You could build yourself a perfect bike and spare no expense on running gear to get the best fit, most comfort, and best reliability but if you don't put tires on it you're not going anywhere...

I'd rather overpower the lumens and work out the pattern. Most of these high lumens systems have pretty good patterns too.


As a matter of fact and going back to the thread, I'm running an overvolted MR16 setup and for kicks this weekend I wired up a 10 degree spot next to my 35 degree flood to see the difference. I wired them with an A-B switch because I had one laying around. This morning on the trails (I ride in the Greenway here which are dedicated trails with no roads, lights, or cars on them. Yeah, I know... ) I switched back and forth between the two.

The flood light does just that, it floods the ground in front of me with lots of bright, white light. There is a bit of a shadow out in front of me at around 50', and usually to compensate that I have a 2D LED Maglight I strap to the top tube that I turn on and focus to fill the black hold. This has been a very effective setup and worked very well. Depending on who you believe I think it's somewhere around 1200-1300 lumens out front. On a pitch black trail you can just imagine how brilliant that can be...

The spot I had mixed feelings about... It was definitely a little more narrow, and brighter in the spot so it went further down the trail. The maglight didn't make as much of a difference because of the extra light down there, and after a few miles I found I was missing the extra light around me to see those damned killer rabbits running around so I actually switched back to the flood.

Both bulbs had their strengths and weaknesses and I found that when I switched to one I always missed the other. Ideally I guess I need another battery so I can run both. Either way it was nice to have both on there so I could adjust as I felt I needed or wanted to. Those MR16's really do pump a ton of light out on the trail. They're very impressive indeed.

On a side note, being relatively new to roadbiking I was shocked when I went past a group of obviously established bikers on my way to work to see that they all were running these cheesy little walmart lights on their bars. I had a hard time believing they actually rode like that. It's so nice to go out in the morning and not just be able to see, but to see well...

I've ridden on an unlit road with a tiny 5-LED lamp powered by four AAA cells (with about 8-10 hours at full brightness, then another 30-40 hours at progressively lower brightness). Could do 25 mph without worry, but that was on a good road. The ground was lit up well enough to allow me to see potholes and large debris in time at that speed. A bit more light would've been nice, though.

You don't necessarily need something that rivals a car headlight. More light isn't always better either.

I'm happy with my Fenix helmet light and 200L on the bars. The Fenix is great for lighting up turns, outside the beam of the 200L. And the Fenix projects farther down the road, since it's beam is narrower.

From my previous BF review:
I wouldn't want to ride much over 30 mph, even on a dry, well-known road with this combination.