Originally Posted by
ItsJustMe
As I've said many times, what we need is NOT brighter lights, it's BETTER lights. Manufacturers seem to just keep pumping more lumens into products. Why? BECAUSE IT'S CHEAP AND PEOPLE LIKE TO BUY THINGS WITH BIGGER NUMBERS THAN THE NEXT GUY.
What we need is a light with probably about 600 lumens, but with a proper road cutoff optics set.
AFAIK, nobody makes them. There are german lights with cutoffs, but they seem to all be either 80 lumen generator lights or 1200 lumen HIDs.
I agree completely! When I was in the automotive industry I did an in-house study on the illumination requirements for automotive headlights, i.e, what does the driver need to see. I think the requirements for a good bike light are very similar to those for a good EU-style automotive low beam, with two exceptions: some "leakage" above the cutoff to make sure signs are readable and for a "be seen" function, and for a lot of the light going up at the sides, so someone or something entering the roadway from the side can be seen well. It could be bright for motorists in the opposing lane, but not until they are considerably off-axis to the bicycle light. We cyclists are too focused on bright pencils of light in front of us. Or rather, our lights are too focused into bright pencil beams in front of us.