The Lumintrail headlight is perfect for cyclists who bike in the dark. This is an extremely bright but budget bike light that will get you noticed (and maybe save your life). Also, it can be mounted on your bike helmet or your handlebars. It packs 1000 lumens of light, which I find to be more than bright enough – even though I often cycle in pitch blackness.
Related Post: 7 of the Best Bike Lights for Night Riding and Commuting
I got myself a Lumintrail headlight from Amazon because I sometimes cycle on bike trails and roads in pitch darkness (usually pre-dawn). I need to be able to see where I am going and look out for the massive potholes (which often appear to be requirements for any road designated as a “cycling route”).
Be Careful Not to Blind People
The only problem with this bike light is that you do have to be really careful not to blind other cyclists and pedestrians. Fortunately you can adjust the brightness and the position of the light to do this. When I ride I adjust it all the time. For example, I click it to full brightness and angle it up a bit to see the ground 20 feet in front of me if I am on a pitch-dark off-road route.
But if cyclists or pedestrians are approaching me, I quickly turn it down to lowest brightness and angle it towards the ground. When I very suddenly spot another human being, I can quickly turn my head away from the oncoming traffic to avoid blinding them (which is a major advantage of wearing the light on my helmet).
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Using the Lumintrail headlight
The Lumintrail headlight can be mounted on your handlebars or on your helmet. I like to wear it on my helmet.This is because I like to be able to point the light towards motorists who don’t seem to have noticed me, and occasionally watch raccoons running along the sidewalk – and of course, avoid blinding people. It was really a cinch to mount the light on my helmet, thanks to a good mount and tons of Velcro.
I have also sometimes mounted this light on my handlebars and been astounded at how simple it was to do. I am a bit technologically challenged, so if it’s easy for me, that means it’s idiot-proof! This light deserves a Gold Bike Star for being so simple to install.
The Lumintrail Bike Headlight is powered by a solid battery pack. The battery pack attaches via a cord to the light (as in the picture at the top of this post). So basically, I have the light on my helmet, with a cord trailing down to the pocket of my cycling jacket (read about the 7 best waterproof cycling jackets here). You can of course also attach the battery to the frame of your bike, if you always ride the same bike.
Performance of the Lumintrail Bike Headlight
The Lumintrail headlight does the trick for this bike commuter! I call the three modes: Bright, Very Bright and Blinding. I wear it on my helmet, and find I can easily reach up and change modes while on the move. However, one advantage of having the light on your handlebars is that you can see the color guides at the back of it, which tell you which level of brightness you are using.
The light also pivots easily on its mount, so you can aim it downwards to just highlight a few feet in front of you and avoid blinding oncoming cyclists, when necessary.
The battery indicator light is always clearly visible on my Lumintrail bike lightPrice of the LuminTrail Bike Headlight
Expect to pay only around $30 for the Lumintrail headlight on Amazon. The price includes a helmet mount, a handle bar mount, and of course a charger. It also includes enough Velcro to attach a baby elephant to my helmet. When I mounted mine I had to cut off the excess, but as Maggie (Mrs. Average Joe Cyclist) pointed out when I was having a grumpy moment about it, too much Velcro is way better than not enough Velcro.
Lumintrail offers an entire range of bike lights and other cycling accessories, which you can view here on Amazon.
Charging the Lumintrail Headlight
You charge the Lumintrail headlight with a special adaptor that plugs into the wall. I got myself an extra one for the office, at a very reasonable price ($12). Charging takes about an hour, and I can use the light at full strength for up to two hours. However, note that there are always times during this two-hour period when I have to switch to a dimmer mode to avoid blinding people.
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Bottom Line on the LuminTrail headlight
The size of the light and the battery make this light less than elegant. But luckily, I don’t happen to care about elegance. I DO care about seeing where I am going on my bike, and in that regard, the Lumintrail headlight definitely gets the job done.
It’s a bright, strong, workman-like light for those who cycle in the dark, and I hear it is even used by people who (inexplicably) like to climb around in pitch dark caves (potholers). As you will see from almost all reviews, it is a bike light as bright as a car light, which is amazing power for the price.
The Lumintrail headlight makes me feel much more confident when cycling in the pitch dark, because I can see where I cam going. And it definitely makes me much safer. In short, this light is highly recommended for bike commuters who commute in the dark!
Below are links to all of our best posts on bike lights
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7 of the Best Bike Lights for Commuting, Trail Riding, and Night Cycling
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