Road Bike Lights
Road Bike Light Specs, Side by Side
A bike headlight to see with, a helmet light that looks where you look, and a tail light to be seen.
| Light | Mounts On | Output | Runtime | Weight | Built For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detour | Handlebar | ~1,200 lumens | 2.6 hours (Adaptive Mode) | 150 g | Front light with a cutoff beam, for road, gravel and commuting |
| Hangover | Helmet | 900 lumens | 1.6 hours (Adaptive Mode) | 105 g | Helmet light that points where you look |
| Blade | Seat Post | Up to 300 lumen peak | 8 to 120 hours (by mode) | 125 g | Tail light: red to the rear, amber to the sides |
A Cutoff Beam, Not a Flashlight
Most bike headlights are flashlights in a fancy housing: a round hotspot that wastes half its output in the sky and the other half in drivers' faces. Detour uses shaped automotive optics that spread light across the full width of the road with a controlled vertical cutoff, the same idea as the low beam on a car. You see more, and nobody flashes their high beams at you.
It also has sidemarker lights, much like a car, so you're visible from the side at intersections. Curious how the optics work? We wrote it up in our engineering blog. Riding dirt roads too? Head over to gravel bike lights.
Road Bike Light Questions
What's the best bike headlight for road riding?
One with a cutoff. On the road you share space with drivers, other riders and people on foot, so the job is to light the road surface without putting light in anyone's eyes. That's what Detour is built for: a wide, even pool of light with a sharp top edge, about 1,200 lumens, 2.6 hours in Adaptive Mode, 150 g on the handlebar.
Can I use a mountain bike light on the road?
It'll work, but a trail light has no cutoff, so you'll be that person blinding drivers and other riders. Detour exists for exactly this reason. Singletrack after dark is a different job, and that's what our mountain bike lights are for.
Do I need a helmet light on the road?
Need, no. But it's useful. A handlebar light points where the bike points. A helmet light puts light wherever you turn your head: street signs, driveways, the inside of a corner, or the driver about to pull out. Hangover is 105 g, light enough to forget about.
Will the battery last a long ride?
Detour runs about 2.6 hours in Adaptive Mode, 4.2 hours on Medium and 8.5 hours on Low. Outside of Adaptive Mode every mode is a solid output, so what you get at the start of the ride is what you get at the end. Going longer than that? Detour charges over USB-C and supports pass-through charging, so a small power bank keeps it running through brevets, double centuries and pre-dawn commutes.
Should I run bike lights during the day?
We do. Plenty of close calls happen in broad daylight. Detour has a daytime mode that runs about 10 hours, and Blade has Daytime Flash, which runs 32+ hours and never goes fully dark between flashes. Both last long enough that you charge weekly, not nightly.
What about a rear light?
That's Blade, our rear bike light. Steady red to the rear, amber out to the sides for when a car comes alongside, and 8 to 120 hours per charge depending on mode.
Will the mount fit my handlebar?
Detour ships with a quick release handlebar mount that fits 31.8mm and 35mm bars. It's a bolt-on clamp, not a rubber strap, so the beam stays where you aimed it and the light clicks back into the same spot every ride. Want it tucked under your bike computer, or running a non-round aero bar? Use the Action Camera Quick Release Mount.
What's the warranty?
Three years, plus our Don't Be A Dick lifetime extension. Two rules: be kind, and be honest about what happened, even if it was your fault. If something goes wrong, you email us and a person fixes it. Details are on the warranty page.
Who Makes These
We do. Outbound Lighting is a small, independent company based out of Chicago, with an office in Bellingham, Washington as well. No private equity, not publicly traded. The lights are designed, engineered and assembled by our own team, and they ship straight from our production floor.
We started in 2017, out of automotive lighting engineering and a lot of frustration with riding behind glorified flashlights. Every beam pattern here is designed the way a car headlight is: put the light exactly where it's needed and don't waste the rest. Power is nothing without control.