Best front light?
 

I recently started using only a LED light on the front, with two flashing LEDs on the rear (one on my bike, on on my backpack). The front LED is a Cateye HL-EL400, a flashing 3 LED model that seems pretty bright. This has coincided with getting a road bike and so acieving much greater speeds than on my MTB. Somehow I feel more vulnerable and less visible than on my MTB, when I used a basic halogen light.

Which type of front light is most visible to cars - LED or halogen? I ride mainly under streetlights. What else could I do to improve my visibility?

-- When I am driving at night, I notice the blueish tint of the LED lights stand out better than the halogen lights and the multi-bulb LED's grab my attention.

As a bicycist, I prefer a halogen light to actually illuminate the road to see where I'm going.
These are my subjective experiences; I cannot advise you on the different brands and models of specific bike lights.

I want to supplement your excellent question by asking our fellow Bike Forums posters to state what bicycle lighting configurations they notice most while driving.

Have you asked a friend to view the one on your backpack while you are leaned over in your usual riding position. I see lots of commuters with a blinkie in the middle of their backpack and it is slightly visible when they are leaned over the handlebars.

I think a halogen is more visible than an LED. I have two NightRider halogen headlights and a flashing 3 LED light onthe front. The flashing LED is just to get the attention of approaching motorists.

I have found that it is easy to miss an approaching cyclist if they are being followed by bright car headlights. Those little blinkies didn't show up in a case I remember. The intensely bright 10W lights seem best in my experience. Still, keep hyperalert for cars turning into you....

One thing about visibility is this: will your headlight call attention to you in a sea of other lights?

Exactly what kind of halogen light are you comparing the led light too? What power bulb? what batteries?

Need more info.

Cateye 2 C-cell halogen light.... so not particularly powerful. But I'm reluctant to mount any heavy lights (even that one) on my super-light race bike - that's why I'd like to stay with LED lights. But, obviously, safety is my primary concern. I think part of the reason I feel more vulnerable / less visible is the much greater speeds I'm acieving.

Yes, this is what I'm most concerned about. Most of my riding is done under streetlights so I don't need a light to help me see - just be seen.

Agreed, definitely. This is one of the most dangerous situations.

Hmmmm... so some people think LEDs are more visible to drivers, some think halogens. I'm in little doubt that bright, flashing LEDs are the best rear lighting, but still not sure about the front. Like I say, I want it to be as lightweight as possible. Might mount a small light on the front of my helmet too...

I ride mostly on inner city streets that are lighted well enough that a "steady" light adds very little to my ability to see the road. My biggest concern is that drivers notice me. In the inner city, there are always dozens, or hundreds of lights and distractions for drivers, and a tiny "steady beam" bike headlight can get lost in the urban chaos.

I have been using blinking LED lights to increase the odds of being noticed. A couple of weeks ago, I got a SIGMA three LED flashing strobe that uses three AA batteries. I KNOW cars and pedestrians see this light. It annoys drivers enough that some drivers will flash their bright lights at me. I have heard comments from pedestrians who were about to step off the curb and were startled by the intensity of the LED.

It was only $19 at my neighborhood LBS. I'm thinking of buying some more of the SIGMA's and run a pair of them on each bike...an opportunity to be twice as annoying to motorists.

Sounds similar to my Cateye LED, it is very bright if you look straight at it. I've wondered about angling it downwards so it's less in the face of motorists... but nah, b*llocks, I have had so many cars drive with no regard whatosever for my safety that I need to be as visible as possible... I get dazzled by their lights anyway.

Thinking about it, maybe the difference between this LED and my old halogen is lateral visibility - the LED is very bright if you look at it straight on, but even slightly to the side and it becomes a lot less visible... maybe I need to look at ways to address this.

I own all these lights and many more. I ride centuries every week coming home at midnight or later. This gives me more than four hours at a time in the dark on a ride. I've been doing this for years. I take these lights out at night and put them side by side and walk away to see what really is happening as far as how I look.

