It is truly amazing the reaction I am getting from runninng strong lights up front on my road bikes. I have fixed mounts to hold torch flashlights on most of my bikes. Also, I am running pairs up front, and yesterday was the first day, that I am running a torch on my helmet.

Let me tell you, the reaction of cars is out of this world. No more cutting/left turn in front of me, in fact, yesterday, I am a good 100 yds away from an intersection, but the car WAITED for me to pass before making their left turn!! On my commute, a lot of times I have to take a full lane, the lights amplify my presence. The torch on top is really doing its thing. The two front torches are aimed downward. One hits the ground about 20 feet, the other a little further out at 30 feet. The torch on my helmet lets me see around the corners and alert my coming.

The torch on my helmet can be used as a horn too, as to alert someone that they are beginning to take my rightaway. Haven't done that yet. I am very aware that these torches are super bright, and handle them accordingly. I am constantly monitoring where they are aimed. Yesterday, a couple cars pulled up beside me, and told me that just wanted to see what it was, those lights. Even from behind, the front lights are showing a bright beam on the ground that is widely seen in directions. This bright spot of the frontward beams can be seen at all angles, front, either side and from behind.

I have found out, I had to get better cells to get better runtimes too. Now, I have better cells, and carry spares.. Daytime, I am blinky.

It is all about being seen, and in turn, making oneself more safer...

Definitely true. The day I mounted an MR16 DIY light with an old 12V battery I noticed this, and as I've gotten better and better lights, it's only gotten more pronounced. I've been thinking about getting a MagicShine 880 (2K lumens, dual emitter) but the 900 that I have (450 or so lumens) is pretty good.

I think that beyond a certain point, you don't gain anything. Some people would not notice you if you were riding with enough lighting to catch bushes on fire.

If an oncoming car sees only one really bright light they may think it is another car with a bad headlight.

IMO, the MagicShine 880 will be a super winner.. Well, the nutcases that don't notice are in the minority. The main thing is that we are being seen and respect, and most of this comes from having ample lights..

Well, I am being treated like a car. Even when they have time to make that left turn in front of me, or come out of that driveway without being close to me, they are WAITING now. Like the guy that pulled up beside me yesterday, he said, he didn't know what I was, he just saw the lights. So, I am getting much needed street attention, and not blinding, frustrating, and miss-using my lights. All good..

Yes - yet another bicycle-lighting "discovery" that is made through actual night riding experience. This is another thread that supports the idea that having enough "light" has little to do with being able to see where you are going.

I was happy to be able see where I was going using a couple Magic Shine lights. But I was lot safer when I added a Solar Force M8 torch for no other reason but to "get attention" when I think I need it. Better to be a geek than a statistic.....

The people who don't notice are in the minority, of course. But that means little. If 1 in 1000 drivers I encounter on the road ignore the lights, that still means multiple cars per year that ignore the lights.

I really don't think that past the point where I'm at, more light will really do any good. I think that the people who would notice 2000 lumens will notice 500, and the people who don't notice 500 won't notice 2000. There will be a tiny percent more, but not much.

It's worth having bright lights to sweep up the vast majority of drivers so you don't have to brake and swerve to avoid every nutjob, but I don't think it's really worth spending 4x as much on lights to bring the number of people who "don't see" your lights from 50 per year to 49.8 per year.

It's not the lights. They just know you Da Man. You ride with that Chuck Norris aura.

My wife was jogging and I was riding shotgun with the bike with the double torches up front. She said they were blinding, even when you don't look at them. I said ok. Now, when time came to fix her bike up, I told her, I was going to put two smaller flashlights on her bike, since the kind I was running on my bike were according to my always-right-wife too bright. Guess what she said?? No, put the same thing you got on your bike!! WTF!! I said "baby, you said they were too bright and blinding, I don't want you to blind nobody".. She said "put the dam things on my bike too"

Hence, my wife's bike is running two Keygos Ke-1s up front.

Here is a pic of my bikes, including my wife's bike, which are all set up with so-called 1300 lum torches. On the helmet is a so-called 1600 lum torch..

Awesome lighting to say the least!!

Awsome rides too! Love the bars on that Raleigh! Glad to hear those lights are making your drive a safer more fun experience!

Hiya, yup, the old man is having big fun. Hanging out in the flashlight forums too. It is real funny how the cars give me the right of way with those burners..

Have you test rode that Specialized at night yet?

I know those duals you have on there are just as bright or brighter than my torches, and with more runtime too.

Safe riding to you,

Good lord, man. Raleighs...sheesh. Pretty impressive you have those bad boys...I stopped riding the Raleigh I had back in '73 when I discovered there were real road bikes out there...that was in '75. How heavy are those flashlights on the bars??

[QUOTE=cehowardGS;14011891]Here is a pic of my bikes, including my wife's bike, which are all set up with so-called 1300 lum torches. On the helmet is a so-called 1600 lum torch..

Awesome lighting to say the least!!


cehowardGS, could you tell me what type of mount you are using for your flash lights? I got myself a magicshine torch a few months ago, but haven't been using it much since I don't like the mount it came with. But the mounts that you have seem really solid.

I agree 100%!

In addition, 1 in a 1000 are dam good odds if you ask me.

We are never going to get the 100% of people seeing us, just as nothing is perfect. However, we can increase OUR ODDS on safety, and IMO, with better lights we are doing just that..

