Casing and controls

The gloomy mornings and dark nights of winter coincide with wet weather and roads which are often caked in mud. As a result, your light needs to be reliable and enclosed in a casing which protects it from the elements. Robust and waterproof housing is essential.

Most lights are controlled using a single button which will allow you to turn it on/off and cycle through the various settings.

You’ll spend much of winter wearing thick gloves so look for a button which is easy to control with fat fingers. We prefer a button which scrolls through the settings with a single click, and then requires a long press to turn it off, thereby avoiding being plunged into momentary darkness.

The most sophisticated lights are programmable, either offering adjustment of the light level through a built-in system or via a computer.

A battery life indicator – which often comes in the form of a tiny LED where the colour represents the amount of charge left – is important if on a long training ride and always useful to check how much charge you have left.