Originally Posted by
dwmckee
cycocommute -
You are missing the point. We can have our cake and eat it too if we ride with properly adjusted and shaped bicycle headlights that do a great job illuminating the road AND do not put so much direct into everyone else's eyes to affect their ability to navigate as well. They are more expensive, but for riders that do a fair amount of riding after dark it is a good investment for all. The Europeans seem to be so far ahead of the US in this part of biking.
I got your point but I don't agree with it. First, there is a difference between "roads" and "paths". On a standard 2 lane roadway with a shoulder (or even without), a bicycle is far enough away from a motorist traveling in the opposite direction that spill over that might "blind" a motorist is next to impossible...even with the widest of flood lights. If the cyclist is riding with a narrower beam, spill over is greatly reduced. The light from a narrow beam is more intense but it is more narrowly focused. Drivers have much more intense lights passing much closer to them and they seem to be able to drive down the road without losing their eyes. They also seem to have been able to do this for decades even without shaped beams. You don't even have to go that far back in time to find unshaped beams.
On a path, things are different but similar to how it used to be on roadways. You are passing closer but not really that much closer than two cars on a two lane highway. Don't stare into the light of the persons coming at you and you won't have problems. That said, I don't ride bike paths at night other than for connecting roadways...a few blocks max.
The Germans'...really not the "Europeans"...lights aren't perfect. Their standards are designed for bicycles traveling at 18 kph or 11 mph. You don't really need much light for that kind of speed.
Originally Posted by
dwmckee
And an extremely bright point of light can ruin your night vision even if you are not staring right at it. If you doubt, try looking at something in the sky about 30 - 40 degrees away from the sun and see if the sun does not affect your ability to see.
"Night vision" isn't what you seem to think it is. If you have a light on your bike or your car, you don't
have night vision. The rod cells in your eyes are saturated and take several minutes of near total darkness to relax. Any light exposure...even a small amount...resets the process. If you are using lights and you are exposed to a momentary bright light, you might be "dazzled" by it but you won't be dumped into "night blindness" because you are already there.
If you don't believe me, try going out into a dark area (no extra lights) and allow your rod cells to relax. It will take about 15 minutes. You can probably walk across a field without moonlight. Under a full moon, you could probably even ride a bike across a field. Now, turn on a flashlight. Don't shine it in your eyes but just turn it on and use it normally. Then turn it off. You won't be able to walk across the field at all. That's night blindness.
As for the sun, that's an entirely different set of cells. The rods are already saturated. And 30 to 40
degrees is pretty far away from the sun. If the sun is at xenith, that's nearly half way to the horizon.
Originally Posted by
dwmckee
In a modern shaped reflector headlight I said you cannot DIRECTLY see the emitter, not that you cannot see a spread reflection of it. The tiny point of a high-power emitter, when DIRECTLY visible is extremely bright and can temporarily affect vision of anyone seeing it, even if they are not directly in the main focused cone of vision. This is the point of all of the money spent on modern shaped reflector technology. More light focused where you want it and not wasted in the sky or blinding others. If you have doubts, you need go no further than the warning labels on some of these high powered lights and the fact that they are used as defensive weapons to disable opponents. There are no such warnings on any shaped beam lights or headlights.
If you are standing in front of a light with a shaped reflector, you can see the emitter. If the beam is aimed properly, you might not be able to see the emitter if you are around 6' tall and only a few feet away but you can't see the emitter from my unshaped lights in the same situation.
My light isn't "wasted in the sky". Even a wide angle beam like the Magicshine doesn't spray that much light into the sky. You can see where your light is going from the saddle.
Originally Posted by
dwmckee
"The Magicshines and clones work just as well as any other light if they are aimed properly."
This is an absolutely untrue statement and I hope readers are not deceived by it. It may work as well for the rider, but not for anyone looking into it. Try my suggestion on a dark street with a modern car with headlights on and a bike next to it with a MagicShine pointed 40 feet down the road. Then head down that road and turn around and look at the difference.
I have done this. My car lights upward spillage is about the same as my bike lights. In my alleyway, my bicycle lights illuminate to the same height on the fences and garages as my car lights do. The car is a 2004 with American shaped beams which allow for more spillage than European lights do.
Originally Posted by
dwmckee
There is a very good reason for all of the modern beam technology out there. It is better for all. Save the MagicShines for off-road and rural riding where their shortcomings are not nearly so detrimental to others.
"All" is overstating a bit. There are a few shaped beams out there and they are all a premium product. The number of unshaped beams far out number shaped ones and, in my experience, aren't a problem. I have a couple of bike paths that I use as connectors (a couple of blocks long) and occassionally meet other riders. As long as you don't stare into the light, they aren't a problem.
There is also an economic aspect to lighting. The shaped beams like the Edelux and Phillips are prohibitively expensive if you want more than one light. Having had recently tested a new light that didn't perform well...the output was way lower than advertised...I can tell you that less is
not more. I was using the light as a helmet light and it wasn't as bright as the lights on my bars. I couldn't see snow and ice that my normal helmet light could illuminate as quickly and, as a result, had to be much more vigilant about watching for ice patches in the bike lane (not "path").
It wasn't just the possibility of hitting a patch of ice unexpectedly that was the problem. Because I couldn't see as far down the road, I couldn't move out into the travel lane as soon so I had to be extra careful when moving around ice patches. Being able to throw light further down the road makes for a safer ride in my opinion. And, yes, I could run studded tires but when the roads are 99% clear of ice, running studs just isn't worthwhile.
But if my lights cost me $200 per unit, I wouldn't be able to buy multiples. When they cost $30 to $60 per unit, I have no problem buying several at a time. Many people with more limited means may not even be able to afford the $200 per unit so they either ride without lights or use substandard "be seen" lights that are less than useless. Given these choices, a little inconvenience to others is rather insignificant