ItsJustMe

That's interesting, because I do pretty much the opposite. I have a 200L, and I run it between 1/4 and 1/2 power when I'm on unlit back coutry roads, and full power when I'm in the city. I find that 1/4 to 1/2 power is plenty to see by when I'm in the country and my eyes are used to the dark, but in the city I need a lot of power to fill in the gaps left by street lights, when my eyes are getting hit with stronger lights all the time.

SSP

In the city, full power lighting helps you to stand out from all the ambient light sources. It's also useful to have a helmet-mounted light, because you can aim it wherever you want (e.g., drivers approaching from side streets).

Out in the country, light power depends mostly on speed and familiarity with the road. If there are downhills, or I'm on a road that I don't know well, I'll run full power to make sure I'm not surprised by potholes, rocks, glass, etc.

Bottom line - with respect to light output, more is almost always better.

Juha

OK, I hate you now.

I've yet to justify the cost of a Lupine in my commuting use. While I'm working on that, on my summer bike I have a Fenix L2D and a Superflash in the rear. I move them over to the winter bike as well, but Fenix + old NiMHs + cold weather can result in unpredictable burn times. As a backup that bike has a B&M halogen in front, powered by a B&M bottle dynamo and a 5-led Vistalite rear light / reflector.

As the last resort, I carry small red and white leds in my saddle bag. Those are just enough to make me street legal, but don't provide enough light to ride by. My commute is mostly on lit MUPs anyway.

--J

jeffpoulin

Huh, I hadn't have thought of it that way. I use the 1/4 power setting at dusk when I'm already visible without lighting, but I find a little lighting up front makes a big difference for being seen. On well lit roads and MUPs, I've heard pedestrians and oncoming cyclists tell me my light was too bright at 800L, so I keep it to 400. I like the bright setting on unlit roads because it's pretty hilly where I live and the extra light helps me see far enough ahead on the downhills. Plus there's battery conservation to consider as well. My commute is 2 hours total (hour each way) and in the winter, it's completely dark both ways. I get about 75 minutes on the 800 setting, 2.5 hours at 400 and 5 hours at 200. I simply don't have enough charge to run 800 all the time (unless I bring my charger to work and charge it for my evening commute).

gear

Juha,
Its easy to justify the cost of a Lupine light. Just spend more money purchasing several less expensive inadequate and unreliable headlights and when you get fed up doing that, you buy the Lupine.

ItsJustMe

+1. I blew probably $150 buying $20 and $30 lights. I did then buy a TrailTech HID and used that for a few years, that was $200 or so, but when that gave out I spend $130 and got a Dinotte.

It's better to just buy something decent right off the bat. However, the way LEDs are going, I hope that soon there will be a good, reliable 200+ lumen headlight from Cateye or one of the major players in the US for < $100. Of course, we've all been thinking that was right around the corner for several years now.

bikegeek57

great idea about the areo bars however the beer just makes it complete. why not drive 'lit'.

Hot Potato

Oh, I never have any trouble justifying buying fancy, expensive bike toys. I have an advanced degree in rationalization from a Caribbean diploma mill to prove it.

Matt1972

I have a Light and Motion Vega headlight mounted on the apex of my Profile Century aerobars, and a Superflash on the seatpost. Drivers seem to see me fine, so I haven't added anything more. I'd like to buy a DownLow Street Glow system- maybe during tax refund season...

chephy

The roads are usually well-lit where I ride, so my set up is nothing as fancy as many featured in this thread, but the lights are quite bright enough to attract attention of drivers. HL-EL410 in front, PB Superflash in back, plus the $3 Turtle blinkies in front and in back just in case.

Oh boy... Good luck, you'll need it.

unterhausen

I think city lights make a bicycle harder to see at night.

starla

Dinotte 200L (2 on the front) and a 140L on the back, although most of the time it's hidden by my trunk bag so I end up using a superflash. Which even though I recently changed the batteries does not seem all that bright....

cyccommute 

Yup. That's why I run around 5000 lumens. They can't say "I didn't see him"...especially with 1500 lumens of it focused on their face*






*only to be used in situations of extreme inattention or cell phone induced stupidity. With great power comes great responsibility

SlimAgainSoon

I think city lights make a bicycle harder to see at night.

I agree.

CliftonGK1

Brevet/commuter bike:
- Supernova E3 headlight and taillight powered by SON28
- 2x PBSF
- Princeton Tec Quad on helmet

fg commuter:
- L&M Solo 13W halogen
- 2x PBSF
- Princeton Tec Quad on helmet

PaulRivers

Speaking both as a driver and a biker, all the most visible bikers I've seen have been running a steady light right next to a blinking light. On the front it's a lower powered blinking light next to their "to see by" headlight. On the back it's a regular pattern (steady-steady-steady-off-steady-steady-steady-off) tail light right next to a full steady tail light. These are the setup that have always been the most visible, trackable, and obviously a bike to me.

