UKC

Having a conversation about bike lights and wondered if theres a common consensus of what is the reasonable maximum number of lumens for a front bike light in town/city environment.

Seems to be a bit of an arms race with manufacturers to keep upping the lumen count to the point that you now have people riding around town blasting out 2000 lumens and dangerously (in my view) dazzling oncoming drivers and pedestrians etc.

Anyone have any thoughts?

In reply to Indy:

Worth reading this http://www.ctc.org.uk/cyclists-library/regulations/lighting-regulations

Personally I wouldn't use (or perhaps better: try not to use) MTB lights on the road as they appear as a point light and have no directional fresnel lens. I've a German dynamo set up on my commuter and the light does not have any stray dazzle to the sides.

For in town use you don't really need a huge amount of power, the main use of lights on a bike is to be seen rather than to see.

In reply to Indy:

I'm currently running one of these http://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/edeluxii_en.html I don't know how many lumens it kicks out but more than enough for riding everywhere.

As it puts a nice even spread of light out you don't tend to really notice it on well lit streets but on unlit roads it gives enough light to easily see by and enough to make cars dip their lights before they see you whilst keeping almost all of the light on the road.

I used to use a cheap cree light and even though it was much brighter didn't illuminate the road any better so I don't think its all about lumens much more about beam shape.

In reply to Indy:

I tend to use a minewt 250 (lumens?) for road riding at night, no where near as blinding as my 2000 lumens MTB unit, but perfectly adequate to see well enough on unlit roads.... it also doubles as a back up when I'm out on the MTB at night

In reply to Indy:

Sub 300 lumen front for me on road. Rear are pretty low lumen, but the main thing is having several of them.

In reply to Indy:

I've two of everything on my commuting bike because I'm rubbish at remembering to recharge the batteries so having 2 means I should always have one working.

I use 2 smart lunar red flashers on the back (one on bike and one on bag) and I have one Blackburn 300 lumen thing that lasts ages between charges and one super bright Chinese thing that I only ever use on low 900 lumen setting, even though it probably only achieves the stated 1800 lumens max in the advert.

In reply to Indy:

My Oslo commute is mainly on reasonably well lit roads, I have a CatEye Volt 300 on the front which is about right. On the back I have a Volt 50 which is a lot brighter than most cheap lights. I have seen too many people with badly positioned and weak rear lights (if you put your light on your rucksack or helmet it will most likely point towards the sky).

The Volt 50 is bright enough to use in daytime too - it seems like using cycle lights during the day is becoming increasingly popular over here.

In reply to Indy:

Actual lumens are less important than positioning and lens design.
For commuting work I use an old(ish) exposure Strada. Its powerful enough but designed for specifically for road work in terms of the lens setup. That plus setting it up carefully (eg prop bike up, stick light on and then walk down the road to check it and adjust as needed).
That said there is a balancing act of making sure it still suitably stands out so that I dont become a bonnet ornament.

In reply to dissonance:

My front light's one of these http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b0s197p1087 I supplement it with a Moon Comet in flash mode. The first lets me see, the second ensures I am seen.

In reply to Indy:

Two Lezyne lights on the front - one macrodrive and one megadrive. They blink at different rates, and for unlit areas give enough light to see at 30 mph. Above that, they show you what you're about to hit. I have a spare 'blinker' that sits under the stem on the steerer in case I do something stupid, like forget to charge the main lights. The Lezyne lights also run down at different rates, so I have a reserve of sorts.

On the back, I have a Cateye AAA powered thing, which is OK and lasts for ages. Then I have an Exposure TraceR which is really bright. That has a mount for the seat rails and sits under a Ass-saver mudguard which, being translucent, lights up too. Then I have a small cheap light on the back of my helmet.

On each wrist, I have a fluo wrist band with red LEDs, which is visible to drivers when they're level with you and makes turn signals visible.

I look like a Christmas tree, but nothing is too bright (ie those MTB lights to which you refer)

Wife is insistent that I add a big splash of fluo yellow to me too for riding in town, so one lurid top to be acquired shortly. My fixie also has fluo yellow wheels.