Bike lights to see the road ahead

Hello everyone,I did a quick search and didn't come up with what I needed.       I am looking for a bike light to be able to see ahead of me. As I ride on the lake bike path, I often times cannot see ahead of me. I have tried the typical lights and they only work a few feet ahead of me.    thank you for your help.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on September 11, 2011 at 4:18am

It's also hard for me to see at night, especially on the lake front path.  Try a generator hub.  Those can be very bright.  I know Boulevard Bikes could help you with it.

 

I also found this dyi project for $10.

Permalink Reply by Joel on September 11, 2011 at 4:27am

Not cheap, but check out Cygolite.

http://www.cygolite.com/products/index.html

Permalink Reply by Joel on September 11, 2011 at 4:31am
$10 is simply not true for that one.  He doesn't include the cost of batteries, which is the bulk of the cost of most light systems.  Even his cheap solution is $20 in rechargeable AAs.  A good lion battery pack may run a couple times that. 

Julie Hochstadter said:

It's also hard for me to see at night, especially on the lake front path.  Try a generator hub.  Those can be very bright.  I know Boulevard Bikes could help you with it.

 

I also found this dyi project for $10.

Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on September 11, 2011 at 4:50am
There needs to be a way to mount these lower on the bike like the front forks I know YOU can see great with those but if you're an oncoming bike staring at the ground to avoid being blinded is annoying and dangerous.
Permalink Reply by Jeff Markus on September 11, 2011 at 5:17am

As is being noted lights for bikes have serious problems.

First the most common and cheapest lights are for BEING seen not SEEING. When ridden on the street a typical 4AA battery light will not light the street in front of you but are fine for being seen by traffic around you.

Second, any light capable of sending a beam far enuf to illuminate the roadway at 12-18 MPH requires a pretty fair amount of power (read big batteries and short life). This light power needed is about 10-25watts in a focused beam so a few AA's don't have the muscle to run for long. I bought a 10 dual light system that offers 20 when both are l;it but the 6 D cell pack is heavy even with NiMH and I wince at the thought of the cost of Li-ion cells.

The third thing is light placement. With a handlebar mounted system your eye is looking right down the beam and that means you don't see the shadows that give you depth perception and allow you to see and judge bumps and cracks in the pavement.

So a lower mount say at the axle of the front wheel (which then becomes one sided lighting and half the road is in shadow from the wheel) or mounting the light on a mast which is easily broken and wastes allot of power in the distance to the road.

The options for 10/20watt systems are out there all fairly pricey and in need of costly and weighty battery systems. Generator systems require making over 20 watts of power which is taxing on the rider...I haven't run the numbers but the additional load on yer legs would be truely a real load.

Jeff

The Chicagoan

Permalink Reply by S on September 11, 2011 at 5:29am


Jeff Markus said:
The options for 10/20watt systems are out there all fairly pricey and in need of costly and weighty battery systems. Generator systems require making over 20 watts of power which is taxing on the rider...I haven't run the numbers but the additional load on yer legs would be truely a real load.

That's not quite accurate.  As a rough rule, it takes about 10 watts per mph that you're going.  So if you're going 15 mph on your bike, you're putting out 150 watts.  This is a rough estimate from the power meter readings on my race bike so it's quite possible that it takes more power on a bike where you are more upright or with wider, knobby tires.  So basically, I think 20 watts is a noticeable amount of effort but it's not superbad as things go.

Permalink Reply by Molly on September 11, 2011 at 7:31am

So, this isn't as simple to solve as I had thought. I certainly do not plan on blinding my oncoming cyclist friends. I know that there have been many times that the lights coming at me blind me. I wish they would point them down farther.

 

Maybe I will just stick to what I have been using (cheap4AA light) and go slow between Belmont and fullerton.

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Duppie on September 11, 2011 at 9:41am

Molly,

There are lights to be seen and lights to see. I assume you have a light to be seen.

To see you need a different category of light. You will need a light that puts out 400-500 lumen at the least. You will be looking at upwards of $100 for a quality light, and with few exceptions they all have external batteries that can be recharged. The batteries are likely to last a few seasons of winter riding. Run times vary but are usually in the range of 2-6 hours.

 

You are not likely to find these light in a bikeshop, and may have to order online or special order at your LBS.

 

Here is one that I like. I do have an older version of this light and are quite happy with it. Dinotte lights are a high quality product made in the USA. The company is easy to deal with. That price, while high, gives you a complete headlight system, including battery, charger, and assorted hardware.

