best dynamo front light with SIDE visibility
 

Please help me find a dynamo powered front light that is bright and provides SIDE visibility. I thought there would be many choices but I'm not finding them :(

Currently have the Edelux II on my beloved commuter Oma :love: I like that its plenty bright without dazzling people walking/in cars, has a long stand light and is quality built. The Edelux will be moved to my BF NWT :love:


The best option with SIDE light visibility that I could find is the B&M Luxos B. Its not readily available, only 70 lux and doesn't have a lot of reviews. The Luxos U reviews has a lot of complaints ( though it is more complicated). I see other B&M with lower lux and are cheaper offer side visibility too but not their brighter newer models...wth?


I commute in the city but on streets that really vary in ambient street light so for me- brighter the better ( without dazzling) and the idea of side lights makes me think it'll provide a bit more safety by being more visible. My city does not have connected bike lanes except a small portion downtown with random painted lanes elsewhere so basically I ride unprotected on the street.


I'm OK with investing on a quality light and ordering from Germany/overseas for a proper dynamo light. Any options in addition to the Luxos B?

The IQ-X (100 lux) has a sidelight function, although not all that bright. Would reflectors be an option? Some tires have reflective sidewalls, such as Schwalbe Marathons. I have a bunch of Lightweights reflective tape bits all over my main commuter bike that I like to think makes me more visible. Includes some on my shoes for movement. I also use a Light and Motion Vis 360 Pro headlamp (Link) on my helmet that has a side light function (thus the 360 bit to the name). Not exactly a brilliant side light either, but an option to consider.

I have the IQ-X, Cyo and Eyc from B&M. The Eyc has very good side lighting, the IQ-X minimal, and the Cyo none.

Have you considered spoke reflectors? They are very effective.


https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...37351158bb.jpg

Riding on schwalbe tires with reflective sidewalls on both bikes currently and considered adding spoke reflectors too ( had them on an old 3 speed) but they only work when light is shining on them. Thought about getting the battery run wheel lights but they don't function when wheels aren't rolling.

I want drivers to see me before their headlights reflect off my bike. A sidelight may not help at all, maybe its just in my mind?

I saw a battery run sidelight that attaches to the headtube but with bad reviews. This got me searching for a dynamo light with sidelights.

Thank you, I looked at all the B&M models and saw that the Eyc is 50 lux. Not sure if its bright enough when riding at night.

Some of the AXA models have side lighting, even on the rear lights too. It's not a full light to the side, just a glow so you can be seen in the dark.

After spending the afternoon searching online some more, will try an add on battery run sidelight and see how that goes.

As for a second dynamo light- does anyone own a Luxos B??? I don't know if I should just get a Luxos B, another Edelux II, B&M IQ or other?... I kind of want to try something different but also want it to be super reliable quality build like the Edelux is.

Isn't the normal beam on the Luxos U the same as the B? In which case, I like my Luxos U. OTOH, it has been in a box for years now because I was afraid it would go out on me. But as I understand it, the B never had that problem.

The IQ-X is a very nice light, and usually what I recommend. I have cyo premiums on a couple of bikes and they are fairly good.

My spouse has the Eyc headlight. I don't understand how it works so well, but it's very bright, and the beam pattern is fantastic.

I do not understand your need for side light, is it because you have had lights that did not light up much to the side and you want something better? Or, is it because you want traffic to see you from the side?

I do not know if the Luxos U and B have the same light pattern. I think it safe to assume that the Luxos U and B have the same distant LED and reflector. But at slower speeds the U has some different LEDs that light up more close area. That power is shifted to more distant focusing LEDs at higher speed. I have no idea how it determines speed, I assume AC frequency. It is unclear from the B&M website if the B has those close area LEDs. The AXA Luxx 70 Plus also has some additional close in lights at slower speed, but that light has a pretty narrow pattern and I would not recommend it if you want good side light.

The B&M website is of no help on the B, this page (english version) describes the X for detailed text.
https://www.bumm.de/en/products/dyna...dukt/179b.html

I like my Luxos U and like the light pattern it has. Due to the documented problems with water ingress, I keep a sandwich sized plastic bag in my handlebar bag and I would be hesitant to use that light for commutting where the bike gets parked outside every day for hours.

