SSfreak

I ride through the downtown area where there isn't as much light needed but half way through, I leave the city and it becomes pitch black on a two lane road.

Right now I have a 255 lumens on my Cygolight and it does brighten up the road but sometimes don't feel this is enough. I've been looking at some lights in the 800 lumens area. Is that to much/overkill? I don't want to blind the oncoming traffic but at the same time, I want the road to light up a bit.

Just asking. Might be a stupid question and right in front of my face but I don't know.

ItsJustMe

I have a newly-acquired MagicShine 900 lumen from GeoManGear.com and I love it. It's my 5th and favorite bike light. For $90 there's no way you can beat it, except maybe with a P7 flashlight but those aren't as convenient or as turnkey as this light.

My first light was a DIY 20W halogen. OK but heavy (SLA battery) and short run time (about 60 minutes).
Next was an HID - Great, but more expensive and also heavy (bottle NiMH battery) - not horribly expensive but about $250 all told.
Then I got a Dinotte 200L - A nice little light but just barely adequate, and not even really that for the gravel road I ride.
Then I got the MagicShine - I think this light should be all I need.

The rest of the lights were various little AA powered LED lights that were only acceptable as "be seen" lights in ideal conditions, or limp-home lights in case of main light failure.

Some people have expressed doubts about the quality of the MagicShine light, and it appears there was some basis for concern back in April when they first came out, but the manufacturer appears to have greatly improved the quality and the light I got seems great to me.

BTW here's the MagicShine thread:
https://www.bikeforums.net/electronics-lighting-gadgets/576697-has-anyone-tried-magicshine-900-lumen.html

and here is my stuff on the light:
https://johnridley.livejournal.com/266955.html

Skyler_WA

I've got a Dinotte 600L on my handlebars and a Dinotte 200L on my helmet and I think it's a great combination.

lutz

Once you have tried something like the P7 LED based flashlights, you will never want to go back to something dim like the majority of bike lights.

abstractform20

i have the airbike everlight from geomangear.com

200 bucks. works very well.

funbob

Another vote for the Magicshine light. The best and cheapest light I've owned to date. And plenty bright. Ordered mine from geomangear.com as well.

Fobdot

Well the dentist's light they use to shine at your face when you're reclined is about 550 lumens.

socalrider

Between 600 to 1200 suits me just fine.. I take 2 - p7's for my normal night rides.. Usually need just 1 for most of the ride.. A few dark spots where I have both on at the same time.. For longer rides carry a couple extra cells..

Glottis

Planning on buying one myself. I've been searching for a good inexpensive light, and the best choice for a bike is a compact LED flashlight. There's a lot of info on the P7 LED flashlights, and I've been reading a lot the past few days. Here's a great thread about the P7:

https://www.bikeforums.net/electronics-lighting-gadgets/464765-p7-flashlight-thread.html

Unfortunately, the thread was closed because otherwise helpful members didn't agree with each other's opinions. I wish Tom had deleted the offending posts instead of closing such an informational thread. Would have taken a lot of his time though...

There's also a lot of info on candlepowerforums.com

edit: The P7 flashlights' 900 lumens claim is definitely theoretical, at best. But as I understood it, the output on high is around 500, which is a lot.

Cyclist0383

There is a light maker which gets good reviews on CPF that's having a 'scratch and dent' sale. They'll be better quality than a DX light for just a little bit more money, which is what I'd do if I had to do it again as after 9 months my DX light has started switching modes on it's own. Shining Beam also might have a decent MC-E or P7 in stock.

https://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/sho...d.php?t=198779

https://www.shiningbeam.com/servlet/StoreFront

Snowsurfer

I don't think 800 lumens is overkill.

You gotta see, and you gotta be seen.

The only key to survival in the urban road jungle (at night time).

ItsJustMe

Keeping it in the budget is good, but be sure you don't shoot yourself in the foot by being too cheap. I've got a box full of crappy bike lights including a DX flashlight that I got by deciding that they would "probably be good enough". In all they add up to about 3x what the Magicshine P7 cost me (I also have an HID which was fine (about as bright as the Magicshine) at $250. Admittedly, there was no such thing as a P7 for most of the time I was riding, but now that there is, IMHO there's no better choice in the < $200 range, unless you absolutely can't afford the $90.

Glottis

I rarely buy cheap because I can't afford it, but this MTE flashlight is worth the risk.

Please people, ignore me and answer SSfreak's original post.

SSfreak, I'll answer your question without recommending any specific light now. It's not the number of lumens that's important. You should buy the light that suits your riding habits. In general, if you ride mainly on the road, buy a light which has a good throw to be able to see the road a few (5-10?) seconds ahead. For mountain biking, a flooder is recommended. Maybe you'll find the ideal light that is able to do both at the same time. Some people buy the 2 kinds of lights, and direct the "thrower" some distance ahead, while the "flooder" is set to light the area directly in front of the bike.

jefferee

800 lumens is somewhere around the output of a single automotive halogen headlight on low beam. Shouldn't blind oncoming drivers if properly aimed.

kaseri

The answer to your question is as many lumens as it takes for you to feel comfortable. I believe that you can never have too many lumens.

