The Best Bike Generator Lights

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Since cycling has become a ubiquitous form of commuting and leisure, bike generator lights are now in high demand.

The best thing about bike generator lights is that there are no batteries needed. They maintain power through kinetic energy provided by the cyclist being converted by a dynamo or electromagnetism to the electrical energy of the light.

This is a handy feature and ensures that you’re never left without illumination when cycling in the dark. The convenience offered by these products is the reason they’re so popular. 

Bike lights are imperative to cyclists’ safety—so much so that the Dutch government fines its citizens about 60 dollars for not having one. Although most nations don’t have such regulations, lights protect you by improving visibility ahead. 

Often cyclists forget to check battery power on their lights before leaving home. Only when darkness draws in, do they realize their lights aren’t working. Take the initiative and eliminate failed lights as a cause of accidents by purchasing a bike generator light.

The number of products on the market can easily overwhelm you, and deciding on the best bike generator light to buy could become tedious. 

This guide will relieve you of this burden by telling you what to look for and reviewing some top products. Our recommended products are:

Deciding on a standout light was challenging. But our favorite is the Supernova E3 Pro 2 Front Light.  

This light meets all the requirements needed in a bike generator light and does so with fantastic build quality. Read on to discover why the products mentioned above are present in our guide and the criteria we used to place them here. 

Click here to see the Best Bike Headlights reviewed!

How to Choose a Bike Generator Light

Advancement in LED technology has introduced great products in our stores. The best bike generator lights no longer just provide illumination but come with other useful features.

This includes some with USB outputs to charge other products while on the go, handy if you forgot to charge your cell overnight. Many are waterproof and dustproof for harsh terrain, and some have other specialist features we discuss below. It’s important you find a light that’s tailored to your specific needs. 

Lumens and Lux: The Brightness of the Light

Experts quantify the amount of light emitted by the light source in lumens. This measurement helps when analyzing the output of an LED. In contrast, lux is the light brightness at a specified distance from its source. It’s equal to one lumen per square meter. 

Depending on the beam type, two LED lights with similar lumens can have immensely different lux values. When a floodlight is used, a light with a high lumen number can have a low lux value.

Since the overall visibility provided by a light depends on both the lumen and lux values, it’s impossible to determine the quality of a light by only looking at one of the values. 

Our Lumens, Lux, and Candela article is a great resource to learn more about Lumens and light output

Beam Type/Mode

An LED can disperse light in three ways. If you have a specific use for your bike, then one type may be more advantageous than the others. Consider where you’ll be cycling to determine the better beam type for you. There are three common configurations:

  • Flood (or fixed): This beam type distributes light in a single beamwidth. The result is an even floodlight that lights up a much wider area. If you will be cycling through forests or areas where you need considerable peripheral vision, this beam type is best.  
  • Spot (or focused): A single beam is concentrated into a spotlight. The light emitted penetrates a further distance. Such lights are best for city cycling or road cycling. 
  • Adjustable: Being versatile, you can switch between the two beam modes discussed above or the various points in-between. For example, this allows a cyclist to use the light for commuting using a focused beam and then changing it to a wide beam for traveling through a woodland.

Additional Features

To improve the value—and justify the price—high-end bike generator lights include innovative features tailored for more convenient use than an ordinary bike light. These have become numerous and are now a defining factor for most buyers when deciding on which light to buy. The most common additional features are: 

  • Adjustable Power Settings – Flashlights with high and low power settings are a compelling offer. These enable you to dim your light if you’re cycling in a well-lit street. 
  • Light Sensors – Lights that have been carefully designed contain sensors that switch between night and day modes. A clever feature of these is the delay that occurs to prevent a change in modes caused by a car headlight. For city cyclists who usually forget to turn on their lights, this additional feature is a must-have. 
  • Switchless – These bike lights employ magnetism to lock onto the bike and turn on. They’re usually cylindrical and are preferred by most cyclists as they are easy to set up. The only downside to them is that they’re slightly more expensive than your average bike generator light. But the appealing aesthetics and ease of use justify the price. 
  • Battery Assist – The flickering that occurs when cycling at lower speeds irritates most cyclists. An innovative solution to this is battery assist (included in the B & M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos U). This is where a light uses an external battery to improve brightness and regulate power output. 

Learn everything you need to know about Batteries with our Ultimate Guide to Batteries!

Best Bike Generator Light Review

Brightest Bike Generator Light

Supernova E3 Pro 2 Front Light

Supernova has modified and improved its already popular line of products with the E3 Pro 2. It’s hard to find a light as robust and versatile as this one. 

The built quality allows for all-round weather use. You can cycle through the desert heat of the Mojave or brave the annoyingly rainy streets of New York. Whatever your conditions, this light won’t fail you.

The E3 Pro 2 is trusted by some of the world’s best and most committed cyclists. Supernova has left no stone unturned when designing this product. Everything about it oozes premium. 

They’ve used aircraft-grade 6061 aluminum to ensure a sturdy yet lightweight product and a terraflux lens for better visibility. 

It’s incredibly bright, with a maximum lumens output of 305. But different lighting mode options ensure that you can change the output, so it is always sufficiently bright without putting car drivers or other cyclists at risk. Additionally, the side lighting will improve your peripheral vision. 

This is one of the top products on the market—that’s why we consider it the best on our list. The one drawback, and it’s a large one, is the price of the product. The light is ridiculously expensive. Most may argue that it costs more than a second-hand bicycle. 

