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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Madison, WI
Posts: 305
Bikes: Brompton M6R, Salsa Mukluk II, Trek 7500, Raliegh fixie, 3 SS cruisers, JC Higgins Color Flow, Junker Flying Jet, KHS F20-A, Worksman trike
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I've been using a Magicshine for the past couple of years, which is around 900-1,000 lumens and I swear by it. One unexpected and welcome side effect is that when cars pass me, they give me an additional 2-3 feet more than normal. I have to use it on its lowest setting when on group rides because the people in front of me think a car is behind them.
There's basically two types of headlights: the cheap low-watt/low-lumen types are made for the bike to be seen by other types of traffic, they aren't really meant to light the way. The high output lights, however, are made to illuminate the path in front of the rider.
There's one caveat to the high output lights: they attract bugs at night so there's a good chance you will get hit in the faced by bugs...more than normal, anyway.