Originally Posted by
kingston
Must be a very personal thing. Bright enough for me is apparently a lot less than most people. I don't use a headlight for commuting since there is enough light for me to see where I'm going, and I honestly don't understand the need for a "be seen" headlight. I figure it's my job to avoid running into things. For road riding I have ridden thousands of miles in the dark with an Ixon IQ on low and have never really felt the need for anything brighter.
Front “to be seen” lights are helpful when you are riding and vehicles pull up to a “stop” sign on an adjacent street. I can’t count how many times someone has almost rolled through only to catch my light and put on the brakes. We had a local rider killed last year because he was T-boned in exactly that fashion.