Originally Posted by
noglider
Oh, you're right. There's pretty much just B&M and Philips. Now there's also Sonus, but that's just dynamo powered. I think beams with cutoffs are better for courtesy and also efficiency, but they're not absolutely necessary. I do hope they become more common here, but until then, a round beam light, properly aimed, does a good or great job. If it's very bright, don't use it in blinky mode at night. Also, aim it carefully. My wife has a NiteRider handlebar mounted light. It's really pretty amazing.
Spanninga, Axa, Herrmans, Schmidt. Plenty of $50/$100 or below offerings. The b&m eyc is $80, very reasonable for a dynamo light but not comparable at all to $50 dual xml 1200 lumen lights from China. (The Philips is an ugly-ass light)
Cut-off bike lights isn't going to be common in NA simply for the reality that bicycles aren't as respected as a form of transportation compared to western europe. And people balk at spending more than $30 on a bicycle light.