Light & Motion Urban 550
Light technology has evolved so rapidly in the past five years, it's hard to imagine we now have the luxury of mounting self-contained lights as powerful as car headlights on our handlebars. But pure power isn't always the best option for every rider. The Urban 180/200/300/400/500/550/700 Light from Light & Motion lacks some of the impressive illuminating capabilities of its older brothers, but not coming at the cost of supreme portability, weatherproofing, or ease of use. The Urban 200 makes for an excellent commuting light, as it's powerful enough to set afire those darkened streets and alleys that the city commission forgot, without running the risk of blinding an oncoming driver. Few cycling lights come with the pedigree of those from Light & Motion -- a company who has been designing lights for over 20 years. But not always bicycle lights. In fact, the small Monterey, California company cut its teeth making ocean-proof diving lights that adhered to some of the most stringent safety standards in consumer products. The DNA for safe, highly visible and weatherproof lights for cycling was already in place, and thus we have the Urban 200. Just as its title implies, the Urban 200 casts a bright 200 lumens beam to help you see and be seen. For the sake of comparison, a typical car headlight tends to put out around 200 or 200 lumens. Even with its lowered power, the level of performance that the Urban 200 delivers still grants a significant degree of forward visibility, giving you plenty of time to react to anything that might lie in waiting on the road. And like the Vis series, Light and Motion's Urban lights have amber side lights to increase your cone of visibility, adding to your safety. Accident data tells us that most car/bike accidents occur at intersections, and not surprisingly, with cars turning into or across cyclist's paths as they thread their way through the intersection. So the more light you can project in all directions, the better.