All e-bike riders know how important it is to have proper light when they travel at night. The importance of good lights is that they help you to avoid obstacles on the road. Moreover, the other drivers will see you with good electric bike lights. Apart from these safety measures, applying e-bike lights and riding with them at night is fun. Besides, you can customize your style of e-bike lights.
Moreover, there is good news for electric bike riders. That is, you have got many bright e-bike lights to buy. And they are affordable. However, there is bad news too. For these e-bike lights to work, many of them need unique batteries. Or else, they should run on 12V DC.
And the battery type that provides the energy with usual bicycle lights isn’t a perfect choice for e-bikes. And if you use them, you must replace those batteries often. So this won’t be very pleasant for you. Moreover, that battery type rarely comes adequately sealed. As a result, batteries spoil easily and quickly. Besides, they come with cheap frames that become worthless when they get old. And these batteries allow the other riders and drivers on the road to recognize you. However, seeing the path in front of you isn’t much help.
Moreover, some e-bikes have small batteries. They are rechargeable. And they are powerful enough to light up the road you ride. However, the annoyance of this battery type is that you have to recharge them often. Otherwise, you will be lost on the road.
Electric Bike Lights
The most crucial lights for an e-bike are its headlight and backlight. Moreover, indicators also play an essential role. But it depends on the e-bike model you have. Moreover, the reflectors on your bike’s spokes are also crucial if you have a classic electric bike. And as a usual rule, every electric bike must have the necessary lights. As a result, riders can avoid many accidents.
Headlight
The headlight is the essential light of an e-bike. Moreover, this is not only for electric bikes. This is vital for all bicycles too. So the headlight lightens up the road in front of you. As a result, you can have a good view. And it isn’t only to see the vehicles and obstacles ahead. If there is bad weather, having the headlight will save you from unnecessary trouble. Moreover, the brightness level of most models is 60 lux. And this is enough to have a safe ride.
Apart from that, most electric bikes have daylights too. Even though the beam is low, it functions in daylight. Moreover, these lights make the riders easy to see in heavy traffic. Hence, this is important.
Besides, some electric bike headlights come with a central beam. And this helps in increasing the rider’s visibility in heavy traffic.
Backlight
This light is set on the rear side of the electric bike. Moreover, you can select a rear light from many designs. There are different types of rear lights in the market. For example, LED bulbs and halogen backlights are two types of rear lights. Besides, when you buy a rear light, don’t forget to check for brightness. And most rear light designs output light of 20 lux.
What is a DC-DC converter?
These converters release a manageable voltage from a controllable or uncontrollable source. Moreover, DC-DC converters are circuits made for power conversion. And they are high-frequency. 
12V LED System
12V LED system is preferred by many because it is a common platform for any voltage range. So is the case with electric bikes. In addition to that, these systems have a low electric shock. Since 12V is a lower voltage range, fire risk and bodily harm hardly happen. In addition, a 12V LED system is more reliable. Besides, you don’t have to bother much when service or repair them.
However, the disadvantage of the 12V LED light system is its low efficiency. Moreover, this system doesn’t accompany any transformer electronics. Therefore, you have to buy them separately and install them. For example, a DC-DC converter, as we are discussing under this topic. Indeed, it is an extra burden. So an average consumer cannot bear the cost burden. Adding 12V LED lights without a DC-DC converter has become a commonly searched option. The following is a detailed analysis of this topic. So you can understand why people like it without a DC-DC converter.
Main E-bike Lights
You can use the lights powered by your e-bike’s battery for the leading electric bike lights. And the electric bike lights powered by your main battery bring you many advantages too.
- You don’t have to bother about changing batteries.
- You don’t have to bother about a charger
- If your e-bike battery is working, your lights will also be functioning.
- And they are not expensive.
- They have high quality and bright light.
However, this is not without disadvantages. One main drawback is that you must let the lights consume your bike’s battery power. However, most lights don’t consume much power. Accordingly, you won’t even feel it. For example, if your bike uses 700W to ride at its highest speed, the total power required by lights will be less than 20W. And it means that your lights want 2.8% of your bike’s battery.
So we recommend you use light powered by your main battery. The reason is that you will not get into the trouble of dead batteries in the middle of the night. And this is mainly a safety measure.
E-bike Lights- 3 Options
You have three ways to power the electric bike’s lights.
- Electric bike lights with a fixed DC-DC converter
- Using an independent 12V DC-DC converter. Then apply 12V motorized lights.
- Using 12V motorized lights straight from the e-bike’s battery. And it would help if you did this in series. In that way, you can get a suitable voltage.
Even though the first two options need converters, the third option doesn’t. Therefore, this third option is preferred by many as it doesn’t require other electronic devices. For your better understanding, we will give a detailed analysis of all these three options.
First option- Electric bike lights with a fixed DC-DC converter
This is the simplest option of all. However, this is not easy to afford and not reliable either. These lights are formed to mount your electric bike and receive battery power. And these batteries have a range of voltages. Usually, the voltage range is between 12-80. However, you have to keep an eye on the battery to confirm that the batteries are within their range.
