Originally Posted by
polyphrast
i am a bit lost. i speed down unlit roads at speeds above 20 mph with the Detour and the light just works fine. I ask the obvious: had you adjusted the light in the correct way: the cutoff still needs to be visibile on the road (e.g. in a distance between 130-200 ft)?
And saying from testing one (1) cutoff light that they do not put out enough light for high speeds is a bit ridculous. I use a bike(!) light with cutoff for my velomobile (fully carbon faired trike) and my comfortable cruising speed on a flat road is between 25-35 mph, in total darkness as well. (I still enjoy the integrated highbeam, which allows me to speed down hills safely at 45-60 mph at night...)
I played with the Outbound Detour a lot on 2 or 3 different night rides. None of the angle tweaking made a difference - the amount of light thrown down the road, on maximum, is just way lower than with other lights I have of comparable rated lumens.
I agree with you about cutoff beams in general - I'm not writing them off, but given that the STVzo regulations that most cutoff beam lights follow limit the total power output to just 205 lumens, it's clear that most will not be suitable for fast riding on dark winding country roads.
Which light do you have on your velomobile that is so capable?
I don't have issues with my current non-cutoff Moon & Lezyne headlights with blinding other road users, because I angle them down a few degrees.