wingless' Stupidbright SB3000 Headlight
 

The daylight hours are getting shorter so I needed a headlight for safe operation for my before or after work jaunt. The headlight also needs to be useful for daytime operation, for additional visibility / safety to avoid getting flattened.

My headlight selection was the Stupidbright SB3000 Headlight. This is a 3000 Lumen headlight, built w/ seven Cree XML-T6 LED devices and a 8,800mAh sealed ABS Li-Ion battery pack. They have two other models, the Stupidbright SB1600 Headlight and the Stupidbright SB2600 Headlight.

The headlight body is very nice. It is machined aluminum that is then black anodized. The headlamp is waterproof sealed, rated at IP65 grade. The in-line cord jack / plug has an o-ring to seal that connection.

Each of the LED devices is positioned at the sweet spot of a highly reflective parabolic reflector, so the light output is directed to be very useful.

The kit includes these parts:

• Headight and 30" Cable: 205.8g Total, about 189.8g for Headlight Only
• Battery Pack w/ 14" Cable: 274.1g
• Helmet Mount:27.0g
• Small Loop: 2.6g
• Large Loop:3.1g
• NEMA 1-15 100-240VAC Wall Wart Charger w/ Red/Green Charge Indicator and 36" Cord
• Full Color Warranty Statement Card - NO Instruction Manual (I Made a User Manual from the Web Site Info)
• Full Color Box w/ Magnetic Closure - Could be Useful for Unused Product Storage

The headlight is retained to the handlebar using an elastic loop, hooked on one end, stretched around the handlebar, then hooked on the other end. I don't like that the cable exits the body exactly where the loop hooks.

The headlight has four modes: Off; Constant High; Constant Low and Flash. The power cord may be unplugged for a fifth fully off mode, w/ no switch illumination.

The single illuminated push button toggles between the modes. The push button is illuminated green when the battery is good and illuminates red when the battery is low.

My experience is that this headlight is in-fact Stupid Bright. When I operate at dusk using the flashing mode I can see reflective street signs at the limit of my vision distance flashing back at me from my headlight. This is even w/ the main beam spot pointed onto the ground about 20' in-front of the bike.

The plus for the mounting method is that it's EASY to change where the beam is pointed, to closer or farther from the bike, as-required.

The very big plus is that cars now notice my bike and wait for me to pass instead of cutting me off.

One minus is that the headlight generates excessive radio frequency interference, RFI, that prevents operation of a nearby wireless bike computer, so a wired bike computer is required. There is interference when the headlamp operates in Low or Flashing. There is no interference in High or Off.

When I provided feedback to the manufacturer about this interference problem, along w/ potential design changes to resolve the issue, they responded w/ appreciation and informed me that there are insufficient requests to correct the problem.

This product was purchased by me using cash from my pocket. I have zero affiliation and zero agreement w/ the manufacturer or w/ the vendor.

There are videos showing the light operation. My night videos didn't turn out as-well as I'd like due to my inability to do a decent job w/ my camera, but it still shows the general really bright light point.


Video of Flashing Bike Headlight

Video of Flashing Near and Far Night Street Signs


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https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4472/...cf081b5d_z.jpg

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That's a non-starter for me. I won't knowingly buy a device that causes RFI. It's bad enough that we've dropped our standards so low to accommodate trade in cheap goods. I'll stick with electronics that at least claim to meet those minimum FCC standards, even if it costs a little more. It's usually just a matter of a little shielding, not a huge expense.

You force them to let you pass, so it's not about respect anymore.
I expect your light blinds other cyclists/driver so much, they have no other choice than stopping or looking away.
Seems that this light is only usable in the right hands or for nightride/trail/forest use.

It seems like the green light at the rear of the light would distract my eyes.

I appreciate knowing about other options out there.

Virtually every single device creates RFI. The FCC Title 47 Part 15 and 18 standards do not specifically address LED lighting.

The usage of shielding is the last step to resolve RFI. It is the most expensive, complicated and least effective option. The first step is to prevent RFI. The second step is to eliminate RFI at the source. Usage of shielding is the last gasp, for an incremental improvement.

Please identify bright headlights (3,000 Lumens or brighter) that do NOT interfere w/ a wireless bike computer. It is my understanding that this is a known issue.


