Check Lights and Reflectors

Weekly through the year, and before every ride once the evenings get dark. Cold weather shortens runtime on rechargeable lights noticeably, so a light that lasted a week in July may not last three days in January. Bikes that live outdoors need the lenses checked more often, because water and road film cut output long before a light fails.

The interval on this page is Weekly. Once a week for a bike in regular use.

• A cloth and water for the lenses
• A charger, or spare cells for lights that take them
• A small hex key or screwdriver for the mounts

1. Turn everything on in daylight

   Front light, rear light, and any wheel or pedal lights. Do it where you can see whether the output looks normal rather than merely present; a light running on a nearly flat battery is often dim rather than off, and dim is the failure mode you will not notice at night.

2. Charge or replace on a schedule, not on a warning

   Pick a day and charge the lights on that day whether or not they seem low. For lights that take replaceable cells, keep a spare set in the bag. Most light failures are not failures at all; they are charges that did not happen.

3. Check the aim

   A front light aimed too high blinds oncoming traffic and lights nothing useful; aimed too low it gives you a bright puddle a few feet ahead. Stand the bike up and aim the beam so its brightest part lands on the road a reasonable distance ahead. A rear light should point straight back and level, not at the sky or at the ground.

4. Clean the lenses and the reflectors

   Road film builds up as a gray haze that costs real brightness. Wipe each lens with a damp cloth. Do the same for every reflector, since a reflector coated in road grime returns a fraction of the light it was designed to.

5. Check the reflectors are still there and still attached

   Bikes sold in the United States are required to be equipped with reflectors under the federal bicycle regulation, which covers front, rear, side and pedal reflectors. They get removed during service, knocked off by a rack, or cracked in a fall. Look for all of them, including the ones on the wheels and pedals.

6. Check the mounts, not just the lights

   Squeeze each bracket. Rubber straps perish, plastic clips crack in cold weather, and a light that arrives home in your pocket instead of on the bar was mounted on a broken bracket. Replace the bracket rather than adding a zip tie and hoping.

• Relying on a flashing rear light alone in heavy rain or fog, when a steady light is easier for a driver to place in space.
• Removing reflectors because a light is fitted. Reflectors work when a light has failed and when a driver is at an angle no beam covers.
• Buying the brightest available front light and aiming it flat down the road, which mostly succeeds at dazzling the people you want to be seen by.

• The ABC Check Before Every Ride
• Helmet Inspection and Replacement

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