How much is too much…………..Lumens.

[off2ride]

Seems like every time I ride back to my car these days after 6pm, somebody has a super bright LED light that’s either pointed up too high or the Lumens is just up there. My light only puts out 295 lumens and I think that sucker’s bright enough. “See and be seen” is what’s important to me but where is the line drawn? Is 1500 lumens too much?

Topic

[DaveK]

Mine is about 550 lumens and I feel like I wouldn’t want any less in full darkness. It has no beam cutoff to speak of though, and I have to shield it with my hand when I pass folks coming the other way. If I had a proper cutoff like an automotive projector lamp I don’t see why you couldn’t go through the roof with brightness.

Hmmm…. weekend project – retrofit auto-leveling HID headlight to bike.

[Dirt]

I’m pretty mellow with my lights. My light has settings for 600, 300 and 130 Lumen. On the road I usually have it set at 300. when it is completely dark on any of the trails, I switch it down to 130 and shade it when I have someone coming toward me. If there’s much ambient light around, I’ll switch it off entirely and use my smaller, 100 lumen light.

I’ve never found a reason to blind people coming toward me.

Pete

[JimF22003]

I use the Serfas 500 lumen light, but on the trail I have it on the lowest non-blinky settings. I like it because the mount lets me pivot it side to side, so when I’m meeting a rider on a narrow trail, I can point it 45 degrees off the trail. I find that easier than shielding it with my hand, since I don’t have to ride one-handed in the dark

[Riley Casey]

A bright sunny day on my handle bars with a light weight version on my helmet. Thats just about right. Trails, a theatrical spotlight maybe, just might suffice but in traffic a personal bit of noon day sun would be spot on. I run with a Cateye 350 as a headlight and a Planet Bike Beamer set on flash as front lights. These are low cost, AA battery lights with low lumens output and are more than adequate for seeing a trail or road but totally inadequate for being seen everywhere in traffic. I really need to invest in a high output helmet light combo as well. Seriously, no amount of light can compete with the bewildering visual cues a car driver gets on a rainy night so more and better light is a must for riding in traffic. Seeing whats in front of you is the least part of the equation. Being seen is the life & death component.

Gee, seems like I’ve beaten this horse before.

[jabberwocky]

800 lumens (Dinotte 800L) on the front for me. I generally run it at medium (400 lumens, I think) while on the road, but I switch it to high on back roads with no other illumination.

My commute these days is all on roads, no paths. Some of the roads are pretty beat up, so I need light to see the potholes and rough patches. Sometimes I wish for even more than 800.

[jrenaut]

I think it’s more about being conscious of people around you rather than your light output.

[off2ride]

I’ve noticed a lot of riders doing that. (shielding the beam with their hand) I leave the clamp semi loose so I could pitch it down at a moments notice.

@DaveK 13628 wrote:

Mine is about 550 lumens and I feel like I wouldn’t want any less in full darkness. It has no beam cutoff to speak of though, and I have to shield it with my hand when I pass folks coming the other way. If I had a proper cutoff like an automotive projector lamp I don’t see why you couldn’t go through the roof with brightness.

Hmmm…. weekend project – retrofit auto-leveling HID headlight to bike.

[Dirt]

@jrenaut 13637 wrote:

I think it’s more about being conscious of people around you rather than your light output.

That’s un-American of you to say that. This will go down on your permanent record.

[jrenaut]

@Dirt 13642 wrote:

That’s un-American of you to say that. This will go down on your permanent record.

This IS my permanent record. The Google cache never forgets. . . .

[DCAKen]

I have an Inoled Extreme light hooked up to my hub dynamo. What I really like about this light is how it has a well projected beam. It puts lots of light on the ground in front of me but there’s a pretty sharp beam cutoff so it’s not blinding people coming the opposite way.

[americancyclo]

I’ve got a 300 lumen light that I use on full bright for the section of trail I ride in the dark, and drop it down to its lowest setting once the trail has light posts. I also employ the ‘hand shield’ method and I’ve found others to do the same.

RANT: I still get annoyed at folks that run front blinky lights on the trail. The strobe effect doesn’t help you see, and it makes it more difficult for me to judge your distance and speed. Imagine if all cars had blinky headlights. There would be accidents everywhere. Just run solid lights on the trail. /RANT

[JimF22003]

I approve this RANT

[CCrew]

800 on the handlebars and 400 on the helmet. I’ll palm the handlebar one and look away if a lit rider is approaching, but at 2:30 am I don’t have that issue much.

[creadinger]

@CCrew 13671 wrote:

…but at 2:30 am I don’t have that issue much.

I still don’t understand how you survive your daily schedule and sustain your daily mileage. You are an enigma.

[Dirt]

@DCAKen 13648 wrote:

I have an Inoled Extreme light hooked up to my hub dynamo. What I really like about this light is how it has a well projected beam. It puts lots of light on the ground in front of me but there’s a pretty sharp beam cutoff so it’s not blinding people coming the opposite way.

One of the things I really like about the high-end generator light systems is that they really get the idea of the beam cutoff and make the optics so they are REALLY useful. Only problem is if you get one designed for the UK market and ride it in the US.

[Author]

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