Electric Scooter Lights: Best LED Headlight & How to Choose
Based on our independent data, 92% of electric scooters have insufficient lights.
After several years of testing electric scooters, we found that the majority of models have poor lighting setups. Often these models have built-in lights that are either mounted too low, aren’t bright enough, or don't emit a beam suitable for safe riding.
So, to rectify the underwhelming performance of built-in scooter lights, we went on the hunt to find the best USB rechargeable headlights that can be attached to electric scooters.
In total, we found 5 that met our strict criteria, and – after comparing each side by side – we selected the 2 brightest, longest-lasting, and overall top-performing lights.
See my top choice
Key things to consider when choosing a light.
Best Electric Scooter Light
Ultra Bright Headlight
Apollo Headlight
Light Power:
- Lumens: 2000 - Learn more
- Beam Distance: 300 meters
- Beam Angle: 150 degrees
- Modes: Continuous (Low, Mid, High, Super), Strobe (Low, Mid, High, Quick)
Run & Charge Time:
- Battery Size: 5000 mAh
- Battery Life: 9 Hours
- Charge Time: 3-5 Hours
Suitability:
- Scooter Type: All
- Water-Resistance: IP65
- Environment: Street, Off-Road
Apollo Headlight Overview:
Packing 2000 lumens and a 5000 mAh battery, the Apollo Headlight isn’t just the brightest on the market, but it’s also one of the longest-lasting.
Able to illuminate far into the distance, it's perfect for riders that travel at high speeds, or simply want a huge field of view to give you plenty of time to see into the distance.
Even turned up to its highest setting, it offers up to 4 hours of battery life – enough for all but the most mammoth of rides. When it needs juice, simply plug it into a power source and it’ll be charged up and ready to go in 3-5 hours.
Why I Recommend the Apollo Headlight:
Weighing in at 375 grams, the headlight is light, without compromising durability. Its aluminum frame, meanwhile, is made from similarly tough stuff as the scooter you’ll be mounting it on. With an IP65 rating, it’s also water-resistant – so you won’t have to worry about rain affecting the integrity of the light when you need it most.
The only catch is that quality doesn’t come cheap – and at $99, it's one of the more expensive lights on the shelf. In exchange for the extra outlay, you’re scoring a light with flawless feedback (not only does it get my stamp of approval but on the Apollo website, it maintains a perfect five-star score) and some seriously impressive specs.
It has a beam angle of 150 degrees for a superb range of visibility and lights up to 300 meters of the road ahead. Compare that to the 250-meter beam distance of the other lights (e.g. the Easydo Dark Knight-2), and the Apollo Headlight starts looking like excellent value for money.
It’s easy to install, too. The light comes affixed to a small clamp. Granted, it’s not as simple to attach and remove as other USB lights on the market – which secure to the stem or handlebars with velcro and rubber wraps – but once in place, it stays put.
It also arrives with the charging cable and a pair of replacement cushioning strips (which stop the bracket from rubbing abrasively against your handlebars’ paintwork).
By pressing the button on the top of the light, you can select from 8 different modes, including 4 that are continuous and 4 that flash. From here you can also view the battery level via the display.
As a versatile, highly functional light, this isn’t simply a nice-to-have addition, instead, it’s a must-have accessory – especially if your scooter lacks a headlight, or comes with one that isn’t sufficient for riding at night.
How To Choose An Electric Scooter Light
Lumens:
What are Lumens?
Lumens (lm) are units of measurement that denote how bright a light is.
While many people associate wattage (w) with brightness, watts simply tell you how much power a bulb is consuming – not how bright the light is. Lumens are the easiest way to figure out how potent your electric scooter’s light is going to be. The more lumens, the brighter the light.
How Many Lumens Do You Need for the Light to Be Bright Enough?
To put lumens into perspective, consider that car headlights on full beam are around 2400 lumens. A full moon, on a clear night, is around 1 lumen, and a mobile phone’s backlight is around 20.
So how many does your light need? Well, that depends on the visibility of the conditions you’ll be riding in.
For urban streets – which tend to be well-lit by nature – some sources state that you need just 50-100 lumens. For less illuminated city roads, these sources state 200 lumens, and for unlit streets, 500 lumens.
In the country, with no streetlights to guide you, a minimum of 800 lumens is recommended. And, for extremely dark areas like forest trails – where ambient light is blocked out by trees – it’s advised that you should use a light that offers no less than 1200 lumens.
So, what do we, at Electric Scooter Insider, recommend? Well, we mostly disagree with the above, and here’s why:
To show you how bright varying degrees of lumens are, we’ve created a side-by-side comparison. As you can see, lights on the lower end of the lumen scale are insufficient for nighttime riding since they don’t cast enough light, leaving you vulnerable and guessing what’s ahead.
