One of the things I always pack on a trip is a bike light. Even if I’m not traveling for a specific cycling trip, I may end up renting a bike, and lights aren’t often included. Sure, I could bike around in the early morning and late evening without a light, but why tempt fate when I can be prepared for people to see me and avoid hitting me?
A challenge with my traveling bicycle lights until now is that they haven’t been robust enough to stand up to multiple days of travel, and fully functional bike lights aren’t always made to be able to take on and off easily. But the new, lightweight Thousand Traveler Magnetic Bike Lights are ideal for both my bikes at home and any I may use while traveling.
The front light mounts on a bike’s handlebar and the back light mounts on the seat post. The lights attach to the mounts magnetically, so you can simply pop them in when you need them, or take the lights with you (and charge them) when you don’t need them.
Both lights are USB rechargeable (with USB-C charging cables included) with a 2-hour charge time. A dial allows you to switch between the three modes quickly. On the front light: solid (100 lumens lasting approximately 8 hours on a charge), daylight flash (250 lumens lasting approximately 6 hours on a charge), and eco flash (30 lumens lasting approximately 36 hours on a charge). On the back light: solid (35 lumens lasting approximately 4.5 hours on a charge), daylight flash (80 lumens lasting approximately 3.75 hours on a charge), and eco flash (10 lumens lasting approximately 22 hours on a charge).
The lights are water resistant enough to be able to survive light rain showers, with a rating of IPX4 for a duration of 5 minutes with 10 liters of water splashing the light per minute.
The Traveler Magnetic Bike Lights come in navy, stealth black, and speedway crème and list for $35 per light (front or back) or $65 for the set of two on the Thousand site.