Originally Posted by
****egun2213
1) how much power should a front light have? We'll be riding in neighborhoods with street lights most of the time.
2) since we intend to leave our bikes for hours on end as we enjoy ourselves, do you recommend removable lights? I'm leaning this way because I'm wary of someone taking nice lights and us being SOL.
I have no idea what San Diego is like socially. You live there. You know what people say about how 'thefty' it is. Where I live I can leave a Nite Rider Classic and battery pack or a MagicShine and battery pack on the bike in the Winco (supermarket) parking lot and find them still attached when I return from a 30 minute shopping expedition (120lbs of provisions). That would have been impossible in NYC and I still find myself taking my lights and blinkies off when I leave my bike unattended. I've not ever seen a light that wasn't removable. All the lights I have ever seen for sale have some kind of fixed bracket that attaches to the bike and the light itself clips in and out. This works too well in the case of most blinkies and I have lost a couple or three if I forget to rubber-band them in place after clipping them in. O-ring mounts are very easy to use (take off and re-attach) but allow the light to re-aim after bumps or from vibration. That's not a good thing.
Not being snarky, but do you ever ask a car dealer how much power your headlights should have? You are driving on those same streets with streetlights (most of the time). Still, the DOT says you have to have so much lumens in front of your car and they mean it. If you let your headlights get absolutely skanky or the front housing gets crazed (sic) and the light output is seriously degraded you might not notice and the price for that is maybe that someone's kitty doesn't come home in the morning :-(. If your bike light is underpowered, you could break your collarbone, or worse. Shouldn't you want the maximum amount of light you can afford even if you don't use it all every trip? It's getting easier and easier to get realistic amounts of light in front of your bicycle at rational price levels. There is no good reason not to have a MagicShine or Gemini Titan (which are Chinese knock-off's of Lupine Tesla's) or some of the even cheaper 900 Lumen (~500 actual) lights which are actually knock-off's of MagicShines up front with a Planet Bike or lesser brand multi-pattern strobe in the rear. BTW, if "enjoying yourselves" involves imbibing alcohol, the same (maybe stricter) observations of behavior protocol apply as towards motor vehicle operation. I'll say no more.
H