What Night Riding Teaches You About Confidence

Bike Light: Full On Lighting 6000 Lumens

Too many evenings are being wasted not riding your bike due to the lack of sunlight.

Night riding opens up a whole new way to experience mountain biking. It teaches focus, flow, and confidence from dusk to dark on the trails in the Okanagan Region and beyond. Before you hit the trails at night, let’s talk about your most important piece of gear: your bike light.

The type of lights you use will make or break your ride based on brightness and how wide the beam is for trail coverage. I have tested several different bike lights that ranged from $50 to $500 and here's what happened.

The $50-300 range was average. It got me through the trails and the trail coverage of the light allowed me to see what was in front and beside me. I found the battery did not last as long and the *lumens were not as high (average 300-2000 lumens) and when I had the maximum brightness, the battery life significantly decreased.

Bike lights that are $300 and up had higher lumens average 700-6000. What I found really helpful was the lights displayed the battery life on the device or had a few more settings to maintain the battery life while still using the brighter setting on the light plus a wider beam allowed me to use my peripherals more effectively.

What this has shown me is that more expensive lights on a brighter setting still holds a consistent battery life. While less expensive lights, the battery life can fluctuate or not last as long, therefore hard to gage how much ride time I have left on the battery. Choosing a wider beam will also increase trail exposure so you can see what's coming up easier. This is the first step to build your confidence!

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Oct 18, 2025 at Smith Creek Trails

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💛 BOLD’s Light Recommendations

Price Range	Light Type	Recommended Use
High Performance	Full On Lighting 6000 Lumens	Long night rides, wide trail coverage, best reliability
Mid-Level	BlackburnDayblazer 1500 Front Light	Regular evening rides, balance between power and price
Budget-Friendly ($50–$80)	BlackburnDayblazer 550 Front Light	Short rides, beginner night riders, backups

*lumnes= "the SI unit of luminous flux, equal to the amount of light emitted per second in a unit solid angle of one steradian from a uniform source of one candela." Oxford Dictionary