Originally Posted by
unterhausen
the reason you need 1000 lumens is that 700 of them are going places you don't need to see. It may be comforting to light up the tops of trees, but it's bothersome to other road users. Some people with 1000 lumen lights say they point them down, so that just means they are ruining their night vision with a spot near their bike. My Luxos U doesn't put out all that much light, but it's a comfortable amount of light, even for descending mountains at high speed. I'm not going to go blasting other people on the road for no gain to me.
What he said.
Disclaimer: my night riding is on the road, not on a fire trail. I got a new light last week to replace my helmet light, and WOW! How I hate it! With my dyno-driven IQ Cyo, I can see the road (and all the potholes and washboard shows up nicely), the drivers can see me, and I've got enough night vision left to see the runner with his dog coming down the cross road in the suburbs. With this new urban assault light, I can see, sort of, where the road is. The new light puts out so much light it washes out details of the road, like where they forgot to patch after the utility crew came through. The retroreflective signs are so bright I lose any dark adaptation I might have had. That runner in the road becomes visible when she gets into the main beam; reminds me of Sheldon Brown's rant on why side reflectivity isn't adequate or useful, I have very limited time to react.
So enjoy your battery powered light, and as far as I'm concerned, you can keep it.