Metieval

I ride at night (a lot). I am on rural roads... so there is a lack of street lamps. and Often there is a lack of moonlight.
I've read 100 post on brightness, use a flashlight etc.

My main concern is Light are lights and headlights are headlights. Meaning that lights just light things up, and headlights are for the purpose of lighting things up without blinding oncoming traffic.
Except most headlights for bikes on the market....(IMO) are nothing more than flashlights in a fancy molded housing.
So is there an inexpensive way to make a flashlight work for a headlamp as to not blind on coming traffic?
Or are there descent bike lamps on the market with this design in mind for a decent price?

znomit

Most of the dynamo lights and a few battery ones have traffic friendly beams.
Start here...
https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

Metieval

Thanks.....
IMO this should be a number one priority for bike lights. but it doesn't seem to be the case in many of the lights on the market.

Cyclist0383

Check out the new Phillips SafeRide light. It comes in both dynamo and battery versions. Here's a review of the battery version. https://reviews.mtbr.com/philips-safe...ights-shootout

CaptCarrot

Depends on if you want battery powered or dynamo powered (though I think dynamo powered lights can be powered from an external battery pack, I have no experience with this).

Dynamo:
Busch & Muller do a range of lights with and without cut-offs, but the one with meet the stringent German specifications. The Lumotec Lyt is the bottom of the range, there is the Lumotec IQ Fly, and I have the Lumotec Cyo R.
Philips SafeRide (Dynamo version)

Battery
Busch & Muller do some here too, I don't know about the IXON Pure, but the IXON IQ and IXON IQ Speed I believe have the cut-off.
Philips SafeRide (Battery version)

RayfromTX

I use a 360 degree mount and rotate to the right when there is oncoming traffic and back when I'm past them.

CaptCarrot

to much work IMHO - but then I don't ever go off road in the dark, so don't need the visibility above the cut-off anyway.

Metieval

I've been sticking my hand in front of my current light on oncoming traffic, because even pointed to the side or what not there is still the exposed light element. And that is what blinds/distracts, not the light itself.
But now (with the light covered up) I've nothing except a reflector (which is a hit/miss item), I've also hindered my own vision, and I've also now distracted myself or simply took my focus off other important things. checking mirror, listening to my environment, one handed control...
Besides the fact my light sucks, and leaves me swerving all to often at the last min. sure I can miss that road kill with the front, but often catch it with the rear tire.

My concerns, safety first... and then respect for vehicles (they don't deserve to be distracted either).

I am pretty much dead set against (over regulation and all that) but on something like this... I wish that America took more of a European stance on it. Or at least more Americans would be conscience of their actions.
Another pet peeve on the LED tail lights... Most of the $60 and under combo sets that have 3 LED's on the tail light all 3 blink. People can't judge time/distance/speed on a blinking light. So I run solid... I wish I had the 3 LED's for solid and then one minor less intrusive blinking LED for attention.

gear

Do you think that any bicycle headlight is brighter than an oncoming car's headlights? Because cars pass each other all the time without incident. Car headlights point straight out (maybe down just a bit) and bicycle headlights point down at a fairly extreme angle from the bars to the road. A bicycle is usually way over on the opposite side of the oncoming lane while the (driver side) headlights of opposing cars pass within inches of each other. I just don't get your concern if cars aren't causing issues with each other as they pass, why should bicycles.

Metieval

It isn't about bright, it is about design.

Sorry and no offense, but on reading your Loc. suddenly all the M******* jokes and about Mass drivers suddenly became very clear to me.

Anyways big difference between headlights and flashlights. even a $0.05 cent cheap plastic LED flashlight will blind a person for the moment.

pdlamb

There's two easy answers. The first, as a couple of posters noted, is to use one of the German lights that have an asymetrical beam. You can get them to run off batteries or dynamo (generator) hubs. The overwhelming majority of the light goes onto the road, not in the faces of oncoming drivers. The downside is that the cutoff is so sharp you may have difficulty reading road signs, and the little light that goes above the horizon may not be as conspicuous as you want to people in front of you.

The second answer is simply to point the flashlight (or symetrical beam headlight) down. These are brightest directly in front of the light; if the light is pointing down, most of the light will be going down. What's left going up will be enough to light up street signs and alert pedestrians and drivers that there's something with a light coming this way (you). It won't be as bright as the jackass in the jacked-up pickup truck with high beams and top and bottom fog lights; it probably won't even be as bright as a 20-year old Civic on low beams. If it is, point it a little further down.

