Originally Posted by
rekmeyata
I remember just 18 years ago people bragging about having a "real bicycle light"...21 watt halogen was real close to 200 lumens today and 21 watts was a "real bicycle light" back then! No matter what anyone says, for the street 2600 lumens is just plain nuts. It's kind of like living next door to Tim the Tool Man Taylor when he puts out his Christmas tree lights...do you need that kind of Christmas light show? Nope, but it's cool to brag about it.
A while back I posted some specifics comparing the coverage and power requirements of a 15 degree beam
to a 45 degree beam. The long and short of it was that it would take about 9 - 300 lumen lights with a 15 degree spread to illuminate the same area with the same intensity as one 2,600 lumen light with a 45 degree spread. I think we're so used to narrow beams that the power requirements for anything else has been forgotten. LEDs are being marketed to the automotive industry, but an automobile headlight typically has a 90 degree spread and as a consequence, the power requirements for LED headlights aren't all that different from the halogen units they're replacing. But they do provide more light.
Actually, 2,600 lumens spread over a much larger area isn't all that bright. But personally I do find lighting a larger area provides a greater measure of safety. I wouldn't want to drive a car with only 15 degree beams for much the same reason.