Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Advocacy & Safety
Reload this Page >

Stvzo lights ?

Notices
Advocacy & Safety Cyclists should expect and demand safe accommodation on every public road, just as do all other users. Discuss your bicycle advocacy and safety concerns here.

Stvzo lights ?

Old 02-08-21, 12:12 AM
  #1  
pakeboi
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 531
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 216 Post(s)
Liked 32 Times in 29 Posts
Stvzo lights ?

StVZO LEDs are bike lights that comply with the safety standards developed by the German government. These lights feature a special lens that provides a floodlight that's leveled off so as not to intrude with oncoming traffic.

I'm looking for a Stvzo light , for daylight running and also night riding .

Lezyne brand is coming up in google .
Looks like it's a high/low , 500/290 .

Fenix brand has the BC25R .

I think I'm going to get the Fenix BC30 V2.0 .
It's not Stvzo certified but does have a Dual Distance Beam System which they claim creates a safer beam .


Other Recommendations please .

Last edited by pakeboi; 02-08-21 at 01:04 AM.
pakeboi is offline  
Old 02-09-21, 02:29 PM
  #2  
tcs
Palmer
 
tcs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Parts Unknown
Posts: 8,576

Bikes: Mike Melton custom, 1982 Stumpjumper, Alex Moulton AM, 2010 Dawes Briercliffe, 2017 Dahon Curl i8, 2021 Motobecane Turino 1x12

Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1644 Post(s)
Liked 1,785 Times in 1,041 Posts
You'll find lots of scattered information over in the electronics sub-forum. Busch & Müller are all about StVZO. The inexpensive Chinese-sourced Xanes light and some Taiwanese Owleye lights are StVZO. Cateye offers some StVZO models (US market light on left, StVZO model on right):




I've found the StVZO cut-off to be overly harsh - as an example, there's not enough spill to read house numbers or some street signs. There are bike lights that have a shaped beam but don't comply with the abrupt cut-off of the StVZO: Raveman, PDW.
tcs is offline  
Old 02-10-21, 09:53 AM
  #3  
Andrey
Senior Guest
 
Andrey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Upstate NY, USA
Posts: 374

Bikes: Jamis Endura, Cannondale CAAD, Raleigh Cross, Fausto Coppi.

Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 79 Post(s)
Liked 47 Times in 31 Posts
I have a Fenix BC30 V2 light.

It is a big disappointment from what I expected when reading about it.
The dual lenses do not provide enough reach to ride fast on road. The beam is very wide but does not reach far enough even on high setting 1800-2200 lumens.
Remote is useless during cold weather. It uses a very small battery that does not have to power to work and send the signal to the light when the weather is less than 40 deg.F.
Another problem is that when descending and hitting large bumps the light may shut completely off and you may be without the light at all. I started riding with an additional light so I will not be left in complete darkness for that reason. It does not happen all the time, but it is pretty dangerous when it does. I read some people have similar issues.
The light also blinds incoming traffic, does not matter that the lenses have reflectors shaped to point the light down.

I also have an older Lezyne 600xl light and uses 18650 battery and the shape of the beam reaches further at half the lumens of BV30 v2 light. It is more useful for road riding, although the LED is more yellow in comparison to Fenix LEDs and it also blinds traffic.

As far as the StVZO light I think the little Chinese Xanes light that was mentioned above is a very nice light with a very bright LED and perfect shaped beam for road riding. The light is cheap though with poor quality and stupid modes to change setting, but for $12.00 it is worth it. I think I payed $7.00 for it few years back. It also works with an auxiliary battery plugged in. You can ride all night long on road with it and the beam shape is very nice and reaches far. Low setting may not be enough for some people abut high is at 200-250 lumens is very good.

