This shows how my Cygolite is aimed downward. This light puts out a brighter center "hotspot" area, with a dimmer outer area. I have it so the hot spot area never goes above horizontal. Instead it shines out onto the ground about 30-40 feet in front of me. Oncoming traffic will see the outer area of light, but it wouldn't be any worse than looking at normal car headlights from the side.

Maybe soon I ought to try x-mas bikelights (if these exist)?

What a beautiful bike. I have a felt z85 and this looks awesome. I commute on a GT Grade but your felt looks nice. And I have a cygolite metro 1100. Good taste there, sir.

tried it out. works pretty good





but I still had to point it down when passing ppl

blurry I know but it shows the beam pattern pretty well. instead of a circular hot spot it's laterally linear? plus there's a closer lit area as well. but the top is probably as bright as the bottom, so it remains offensive to oncoming traffic & ppl




it's nice to burn a hole in the darkness but there's something pleasing about this instead

My next battery light will be a German one with the focused beam like I have with my dyno. But the reason for this response is that this morning I had a close call on the way to work on the MUP: Oncoming cyclist with his flashlight blinding me. All I could see is that glowing globe. It turns out that next to him and between him and me was his buddy. I DID NOT SEE HIS BUDDY UNTIL WE WERE ALMOST HANDLEBAR TO HANDLEBAR. It could have ended badly.

yeah shared mups don't need the same kind of light as we need on the roads. aiming them down helps a lot. I've noticed ppl riding together, & the rider following does not use a light. makes sense, maybe, like if they are following (but not if they come side-by-side), but a reflector please?, or another light on, pointed down? what's wrong w the 2nd rider having a light?

That's been debunked. Try to keep up: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disea...alzheimers.asp

Also, I'm disappointed by the lack of Beholder content in this thread:

Exactamundo ;-)

"failed to confirm" is not debunked. Dow Chemical pesticides are linked to ADHD & Autism but because studies have "failed to confirm" & more studies are needed, they are now allowed to test the pesticides on you, me, our children & our daughters' children

Without a credible link, all you're going on is faith.

I used to ride through a bike/pedestrian underpass that had a 90 degree at one end on my way to/from my old office. Kids used to like to skateboard down the hill at the other end before going into the tunnel and liked to scare people if they could. My riding through it after dark would definitely get peoples attention if they were coming the other way and couldn't see into the tunnel. They weren't sure what was coming, but they knew something was and yes I always covered my lights when passing, even for the kids on skateboards.

I only pointed it up like that cuz no one was there & to illuminate the sides & roof for the photo

made a little hood from a yogurt container. even used some aluminum foil since it won't give me Alzheimers ;-) I think it helps, but a longer one would do more



this is high power. it has 2 lower settings I can try



manually covering the light on the trail w one hand for ea person won't work for me. too many ppl. not saying I won't or don't do it, just can't do it for everyone. I'd rather find an angle, brightness setting & hood accessory that I can keep for the populated sections. further west on this trail, this time of year, is pretty empty except for other riders w strong lights & we don't bother each other. car drivers deal w oncoming headlights all the time. it is what it is. aim your lights & don't look into oncoming lights. unfortunately tho there's no standard or regulation for angle, brightness & focus or beam pattern, for bike lights like there is for car lights, so we're all doing our own thing

this is without the wide angle & hood

Talk about a critical hit! Those eye-stalks don't mess around!

But, topically, I just put some Serfas something or other lights on my ride earlier today. 900 lumens in the front, I think 100 in the rear. I'm currently stopped at a bar whilst testing, so far the something or others are pretty awesome.

I love my B&M lights with a good beam pattern that doesn't blind car drivers. I've got a couple of the low power versions but plan on getting the higher power version. Even though its brighter because of the good beam pattern and cutoff the light doesn't go where it shouldn't.

Wow, maybe it's the difference between photography and in-person viewing, but those pics look WAY different than the two diffuser lenses I bought. Can you give an exact link to which one you got?

Yours has 10 'ribs' in it, this is the one I got, it has more.

wow, interesting beam pattern test comparison on that ebay unit. maybe I should try it!
regardless, this is the one I got

but yeah, internet photos are hard to compare, you know cameras make their own perception w exposure, etc

Wide Angle Lens for MagicShine, Gemini, and many other Bike Lights / Headlight. Includes O-Ring
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hmm. That amazon page shows pics of two spots; one round, one oval, and they look about like my experience. That circular spot would be about 12-18in diamter on the ground about 10ft ahead, the diffused spot would be the same height, but 4-5x the width. Do those amazon pics reflect your irl experience, or do the pics you posted seem pretty much representative of the way it looks to your eyes?

jeebus, I thought this non-StVZO-approved thread woulda died by now :/

it's the law of the jungle where I live

I have very strong lights as I commute on very dark cycle paths ... so does everyone else here ... they have similar lights

if we dont have these strong lights, we will be smashing into potholes (the roads are crap here) ... we cycle long distances to and from work .... it's cold, it's raining, it's late .... we want to get home (soon)

if someone approaches with strong lights, look to the side .... the same as the cyclist approaching does ... no bad feelings ... we are all in the same boat

yes

When riding in daytime traffic, I use sunshine to light the road ahead. The sun is bright!! However, no one has ever complained to me as I pass by that they are blinded by my sunshine.

took a cpl more last night

wide angle w DIY hood pointed down


aimed higher






video might do a better job perceiving what it looks like in real life