Pros

  • Lightweight – uses 6061 Aluminium. 
  • Visually pleasing. 
  • Well built and has a premium “feel” to it.
  • Different lighting modes.
  • Very Bright – Maximum output of 305 lumens. 

Cons

  • Very expensive and tempting for bike thieves.

Best Budget Bike Generator Light

JRL Motorized Bike Light Kit

For those on a budget, this is worth your consideration. The product comes as a set: it includes both front and rear lights.

The built quality is decent, with stainless-steel used instead of the more expensive and lighter aluminum. This isn’t much of a downgrade as they treat the metal used to make it durable and reliable. 

The bike generator light comes in two versions: a 12 Volt, 6 Watt version, and a 6 Volt, 3 Watt version. The latter is much cheaper and appropriate for well-lit streets. If you cycle in poorly lit ones, the larger version is a better buy. 

The bicycle light kit is best suited for city bikes. It isn’t aerodynamically designed and is much heavier than high-end lights. We expect this from a product at this price point. 

The compromises made when designing this product ensure it can be budget-friendly. Despite this, the light is still a very reliable purchase. 

Pros

  • Inexpensive. 
  • Rear lights included. 
  • Easy to install and use. 
  • Comes as a complete set. 

Cons

  • The material used can be better. 
  • Some users have reported the generator part to be faulty.  

Best Bike Generator Light for City Cycling

B & M Lumotec IQ2 Luxos U

German manufacturers Busch & Müller offer here a premium product with exceptional performance for city bicycles. 

Consider it as the ultimate upgrade to your current lighting configuration as it’s dazzling—90 lux output, according to Amazon. It includes a USB output to enable charging for your devices e.g., iPhone or GPS.  

B&M has improved this from its previous Lumotec model by introducing the revolutionary IQ2 technology into its latest product. 

The light surpasses its predecessor and its beam is twice as wide. This ensures that you get excellent peripheral visibility when using the light. 

For easy use, they place the controls on the handlebar. This allows you to change quickly between different light modes, use a floodlight or spotlight, or turn on the flashing-light function. An LED inside this handlebar control shows the charging status.

The product is exceptional quality but has a hefty price tag, so the most considerable inconvenience is handing over the cash to purchase it. After that, customer satisfaction is guaranteed. 

Pros 

  • Premium product. 
  • Ergonomically designed controls. 
  • USB Charging capability. 
  • Innovative IQ2 Technology included. 
  • Wide light field.

Cons 

  • Very pricey. 
  • No back lights included.  

Click here to see the Best Bike Tail Lights reviewed!

Best Bike Generator Rear Light

B & M Toplight Flat plus Rear Light

This light fully charges after only 3 minutes of cycling. It’s most compelling feature is the 220-degree visibility that’s enabled by the German manufacturer’s innovative lens system. 

B & M is responsible for light reviewed above and is one of two companies with two products on our list. This says a lot about its quality.

The light is aerodynamically designed. It’s astonishingly flat—only 7.8 inches thick, and extremely lightweight—2.29 ounces. They’ve equipped the light with patented lighting technology for even and regulated output. Two large circular reflectors are fittingly positioned on either side of this light. 

Because of its design, the light is suited for both off-road and on-road bikes. 

Pros

  • Lightweight and compact.
  • Patent lighting technology. 
  • Two circular reflectors included in the purchase.  
  • Light reaches full charge in just three minutes of cycling.

Cons

  • The material for the connection tabs of the power supply is thin, making installation more difficult.

Easiest to Mount Bike Generator Light

Reelight SL150 Light Set

The SL150 comes as a set of both front and rear lights. The clever electromagnetic configuration prolongs the lights’ output cycle. Many customers prefer a light set like this, as they’re always lit and don’t flicker once you stop cycling. 

Each light uses bright LEDs and, because the installation requires no wires or cables, they’re easily mountable on bikes that don’t have roller or disc brakes. This is the best option on our list for people who prefer not to spend too much time installing their bike generator light.

Pros 

  • Both rear and front lights included.
  • Lightweight and compact.
  • Easy to install but harder to remove
  • Light is always on when the bicycle wheel is in motion.

Cons

  • Built quality could be better. 
  • Poor instruction manual. 

Best Compact Bike Generator Light

Reelight SL100 Light Set

This product is very compact with a height, width, and length of just 1-inch. The set is easily mountable and includes both the front and rear lights. Depending on how fast you’re cycling, the lumen output ranges from 1 to 100.  This light set is similar to the SL150, though, smaller.

The SL100 light set ensures you’re seen but does a relatively poor job in illuminating the road you’re cycling on. This limited output is a massive drawback for the product. If your aim is only to be seen by oncoming traffic, then the Reelight SL100 is a satisfactory product.  

Pros

  • Both rear and front lights included.
  • Lightweight and compact.
  • Easy to install but harder to remove
  • Light is always on when the bicycle wheel is in motion.
  • Reasonable priced

Cons

  • Built quality could be better. 
  • Poor instruction manual.
  • Limited output. 

Click here to see all of our Bike Light Reviews!

Conclusion

Safety is essential when commuting or enjoying the great outdoors. The convenience offered by the best bike generator lights for night and trail cyclists can’t be emphasized enough. 

Hopefully, this guide has illustrated what criteria are important when deciding on the best product to buy and which one is the best for you. 

The Supernova E3 Pro 2 Front Light is a terrific product and classifies as the best of the best. The other products are also impressive and are each tailored to their specific niche.