ItsJustMe

"If properly aimed" - it's not possible to aim a round beam the same as a low beam on a car. Car lights, by law, have a sharp cutoff and they're set up to be aimed to light up the street with little spill into the eyes of oncoming drivers.

Lots of bike headlights have an intense spot and a mild spill, and that's about as good as it gets for the stuff that's sold for US markets. If you aim those right, they're not too bad, but they're still not ideal.

If you look at what's sold for the German market, you'll see lights done right. They have swooped reflectors that put out an increasing amount of light farther away, until they reach cutoff. This makes the road appear to be uniformly lit from 5 feet to 50 feet in front of you, and only enough light in the driver's eyes so that they see you. Apparently manufacturers won't do it right unless forced to by law; the mass market doesn't know enough to demand this.

BikeARtoo

what is the relationship between lumens & candlepower? i am looking at the magicshine (900 lumens) & the cateye single shot plus (15000 candlepower)

ModoVincere

Candlepower is a measure of brightness, but does not tell you how much total light is emitted.
The cateye is very bright, but only in a small spot. Its really a be seen light.
Lumens is a measure of the total light emitted. It doesn't really tell you how bright the light is because it could be emitted in 360 degrees.....however, it can be used to compare similar lights. And for purposes of a bike light, lumens are a better way to look at it.

ItsJustMe

That's difficult. One is a measure of light flux at a specific spot, the other is a measure of total output. IOW, a 15000 candlepower bulb is 15000 candlepower whether it's in an excellent reflector with a tightly focused beam, or sitting bare letting the light go all over, but a lumen measurement means that they put a light meter at some point in the beam and measured a certain amount of light hitting a square centimeter per second. Lumens decrease as you get farther from the light. It's the SI equivalent of the foot-candle (how many candlepower at one foot) but even that isn't a straightforward conversion.

Basically I assume that if a light manufacturer is listing their specs in candlepower, the light sucks and they are trying to confuse the issue, because all the really good lights list output in lumens. Even manufacturers that list lumens are usually being extremely optimistic, but at least they're on the right page.

I did find this by googling:

https://www.theledlight.com/lumens.html

• Candlepower is a rating of light output at the source, using English measurements.
• Foot-candles are a measurement of light at an illuminated object.
• Lumens are a metric equivalent to foot-candles in that they are measured at an object you want to illuminate.
• Divide the number of lumens you have produced, or are capable of producing, by 12.57 and you get the candlepower equivalent

of that light source.

That would seem to indicate that a 900 lumen light is equivalent to a 11,300 candlepower light, but that's not really possible in a light that runs 3 hours on 2700 mAH at 4.8 volts.

I've seen some discussions online that put the Single Shot Plus at about 130 lumens.

ItsJustMe

Uh, the opposite of that, in fact. Lumens is measured light flux at a given point, candlepower is total light output. Foot candles (candlepower at one foot from source) is the english equivalent of lumens.

ModoVincere

https://www.pinnacleflashlights.com/b...sing-gimmicks/


"To understand the advertising about lights which claim “80 lumens” or “1,000,000 candlepower,” you need to understand what those things are. To put it simply, lumens are a measurement of how much light a device produces, and candlepower is a measurement of concentration of the beam a device produces. These are not the same thing."

cyccommute 

Sorry but you're about 700 lumens short. Most automotive halogen headlamps put out around 1500 lm.

jefferee

Serves me right for looking it up on Wikipedia. Numbers there for 9004 halogens are 1200 lumens on high and 700 on low. Of course, eyes are logarithmic detectors, so a factor of two isn't that big of a deal anyway.

The point remains that even an 800 lumen bicycle lamp is not overwhelmingly dazzling compared to a lot of automotive lighting.

Intheloonybin

Well... even though the OP hasn't been seen since the first post... LOL

I would recommend going to a bike shop and asking to try out the lights in the dark- at night behind the shop? That is how I chose mine. The only problem is that they don't always have batteries charged up.

I do ok with my trinewt at about 490 lumens

love2pedal.com

I ride at night all winter (weather permitting) but it is not commuting (I am just trying to slow the rate of getting out of shape) but I think you should go as bright as your budget allows.

I started with a $20 light that a car could see but really didn't throw any light out to a 15 watt halogen, to a 300 lumen to now a $250 Cygolite Trion which is 600 lumens (claimed). I don't think 1200 lumens is too much now!!!

The sweet spot seems to be that Magicshine P7 that a lot of people on this forum endorse. Mounting two of them would be a really sweet setup.

Dan