SPOT vs. FLOOD
 

1. Ok, what's the pro/cons of a spot vs. flood light if you had to take a pick? Yah I know many would be like "well get both" well I'm talking about if you had one or the other as a choice and no in betweens.

2. What degree is best for either light?


Thank you kindly in advance for the help.



Zero_Enigma

I prefer spot. I like seeing the road, without blinding people going the other way, or anyone with a mirror.

I don't worry much about the angles....so long as 10ft out from me I have at least 4ft wide light spread, I am happy.

I have a 20 W flood, a 12 W spot on the bike and a 20 W spot on my helmet. The flood fills the road with a nice light and the spots let me see details.

I do both as well - spot on the helmet so it moves where I look and a flood on the bar so I can see the ground directly in front of me a bit better. The helmet light also helps a lot in night repairs.

Definitely spot if you only get one light. I've used 10, 12, 18, and 24 degree MR16 halogens. The 24 is much too wide and the 18 is mediocre. The spill from even a 10 degree does a good job up close. Flood lights should be reserved for overhead lighting indoors.

Where are you riding that you need lights? If you're commuting to work and need to be seen, or if you are riding trails at night, you need different lights. I don't need a light for seeing going to work because there are streetlights the whole way. Riding at speed through trees, I would need a stronger/wider light.

I do a bit of both on my commute. Having too much in the way of lighting never hurts either ;)

Flood is nice when crawling up singletrack switchbacks in the dark, or picking through other technical stuff. I used to set my dual-beam NiteRider's bracket one click above its lowest aim, and then I'd drop it down to the lowest notch to aim it right in front of the bike, and switch to 20W flood to help pick my line through slow, tricky stuff, despite the bars weaving. The even spread of light from the flood beam was just the ticket. Although I just got one of those Minoura Besso mounts and attached it to the side of my headtube, so now the bars can weave and the light will still aim where the bike's frame is pointing.

How relevant is that to the OP, I don't know ;) But it's the best use I've found for a full flood beam.

Well thank god I have my trusty light and motion lights with the custom reflectors. They put out a REALLY REALLY smooth even beam pattern.

I'm running a 12-degree flood 13W HID. It's very much a see-and-be-seen light. I commute pretty much exclusively on the road, and this certainly does the trick. I loaned the light to a friend of mine who was doing an adventure race, and she said that it was perfect for pretty much everything. I'll be giving it a try on some singletrack soon...

I built my own, using a 20-watt low beam (energy-saver 35-watt equiv.) and a 35-watt high beam (energy-saver 50-watt equiv.) They are both 8-deg. narrow spots.

Narrow spots focus as much light as possible where you need it most. With the lower capacity of bicycle light batteries due to lighter weight requirements, you need all the light you can muster. IMHO.

Of course, I'm not familiar with off-road requirements.

Who makes the best 12-18 degree 20W bulbs? I'm going to use an 8 degree Engery Saver, but don't really think I need to go up to a 24 degree narrow flood for my other bulb. Plus they don't come in the 20W rating.