The exact halogen light you are referring to is a solid light, but it is the weakest, least powerful halogen
light available right now, that I know of. When others say "Halogen" lights its a big wide range or brightness. Most of the other handlebar self contained units are much brighter. The big 10 or 20 watt separate battery rechargeable halogen lights are easier to see than all the LED blinkies, but that is a different category, and not what you are looking for I believe.
The fact that a marker (to be seen) light blinks is a huge factor. This makes it visible and makes it stand out as something different or important, especially with other lights around. In the class of light that the cat eye EL 400 is in, it is one of the best for being seen, (not to see with). I have two of them.
There is one other brighter light that is so bright it is not believable until you try it. The performance Flare white front light. (40-1792b White front) it's in the catalogue, but sold on the web sight as a pair with red rear light. Which is the brightest red taillight on the market anyway, it beats the best by a wide margin. The headlight is only$19.99. It will blind you if you look right into it. It is bright enough to see with in many conditions. It is also a small 3x aaa battery light like the cat eye. Because of a clear plastic front cap it is a little easier to see from the sides than the cat eye HL EL 400.
I did a comparison of the taillight and posted photos taken in the dark. Scroll down and look at the comparison of the red taillights the brightest is the red Performance flare. It is hard to believe. This is more noticeable (easier to notice from a distance) in the dark than your halogen, or any of the self contained handlebar halogen lights out there. Some of the other halogen handlebar lights are better for seeing the ground. With out blinking they can be hard to notice in some conditions from a car.

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=Cat+eye+light

In any of these lights, including your Cateye HL EL 400 putting lithium batteries in the light gives it a good boost in brightness, (higher voltage) and better run time, and more even power until the end. The lithium batteries are about 3 times as much.

The halogen will get you better noticed. An HID even more. If you frequently ride at night, buy the best lighting you can afford, including a backup (or at least extra batteries).

I'd say the kind of light you need is most directly in relation to where you want to ride with it. For example if you're riding mostly in the city (like I do) then you don't need anything more than a multi-LED headlight, because your main goal, most likely, is to be seen, not to see, and as many here have already stated, a standard LED set up is more than adequate for that.

I have to agree 100%. If you mean a powerful rechargeable halogen light that will enable you to see the road. He's actual comparing right now to a self contained handlebar light. A 1.4 watt bulb cat eye, with 2xC batteries. That's weaker than the Flare.

I think that most of the riders with many, many miles in the dark would agree about powerful lights.

I think the more miles in the dark the more apparent this becomes. Since he's thinking small light at the moment I thought I would just address that. Maybe in time or as the miles build up the desire will change.

But I stress again....for safety...the best, brightest, light you can afford, something like a car headlight, has many safety advantages. And have a back up too. The smaller thinner tires of a road bike are more prone to flats with small things that are hard to see without good lighting. You mention your super light race bike with thin tires. If you want to put lots of miles on that bike and protect your thin tires, your good light wheels, and take advantage of the speed of that bike, you need a powerful heavier light, compared to small lights. It seems odd at first but if you start putting thousands of miles on that thing like I do you will eventually come to that conclusion anyway.

A (powerful) heavier light on a light weight bike seems like a contradiction at first. But it is in keeping with the goal of a fast bike, this allows you to go faster at night with less trouble. All the RAAM racers and 24 hour mtb riders do this with $$ light bikes.

Flashing, white LEDs for the front and flashing red LED in back. Flashing is key to being seen from a distance and recognized as a cyclist.

2manybikes is right, the faster you go, the brighter the light you need. Even on streets with streetlights, there are gaps in coverage. The brighter lights will help you to more quickly distinguish potholes from pavement stains.

Hmmm.... I can understand the arguments for carrying very heavy lights on a race bike, but I'm not quite convinced. I actually have a Cateye ABS system (10W + 20W) for offroad MTB. It weighs a ton, the 20W spot is IMO *too* bright for road use, and I often ride for longer than the battery life anyway.