On my ride this morning there were a half dozen instances where my prior experience leads me to conclude that vehicles would have cut me off, forcing me to grab a handful of brakes to avoid problems. Instead the encounters were courteous, w/o problems.

So far, in dozens of outings w/ the blinking headlight I have not experienced vehicles "cutting me off".

Add your vote to the pro cutting off the bicycle tally?


My limited nighttime operational experience revealed that the green illuminated indicator was an insignificant distraction. It was in-fact very useful to have this indicator that toggled to red when the battery was near end of charge.

How long does it take to charge?

It takes about six hours to charge from empty to full, as-indicated by the wall wart LED changing color from red to green.

This shows the red low-battery illuminated switch indicator.


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This morning I was very surprised when a vehicle cut me off, forcing me to grab two handfuls of brakes. This was the first instance since I installed my Stupid Bright headlamp.

When I stopped later I discovered why that happened. I had unplugged / removed my battery pack for recharging, but forgot to plug it back in after installation, so no blinky.

My ongoing opinion is that usage of a bright blinking headlight is a big plus for road safety.

Did you try the difference between with flasing mode and constant light already?

Sure, there are three illumination modes, full bright, less bright and blinking. I've found blinking works best during the day and I use the constant bright and less bright at night.

How fast are the motor vehicles on the roads you ride on?

The instances where I find the headlight most frequently useful to avoid two fists of brake levers are 25 MPH roads, w/ stop sign cross streets where vehicles don't wait for right-of-way bicycles. My less frequent usage on 45 MPH unlimited access commercial area roadways is also useful for the extra visibility.

When I'm riding on roads w/ lots of bikes my opinion is that my Cygolight Hotshot Pro 150 red rear taillight is much more valuable, especially because I'm sharing the roadway, w/o a dedicated bike lane, except for infrequent places.

First, identify headlights that produce 2,000 lumens or more as measured by an independent testing facility.

Great idea!

Which topics show those measurements? Has this Stupidbright SB3000 already been independently measured?

It is too bad that integrating spheres are so expensive, because the geek in me wants to do a Lord Kelvin on the advertised luminous flux ratings and put some measurement reality into the mix.

My seat-of-the-pants measurements already show this headlight to be among the brightest I encounter on the road. The eyeball is an outstanding measurement tool for relative comparison, such as which is brighter.

Here is a decent article on measuring the 4π radiant flux.

Here are some videos showing on-road operation, with the headlight set at low intensity.

I like the wheel lights. I have one in my rear wheel. Having one in the front is too distracting for me.

I have a 1200 lumen light by Brighteyes
https://www.amazon.com/Bright-Eyes-W...rds=brighteyes

The high beam confuses cars. Oncoming cars pull over and slow down when they don't need to---since they're in the opposite lane---which means I'm obstructing the flow of traffic and possibly blinding drivers. So I dim it in traffic and angle it a bit away from oncoming cars. I'm amazed at how bright this light is. It lights up the road as well as my car headlights do. I almost never use it on high even on a dark country road. That makes me wonder why anyone would need 3000 lumens. ???

It is amazing to me why anyone would confuse, obstruct and blind traffic with a 1,200 Lumen light.

A different light or operation method should be used to ensure safety.

@GetUpnGo, angle your light down more. Using lights in that way is illegal with cars, and it's not a good idea on a bike, either.

You're blinding car drivers even when you're running it at medium and moving the beam downwards. There's a reason why car headlights use reflectors for light distribution and beam shaping.
A good bicycle light with even 1500lm is this:
https://www.bikeforums.net/electroni...nd-lights.html

Those light look interesting, but they don't yet exist.


https://www.outboundlighting.com/wp-...11/LHFront.jpg

They will be shipped on monday.
Outbound Lighting Focal Series ---- Discussion ---- - Page 5- Mtbr.com

I guess I didn't explain my experience accurately. When I used this light the first time, I realized immediately that 1200 lumens is too bright for oncoming cars and I turned it down to low, angled it down, and turned it toward the shoulder. I also avoid turning the handlebar so that the light is pointing toward traffic. Sorry for the confusion.

I'm still curious about why anyone would need 3000 lumens, which is brighter than many car headlights.