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Can you really still be bothered with bike lights that constantly need their batteries replacing? What a huge waste of your precious time and money.
Why bother with all that hassle when you could simply buy a USB charging bike light? They take up precious little space, are very light, they are generally easy to clip on and off the front and back of your bike and you can easily pop ‘em in your pocket.
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Not only this, but they can also be charged on the go – unlike bike lights requiring batteries, obviously – and are as safe and secure as any other light for cycling.
Regardless of the weather conditions you’re cycling in, these bike lights will do their best to prevent the risk of potential accidents, and eliminate the unnecessary worry of whether they will suddenly run out of power at any given moment.
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NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost Front Bike Light
Super-bright, versatile bike light with plenty of useful functions
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Blackburn Dayblazer 800 Front Light
Longest-lasting bike light with USB charger
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Nestling 2400 Lumens Cree XML T6 USB Bike Light Set
Best bike lights on Amazon in terms of brightness
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Balhvit Bike Light Set
Lightweight, waterproof, unmissable pair of bike lights
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How Bright Should Bike Lights Be?
It really depends on the type of bicycle and the type of cycling you’re doing. As a general rule:
- To be seen in daylight: 100+ Lumens
- Urban commuting lights: 50 to 200 Lumens
- Rural lights to see where you’re going: 400 to 600 Lumens
- To see everything: 600+ Lumens
Before committing to a bike light, it’s also worth double-checking their brightnesses. They may advertise themselves as a 900-Lumen light, but may only be able to work at 900 Lumens for, say, 30 to 60 minutes. Read the small print.
And of course, it’s important to be lit at both the front and the rear, because you want to see and be seen. But especially at the front, because it takes more power to help you see where you’re going than it does just to keep you visible.
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Top 5: Best USB Rechargeable Bike Lights for Commuting
Best USB Bike Lights Overall
1. NiteRider Lumina 1200 Boost Front Bike Light
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£23 -
$60 -
€55
Prices are approximate
Dimensions: 11.1 x 3.8 x 3.8 cm
Weight: 254 g
5 light levels, as well as a ‘Lock Mode’
Have lock & boost mode feature
5 Light levels plus 2 daylight flash modes
Dust and water-resistant
It may be eye-wateringly expensive, but this is such a dependable and bright front bike light that, if money is no object, this is the best for you.
With a maximum output of an astonishing 1200 Lumens, five light levels and two daylight flash modes, this dust and water-resistant could hardly keep you more visible as you ride.
There’s also a useful ‘Lock Mode’ – press and hold the power button for seven seconds, and it will lock/unlock the operation of light – and a particularly widespread beam pattern.
If that wasn’t enough, you can also purchase it as a set with a rear light included here.
Super Bright Bike Lights
2. Blackburn Dayblazer 800 Front Light
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£81
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$69
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€64
Prices are approximate
Dimensions: 10.8 x 2.5 x 3.2 cm
Weight: 129 g
Multi-colour one-size late with camera mount and USB charger
Meets ANSI FL-1 standards
Excellent side visibility
Action-style camera mount included
In a world of cheap and unknown branded bike lights, Blackburn is one of the most trustworthy and established names around.
The light is a real beacon, lighting up your route with 800 lumens. It’s also well built and compact, with a decent battery life.
Unlike many other USB bike lights, too, it displays how much battery life is left in its “fuel tank” – certainly a useful feature so that you’re not unexpectedly caught without battery and therefore light.
It’s micro-USB rechargeable, has an action-style camera mount (because why not?) and an LED charge indicator, as well as offering you excellent visibility from the side as well as in front.
Plus, this is another front light you can pair with a rear if you so wish (click here).
Best USB Bike Lights for Battery Life
3. Nestling 2400 Lumens Cree XML T6 USB Bike Light Set
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£70
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$87
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€80
Prices are approximate
Dimensions: 17.5 x 12.8 x 5.2 cm
Weight: 300 g
Waterproof model with four lighting modes
4 Lighting Modes
Smart charging
IPX4 Water Resistant and USB rechargeable
The NiteRider Lumina we mentioned earlier may be almost blindingly bright, but this Nestling light can, incredibly, be up to twice as bright for a fraction of the cost.
Its ultra-bright 2400-Lumen light makes you impossible to miss, as well as helping navigate your journey, plus it’s a waterproof design of IPX 65 levels, meaning it will still work perfectly even in torrential rain.
There’s four lighting modes to choose from: high, medium, low, or flashing, which requires a click of a button or a long press to enter flash mode. On its highest settings, you should find it has a lifetime of about four hours; on lower light modes, up to maybe 16.
And of course, these are USB-charge bike lights, offering a full recharge within three hours. There’s no specific type of bicycle it’s made for, either; it works perfectly on mountain, electric or road bikes, and many more.
Cheap Clip-On Bike Lights for Commuters
4. Balhvit Bike Light Set
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£13
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$16
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€15
Prices are approximate
Dimensions: 12.2 x 9.0 x 4.2 cm
Weight: 80 g
Four light modes and full recharge in three hours
Durable USB rechargeable battery
4 light mode options
Installed securely
With these bike lights, USB charge is no issue. Taking just three hours to fully power up, which will then keep you going for six hours, these LED head and tail lights will keep you completely visible no matter how dark it is; their built-in 400mAh lithium batteries keep them looking particularly bright.
They also offer the function of different light settings; you have the choice of constant full brightness, constant half brightness, blasting flash or stroboscopic, so you can adapt your lights depending on how they can best assist you during your cycle.
Also easy to secure as it is to use, the lights take no time at all to attach to your bike, with its flexible silicone straps keep them nice and tightly fastened, so bumpy roads won’t result in them falling off.
And finally, it would be remiss not to mention in our Balhvit bike light set review that these lights are also waterproof, with even the USB port covered, making them ideal whatever the weather. They’re extremely light on your bike, too.
Best Budget USB Bike Lights for Commuters
5. Cycleafer Rechargeable Bike Light Set
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£24
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$30
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€28
Prices are approximate
Dimensions: 10.6 x 3.8 x 3 cm
Weight: 150 g
Comes with easy-installation, reliable front and rear lights
Daytime LED technology
Install in seconds – no tools required
First off in our Cycleafer lights review, we’ve got to stress that, with these on your bike, you will always be seen no matter what the conditions are like. They are powered by a particularly eye-catching COB red-white flashing light, keeping you visible at all times.
What also makes them one of the best budget bike lights around is how the charging cable can power the lights for as long as eight hours and up to two or more hours on ‘High mode’, making them the best-selling bike lights available on Amazon.
Another of the biggest advantages of these USB-charging bicycle lights is their ease of use – they can be clipped on to the front and rear of your bike in seconds and stay on securely. Excellent value for money, and surely the best bike lights under £20.
USB Bike Lights – FAQs
How long do LED Bike lights last?
It’s really hard to say because it depends entirely on which light you buy and on what setting you use it.
If you go full-blast straight from the offset, then rechargeable LED bike lights could last as little as two hours before needing a recharge. If you’re more conservative, you could probably get at least three whole days’ worth out of them.
How to charge USB bike lights?
If you buy a bike light with USB charger included, just plug the small end of the USB cable into the device’s USB port, and the large end into an AC adapter or computer USB port.
If it’s an AC adapter, then it will need plugging into the wall, then, but once you’ve done that, you should be good to go.
Where to put bike lights?
On the front on the rear of your bike.
More specifically, though, put the front light roughly halfway between your two handlebars, and the rear light just underneath your saddle.
Keep them parallel to the ground so that you get the biggest visible range and make you the most visible you can be to other pedestrians and drivers.
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