When you’re riding on pitch black roads you need a front lamp that will properly light your path – without dazzling other road users
Be-seen lights aren’t enough on unlit roads outside towns and cities. You need a front lamp with a powerful beam that extends beyond your braking distance. That power must not come at the expense of dazzling other road users. Go back a few decades and the idea of bike lights blinding other road users would have been laughable. Yet you can now buy bike lights that exceed the power of car headlights.
Highway Code Rule 114 says: “You MUST NOT use any lights in a way which would dazzle or cause discomfort to other road users, including pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders.” While police don’t enforce the outdated fine details of cycle lighting regulations, such as BS6102/3 approval, dazzling is a big deal as it could cause an accident. A high-power front lamp needs either: a way of switching to a lower-power setting immediately, like a driver dipping their headlights; or a beam cut-off so that the light is cast down the road instead of up into faces.
The 10 lights here all have one or other of these features, along with a punchy light output of 1,000 lumens or more. Prices shown are the RRP at the time of writing (September 2025).
Gaciron KIWI-1200 £46.60
For less than £50, this is a well-built, fully featured light. The body is CNC-machined aluminium rather than plastic, and it’s waterproof to IPX6 so you don’t need to worry about heavy rain. The light beam has a horizontal, anti-glare cut-off to prevent dazzle, yet its maximum output of 1,200 lumens is ample for riding at pace on unlit roads. Runtimes range from 1:30 (hours:minutes) at 1,200 lumens to 3:00 at 600, 6:00 at 300 and 24:00 flashing. It can double as a USB-C power bank for your phone when not in use as light. Optional extras include a remote switch and different mounts.
Moon Rigel Max £65
The anti-dazzle lens on Moon’s 1,500-lumen Rigel Max can be rotated to keep most of the light from shining upwards if you fit the lamp upside down underneath the handlebar. Like the Gaciron KIWI, it has an aluminium body and it’s even more waterproof – to IPX7 (‘immersion’). It can be set to turn on automatically when it’s dark and you’re moving, and to first dim, then sleep and then turn off when you stop. A double click on the power button switches between high power (1,500 lumens) and low (500). Runtimes are 1:30 on high and 4:30 on low, although you can reset the maximum light output if you don’t need the full 1,500 lumens. It attaches to a Garmin-style mount and is USB-C charged.
CatEye AMPP 1100 £79.99
CatEye makes a range of AMPP headlights, ranging from the AMPP 100 up to the AMPP 2200; the number is the output in lumens. All have a five-year warranty. The middle-of-the-range AMPP 1100 is an aluminium-bodied light with two LEDs and decent side visibility. While there’s no beam cut-off, a double button press toggles between the 1,100-lumen high-power mode and whichever mode it was in before, such as middle or low. So it’s possible to ‘dip’ the light to avoid dazzling. Run times range from 1:30 (high) to 4:30 (low). It comes with an easy-to-use handlebar mount and there are others available – fork crown, Go-Pro mount and helmet. It’s waterproof to IPX4: ‘splashing water’ like rain. The charging port is Micro-USB, which isn’t as ubiquitous as USB-C.
Magicshine ALLTY 1500S with remote £79.99
Like the CatEye AMPP 1100, it’s possible to toggle between the ALLTY’s high-power full beam and either low or medium with a button press. This dims the light to avoid dazzling. It’s easy to do as a wireless remote switch is included. The light settings are high (1,500 lumens, 1:40), medium (750, 3:30) and low (300, 9:00), plus a couple of flashing modes. Mode and time remaining are shown on a small OLED screen rather than by coloured LEDs. It’s USB-C charged and waterproof to IPX5. The battery is removable, so you can carry a spare (£39.99) for longer rides. This also means you don’t have to bin the whole light when the battery stops working.