 

Whether or not you blind oncoming traffic has more to do with where you aim the light than the light output itself. A light of this caliber need to point at the road in front of you, typcally anywhere from 10-30 feet in front of your bike.

I've been blinded more than once by cheap low powered lights that were directed straight ahead.

Permalink Reply by Molly on September 11, 2011 at 1:25pm
Thank you. I looked at this.  Not overly expensive either.

Duppie said:

Molly,

There are lights to be seen and lights to see. I assume you have a light to be seen.

To see you need a different category of light. You will need a light that puts out 400-500 lumen at the least. You will be looking at upwards of $100 for a quality light, and with few exceptions they all have external batteries that can be recharged. The batteries are likely to last a few seasons of winter riding. Run times vary but are usually in the range of 2-6 hours.

 

You are not likely to find these light in a bikeshop, and may have to order online or special order at your LBS.

 

Here is one that I like. I do have an older version of this light and are quite happy with it. Dinotte lights are a high quality product made in the USA. The company is easy to deal with. That price, while high, gives you a complete headlight system, including battery, charger, and assorted hardware.

 

Whether or not you blind oncoming traffic has more to do with where you aim the light than the light output itself. A light of this caliber need to point at the road in front of you, typcally anywhere from 10-30 feet in front of your bike.

I've been blinded more than once by cheap low powered lights that were directed straight ahead.

Permalink Reply by Allen Wrench on September 11, 2011 at 4:53pm

This is all too complicated.

I have had excellent luck with generator LED headlights like the Busch & Müller Cyo N Plus light. It's very bright, stays lit at pauses, I can see fine, it doesn't blind anyone, and actually I have one with a B&M rim dynamo (nearly but not quite silent, some drag) and another on a bike with a Shimano generator hub (silent, minimal drag, better in winter) and both work fine. The system can also include a bright rear light and you never need batteries. The other B&M LED lights are also not bad though not as bright and many are cheaper than the CYO. Look at PeterWhiteCycles.com for all the options and then get them locally - I know Boulevard Bikes and Dutch Bike carry them. Clever Cycles in Oregon has a special on $100 premade wheels with generator hubs (or get one locally), but you can run these LED lights off an old dynamo from Working Bikes just fine if you don't mind the hum. Just make sure the axis of the spinner thing is exactly on a radius of the wheel.

Who wants to charge lights all the time?

Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on September 11, 2011 at 5:12pm

I've been looking at higher powered lights myself, as I'm finding the sidestreets in the northern suburbs way too dark to see any potholes or tree branches in front of me.  And the North Shore Channel Trail along McCormick is pretty dark as well. 

 

One of the lights that seems interesting to me is the MagicShine MJ-808, a comparatively cheap $85 knock-off of a very good German light, the Lupine Tesla.  Mountain Bike Review seemed very impressed--it's supposedly the best bang for the buck in bike lights going, as long as you understand it's not built to last.  But at the price, you could buy three or four of these for the price of a single good German-made light.

 

The other lights I've been considering are considerably more expensive, but supposedly bulletproof.  Baja Designs is a light maker for motorcycles and all terrain vehicles and gets very good reviews for their extreme sturdiness and waterproofness.  As they can be used underwater for scuba diving, I don't think a rainstorm will bother them in the slightest.  Again good reviews for the Stryker and Stryker Pro by mountain bikers here, here and here. Earlier in the summer, they had a coupon deal for $200 for the Stryker, $250 for the Pro or $400 for both (one for the handlebars, one for your helmet) and I wouldn't be surprised if they'd want to move out some lights this late in the season.

Permalink Reply by Kevin Mulcky on September 12, 2011 at 3:30am

I bought a Magicshine for about a year ago when my commute changed and effectly double my night time riding. The light output is amazing, i've riden in complete country road darkness and felt very safe, even at high speeds. But - the beam pattern is symmetrical, meaning that will easily shine in peoples eyes if not aimed towards the ground. I don't ride on the path at night so i don't worry about it too much, but I have mounted the light under my front rack to keep it lower than eye-level.

 

Check out Peter White Cycles for a really good selection (and in-depth descriptions) of non-generator bicycle lighting.
Thunder Snow said:

 

One of the lights that seems interesting to me is the MagicShine MJ-808, a comparatively cheap $85 knock-off of a very good German light, the Lupine Tesla.  Mountain Bike Review seemed very impressed--it's supposedly the best bang for the buck in bike lights going, as long as you understand it's not built to last.  But at the price, you could buy three or four of these for the price of a single good German-made light.

 

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