Based on our assessment of lumen levels, our recommendations are as follows:
For street environments – whether they are well-lit or partly-lit – we recommend using a light with at least 800 lumens. Why? Well, this is the point at which you can begin to feel safe while riding since you can see the road and any obstacles ahead before it's too late.
For environments that are not lit, including streets, country roads, and forest tracks, we recommend using a light with at least 1000 lumens. In these circumstances, brighter is better, so if you can afford a brighter light then we recommend doing so.
Lights that have a lumen level above 1000, give you a huge field of view and let you see potential obstacles – like gravel or potholes – far into the distance. Even if you are traveling at high speeds, these lights give you plenty of time to see anything that you’re coming up to.
Beam Distance and Angle:
How Far Do You Need the Beam Distance to Be for Safe Riding?
While there’s no magic number, we recommend lights that can brightly illuminate everything within a 30-meter distance.
Most lights will claim coverage of up to several hundred meters, but it’s important to understand that the light at, say, the 300-meter mark will not be as bright as it is at 100 meters, and so on.
So, while beam distance is a useful metric for judging a light’s efficiency in principle, make sure that you can see clearly for at least 30 meters in the distance.
What is the Best Beam Angle?
While it’s tempting to point your light directly out in front of you for maximum visibility, we recommend angling it down slightly.
This way, you’ll still benefit from plenty of light illuminating the road, but importantly, you’ll avoid blinding anyone coming the opposite way, and causing annoying glare for other road users.
As for the side-to-side angle at which light is emitted, we recommend nothing less than 120 degrees.
Lighting Modes
Can the Brightness of the Light Be Adjusted?
This depends on the light, but – in most cases – yes, you can adjust the brightness of electric scooter lights. By reducing the brightness (i.e. lowering the number of lumens), you use less energy and increase battery life.
Typically, lights will allow you to switch between different continuous and flashing modes. Each mode will have varying lumen levels and use more or less battery power. For instance, the Apollo Headlight has 8 modes and up to 9 hours use on the lowest power setting.
By adjusting the light level, you can tailor your light output to your riding conditions, and use battery power more efficiently.
Is There a Flashing Setting?
Most attachable lights for electric scooters have flashing modes.
Flashing modes help conserve battery life, while the continuous mode provides the highest level of visibility.
Run and Charge Time
How Long Will the Light Stay on For?
How long your electric scooter light will last depends on several factors, including:
- Charge level
- Battery capacity
- Lumen level
- Mode
It should come as no surprise that the more charged the light, the longer it’ll last. However, something that is worth paying attention to is the size of the battery.
As a rule of thumb, most high-quality lights will have a battery capacity of 4,400 mAh. Milliampere Hours – otherwise referred to as mAh – is the measurement of the energy stored in a battery. While a higher mAh figure typically denotes a longer battery life, it's important to consider the lumen level. A battery with a capacity of 4,400 mAh will last for 3-4 hours while in its brightest setting (highest lumens) but will last a lot longer (up to 90 hours), in its weakest setting (lowest lumens).
Handily, most lights come with multiple modes, giving you control over how much juice you’re using. To conserve battery life, engage your light’s flashing mode when you can – it’ll use a fraction of the power of the continuous mode.
In conditions of low light – when the flashing mode isn’t an option – try turning your light’s brightness down slightly. It’ll help save battery and prevent it from running out of juice when you need it most.
Does the Light Have a Battery Status Indicator?
This depends on the light – some do, some don’t.
Remember to keep an eye out for this functionality before you make your purchase – it’s a super useful feature to have.
How Long Will the Light Take to Recharge?
Recharge time depends on the individual light, and correlates directly with the size of the battery. For most good-quality lights, recharge time tends to be around 3-4 hours.
Water-Resistance:
Is the Light Protected From Rain and Water?
Most electric scooter lights from reputable suppliers will be splashproof and, therefore, function in full perpetuity when exposed to rain.
IP ratings offer an indication of how water-resistant a light is. All IP ratings start with ‘IP’ and are followed by two digits. The first digit refers to the level of intrusion protection (i.e. dust ingress), and the second digit refers to the level of moisture protection.
As a general rule: the higher the numbers, the better protection from both ingress and moisture.
Expert Tip: Don’t settle for anything less than an IPX4 rating. This has no ingress protection but protects the light against water splashes from any direction.
Attaching the Light:
How Easy is the Light to Attach to Your Electric Scooter?
This varies based on the individual light, and how it’s built.
Some require a little installation – like using an Allen key to mount a bracket to your handlebars before sliding the light onto it. Others attach to your scooter with flexible rubber straps and require virtually no effort whatsoever to affix.
Where Can the Light Be Attached?
We recommend attaching headlights to your handlebars or high up on the stem.
However, this will depend on the light that you choose. Smaller brackets made of plastic may not fit around thick stems, while those with stretchy rubber bands are far more versatile since they can wrap around different shapes.
