TimothyH

Thank you for this. Very informative.

noglider 

Regenerative braking is not likely ever to be practical for bicycles. It would be heavy and expensive. The weight would add to the effort required to pedal the bike. The cost would not justify the amount of energy you get, and you would get very, very little. Bikes don't brake that often, and the amount of energy is very low because speeds are low and so is mass. Just forget it. It is possible to charge a battery with a dynamo hub, and even that is not worth the expense unless you are going to be away from a power outlet for a few days.

Nachoman

One of the guys I 'night ride' with uses one of the brightest NiteRiders. Not sure which model it is.
When I'm out in front, and look behind me, his light is so bright it's indistinguishable from a motorcycle.
It looks like a locomotive is bearing down on me.
Seems great for riding solo. But unless you're out front leading the pack, it's a bit bright for group rides.

bluehills3149

About 20 years ago I set out to build the brightest bike lamp possible. Using a fancy 20w halogen MR16 bulb that had some (expensive at the time) tech that meant it put out the equivalent of a usual 50w lamp, I then overvolted it to 14 v (a 12v halogen lamp at 14 v outputs about double the lumens but shaves 90% off its life) so it was the equivalent of a 100w halogen light. Mounted in a piece of PVC pipe and with a chunky lead acid battery it lasted about 30 mins - enough for my commute.
Problem was it was too bright. Pedestrians would freeze in place like an animal in a hunter's spotlight and cars would flash their lights at me like I was demonic. So although is was great on dark paths, lighting the way like it was daylight I retired it to my "old gadget drawer", never to run again.

dwolsten

I thought those lights usually had multiple brightness modes; it should be possible to select one of the low-power modes if you're in a group and not in the lead.

Edit: I just got one of those NiteRider lights, the 950 OLED. It does have multiple brightness modes; 3 of them in the normal always-on mode group, plus the super-bright "boost" (950lm), as well as a special "walking" mode which is always-on but rather dim, and has a ridiculously long run-time. Perhaps that walking mode would be good for group riders at night who are not in the lead. Of course, it also has several flashing modes that are meant for daytime use.

Garfield Cat

Cree 3rd Generation XP-L2-LED. This was back in September 2016

https://www.cree.com/news-media/news...ower-xp-l-leds

https://cygolite.com/product/hi-flux-ii-led-xtra/

I would imagine most of the top manufacturers in the U.S. also do the same.

angerdan

This was what you liked to do.
How did you decide and what did you finally do?

Bluesfrog

I'm interested in what you have done. I use a Fly 12 and Fly 6 by Cycliq. They work quite well, are easily identifiable as a bike, and you have a camera front and rear. You might need to prove in court what happened if you are struck by a motor vehicle. Be Well, Bluesfrog..

bpcyclist

It doesn't matter how insanely bright your light is, if you don't have the proper beam shape, you won't be able to use it, because some pedestrian or motorist will try to kill you after you blind them.

Road Fan

diffracted - you mean where a part of the light distribution system is a lens? I think nearly all of the higher powered headlamps I’ve seen use a shaped mirror to reflect light forward and a lens to aid in the shaping. Certainly the old incandescent and halogen sealed beams and bulb (h4 for example) lamps had a mirror as well as a lens. Some automotive lamps have light blocks to establish the cutoff.

alo

In the past, I have set flashing LED lights down the back of the pannier rack supports, and down the front forks. This made the bike very visible at night, even from far away. These were also the prettiest bicycle lights I have set up. I then had a battery pack, switch, and wiring. If you want to set up something like that, good luck. But having wiring to each light was messy.

I suggest, minimize wiring. Ideally, stick to lights with a battery in them. The only lights I am buying now are solar lights. I suggest using solar lights.

If you want a bright tail light, that is visible in the day time, get a headlight, cut the back off a reflector, fix it over the headlight, and use it on the back of the bike. Use it in flashing mode. I would use a less bright tail light at night time.