Giant Recon+ HL 1400 £89.99
There are three LEDs in the Recon+ HL 1400: a strongly focused one in the centre with a 100-metre beam and one each side to give wider-angle lighting. An anti-glare TIR (‘total internal reflection’) lens prevents dazzling. As well as high (1,400 lumens), low (700) and eco (400), there’s a specific anti-glare setting (1,000 lumens). That has a 3:00 runtime, compared with 1:30 on high, 3:00 on low and 5:00 on eco. The light is supplied with a wireless remote control and two mounts: a standard handlebar fitting and a Go-Pro one. Five LEDs on the light’s casing indicate the approximate charge remaining. It has a USB-C charging port and is rated IPX7.
Ravemen PR1400 £109.99
Ravemen’s PR1400 has high and low beams, similar to a car’s headlight. The LED on the left has a ‘DuaLens’ design that directs the beam downwards while the right has an unfiltered lens like a torch’s. You can use just left LED, which Ravemen calls the road biking mode; this has outputs of 600, 400, 200 or 100 lumens. Or you can use both LEDs together for outputs of 1,400, 600 or 300 lumens. Ravemen calls this the mountain biking mode but you can think of it as full beam as that’s what the illuminated icons on the light show: full beam or dipped. A single button press toggles between these. Run times range from 1:30 (1,400 lumens) to 21:00 (100). It’s a solidly built light with USB-C charging, a USB-A port for power bank use, and IPX8 waterproofing.
Busch+Müller IXON Rock 100 Lux £120
The IXON Rock meets Germany’s stringent StVZO road traffic regulations, having a non-dazzling, downward-focused beam (and, incidentally, no flashing modes). As such, it also meets UK cycle lighting regulations. The highest setting is 100 lux, which lasts for 2:30. Medium is 50 lux (6:00) and low 25 lux (25:00). What’s that in lumens? It’s tricky: you need to multiply the lux number by the area lit in square metres. Given the powerful, even beam that doesn’t waste light by shining it up into the sky, the IXON Rock is certainly comparable to lights of 1,000+ lumens. Power remaining is indicated by a row of LEDs on the sides of the light. It’s rainproof and can be used as a power bank, as long as you employ the included USB-C plug to USB-A socket adapter.
Lumicycle Commute £139.99
For £139.99 you get just the lamp unit, not a battery (an extra £85 from Lumicycle) or a charger (£44). Why would you want that? This lamp has some clever electronics and can also be powered by: a USB power bank you already own; an e-bike battery, via an accessory port; or a hub dynamo. Light output is lower with a 0.5A power source like a hub dynamo, but will otherwise be 1,400 lumens on maximum, 850 on high, 580 on mid and 350 on low. If you don’t need the brightest beam, the lamp can be configured to maximise its runtime instead. The body of the lamp has a lip on the top to limit glare and its output can be dropped to the lowest setting with one switch press. A glow ring gives some sideways visibility.
Designed for use off road and on, the Super Drive 1800+ puts out that many lumens on its highest setting (called Overdrive). So much light is great away from traffic but too much when it’s coming towards you. Fortunately, you can avoid having to toggle through all seven light settings by running the lamp in Race Mode. This switches directly between Overdrive and Enduro, a far less disruptive 500 lumens. Runtimes are 1:45 and 6:00 respectively, with a couple of settings in between them and lower power and flashing modes. You can double runtimes with the ambitiously named Infinite Light Power Pack+ (£85). The Super Drive can be linked to a compatible, ‘Smart Connect’ rear light for one-button operation of both. It’s USB-C and IPX7.
Exposure Strada Mk12 RS AKTiv £325
Yes, that’s a lot of money for a light, even when you factor in your Cyclescheme discount. It’s very well made in the UK, however, with a three-year warranty and excellent after-sales service, so it should long outlast cheaper lights. It also has some clever features. The Road-Specific Beam Pattern has a non-dazzling, flat peripheral beam plus a brighter spot beam that you can dip with the light’s wired remote switch. If you select its AKTiv mode, the Strada senses headlights from oncoming traffic and automatically dims its own light, returning to full illumination when the vehicle has passed. Runtimes range from 2:00 on its 1,450-lumen maximum to 36:00 on its lowest constant setting. It can be mounted above or below the handlebar, and it’s rated IP65 so will keep out dirt as well as rain.
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