Thursday afternoon and our bunch clipped in just as the sun was about to drop below the mountains. It was one of those stunning Tassie evenings. Relatively warm at 15 degrees C, clear skies, and only a gentle breeze. In arm and leg warmers, but short-fingered gloves, I’d been perfectly dressed for my warm-up ride. Fast forward half an hour into the group ride and things quickly changed. Once the sun dropped completely below the horizon, light levels and the temperature dropped significantly too! I was soon suffering with my choice of short-fingered gloves!
My lighting situation was more of an issue. I had a front light, but as darkness encroached it turned out to be insufficiently powerful. Luckily with a bunch of riders all sporting decent front lights, it made spotting road obstacles easier than if I were out on my own.
My “go-to” light has been a Lezyne Macro Drive, which is apparently good for 300 Lumens. Out here in rural Tasmania there is very little light pollution or street lighting, so when it’s dark, it’s damn dark! The Macro Drive has been fine as a “be seen” light and even for navigating suburbia where there is some artificial light, but as a pure “headlight” to illuminate the way, it’s lacking.
I may need to invest in something brighter! I did have a Lezyne 1200XXL Super Drive, but it’s since given up the ghost and refuses to charge or switch on. It did a very good job of burning through complete darkness when I was commuting for Sigma Sport during the British winters, even if battery life was quite short on full power.
My old Lezyne 1200XXL Super Drive did a sterling job.
I guess this weekend I’ll be spending time on Google researching decent bike lights. Just how many Lumens do I need? If you have any advice on good lighting options for my road bike, let me know in the comments below!
Tempo Cyclist - Tasmania 
Not the cheapest option, but I run a Garmin Varia UT800.
800 lumens on high. 100 lumens on the lowest setting.
I switch to the high setting when there no other light sources – street lights etc – around me. Certainly bright enough for road cycling.
The main selling point for me is that I can customise the light settings – light mode, auto beam adjustment etc. – for the Varia UT800 from my Garmin Edge.
I can also turn the light on and off, switch between lighting modes etc from the Edge touch screen. More convenient than fumbling with the single button on the light. Especially since my light is mounted on the underside of my Garmin out-front mount.
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Thanks! I’d not seen that one. I like how it uses a GoPro style attachment. Makes mounting positions and options easy.
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Can’t help, we never ride in the dark
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I’m a fan of lightandmotion.com. My current light is 1000 linens. Multiple mounting options.
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Autocorrect changed lumens when I wasn’t looking.
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Nice. I reckon 1000 Lumens is enough for me to see where I’m going. Now to see what is in stock!
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I’ve had NiteRider, Cateye and Lezyne.
Niterider with external battery were bright. Double headlights and a tail light.
I like having a soft blink in the dark for the rear. thought in a group that would be annoying.
Our car runs about a 4,000 lumen headlights. That is almost enough in the desert dark.
Stay safe out there.
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Woah 4000 Lumens?!?! 😎
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love my superdrive. ride safe
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