You need lights for two things – to see where you're going, and so that other people can see you. Round town, it's seldom dark enough for you to have to find the road with your bike light, but a good bright headlight will make you a lot more visible to other road users. Out of town, without streetlights, you'll need a beam strong enough to pick up road direction and hopefully some clues about the condition of the road surface as well. Off road, you need at least 10 watts of light to pick out your path.

The Law

The legal position is clear. Briefly, if you ride around in the dark you need a bright white light at the front of your bicycle, and a steady red light at the back. Both must pass a British Standard test, BS6102/3. You must also have a red rear reflector, and orange reflectors on each pedal. Car drivers aren't the most vigilant bunch, everything you can do to make yourself more visible helps them see you. Treat the legal requirements as a bare minimum lighting level.

Dynamo Lights

This is the most environmentally sound lighting option. A good dynamo set is also the most reliable for regular commuting – the lights are always there, fixed to your bike, the batteries never run out when you're riding home late at night, and the lamps are bright and clearly visible.

Everybody has bad memories of crusty cheap dynos that slow you to a crawl while providing a dim yellow flicker, but it doesn't have to be like that. Check out Axa or Nordlicht generators (£20-30), for high efficiency and low drag. The other irritating feature of dynamos is their habit of going off when you're stationary.

Busch und Muller make lamps with a small capacitor that stores charge as you pedal. At low speeds, the capacitor discharges into the lamp, keeping the light on for a few minutes even when you've stopped. Prices start from £23 per lamp, so the whole kit will cost around £80 once you've included connectors, wire and brackets. If you feel confident, wiring up your dynamo system is logical, but we can fit it for you from £8. Call or mail the workshop for an appointment.

We've been really impressed with the performance of Shimano Dynahubs recently. The hub prices range from £35 to £70 for the XT version. They roll pretty smoothly, you can't feel the drag when you're riding along, and they provide plenty of light. They're a little bit of an investment, because the hub will need to be built into a new front wheel - figure on spending around £65 on top of the price of the hub. Once you're all set up though, there's no more faffing around, and they're less susceptable to damage than traditional side-mounted bottles. We own a few sets between us, and commute in on them regularly, so if you pop in the shop there's a good chance you'll be able to see one in action.

Battery Lights

Battery lights are the simplest solution. Bolt the brackets to your bike, pop in the batteries and ride away. Good brackets are an essential element. The lights should be really easy to remove when you lock up the bike, but should never ever jump off the brackets spontaneously in the middle of major road junctions.

Rechargeables

If you commute regularly, you'll appreciate that good bright lights gobble batteries. Rechargeable lights are a wise investment, as well as reducing the number of batteries in landfill. They are a little more expensive to set up than standard battery lights, but will soon pay for themselves. Front lights start from around £30.

For a truly visible commute, try the The batteries are new generation NiMH (nickel metal hydride) batteries, which will power a single 5w lamp for 2.7 hours or the two for 1.3 hours. NiMH are great batteries because they don't mind being topped up, and weigh less than the equivalent NiCad. These lights are great for off road night rides.