Just please DO NOT point a flashing symetrical light above the horizon. That's really nasty for oncoming traffic. If absolutely necessary, put one of these on your helmet pointing down, and figure out how far up you need to raise your head if you absolutely have to get someone's attention.

gear

Yes, if you hold a flashlight in your hand and look right at it you can be blinded but since a bicycle light is pointed down at the road wouldn't you have to be lying on the road to be blinded by a bicycle light? You seem to think that I don't care about the safety of others hence your (no offense taken) reference to Mass. drivers. However my questioning your need for concern has less to do with lack of concern for the safety of others and more to do with your faulty logic about bicycle lights blinding drivers. It just isn't a problem. If it were you'd see lots of letters to editors complaining about bike lights, there aren't any. Believe me drivers love to write about how they hate bicyclists, but they never mention that the lights are blinding them.

Metieval

So you argue that I have faulty logic, When I argue that an exposed element is blinding from multiple angles.

and your logic isn't considered faulty by you, when you say no one complains therefore flashlight type bike lights don't cause problems?

I know for fact and also by experience that flashlights can be blinding, and don't need to be directly pointed at someone to do so. And that @ 18-24 mph a flashlight can not be be productive when aimed down enough to not be blinding.

Metieval

Low Beam is why cars do not blind other cars

Low beam (dipped beam, passing beam, meeting beam) headlamps provide a distribution of light designed to provide adequate forward and lateral illumination with limits on light directed towards the eyes of other road users, to control glare. This beam is intended for use whenever other vehicles are present ahead. The international ECE Regulations for filament headlamps[5] and for high-intensity discharge headlamps[6] specify a beam with a sharp, asymmetric cutoff preventing significant amounts of light from being cast into the eyes of drivers of preceding or oncoming cars.

This is what I want in a bicycle light, and for the Exact same reasons!!!!!!

This is not faulty logic. And my concern is legit.

As for your car post up above..... this is how car lights (low beam) can point straight out and not blind people.

If you have any suggestions for lights on the market that fit my needs cool, If you only came to this to tell me I have faulty logic, faulty concerns blah blah blah take it elsewhere, as you are not being helpful. Thanks.

orionz06

Why not just keep from pointing it at them? Problem solved.

Metieval

That solves the Blinding issue, but creates another problem.

orionz06

The best answer I can give you is have someone else ride your bike as you approach them in a car. That should solve your problems when you see you are not an issue.

sknhgy 

My riding conditions are the same as yours. I have a Shiningbeam MC-E flashlight in a $2 holder. The holder is from Deal Extreme.
The holder allows me to pivot the light down when I meet a car, or pivot it up to flash an oncoming car that won't dim it's brights.
The light snaps in and out of it's holder with one hand - something I do regularly while pedaling along. That's handy when I want to look at something off to the side of the road, or use the flashlight as a flashlight.
It works extremely well. I could post a pic if you want me to.

Metieval

Orionz06

In what direction would you want your bike light to face. Forward in the direction of travel, yes? At faster speeds this light needs to shine further out.

so to answer your question about why not point it away from them.

How Do I explain this.... I want my light to shine in the direction of travel, and my direction of travel is at oncoming cars. So Why would I NOT want to apply a little bit of intelligence, engineering, and advanced technology into my bike light? Thus allowing me to maximize my riding speed and greatly increase the effective and useful light from a headlamp style bike light.

Because I ride in areas where there are no street lamps. and the moon doesn't shine every night of the month or through cloud cover. And I ride fast.

orionz06

Do you or do you now know how your light appears to traffic currently?

Metieval

That does work, but I am tired of doing that.
And along those lines when traffic picks up, It is very annoying.

but I've received my answer. Buy something European

Metieval

Yes I know.... BUT DO YOU know how my light currently appears to oncoming traffic? OR how it is also currently ineffective when not shining at them?

mechBgon

^ Based on my own review of the subject, my car is just as bad/good as my bike. But by all means get yourself a Philips or one of the various dyno lights if you want to feel like you've done everything possible to be nice to the oncoming traffic. Unfortunately it's all for nought if you're coming over a rise, since the beam still hits them right in the eyes.

Then my first two nominees are the Cyo non-R, or the Edelux. You can skip the Supernova E3 Pro glare-free, it doesn't project forward far enough for fast riding. I can also recommend the Shimano DH-3N80 dynohub, it's nice and light (for a dynohub) and doesn't cost that much more than their heavier ones.

CaptCarrot

There is another problem with pointing beams of non-asymmetrical lights downwards. Due to the bright hotspots of these lights, they can actually mask problems in the surface of the road AND they can ruin your night vision (even if they don't blind you) due to the amount of reflected light close in.

orionz06

I have not seen you from a vehicle, so no.

Me thinks you need to sit on this one for a few days, you might figure it out. What is your current light set up?