The ViewPoint Flare looks excellent, thanks for the recommendation. But I'm in the UK and no-one seems to stock it here. Do you know where I might be able to get it? I guess I could try and get it shipped from performancebike.com, but then there's hassles with postage, import tax etc.

St John Street cycles was advertising them in Cycling Plus Magazine a few issues ago. They are sold under the name "S-Sun" which is really what they are, Performance and Nashbar just private label them.
Here's what the light is before it gets relabeled.

http://www.s-sun.com.tw/main-p1.htm

I don't think there is such a thing as "too bright for road use." Off road, it's you against the road. On road, it's you against speeding steel monsters. Off road, you have uneven trail conditions. On road, you have potholes, pavement cracks, glass, diagnal railroad tracks, sewer grates, etc., etc., etc. Bright lights are also more important if you ride fast at night with thin tires.

You may change your view of the importance of bright lights if, while riding with your LED, you don't see a pothole, crash, taco your wheel, destroy your derailleur and brake, rip your cycling clothes, nick your frame, and break your collar bone. On the way to the hospital, you can be happy that you saved a couple hunded bucks and a few grams.

Daily Commute, now you sound like ME !! :eek:

Or maybe I sound like you. :)

Thanks, 2manybikes.

Now, to answer another of Old Gammy Leg's questions, one thing you can do to improve your visability is to wear a reflective vest. Performance sells one that Nathan makes for cycling. I use it and think it was well worth the $15 or so that I paid for it. When I'm driving, cyclists with reflective vests really stick out.

This recent thread discusses reflective gear.

Oh Yeah ! Back to the point! good!

There is one commuter around here that has no lights, but has a vest, ankle straps, arm bands, bike reflectors, reflective tape on the frame, wheel and pedal reflectors, reflectors on his rear baskets, and tape on the helmet too. I know it's him from a long way away you can not miss this guy! The result is incredible. One benefit I see is that it is clearly a cyclist, you can tell by the shape that you are coming up on a guy on a bicycle. That's good information for a driver to have a.s.a.p. Some day when I have time I'm going to stop him and talk to him.

Unless you are going to turn left onto the road that he's riding on... Lights don't illuminate nor reflect on surfaces that are 90 degrees from the direction they are pointed. You NEED a front light if you are going to ride at night. Reflective stuff is important too.

Personally, I run both a NR digital evolution (on blink) and a cygolite HID. For taillights I use the NR taillight on solid and a blinkie mounted to my rack, (as well as a huge red rear reflector). I get more respect from cars at night than I do in the daylight. I have many cars waiting to turn left onto the road I'm travelling, even when there are other cars headlights around to wash out the bike lights. I think the combination of the bright 15w flashing halogen and the blueish hue of the HID really stands out. I have a 3 LED headlight from planet bike as a backup flasher/flashlight if I flat. I wear reflective ankle bands as well, and scotchbrite fabric on my Bug Pannier. My wife says I'm very visible from a car, but I'm still not satisfied, so I ordered a reflective vest. That said, my setup cost almost $700, which I would not spend if I wasn't riding in the dark for the majority of my winter riding...50-80 miles per week commuting & tooling around...60 miles of that is in the dark, basically from Nov - early march.

The commuter thread and the winter forum have comments about lights also.

Many of the comments in those other threads proclaiming the benefits of powerful lights are from me. :)
probalby most of them... :o

Have you seen a Lupine Edison 10 ?? :)

...in addition to that, powerfull lights, just like car lights can be seen around a corner before you get there. Or before you crest the horizon. Or reflecting off something nearby by others. Many benefits that we don't even think of.

On the pathlast night after dark, I saw two cyclists wearing reflective vests coming towards me. My headlight illuminated their vests. It was not until they were within about 20' that I noticed they also had LED headlights. My conclusion from this most unscientific survey: reflective vests are better than LED headlights for visability purposes. But you should still have a light.