You could have two headlights. One on flashing mode, so others see you, and one which remains on, so you can see. The further apart they are the better.

You can do just about anything if you have a creative imagination.

spinnanz

I'd be wary of two headlights. Two lights side by side may look like a car that's far away. Lights above and below each other may look like two vehicles far away, following each other.

alo

I suggested, one on flashing mode, so others see you, and one which remains on, so you can see. My concern is, if they are together, it may just look like one light on all of the time, and not be as noticeable. It becomes a challenge to get them very far apart on the front of a bicycle anyway. If you put one down at the side of the wheel, you really need another one on the other side also. Then they are where they could easily get knocked and broken.

Another option would be to put an orange reflector over the flashing light, so it is clearly a different color.

In the end, most people will keep it simple and only have one headlight.

My bike was highly visible when I had flashing LED lights down the front of the forks. But it makes things overly complicated. The slight increase in safety may not be worth the time and effort.

mmeiser

I think there is a lot lot of misunderstanding here so I just wanted to give you a thumbs up on using your bright lights *appropriately* and explaining what appropriately is. Many will jump to conclusions or misunderstand your intentions in using such a bright light as it is illegal in many road situations. It is hard to explain context. Much of what I am about to say could be similarly misinterpreted or taken out or context.

The old saying is "you can never have to much light" That said, lights are getting so much brighter, long lasting and cheaper (a wonderful first world problem indeed!) that the old ways of thinking about them have not kept pace. I have used a 250 lumen light on the great divide and it felt like it lit up the entire valley. But light is a relative thing. On a suburban strip with shopping malls and rush hour traffic 250 lumens isn't enough to keep me from getting run over.
​
S​​​ome misconceptions I wanted to clarify.

1) The OP doesn't need the light to be so bright to see, he needs it as bright as a motorcycle to be perceived as a motorcycle. OP, I have a Serfas 1600 and am getting a Lezyne 1300XXL. These should be bright enough and long lasting enough to do the trick. Indeed you may want to step them down at night as they are closer to a high beam then a regular beam on a motorcycle and you may blind drivers. You will know if they flash their brights at you on occasion that you are blinding them.

2) bulb size vs. lense size. I would argue that a 1300 lumen light is going to appear the same whether it is six inches across or two inches across, but I could be wrong. Basically my theory is if its that bright noone is going to be able to look at it without blinding themselves anyway. Hence something like the Serfas 1600 or Lezyne 1300xxl should do the trick without having to create some sort of special lens/refractor to make them look bigger.

I am at a loss on tail lights. My go to is now the 350lumem Cygolite. Runtime on triple flash is 30 some hours. BUT none of the tail lights are designed to be run on solid. Red light eats up considerably more battery to run at the same lumens as white light. Since a tail light will be much dimmer then 800 or 1300 lumen AND you will likely be in the headlights of a cars approaching from the rear I cannot imagine you will be able to win this perception game and look like a motorcycle. You could buy a front light, put a red lens over it and mount it on the rear. This would give you both better longevity and brightness. Indeed I do not know what lumen a cars tail lights and brake lights are but you will need to be careful not to go to bright. I suspect car tail lights are 300 to 500 lumen. Higher than that and you might get pulled over by a cop. There are legal limits on the brightness of tail lights and headlights, exceeding them will blind others and make you less safe.

So.. my point with the tail light is because it is required to be much dimmer and because cars approaching from the rear will have their headlights on you they will be able to plainly see you are a bicycle no matter what you do.

My own experience.

I have been night riding for 10 years now. I ride as often in the winter as summer and therefore I ride a ton at night. I love night riding and often feel safer at night then during the day. Indeed recently I have been seriously rethinking saftey as I have started commuting on an Class III ebike which will go up to 28mph. I am hoping this will allow me to leave the car parked more often even though I have a 28 mile commute.