I also have read that IXON Core light will work with the auxiliary battery plugged in.
My suggestion do not spend the money on Fenix light for road riding, get an IXON Space// IXON Core or cheap Xanes light.
https://usa.banggood.com/XANES-600LM...8aAiDwEALw_wcB
Andrey is offline  
Old 02-10-21, 02:37 PM
  #4  
Vismund B
Member
 
Vismund B's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Queens, NY
Posts: 49

Bikes: An old Panasonic Sport

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 10 Post(s)
Liked 28 Times in 19 Posts
That stinks about the Fenix light. I was JUST looking at that and almost purchased it. Some of the reviews I read mentioned the bump turning off thing and that’s why I hesitated.

I’ve always used a Cygolite which is very bright but is very directional and not a very wide beam. With the recent storms we’ve been having in NYC the roads (and bike lanes) are icy and slushy and a mess and I either have to choose pointing the light down onto the road to see it, or point it straight ahead to see where I’m going. Thinking about getting another cygolite and having one pointed down to the road and one pointed straight ahead.
Vismund B is offline  
Old 02-26-21, 09:21 PM
  #5  
invalid.user
*bows*
 
Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: GTA, Ontario
Posts: 24

Bikes: Giant Fastroad Advanced 1

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Liked 8 Times in 7 Posts
Honestly, I don't understand how most riders put up with the horrendous 'bike lights' sold on the market with narrow conical beam patterns that resemble a flashlight. Very little of the light is actually usable, and you'll blind everyone around you. I gave up on them long ago. Nowadays, I use automotive foglights that I usually get on Ali Express for around $30-50 CAD, and use only one if they come in a pair. They have extremely wide beams with a cut off line. I supplement this with a typical bike headlight that I only use as a "high beam". To power these lights, all you need is a DC-DC converter capable of outputting 12v, and a 4S lipo battery (I have 2 1300 mAh batteries for shorter rides, and a 6000 mAh battery that would probably keep the light on for 10 hours or so). As for mounting, I usually use zip-ties, but that is something I'm looking to improve this year if I can find an adapter or someone willing to 3D print something for me.

As an example, here's a set I bought recently: aliexpress DOT com/item/1005002198313466.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.22464c4dL0r8As

I also have a Morimoto XB LED foglight that I was lucky to get for a cheap price locally, as someone was selling a single unit since the other one failed (and my unique application only requires a single unit).

I'll probably make a topic about this in the summer with beam patterns and comparisons with typical bike headlights (I've accumulated 6 bike headlights and 3 sets of projector LED car fog lights in the past year), if anyone's interested in something like that. Before I did this, I made a custom reflector and put 2 LEDs (~300lm each) at the top, but I eventually ditched my home made solution because waterproofing is difficult, and these pre-made solutions are better than anything I could come up with.

P.S. If you don't want to do this yourself and want a premade solution, the best bike headlight I've ever tried, within a reasonable budget, is the INFUN GT200, which you can find on AliExpress. Obviously I haven't tried the Lupine SL, but I imagine that would be the actual best pre-made solution, but looking at the light pattern samples and the brightness figures of the Lupine SL, Lezyne E115, etc., it is obvious that my cheaper automotive solution is far superior in quality and quantity of light, but obviously not nearly as convenient.

Last edited by invalid.user; 02-26-21 at 09:32 PM.
invalid.user is offline  
Old 02-27-21, 01:26 AM
  #6  
csport
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: /dev/null
Posts: 672

Bikes: Soma Double Cross Disc (2017), red Hardrock FS (circa 1996)

Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 215 Post(s)
Liked 153 Times in 101 Posts
You can buy lights conforming to German standards form German stores like bike24.

I have this Sigma Aura 80 (https://www.sigmasport.com/en/produk...bmenu=features) - now bike24 does not ship it to the US (because of the lithium battery?) and IXON IQ Premium (https://www.bike24.com/p267790.html).

As people said, they are good but the cutoff is very tight. I had to ride 10 miles of the paved Western Maryland Rail Trail in the complete darkness last November, and that IXON IQ Premium lighted the road perfectly; but I would not be able to see an overhanging branch if there happened to be any. For such case you can supplement an StVZO light with a regular one we have in the US.

If you want a US seller and some US warranty I think Peter White imports some of the German lights.
csport is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.