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On the back of my commuter bike, I have a Cateye tail light (with reflector - Cateye TL-LD500-R) - it bolts directly onto the rack. I run it one steady -
https://www.amazon.com/Cateye-TL-LD50...0526402&sr=8-2

Above that, attached to the back of my trunk bag, I have a "Planet Bike 3018-1 Rack Blinky 5", set on blinky mode -
https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-30...0526496&sr=1-1


Coulda gone with 2 of the planet bike ones, I just liked that the Cateye bolted directly onto the rack (harder to steal).

I'm still working on the front lighting - at the moment I have an Ixon IQ -
https://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=2692


It has a number of neat features - it runs off AA's, but you can just plug a charger into the light to recharge the batteries. It can be mounted on the fork (though it's a little awkward to do so). And it has a shaped beam that puts the light where you want it on the road.

Unfortunately, I've been a little dissapointed with it - it doesn't put as much light as I feel like I need on the road (I have their Cyo dynamo powered light on another bike, and it does put out enough light). And I'd prefer that it put out a little more light to the sides as it's a bit like riding down a tunnel. I just ordered a dynamo front wheel and I'm thinking of buying a Supernova e3 to replace it. I haven't tried it in combination with a helmet light, but I think it would definitely help.

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On my road bike, I have 2 Dinotte 400L's in the front, a Dinotte 140L in the rear, plus a reflector tail light on my seat bag. It puts out a lot of light, but it's expensive, and I still need to play around with different lenses to get the optimal light pattern (I wanted a narrow beam that wouldn't blind pedestrians. I got one - but it's a tiny bit to narrow, actually, but could be fixed if I just use one of the wider angle lenses). At the moment I ride with a helmet light, then I feel completely comfortable.






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On my winter bike I have dynamo lighting - a Lumotec Cyo in the front, which cover 90% of my light needs. A dynamo tail light, plus a blinky light on my seatpost bag (though I'm thinking of moving it down to my trunk bag). To be completely comfortable riding I also need a helmet light to see of to the sides, as the Cyo put little light off the road. It does a *fantastic* job of light up the road, though - just amazing. In the just lighting up the road department, it's may actually be better than my much more expensive Dinotte 400L setup.




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My helmet light is a Dinotte 200L, it's drawback is that it sits on the top of the helmet (like most helmet lights do - but if I was launched off my bike and needed to use my helmet, I'd personally prefer to not drive a metal light into my head as my helmet hit the ground. Have thought about trying their 400L light with the "headband" mount on my helmet).

TJx

SureFire G2Z w/ a Malkoff M60LL drop-in strapped to handlebar w/ 2Fish Cycleblock.
(What this means in english is a LED SureFire strapped to handlebar with velcro)
Planet Bike taillight. (not sure of model)

chephy

That's probably true. But at least you don't need a light to see things yourself. So it just needs to be bright enough for others to notice you.

Out in the country, a tiny blinky would be very visible and attract a lot of attention. But because you need to see the road yourself, your light has to be quite powerful.

daredevil

P7 on the bar, Fenix Q5 on the helmet, Dinotte 140L on the seatpost flashing, Superflash on the helmet steady.

I'm very happy with that set up but I don't need long run times.

mconlonx

Shimano generator hub hooked up to a B&M Lumotech IQ Fly up front, a Toplight as pictured above in another post on the back. THe IQ Fly is mounted just off center from the fork crown center hole. The Toplight took a hit and stopped working. Might be the fault of the wiring, but I'm too lazy to track it down. In the meantime, I have a 9 LED niterider tail light mounted on the seatpost to fill in. I run that steady, with a Planet Bike in blinky mode on the back of my helmet. I also carry the matching, battery powered Planet Bike front light as a spare, just in case. I have a matching NiteRider 10w halogen that used to be my sole commuter light, but it sees only sporadic use whenever I need a light to see by on a bike without the dynamo.

I'd say the IQ Fly is only just adequate for lighting the way, compared to what I'm seeing with the 800 Dinotte setups and whatnot...

Heather H

2 red blinkies on back, not sure why 2, except that I have 2 and they just hang on the backs of my panniers.

Front is the Light & Motion Stella 200 https://www.bikelights.com/info.asp?uid=316&p=13 nice & bright, I love it. I ride to work at 5am to swim a lot so it's still really dark then. I try to remember to keep a cheap cateye light in my panniers as a back up just in case the Stella battery dies.

Greg_R

Dinotte 600L in the front, 200L in the back. For winter I may build my own high output option and put the 600L on my helmet. Also, reflective tape on my bags and clothing for side-viewing.

PaulRivers

I really hope I never have to run into anyone with a Dinotte 600L on their helmet. I've had one of these things and practically blinded people coming towards me on the MUP - and that was on the handlebars. It really throws some light to the sides - I can only imagine the pain if someone was wearing one on their helmet.

ItsJustMe

Ditto. I have a Dinotte 200L myself. I'd like more light than that, but I'm not going to buy anything brighter until I can get a full cutoff light, like what's legally required in Germany.

jeffpoulin

Speaking of lights, I left the house an hour earlier than usual today and had the pleasure of riding with my light for the first time since April. It was beautifully dark with no clouds, no wind, and 22C (72F) degrees. Got to work just as the sun was coming up. It was one my most enjoyable commutes of the year.