I agree with you on the spending too, cause I ain't the one spending $$$$ on lights. I am cheapo all the way, just ask my Socical Security Check!!

However, I ain't knocking the expensive lights, they are dam good, and I mean dam good. I just happen to like the look of the flashlight torches, and they happen to be way cheaper than the quality bike lights. I like clean and flowing lines on all my vehicles. Whether it be bicycle, car, or truck. With that in mind, battery packs are out the question for me. Just as some would say torches would be out the question for them. There are many diifferent ways to achieve the same goal.

On a humor note, the other day I was exiting the subway, getting ready to do the 8 or 9 miles home. It was dark, and two other bicyclist were exiting with me. When we all got on the road, it was something to be seen. One bike rider was on the pavement, and he was completely stealth, in other words, you could barely see him. The other one had a weak rear light, and no front light, and he also was on the pavement. Here comes the old man, in a full lane on the double two-laner, with lights brighter than the cars. As I went pass the other two bike riders, one almost fell looking at me, and the other had to stop to see what I was.

I started to stop and tell them that if they are going to ride at night, at least have some kind of lighting front and rear, even on the pavement. But, I didn't, I just SWISHED on by, smiling broadly!!

Tell me life isn't sweet!!

Ha, just the opposite!!

I will admit, I am a agressive rider, due to the fact that I am accustomed to high speed on two wheels. However, to relate to me with Chuck Norris, is way, way off!!

First off, I can't fight my way out a paper bag, never could, and never will.

My last 2 x girlfriends, and now my wife, have also doubled as my bodyguards.. Oh yeah!!

I'll never forget riding along a busy well-lit street in downtown Toronto at night when a driver waiting to turn left, who could see me perfectly well, screamed out his window as I passed that I should get some f***ing lights. I was riding with a single Knog blinky with nearly dead batteries, so I can hardly blame him for finding my lighting inadequate, although I'm sure he was more annoyed for having to wait for me to get out of his way so he could make his left.

Fast forward a couple of years and I had upgraded to a dynamo powered Supernova. Same street, same lighting conditions. Waiting at an intersection, a woman rolled down her window, jaw dropped, and yelled 'WHERE DID YOU GET THOSE LIGHTS? THEY'RE AMAZING!' I think she was disheartened to hear that they were special ordered from Germany (this was before the days of Peter White carrying the Supernova).

In summary, in my own experience super bright lights not only get drivers to pay attention to you on otherwise busy and distractingly lit streets, they also command a respect that I was not afforded when not as well illuminated.

Well, as you can very well see by my sig, I am a Raleigh nutcase!!

The one in the back, is my 79 Raleigh Comp GS, as I got two of them exactly alike. This is the taller one (62)and the one my son gave me over 30 years ago. This the first one of all the bikes in my sig. Let me tell you, I am on it today.. It as really amazing how good of a ride this old bike gives up.. Since I am running all those lights, and a big kid, I left for work at 5:30 am in the morning. Don't need to be to work until 8:30 am.. I rode, rode, and rode some more. Must have done about 25 miles in the dark this morning.

Those two torches up front, I have neatly aimed at 20 to 30 feet out in front, and rightfully so. On the helmet, I have this 26650 baby, and this morning I learned that this thing can through a beam upward of three city blocks and more!!!! I rode in some dark areas where there was nothing but trees, and that torch on the helmet just threw. I had to be careful, because houses three blocks away, this thing was shinning in their windows!!!!

The ride was so super this morning, and the 26650 torch on my helmet was so awesome, as soon as I got to work, I started searching for another 26650 torch. Found one, ordered it..

I was a half a block away from an intersection, I had the rightaway, don't you know the car waiting for me to pass!! Most of the time, they look, some may see the bike, some may not, makes no difference, they take your right away anyway. Not anymore..

Sure, I am using 3 kinds right at the moment, and got a 4th kind on its way. They all hold 18650 torches nicely.

1st one, $1.80 each.

https://www.dealextreme.com/p/univers...cle-mount-8274

2nd one, $2.79 each.

https://www.dealextreme.com/p/univers...justable-15642

The above two work perfectly on my bikes.

3rd one, $2.30 each. This one here, I used to mount the 26650 torch on my helmet. I used an extra velcro strap around it for extra support. Works fine.

https://www.dealextreme.com/p/univers...diameter-24355

4th one, $2.39 each. This one hasn't arrived yet, and I think this one will be the best. This seems to be a copy of the Two Fish helmet mount, the one they have on Amazon for $7 or $8 + shipping. I ordered 4 of every thing, as they all come with free shipping.

https://www.dealextreme.com/p/univers...diameter-31871

Again, the first two work great as you can see in these pictures..



Those are $4 torches in these mounts that run off aaa batteries. I have since ditched all of those, even though they gave fair lighting. I replaced them all with 18650 type torches. But, check out the mounts. They work. On these, if there is any movement of the torch, I put some small patches of rubber that comes with mounts inside until I get a perfect tight/secure fit..



The prices of these mounts are so small, that I always order at least 4 at a time. That way, if I pick a winner, I have some extra ones.. Shipping time for these is between 2 and 3 weeks.

Couldn't be said any better!!

It is getting to be so much fun, I find myself wanting to sleep all day so I can right all night in the dark!!