Originally Posted by slvoid
Well it also depends on how the light's designed.
Most MR11 bulbs are glass, a lot of light leaks out the side and back. And they're flood bulbs.
Light and motion is, so far, the only manufacturer that designs their own custom aluminium reflectors.
I've been going on night rides with a bikeforums member and on a pitch black road, my 16 watt beam with flood reflector lights up the road enough to give about 3-4 seconds of warning for stuff at around 22-24mph. Like I said, they're just my own personal experiences, of course with glare, poorly designed reflectors (or worse yet, generic reflectors that come with most MR11 bulbs), that's bound to change.
It would be nice if people posted their experiences about how fast they can go with what type of light so we can fine tune this thing.
I have been using a Cygolite Nightrover xtra. it works just fine for me i just use the 6 watt bulb for around the city & i can see just fine at 18 to 25mph flats. i use it in the trails too i have not run into any kind of visibility problems with the 10 watt bulb & i have decsended very familiar trails at approximately 40 mph with both bulbs on ,though the 6w doesn't make much more of a difference..........
i never measured out how far the beam extends but in actual use it is far enough out to give time for a reaction to anything on the line of fire.personally i like kind of a dullish light,it's all about the night in nightriding......