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Brightest flashing headlight available?...suggestions?

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Brightest flashing headlight available?...suggestions?

Old 10-17-19, 04:57 PM
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rozman
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Brightest flashing headlight available?...suggestions?

Hi,
I'm looking for a super/ultra bright flashing led headlight. Any suggestions?
Also prefer one that has a built-in battery, and uses a USB charger.
Something with 500 lumens or greater in flash mode is what I'm looking for

I thought this search would be easy, but when looking at the many lights available, most of them are not clear on the lumen brightness when the flashing mode is selected. They usually state the max brightness of the light, but don't say if that max brightness applies to the flash mode.

thx
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Old 10-17-19, 09:22 PM
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Originally Posted by rozman
Hi,
I'm looking for a super/ultra bright flashing led headlight. Any suggestions?
Also prefer one that has a built-in battery, and uses a USB charger.
Something with 500 lumens or greater in flash mode is what I'm looking for

I thought this search would be easy, but when looking at the many lights available, most of them are not clear on the lumen brightness when the flashing mode is selected. They usually state the max brightness of the light, but don't say if that max brightness applies to the flash mode.

thx
Check out Cygolite products. They're well made and well serviced, and they're made in the USA. Sturdy mounts that screw on easily, and I like that better than rubber bands.
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Old 10-17-19, 09:36 PM
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I would also look at Light and Motion products. I own several of their lights and they are very bright, plus the light pattern is excellent.
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Old 10-17-19, 09:56 PM
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Originally Posted by rozman
Hi,
I'm looking for a super/ultra bright flashing led headlight. Any suggestions?
Also prefer one that has a built-in battery, and uses a USB charger.
Something with 500 lumens or greater in flash mode is what I'm looking for

I thought this search would be easy, but when looking at the many lights available, most of them are not clear on the lumen brightness when the flashing mode is selected. They usually state the max brightness of the light, but don't say if that max brightness applies to the flash mode.

thx

This is the brightest that I know of. 7200 lumens.

You set the custom strobe mode via their app.



https://www.lupinenorthamerica.com/L...Alpha_7200.asp

Good luck!
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Old 10-17-19, 10:59 PM
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Please don't use a 7,200 lumen light.
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Old 10-17-19, 11:31 PM
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7,200 lumens? Count me in! I could sure use an artificial sun for night hiking, plus I bet you can use it as a heat lamp. $1,300? Count me out.
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Old 10-18-19, 12:48 AM
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I would also look at Cygolite. Good company, IMO. I use a couple of theirs but my fave is the Trion 1300, a 1300-lumen, 3-LED monster that actually is too bright if used on the highest setting. Even pointed down at the pavement, it pisses people off. Motorists will turn their brights on, just to get back at you. So, I use it on the lower settings. No extra battery pack needed and charges in a couple hours. Built like an Abrams tank. Highly recommended. Not sure if it is still being made, but the brighter Cygolite products are for sure quality items.
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Old 10-18-19, 09:31 AM
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I used to commute through a university campus on my way home from work every day.

There were a lot of students that thought that they were more safe when they were using super bright flashing headlights that were blinding the oncoming traffic. Think about it, you want to be seen but you want the car drivers to be able to see too.
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Old 10-18-19, 10:32 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Check out Cygolite products.
+1. I'm using the Cygolite Metro 550. It's very bright in flash mode. The "550" refers to the lumens.

This model was replaced by Metro Plus 650 and Metro Plus 800. They are even brighter.
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Old 10-18-19, 06:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Tourist in MSN
I used to commute through a university campus on my way home from work every day.

There were a lot of students that thought that they were more safe when they were using super bright flashing headlights that were blinding the oncoming traffic. Think about it, you want to be seen but you want the car drivers to be able to see too.
Yes, that's pretty anti-social behavior, and I see it a fair bit on the MUP I take frequently. I guess they figure if the car driver notices you, it's good enough. Well, gee, I'm sure if I ripped the driver out of his car and punched him in the face, he would notice me that way, too, but that doesn't make it a good idea. Nor are those super bright lights necessary on a bike and pedestrian path.
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Old 10-18-19, 09:04 PM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Nor are those super bright lights necessary on a bike and pedestrian path.
It depends on the bike and pedestrian path that you're on.

On many multi-use paths that I ride super bright lights allow you to ride at the same speeds as during the day time. The super bright lights make it safer and more fun.

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Old 10-19-19, 07:56 AM
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Originally Posted by ab_antiquo
It depends on the bike and pedestrian path that you're on.

On many multi-use paths that I ride super bright lights allow you to ride at the same speeds as during the day time. The super bright lights make it safer and more fun.

But not for the people who are coming towards you.
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Old 10-19-19, 08:04 AM
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Have this one and have been thoroughly pleased with it...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Old 10-19-19, 08:15 AM
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Originally Posted by Koyote
But not for the people who are coming towards you.
Lights can be quickly dimmed and/or pointed away on the rare occasion that someone is coming towards me.

What’s happening here is that some are folks are assuming that all bike and pedestrian paths mirror their local examples and getting preachy with their myopic generalizations.
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Old 10-19-19, 10:18 AM
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Originally Posted by noglider
Please don't use a 7,200 lumen light.
Maybe so, but - wow - is it impressive.
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Old 10-19-19, 02:51 PM
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Originally Posted by ab_antiquo
Lights can be quickly dimmed and/or pointed away on the rare occasion that someone is coming towards me.

What’s happening here is that some are folks are assuming that all bike and pedestrian paths mirror their local examples and getting preachy with their myopic generalizations.
More likely that they're accurately describing the majority of riders who just keep pointing their head in the direction they're looking, regardless.

