Shadowx

Where/how should headlights AND tail lights be aimed on a bicycle? Is there a set distance the beam should hit the ground or is it some angle measurement like a motorcycle?

steelbikeguy

There are remarkably few standards in the bike industry. For headlights designed to comply with the German StVZO standard, the top of the beam should be roughly horizontal.

For other headlights, just try to aim it so that it illuminates the road both near you and far away. Try not to have too much light shining into the eyes of oncoming traffic.

For taillights, the general method is to have the beam aimed directly to the rear. It's helpful to stand the bike up, turn on the taillight, and stand 100 feet behind it and confirm that it is brightest directly behind the bike, at roughly the height of the eyes of traffic.

Steve in Peoria

fietsbob

If there was, it would be in your State's Vehicle Code.. look it up.





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DrIsotope

No idea of legalities, I only know what I do. Fork or stem mounted headlight is aimed to hit the ground ~30 feet in front of the bike. Taillight is level.

Shadowx

I did, it did not have any specificy for aim, just visibiluty at certain distances.

Secret Squirrel

Roughly use motorcycle instructions for aiming a headlight. 10 meters away from garage door and top edge of beam should be 10 cm below the height of the mounting height of the light. Basically lower than parallel height from 10 meters. Also depends on total light output from your light. It might not reach 10 meters with a definitive edge.

unterhausen

I have no idea how to aim a light with no vertical cutoff. As far as lights that do have a vertical cutoff, the controlling issue for me is dips in the road. That puts the light just a little higher than it might be otherwise, but just by a little bit. If you never ride on back country roads, and don't have this issue, then being able to see road signs at about 100 feet is a good criteria.

canklecat

Headlights are usually easy to adjust as we go, unless they're bolted onto the fork bridge. Mine are usually on the handlebar or head tube.

I've added a home made hood with a cutoff to minimize blinding oncoming cyclists and pedestrians. It also enhances side visibility -- the hood is made from a white translucent plastic pill bottle, the flexible HDPE that's easy to cut and not brittle. It glows like a light bulb from the sides. I added black opaque tape across the top to minimize spill into my eyes. Works great -- I've gotten good feedback from neighbors I encounter on their nighttime walks.

On streets I aim 'em nearly directly ahead, but will adjust them a bit to suit my riding speed, light brightness and road conditions. On the MUP I'll aim a bit lower. I'm not worried about blinding oncoming drivers. They're at an angle outside the peak brightness. And typical vehicle and motorcycle headlights are brighter than my 500 lumen bike light.

I angle my red LED taillights to be brightest at typical driver eye line around 30-50 yards directly behind me. I figure that gives them enough of a nudge. For example, the typical Cygolite Hotshot is very intense directly behind the bike. This should nudge the driver into moving aside to minimize the glare. That's a good thing. The angle I set is less intense for drivers directly behind me at traffic lights so it should be less annoying.

My older combo taillight/reflector can be adjusted just by bending the metal angle mount. The Planet Bike Rack Blinky mount isn't adjustable but can be shimmed if necessary -- but it's not bright enough to blind anyone. Only the Cygolite Hotshot and similar lights are bright enough to worry about the angle.

fietsbob

then they did not specify.

But its me 

For my front IQ-X, I used a torpedo level to get it even with the road. Ain't fancy, but close enough.

VegasTriker

My state law only specifies you must have white lamp visible 500 feet from the front of the bike, a reflector visible 300 feet from the rear, and reflective material visible from the side 600 feet away in a vehicles low beam. If a lamp is used in place of reflectors, it must be visible 500 feet from both sides. It has NO requirements for aiming lights. Even the cheap tail lights and LED flashlights at the local dollar store would meet those requirements.

How are you using the light? Is it needed to get a clear view of the roadway itself? Are you riding in an urban area which is well lit by street lighting or are you riding in a rural area where there is little ambient light beyond moonlight (which varies by the time of month)? The answer to these questions should determine where you aim your light. If it is in an urban/suburban setting, then you don't need a concentrated beam on the road to be able to dodge debris but you may want to use them as "being seen" lights. That would mean focusing the beam farther away so vehicles can see you coming sooner.

adamrice 

With headlights, the important thing is to aim it toward the ground so as to illuminate road hazards, but aim it far enough ahead that you can't "outrun" the beam—where the beam is so short you don't have time to react to what it illuminates.

You can figure this out mathematically. If you're riding (say) 25 km/h, that works out to 7 meters per second. According to the US DoT, it takes about 1.5 seconds to react. So you want to illuminate 7 x 1.5 = 10.5 meters ahead at least, assuming this is your max speed at night.

Taillights, I'm not aware of any positioning guidelines other than ensuring everyone behind you can see them.

a1penguin

This. I have two red blinkies. I aim one straight back and the other is at an small angle pointing toward the cars. They have different flashing patterns which I hope catches the attention of drivers when they are still far away.

01 CAt Man Do

I agree very much with what adamrice said as well as the good advice from many others. How you aim your lights depends on many factors, mainly where you are riding ( road, MUP, off road...etc. ), your typical speed, intensity of the lamp and whether you encounter pedestrians ( head on ).

For the front light use common sense. If it's a very bright lamp ( > or = to 600 lumen ) use only the amount of light you need to see and ride safely. It's not just about aiming the light, it's also about intensity. Some people need more light to see than others. No one wants to annoy people by shining a bright light in their eyes so if you do encounter other people directly head-on be polite and lower the intensity level and/or tilt the lamp down if you aren't using a lamp designed with an *upper cut-off beam pattern. Now if you do have a lamp with cut-off beam pattern you only need to lower the intensity level if you have the lamp aimed correctly. If you have a mode that is in the 100-200 lumen range that should be low enough but IMO 100-150 is about perfect. On low you should still be able to see about 30 ft. That might mean you have to slow down some but that's the cost of being polite.

On the road or in road situations the mentality is different. If you are riding with traffic on or near the shoulder of the road you not only need to be seen by motorized vehicles but you need to see and avoid any debris or obstacles that might be in the road. Once again aim and use the amount of light you need to ride safely. If you're riding on a dark road or MUP expect the unexpected. Deer or other animals and the occasional pedestrian wearing completely dark clothing...stuff and other things with "S" as the first letter routinely happens.

As far as tail lights go most of the time it makes great sense to aim them directly straight back. The only time you might consider aiming a tail light down is if your tail light is very bright and you have no option to reduce the intensity. There are only a few situations ( IMO ) where that may be necessary. One is on a group bike ride, on an MUP or in heavy urban traffic with lots of stop and go stop light / intersections. A lot depends though on how bright your lamp is. If your lamp is not that bright ( < 40 lumen ) you need only to aim it straight back Otherwise if the traffic is moving along and passing you at speed I would aim the light normally and use at an intensity of around 40 to 150 lumen ( assuming it is completely dark ). No need to use a lamp over 150 lumen in complete darkness although having a brighter rear lamp comes in handy if riding in fast moving heavy traffic during the day. Of course if you are one of those people who routinely ride on a multi-lane road with speeds over 55mph using a very bright rear lamp in the 300 lumen range might be a good idea. On typical side roads though I'm good with just a couple standard rear lamps, one on the seat post and one on back of the helmet.