Daytime Running Lights for Cycling Explained

In recent years, the term Daytime Running Lights, DRL, has become increasingly popular in bike lights.

What actually is Daytime Running Lights?

Daytime Running Lights are meant to be used while riding during the day. DRL is not meant for you to see, but instead, for you to be seen.

DRL has been around in the automotive industry for a long time. Countries like the U.S., Canada, Scandinavia, and European Union have laws requiring vehicles to have DRL.

As for DRL bike lights, they’re designed with interruptive flash patterns, focus, and range to catch the drivers’ attention, ensuring you’re visible from a distance. More and more brands are jumping on board and including DRL in their bike lights lineup. While their implementation could differ slightly, they all achieve the same objective.

Some examples include :

• Exposure Lights. All their lights, both head, and tail have DRL. It’s called DayBright.
• Lezyne. A handful of models have DRL, with more to come.
• See Sense. The feature is called BEAM. It includes a smart sensor that detects your speed and light conditions and adapts the output to suit.
• Bontrager. Day Flash from Trek’s parts brand has both front and rear daytime lights that have been designed specifically for daytime use. They include adaptive focus and range and include a flashing mode.
• Niterider. Daylight Visible Flash offer both front and rear lights tuned for daytime conditions.

If you plan to buy bike lights, Daytime Running Lights is an important feature you should consider having.