| One of the most important items you will need when | | | | to be much more expensive, anywhere from 2-10x the |
| bicycling, especially at dusk or at night, is a good set of | | | | price of a single LED and you can no longer use a |
| Bicycle Headlights. | | | | couple AA batteries. These lamps come with battery |
| When I first started out on a search for bicycle lighting | | | | packs that will need to be strapped onto your bike. |
| to do some early morning rides with I was bombarded | | | | Again, great for serious night time trail riders and |
| with options. The light source ranged from LED to | | | | racers but not necessary for your urban road warrior. |
| Halogen and prices ranged anywhere from $10 to | | | | Halogen: |
| $250 and on. I will try to touch on all the options below. | | | | Halogen lights are the standard bulbs you are used to |
| LED: | | | | seeing in your old flashlights and car headlights. There |
| There are three types of LED headlamps offered | | | | isn't much to say about these lamps except that the |
| depending on the environment you will be biking in; High | | | | technology is old and in my opinion obsolete. My first |
| powered single LED, Multiple LED and high powered | | | | bike headlight was one of those halogens you can buy |
| multiple LED. The high powered single LED headlamp | | | | for cheap at a big box store. It casts a yellow light that |
| ranges in size from 1/4 watt up to 1 watt. In my opinion | | | | wasn't all that bright and drains batteries very fast. For |
| the 1/4 and 1/2 watt LED lamps are insufficient to light | | | | an extra couple dollars you can pick up one of the |
| up the roadway for your commute at speeds above | | | | LED options which will cast a nice white light and keep |
| 10mph but will alert drivers of your presence on the | | | | your batteries going at least 10x longer. Also realize |
| road. Multiple LED lamps have several lower powered | | | | that halogens have a bulb life and will need to be |
| LEDs in one housing to provide light for you and the | | | | replaced while the LED should last the life of the |
| cars coming in the opposite direction. Again, these | | | | headlamp. Don't be fooled by the combination LED |
| lamps are insufficient for a ride faster then 5-10mph | | | | Halogen either. These combination lights are just |
| but will alert drivers of your presence on the road and | | | | halogen to see the road with a couple of weak LEDs |
| would probably be sufficient enough for a short and | | | | that are meant to alert drivers to your presence. The |
| slow ride. My favorite light is a 1 watt high powered | | | | LEDs are not for lighting the road and you are back to |
| LED headlamp which I feel is sufficient for quick | | | | the problem you had before with battery and bulb life. |
| speeds on a clean road for a tight budget and plenty | | | | Thanks for reading my article. I hope you enjoyed it |
| bright enough to alert oncoming drivers to your | | | | and find yourself a nice quality light set for your next |
| presence. For serious trail riders you will have to get | | | | night ride. Happy Cycling! |
| into the multiple high powered LED options. These tend | | | | |