The thing that most worries me is people will underestimate my speed if they percieve me as a bicycle. To that end I do not attempt to look like a motorcycle. Instead I simply attempt to get them to think "what the f*ck is that". In my opinion and my experience just getting people to register you in their psychy if only for an instant means you have won. This not only makes you far safer but it also seems to reduce bad actors whom would buzz you or otherwise deliberately misbehave. For example if they see my bright red blinky and subconsciously wonder if I am a police officer they probably have already taken their foot off the gas pedal.

When I first started biking I used to be meek and humble on the road. I would hug the shoulder, politely obey all the traffic rules made for cars and do everything I was supposed to do. But that is b.s. Cars mistook my politeness for weakness. They bullied me with horns, buzzed me, clipped me with mirrors. I quickly realized if you want respect on the road you have to take it. Be bold. I don't sit at red light waiting for a car to hit me. Where the coast is clear I take it. I do not humbly ride the side of the road. If cars are passing unsafely or buzzing me I will move out into the road or even take the full lane as is appropriate and allowed by law, especially when riding through intersections. I am not advocating for being an *******. I am still polite... I am more polite then ever... I still obey 99% of laws.. as everyone should. But what is the point of sitting at a red light if it can only be triggered by a car? Laws and planners fail repeatedly to consider bicyclist and pedestrian saftey. I do not meekly accept this. If a.cop is going to ticket me for going against a red light when the cost is safe and clear and the light is triggered only by cars I will politely accept the ticket and fight it in court with a counter suit... but none have. Reality is full of grey lines... make sure you know where you are standing.

I am not going to risk my life for the sake of being polite nor arbetrary city planning. Bikes are not cars. Laws and roadways leave bikes and pedestrians out of planning and have for years. Don't be a sitting duck in the left hand turn lane or right hand turn lane if you can avoid it. Don't meekly hug the shoulder if cars aren't giving you a foot let alone three feet. You would be amazed at how differently cars react when you behave boldly and decisively for your own saftey. Don't be an ahole about it. You are representing the bike community and doing so poorly will create backlash. Be polite, but be bold when it comes to your saftey and make no apologies. These things are not at odds with one another. Maybe... some traffic laws, but I would sooner have an occasional ticket (not that I have ever had even one ticket) then give cars the opportunity to bully me or jepordize my saftey by squeezing me out. Timidness invites conflict. Telegraph your intentions and take them boldly and deliberately if not politely. This is not just something I learned biking. It is something I learned from years of driving in the city. Believe me when I say I am just as gracious and just as likely to smile and wave someone a head of me or around me as I am to take the lane as I approach an intersection.

Let them know you are there. Let them know your intentions. And then when the matter is resolved... i.e. it is safe to pass or safe to turn be gracious. I think half of conflicts are created by simple confusion or lack of communication. Of course... there will always be that preceding factor of just getting seen in this fantastically distracting world. And for that there are 3200 lumen lights... just know while probably fine for use off road or back road, maybe even in daylight.. anything over 1000 or 1200 is likely to blind drivers at night making you less safe and likely to get ticketed and rightfully so.

One final note.. Boldness is not in everyone's DNA, but it its in yours please do it politely as it will make everyone on a bike and even a motorcycle safer. You are teaching others how to behave around cyclist and how cyclists behave. Sadly too many are bullied off the road. As can be seen with low female ridership. Believe it or not your boldness will especially help them. You help shape the community you ride in. People will respond to you both drivers and other riders. Your actions help define the social norms.

I used to ride regularly in a community where only those of lower class, kids or those whom had lost their licenses road. It was appalling how drivers initially reacted to me. Over time though that has changed. More riders of increasingly varied experience and background have taken to the road and i have seen and felt how reactions toward cyclists have changed one bicycle lane, one share the road sign and one rider at a time.

mtbtrlrguy

Won't you need a bike lane to safely do that? An oncoming slow moving motorbike can cause concerns for motorists and pedestrians. Use the 30W bulbs with a capable gel cell battery to minimize concerns from motorists, pedestrians and law enforcement officials who may confiscate your bike for misusing equipment.