Moreover, this type of e-bike light is manufactured by Grin Technology, an e-bike designer in Canada. And they manufacture these lights after following the highest standards. In addition, they are 100% waterproof. Moreover, they have a front light that they sell for $70 and a backlight sold at $60. And as they are up to the standards, you cannot expect them to be cheap.
And when it comes to tail light, you don’t need a very bright one. For a tail light, lights with 12-80V are enough. And such a light will require only 2W. But you will be visible to others.
Second Option- Using an independent 12V DC-DC converter. Then apply 12V motorized lights.
You can find 12V LED bulbs in many shapes and sizes. And there are thousands of them. Moreover, they are also suitable for another reason. That is, you can customize them easily according to your wishes. However, this isn’t without any problems. You cannot operate them directly from the bike’s battery. The reason is that the voltage of your electric bike battery is high. The usual range in that people use a battery is 24-48V. But some people use higher ranges than this.
There is a solution to this. That is what we are going to discuss under this heading. So the solution is an independent DC-DC converter. And the electric bike riders assure you that this method works for them. Moreover, it comes sealed so that you need not worry about water issues. Moreover, it goes with any voltage range suitable for electric bikes.
And this converter will send the e-bike’s battery voltage to an independent circuit. After, it will produce the output. It is 12VDC. However, this process doesn’t harm the usual battery power. And it is more like producing output for additional items like lights.
And from this 12V battery power, all your 12V e-bikes will work. Even though this method works well, the need for the converter doesn’t sound good. The reason is that many riders try to keep their e-bikes simple. Additional items aren’t in riders’ interest. That is why many e-bike riders love the third option.
Third Option- Using 12V motorized lights straight from the e-bike’s battery
Many electric bike riders love this option for several reasons. One is that you don’t have to invest in many additional parts. Moreover, this method is more reliable. And you don’t need any converters for this. So that means you can easily afford this method.
As we told you before, 12V lights cannot function from the high amount of voltages. Therefore, you cannot use the e-bike battery straight as the voltage isn’t suitable. However, you can solve this issue by running several 12V lights in sequence.
Following is the way to perform this method. Sequence connections in circuits can be made when the elements connect end to end (positive-negative. Accordingly, you will see a voltage across each element separately. And 12V motorized lights need 12V DC. Therefore, you will get the needed voltage by hanging a few lights in sequence. And this amount is equal to the battery voltage.
How to Arrange the Lights
To this end, you can connect four 12V lights in a row. Moreover, it would help if you had a voltage of 48V. And you can supply this easily from a 48V battery. And you can achieve the same result by connecting three lights to a 36V battery. Or else you can connect two 12V lights to a 24V battery.
In reality, these 12V LED lights can obtain a good voltage range. And it usually is between 10-16. Moreover, this is good for electric bike riders too. The reason is that an electric bike battery voltage goes down over time. But it remains within this voltage range.
Moreover, there are e-bike riders who connect four 12V LED lights series to a 52V battery. And this gives the lights a voltage between 11-14. Also remember, this amount is per light. And it depends on the level of charge of your battery.
And if you don’t have an idea to select colors, we will tell you how to.
The most suitable color for the front lights is white. They help you to view the road ahead clearly. And they enable other drivers coming in front of you to see you well. Moreover, for backlights, you can still select white. Or else you can choose red. And both colors will make you visible to the vehicles behind you.
Importance of Electric Bike Lights
If you are a night rider and often go out on your electric bike, ensure that the lights work well. Accordingly, you can see other drivers and vice versa.
You might have heard the motto ‘see and be seen. And the electric bike lights are the most relevant component of this motto. The reason is you might have to encounter bad weather conditions at night. So good lights help you to see the path. And it would help if you were visible to the other drivers on the road.
Active and Passive Lights
When it comes to electric bikes, there are two categories of lights. They are active and passive lights. Ad active lights are the type of lights that produce light themselves. These types of lights include headlights and brake lights. In addition, break lights also fall under this category.
On the other hand, passive lights are the ones that are illuminated only by an external light generator. On e-bikes, these types of lights usually come attached to the back wheel. Moreover, they come attached to the spokes as well.
Laws on Night Riding
These lights are necessary when you go out on your electric bike at night. The punishments imposed by laws can vary from country to country if you don’t obey. Moreover, you might have to pay a fine if you get caught without lights on your e-bike.
Riding under Bad Weather
You are out of this discussion if you have strong lights. However, if you don’t have them, take a minute and read. So in bad weather conditions like storms, fog, and even heavy rain, you will be safe. But we recommend not riding in such conditions.
Final Words 
As described above, lights are an essential component of an e-bike. And having good lights on your e-bike ensures both your and others’ safety. And they help you navigate easily through bad weather conditions. Moreover, having e-bike lights are required by law in some countries.
Accordingly, 12V lights are convenient for you to add to your e-bike. So we have given you three options. First, Electric bike lights with a fixed DC-DC converter, and second Using an independent 12V DC-DC converter. Then apply 12V motorized lights. Finally, use 12V motorized lights straight from the e-bike’s battery. And it would help if you did this in series. In that way, you can get a suitable voltage.
However, the most convenient is the third one. The first one is also simple to add. But the cost is high, and it isn’t reliable either. Electric bike riders don’t seem to like the second option because of the converter. That is why the third option has become the favorite of many.
