Tested: 4 Powerful LED Bike Lights We Love
Light and Motion’s Urban line of lights has packed an impressive amount of light into an incredibly small package. Its latest, the Urban 850 Trail, raises the bar with even more output at 850 lumens, throwing off enough light to help me ride rocky mountain bike trails. The Trail model has similar weight (121 grams), charge time (2.5 hours) and run time (1.5 hour run time on high, 3 hour on medium, and 6 hour on low) as Light and Motion's Urban 800. Higher light output, red side bulbs, and a different reflector bump the 850 Trail’s cost up to $180—an extra $30. Included is a helmet mount and GoPro mount that’s particularly cool since some helmets have one integrated. Plus, the GoPro mount lets you put this light on the bottom of a Barfly Garmin mount for a clean and tidy setup.
The special reflector and increased output offers a light that, when compared to the Urban 800, reaches farther in the distance with a tighter focus. There is still enough spread to see the surrounding trail or road so it’s not like a traditional spot beam but a blend of the two. By itself the Urban 850 Trail is enough light for most riding situations at a moderate pace, and when paired with another Urban 800 mounted on the helmet there’s enough light to make you think about cutting the cord of a more expensive wired system for good. —Ron Koch
Light and Motion Urban 850 Trail, $149.99, Competitive Cyclist
(Media Platforms Design Team)These four lights will help cyclists see and be seen, whether you are riding on the road, or on the trail.
