the guy look so annoyed? He looks almost hostile.
To much bull as usual still haven’t seen on light acutely lit