despoke

Every rider has specific needs, likes, dislikes when it comes to lights. For many the more lumens the better.

Me, I do 80% of my riding in early morning on big city streets illuminated for the most part by sorta good street lights. Very little traffic when I start out at 4:30am for an average of an hour and 45 minutes ride duration 7 days a week.

My first requirement in purchasing a light is it must be, first and foremost, good visibllity to motorists. Yeah..It has to be a good "be seen light". And second it should provide enough light to supplement street lights as well as riding bike trails. Third is should have good battery run time..in a light powered by AA rechargeables.

After a lot of research I bought a Fenix LD25 flashlight for 49 bucks.
It has 4 lumen modes: 3, 45, 85, and 180. (SOS mode too)

Mostly I use the 45 lumen mode for street riding. Here, again,visibility to motorists is essential and the Fenix LD 25 has a nice balance of throw and spill. For those wanting more throw it would probably be deemed lacking. However I prefer its spill qualities as I want the light to catch the attention of those motorists on the peripheral of my ride... coming out of intersections and driveways etc...as well as approaching traffic. I supplement this handlebar mounted light with a strobe mode Planet Bike Beamer 5 on my helmet that follows my line of sight and puts this bright blinking light into the vision of approaching drivers intending left turns etc during my ride. I should also mention that the various routes I take are in residential neighborhoods so there is a minimum of debris to contend with (glass, metal, etc.) and generally very few hazards and potholes aside from the ones I am aware of and, of course, avoid.

When I venture off the streets and onto pitch black bike trails I can go to the Fenix LD25 brighter modes like 85 or 180 lumens which get the job done.

A lot of riders need lots of lumens for more demanding riding conditions which I certainly understand.

But my riding routine allows me to get by with less.

tarwheel 

My experiences are similar. I commuted for 2+ years with a Fenix LD20 light which has about 200 lumens on high and 110 on medium. Usually the medium setting is fine for my purposes and it has much longer run times than high, so that is what I use most of the time. When it's lighter outside and I just want my light to increase my visibility to drivers, I run it on low.

I've since moved up to a L&M Stella 300 for my handlebar and put the Fenix on my helmet. The extra lumens are nice but I can certainly get by just fine with the Fenix alone. One potential problem with the Fenix is that it has no low-battery indicator and you have no way of knowing that it has quite working unless you are riding on a dark road or you wave your hand in front of the light. I've had mine run out of charge a number of times during a ride and didn't realize it until I reached my destination. The solution to that, of course, is to keep you batteries charged (and always carry spares), but it is easy to forget to recharge or swap batteries when you are commuting regularly.

Garfield Cat

There's the tipping point. Right now the sunrise is 6:47 am. That means darkness is maybe 15 minutes before that. As winter season begins, that sunrise time will move further ahead.

I figure motorized vehicles have only 2 settings: low beam and high beam. Both of those I am depending on to see me. Both of those I think have higher wattage or lumens than mine. As far as traffic lit city streets, I don't know how they really fit into the equation. Meaning, its better than no city lights.

cyccommute 

Nope. Not until January 16 for you. Here's the link to the US Naval Observatory so you can calculate the sunrise/sunset anywhere. Given that the tables are calculated for a round earth and doesn't take into account mountains, the sunrise is probably a little later than that because your mountains are to the east.

Garfield Cat

You're right. I'm in Huntington Beach and as I ride along Pacific Coast Highway going south, the mountain range does cover the sunrise. It's still dark.

sknhgy 

I'm the same way. I live in a town of 150 people that is 3 miles off the main drag. And the main drag is a rural 2 lane with very light traffic. I do fine using the medium mode on my Shiningbeam MC-E flashlight. I like medium because I can see just fine with it and it gives me much longer run time. A large amount of my riding is in the pitch black. My flashlight on front and PBSF on back make me stick out like a sore thumb.
I only use high mode to flash approaching vehicles that don't dim their brights.

Cyclebum

My night vision isn't what it use to be, but I'm still ok with a 100 lumen Nebo Redline proximity light and a 100 lumen Brinkman head lamp for throw. This on roads with no street lights. I could manage with just the Nebo at 200 lumens, but like having light where I'm looking, especially at upcoming turns.

In towns with good streets lights, I switch the Nebo to stobe mode, level on the bar. Real attention getter.

Rarely ride at night, so no need for an expensive lighting system.

cyccommute 

Your situation demonstrates what I've been saying for a very long time. If you ride in the country, a lighted candle will probably be enough. If you ride in a city, this is probably just almost enough

david58

My ride moves from unlit streets, then through residential areas, then through town, and then to the frontage road to work. I use the (advertised) 900 lumen MagicShine on my bars and helmet, usually on Medium mode. That ends up being a compromise that doesn't have me changing intensity during my ride, more than bright enough for the dark regions, rather weak when I am dealing with headlights and streetlights and so forth.

Speed is a factor as well. I have a couple of steep downhills going in to work, I need more light so I don't ride faster than I can see (does that make sense? - in cars, it's called overdriving the headlights). Coming home, much of the trip is uphill, so I can go with the low setting for most of the return, since I have both the helmet and bar lights.

When it is dusky, or still light (which means I got off work early - on cloudy days it is BLACK outside just after 430), I put the helmet light on flash, which provides visibility and allows me to beam drivers coming in on the left or right. The spill is significant when on flash (or high) - I can't imagine someone not seeing the light, but I also have no confidence in them doing so.

Richard Cranium

Certainly worth noting: whether a cyclist understands the changing nature of light and lighting surrounding him/her.

One of the most difficult and dangerous situations a cyclist can encounter is the morning/evening lighting needed as dawn and dusk become interwoven with rush-hour automobile traffic patterns.

Riding these same routes in midwinter darkness or summer light do not require motorists to"pick out" cyclists against changing horizons and numerous other lighting sources from traffic.

The difficulty in elaborating these "seasonal" situations for each of us, and then taking to effort to exchange their significance with respect to safety - often leads to confusion when recommending lighting products.

My own perspective suggests massive lighting "over kill" is preferable to being killed. Over.

Signature appropriate this time......