The bike friendly communities in the Western U.S. make it easy for bike commuters to unwind and enjoy the ride home after a long workday. Most neighborhoods in cities like Portland, Denver, and Seattle are connected through bike trails and streets with bike-only lanes.

Even with the considerable efforts in bike-friendly communities, riding quickly becomes unfriendly when day turns to night. Most bike related accidents happen when the sun has fallen over the horizon.

A bike with a high quality lighting system is needed to increase your safety riding after dark. The Light & Motion VIS 360 offers several features and advantages for your commutes to work, the gym, and other daily hot spots.

The light beam follows your line of vision. Since it's located higher than a handlebar mount, it can be seen easier by trucks and SUV. Your lighting system goes with you and your helmet when your bike is parked which almost eliminates it being stolen.

A small LED headlight that pumps out 110 lumens is coupled with a taillight with 4 lumens. Light & Motion integrates an amber light on each side of the front-mounted headlight, so you are seen by vehicles approaching from all sides. Light & Sound lists the VIS 360 as weighing 130 grams. The unit feels weightless on your brain bucket.

A concern with any bike lighting system is the brightness of the headlight. The Light & Motion VIS 360 is incredibly bright and can easily be seen from approaching cars from several blocks away. The amber sidelights were surprisingly visible which gives you added safety at a four-way intersection.

Light & Motion has built in three settings to the VIS 360. You can choose to have the headlight shine a constant beam (high or low intensity) or flashing.

Whichever setting you choose will affect how long the Li-ion rechargeable battery will last until it's drained. The Light & Motion 360 has a micro-USB port in the taillight for charging, and a USB cable comes with purchase.

images/Light & MotionThe helmet-mounted Light & Motion 360 offers several advantages to improve your safety for your everyday bike travel. It quickly mounts on your helmet and operates with ease.

The Light & Motion VIS 360 retails for $169.

video/Light & Motion & Vimeo