Kudos to you for being more considerate than that.
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Old 10-19-19, 03:47 PM
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Some of the Chinese CREE headlights are very bright, including a straight flash mode.

However, please don't run them on high flash mode high at night, unless there is some kind of emergency. and even so, dim as people/bikes/cars approach.

I find it annoying to ride with a flashing front light at night.

Many of the new lights have an oscillating bright/dim which is much easier on the eyes (generally near the lowest energy mode).
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Old 10-19-19, 09:28 PM
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Originally Posted by one4smoke
Have this one and have been thoroughly pleased with it...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I use it with the helmet mount up top.
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Old 10-21-19, 08:59 AM
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Originally Posted by ab_antiquo
Lights can be quickly dimmed and/or pointed away on the rare occasion that someone is coming towards me.

What’s happening here is that some are folks are assuming that all bike and pedestrian paths mirror their local examples and getting preachy with their myopic generalizations.
You're right. I travel on the US's most heavily used bike commuting route, the Hudson River Greenway. I think it sees 6,000 bike commuters per day. People come towards me often, not rarely. I'll concede there are uses for super bright lights, but using one requires responsibility.
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Old 10-21-19, 09:18 AM
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I recommend the Cygolite Metro 850. That's what I'm using, it's plenty bright, and pretty affordable too.
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Old 10-23-19, 08:02 AM
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as a light user, why does it have to be super ultra bright? I understand that a dim "blinkie" may not be adequate riding on roads. but after a certain level of brightness, the brighter lights are just overkill, in my opinion
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Old 10-23-19, 09:12 AM
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Originally Posted by rumrunn6
as a light user, why does it have to be super ultra bright? I understand that a dim "blinkie" may not be adequate riding on roads. but after a certain level of brightness, the brighter lights are just overkill, in my opinion
I rode for a number of years with a Cygolite 750 lumen headlight that was terrific. But there were two issues that I noticed during that time that sorta needed to be addressed. One was, although the Cygolite-made 750 lumens was pretty effective at illuminating my path ahead in ideal conditions, it wasn't a wide enough or sometimes even bright enough source to reveal all the hazards ahead of me on the road in suboptimal conditions. I'm talking about things like fissures and holes in concrete or pavement and potholes. Or, especially this time of year, the massive amount of debris in the form of leaf piles, branches, limbs, and just general crap in the bike lane. We also have a lot of rocks right now left over from the summer's paving projects. So, that's one. Avoiding debris/road surface hazards as close to 100% of the time as possible for me required more than a single 750-lumen light I found.

Two was, where I live, it rains for about 8 months out of the year. The other four are basically perfect, but during the rainy months at night, it is unbelievably hard to see the road. There's a whole thing here about the relationship between visible light and water. Won't get into it. The point is, in a place like Portland or Seattle during the wet months, it is almost impossible to see at night without a huge amount of help. You just cannot believe how difficult it is to see when you combine the wet with the dark. Cars have trouble seeing. It is bad.

When you combine these two issues--poor, unpredictable road surface conditions and abundant, dangerous debris on the roadway plus the insane difficulty of seeing at night with so much water coating every surface--well, it's easy to see, riding a bicycle can quickly become extremely dangerous. In my fairly abundant experience and just personally in my opinion for me, a single, good 750-lumen headlight is totally inadequate to ensure rider safety in such conditions. Just my take. As a result, I actually employ three headlights now on my setup. One 1100-lumen Cygolite on my helmet, one 1000-lumen Ceco (which I just love) on my left bar, and one 1300-lumen, 3-LED Cygolite on my right bar. Won't go into how I aim all these for maximum efficacy and to minimize annoyance to other people and cars, but it's doable. I ride every day unless there's ice. Since adopting this setup, I have not put the bike on the pavement or been hit by a vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian. I have not destroyed a rim and I have one pinch flat. I am not some exceptional bike talent. Just an average road cyclist for my age. But I am now covered at night. I think I'm about as safe as I can be in terms of illumination on the front of the bike without just getting ridiculous

So, there you go. One person's experience on why having more than just a single good headlight, for them, seems to improve safety. Now, a final caveat. In a former life I used to sort of take care of people who had gotten in car crashes. Motorcycle accidents. Biking mishaps. So on. Anyway, I freely admit that this life has colored my view of the world and its relative danger. I am an absolute freak about safety in pretty much everything. So keep that in mind. I'm probably an outlier. Sorry for the length of this. This is a topic I am passionate about. Be safe out there.
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Old 11-02-19, 01:03 PM
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The best way to prevent blinding of oncoming traffic is to point the light below the height of where the light is mounted. I see lots of other cyclists pointing them straight ahead which sometimes blinds me to a point where I have to slow to a stop because I can't see where I'm going.

Also some places do not allow bicycles to have blinking lights because they may cause confusion with turn signals or cause distractions.
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Old 11-03-19, 09:17 PM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
+1. I'm using the Cygolite Metro 550. It's very bright in flash mode. The "550" refers to the lumens.

This model was replaced by Metro Plus 650 and Metro Plus 800. They are even brighter.
I have a 550 and added an 850 a year ago. Cygolite products are quality products and they take a beating. The mounting bracket and attachment system is first rate. It doesn't move!
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Old 11-03-19, 09:50 PM
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I’m new/just getting into road biking and haven’t ever used a light on a bicycle, hence my question. It’s a generally accepted idea, in the motorcycling world, that yellow lights (selective yellow specifically) are more noticeable than a bright white light. Is a yellow light a thing with bicycles? Granted, not for seeing at night, but being noticed during the day.
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