Originally Posted by
mingjae
Hi all! you we're right, 15lumens is kind of kitchen cabinetry night lights.. lol
maybe it is suitable for "be seen" lights only which the road condition has good enough road lighting facilities.
me tested a 140lumens flashlight in a morning sunlight and I almost can't detect even the flashlight is on or off.
ok thank you, so 50lms will be good enough for cycling home?
I was in a store testing that lezyne 15lm, its bright enough if you see it directly to your eyes, I was think it will also give you a good chance to lit up a road but me only take the rear light one, me only like the design, it is tiny and standing in front of the stem bars.
any recommendation for the same design lights for about $15-20 but brighter?
Shining a light into your eyes does not indicate that it is good enough to see by. I have one light that is 260 lumens, it is OK if you are careful and go slow, and there is no other ambient light like cars coming the other way. One problem is that when you are exposed to a bright car light going by in the other direction your eyes adjust to the bright light, but then it passes and goes away. You need a bright light to help then. On a pitch black location your eyes have time to readjust and you can get by with less, as long as no other light is around. Even a street light will be a problem as you pass away from the light it makes into darkness. With traffic passing in the other direction, 260 lumens is marginal in the short time when your eyes adjust to the darkness. You need to see the surface of the ground to avoid holes, objects etc.
When selecting a light, one needs to know the run time it provides at the lumen setting you need. This depends on your ride time in the dark. I always like a lot more run time than I need in case I get a flat or something.
I finish long rides on the dark about once a week. And one short ride home once a week. I do 4 hours in the dark very frequently. I want at least five hours run time for that. I have been lost in the middle of nowhere too.
That's when I like my 5:45 run time. I also carry a back up light for more time, and in case my main light breaks. My short rides home are only about 40 minutes. 1.5 hours run time is fine on the small light I use for this. The small light gives me 1.5 hours 600 lumens for the traffic, and about 4 hours at 300 lumens for the dark unlighted bike path. That's fine for me, I do have to see potholes, cats, rabbits etc. The 600 lumens allows me to see a rabbit way over at one side, before it runs into my path on the bike path. The 300 lumens is about the minimum for this. But it works.