How bright is your light?

[Polyarmour]

I'm in the market for a new light, my old 2W headlight doesn't cut it anymore and I'm sick of replacing batteries. For the last 2 years I've been cursing those lithium ion things that blind me coming the other way on the bike path. But now I'm thinking it would be nice to see where I'm going and not have to pick my way through broken concrete and slippery patches at a snails pace.

But I'm confused about the Lumens. How many Lumens is enough? 150, 250, 500, I notice that they're making 1500+ Lumens now?

So what is everyone riding and how do you find it?

 

[Barracuda]

I'm in the market for a new light, my old 2W headlight doesn't cut it anymore and I'm sick of replacing batteries. For the last 2 years I've been cursing those lithium ion things that blind me coming the other way on the bike path. But now I'm thinking it would be nice to see where I'm going and not have to pick my way through broken concrete and slippery patches at a snails pace.

But I'm confused about the Lumens. How many Lumens is enough? 150, 250, 500, I notice that they're making 1500+ Lumens now?

So what is everyone riding and how do you find it?

I dont own any yet... hope to post 25th December.... but have heard great things about Ay-up lights!

 

[rgmerk]

I have an exposure Joystick...

It's rated at 300 Lumens, and it's good enough to for road riding at normal speeds at night. If I was descending tree-lined mountains at night, however, I'd probably want more.

For off-road riding you'd want much more.

 

[lostintime]

From my limited experience with trying out tactical type flashlights lately, once you go beyond say 100-150 lumen .... in order to get a much brighter light you have to about triple the lumens.

I don't use a light every day, but I'm no fan of overpriced proprietary li-ion bike lights because they are one trick ponies .... only for the bike. I bought myself some AA and AAA battery tactical cree led flashlights and mount them using a twofish bike mount. I use Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables. Easy to remove the light and recharge the batteries... and you always have a flashlight on hand. Mount two or three

 

[Master50]

From my limited experience with trying out tactical type flashlights lately, once you go beyond say 100-150 lumen .... in order to get a much brighter light you have to about triple the lumens.

I don't use a light every day, but I'm no fan of overpriced proprietary li-ion bike lights because they are one trick ponies .... only for the bike. I bought myself some AA and AAA battery tactical cree led flashlights and mount them using a twofish bike mount. I use Sanyo Eneloop rechargeables. Easy to remove the light and recharge the batteries... and you always have a flashlight on hand. Mount two or three

One trick ponies? It is true the better bike lights are not built to be ordinary flashlights but I have used my helmet light as a flashlight dozens of times. It is not that hard to modify a hard hat or baseball cap to hold your helmet light and get a hands free flashlight that is plenty bright for hands free working.

As for power
In my MTB group we had the BLT a 6 to 10 watt incandescent lead acid battery set up that allowed us to ride at walking speed in the woods. I was first to get a metal halide and for a little while I was king of single track as soon as I could get any distance I was un-followable. Now everyone is running 500 lumens and up. Often with a head lamp and bar mounted lamp. Usually 1 with a spot and the other a flood. Speed on the trails is full gas with no compromises for visibility. Some lights as high as 1500 lumens. The higher the lumen number the better. On the road they make so much difference in how the cars react. They are often dazzled, which is not necessarily a polite thing but they sure give us more respect than I get in daylight.
I truly would welcome better beam shaping like car lights have with a proper cut off that could be aimed below the eyes of oncoming drivers and riders.
Lumens equal speed and 500 is probably the lowest I would buy for riding at daylight speeds.

 

[Martin318is]

I dont own any yet... hope to post 25th December.... but have heard great things about Ay-up lights!

I have the Ayup lights and they are awesome. Very well constructed, absurdly small for their output and they come with a massive kit of different mounts such as helmet and handlebar as well as a headtorch option.

free upgrade available to get 40% more output (with reduced battery life) 3 different beam patterns available when you order. Very good back up and service from what I am told by others.

(sales pitch over other than to say that these murder anything else I have seen at the price)

 

[Houdini]

I've got a Magicshine light with a max output of 900 lumens but I always use the lowest of three setting on pavement.

 

[Jukebox]

I use a 650 lumen Light and Motion light and have never wanted for more light off road. During night road rides you can "out ride" something of this power at 25-30 mph. But, I never ride on the road at night alone, so my light is always supplemented by my riding buddies'.