Depending on what cords you have, could you have the connection near you? Then if you see someone coming you could unplug it. That's all I can come up with to shut it down.

That being said, it's up to you if you want to go through this effort.

Did the other person:

a.) buy the light?
b.) pay your bills?
c.) provide you a place to live?

If these answers are 'no', and you have aimed your light properly, they can go for a long walk on a short pier.

It's an example of a basic law of life -- three basic drives power mankind; survival, reproduction, and telling the other guy his business.

'Dim your light, please' would get a reply of 'avert your eyes, please'. Anything less polite can easily be met in kind....

I loop the light's O-ring through both plastic rings of the battery pack and let it dangle under the handlebar like a set of .... Well, I let it dangle.

It's certainly a possibility, but then again, he may be in the right. I don't know, I haven't seen OP's light. In fact, I haven't even seen my own (E3 Supernova), except for when I'm on my bike. So, OP, have you seen your light from the other guy's perspective? Maybe you should go out with a friend some dark night and trade bikes, and see what it's really like.

Bear in mind that different people's eyes react to bright lights differently. It depends on stuff like, I don't know, how fast your eyes can dilate &c. If the guy says your light is too bright, it could well be that it is too bight for his eyes. Be nice to him; he's a bicyclist, he is on our team!

This "your light is too bright!" problem is becoming a recurrent theme here, and we should be looking for solutions, rather than just ignoring it.

Just wear it on your helmet. When another cyclist approaches, aim it off to the right side of the trail until they pass. That's what I do and it works fine.

Other lights I've had has them for securing the pack to the downtube to prevent larger and heavier packs from swaying. The battery bag is quite likely not made specifically for them and they either didnt think the pack warranted them or didnt want the expense.

I had that happen the other day. A pair of Dinotte 200s mounted under a handlebar bag just above the wheel and aimed about 7 yds ahead - and they were both on MEDIUM!

Some people just arent happy unless they can complain about something. It does make you wish you could hi-flash them back as easily as in a car.

I wouldn't worry - probably just a grumpy windbag with nothing better to complain about.

That being said, I reduced my lighting after seeing other cyclists cover their eyes as I passed them. Went from two 20 watt lights to one, and moved it from the handlebar to a front reflector bracket. Haven't had an issue or seen someone shrink back in horror since.

Has anyone tried to block the light from shining too high? I'm curious as to how much modification was needed.

I admit there are times when I wish I had:
1. 3200 lumens / 15 million candlepower
2. 12 volt water cage battery
3. And velcro mounting straps

Haven't purchased this and probably won't. But there are those times when it's crossed my mind.

He sounds like one of those people who like to boss others around. Ignoring him is probably the best thing to do. My guess he is the only one who has ever said something, and would berate you if you didn't have a light.

Makea hood for the light to block the upper reflected part of the beam. It seems to me that the upper portion of the beam gets wasted anyways.

Agreed. I'll get a cyclist or jogger about once every couple weeks complain.

I also use a Supernova E3, and while it's an insanely bright light, it can be aimed such that the main spot isn't blinding people. There is still some top-spill, but unless (as you stated) an oncoming rider has problems with his eyes not adjusting properly, the amount of spill from the E3's side/top glow isn't blinding.
The easiest way to determine if your light is too bright is to find a storefront and ride straight toward the front windows. Your reflection will tell you if your light is aimed properly or not.

I have my reading/spotting light on my helmet (Princeton Tec Quad), but my main lamp is dyno driven so there's no chance of helmet mounting it.

It depends on the riding conditions. I'm putting a focused beam light (IQ Cyo) as a secondary on my commuter/brevet rig because I can use that on areas like the MUP or the well lit suburban streets. The symmetrial beam E3 is nice for some side-spill on the country backroads when I'm concerned about seeing what's going to come bounding out of the woods in front of me. (Yesterday a fox loped across the road in front of me during my first long descent.)

That might be the best way.

Other lights -- car headlights, German-spec bike lights, etc -- block excess light at the source before it hits the reflector. Symmetrical-beam bike lights spray it everywhere, and even putting a flat piece across half the face only does so much.

It should be possible to shape a hood that allows enough light on the road and to the sides without lighting up everything above waist level.

When riding the MUP with the old HID, I generally drop it down (it swivels on the bar) when I pass an oncoming trail user.

But I don't have more than a few hundred meters of MUP on my regular route, and with the infrequency of other night-time users on them, I only have this situation a few times a month.

On the road, it's aimed low enough (to pick out potholes) that there is less light spray then with typical auto HIDs, in my opinion.

I'm thinking that this is going to become more of problem as the price to lumen ratio drops. What we need is the manufacturers to put more effort into the reflectors and lenses.

I also think that the comments others make is because you are on a bike. If you are walking down a rode and a car approaches, it is a very bright / blinding light. Most people avert theirs and possibly grumble about being blinded, but they know the car driver won't hear them say anything. Plus, they know the car driver can't do anything about it. Your bike takes longer to pass and in most cases, it can be reached to cover it.

Unless the helmet light is a fairly tight spot with minimum spill, this does not work well on recumbent designs with the bottom bracket located higher than the seat bottom (the Bacchetta Giro 20 is a relatively moderate such design). This is because your pedaling feet are so brightly illuminated that they are by far the brightest thing in your forward visual field, thus effectively blotting out your forward vision. Recumbent bicyclists call this "foot flash" and is the reason that front lights on such high-racer recumbents (dual 26, dual 650c or dual 700c in particular) mount headlights either above, below or in front of the bottom bracket.

It is possible to use a helmet mounted light on such highracers, but it really must be a spot beam with very little spill. Unfortunately, it seems the OP's light does not have that narrow a beam.

Can't you just mount some kind of shield over the top of it? If someone's complaining, it's obviously a problem.

I have a Bento bag on my top tube, I put it in there with my other light batteries. Schwinn has one too for less than half price at the X marts.

That's not true. People complain about things all the time that aren't problems - just read this forum for a few days!

I don't have any trails near me, so I am on the road, I get cars flashing me sometimes, I figure it is a good sign that they can see me. They will get over it, just like this guy will. Don't lose any sleep over it, ride in a way that is safe to you.

I-Pod

It's not that properly aimed bike headlights are too bright; it's that other people can't help but stare at them.

Yup. The 20 or so other cyclists and joggers who pass me without complaint are all wrong in not saying anything. This one guy has got it all figured out.

where's a good place to buy a Magicshine?