The Luxos U example pattern on their website shows the 90 lux pattern, that pattern is probably not sustainable for a long time because it relies on battery power for the additional 20 lux over the standard 70 lux. More on that light here:
https://www.bumm.de/en/products/dyna...dukt/179u.html

That battery is charged by the dynohub.

Luxos U 90 lux pattern below, this is from the B&M website, but I do not know if that is the pattern for slow speed or higher speed:

https://www.bumm.de/files/Produkte/9...0Flutlicht.jpg


The IQ-XS is another light that I have,
https://www.bumm.de/en/products/dyna...di-silber.html

I like the Luxos U pattern better but the IQ-XS pattern is almost as good in my opinion. Their light pattern is below:

https://www.bumm.de/assets/theme/ima...ts/lux_070.jpg

If however your desire for side light is for traffic to see you better, I think reflective sidewalls on your tires is a better option, then you are using the light from the car which is much brighter than your low wattage bike light. But you want to make sure your reflective material stays clean, not muddy.

The IQ-XS is fairly new, thus there is not a lot of information from users on water ingress susceptibility. I recently bought a second IQ-XS for another bike.

Regarding water ingress, all B&M headlights that I have seen are not well sealed at the back and the bottom of the light, thus you need to mount it where you would not get tire spray in wet weather.

Some of the newer IQ-XS lights are 80 lux, which is the same as the Cyo Premium models. And for my money I like the IQ-XS or the Cyo T Premium for side visibility. Not the Cyo R(T) Premium. The first one has an extra set of lights for daytime riding and a more bulging lens for better side visibility. The latter has a more focuses beam, which is very visible on the ground but makes for a much narrower beam which is less useful on dark roads. On the other hand that might be exactly what you are looking for. Even under street lights the RT model shows a noticable white beam on the ground.

Otherwise you can always go to Laempie.de and order a modified B+M light with a flood light switch. The Luxos can go from 90 to 130 Lux that way and the Cyo to a 60 + 85 Lux mode. The IQ-X turns into a 400 Lumen dynamo light that way but I never really liked the side-visibility of the IQ-X.

See the difference at 0:14 when it switches between normal mode and floodlight mode.

I did a bit more research- the Luxos B has the same 70 lux, daytime and stand light but no 90 lux boost and no panorama light at close range. Darn, I wanted the panorama light :(

Though I'm happy with the brightness of the Edulux, it doesn't have a sidelight. It may be all mental but I thought a sidelight would increase visibility before crossing in front of a car's headlights. I get close calls with cars at intersections when I am crossing in front of them and they don't seem to see me until I am in front of them...


Are B&M good quality lights??? It seems like many models have issues- flickering, water egress, cheap housing, weak wire....

There are only two times when I cross in front of a car, (1) is at a four way stop sign and then I often wave the car through so that I can cross behind them and (2) the car has to stop and I do not but if it is night and they already came to a stop they would be more in front of me than to my side so my forward beam is more likely to be seen.

I do not think any dyno powered lights will put out enough side light to make you more visible from the side than you would be with reflective tire sidewalls, reflectors attached to spokes, etc. In this case a battery powered headlamp attached to your helmet might be the most effective option, presumably you are looking at them as you ride past.

I think all dyno powered lights have a water ingress problem if mounted where it can collect tire spray. I have a couple different B&M lights and a Spaninga taillight, they all have small holes at the base of the light. I have an AXA Luxx 70 Plus headlamp that I thought was worse than average for water sealing at the USB port. And I am not very happy with the light beam, at this time I am not using that light.

The Luxos U and B have a couple bolts that penetrate the top of the housing, I have not removed them so I do not know if there is any seal there but I suspect there is not. On a different forum, someone commented that the Luxos U lacked water sealing at the four spade connectors on back.

I have not had my IQ-XS out in rain, but I think that one looks pretty good from a water sealing perspective as long as you do not have tire spray on the bottom or back of it. It has a small plastic fitting on the mount, but the plastic looks pretty robust. There is a new IQ-XS that does not have a metal housing, all of my comments on the IQ-XS are based on the two that I own that have the aluminum housing.

The only time I have any flickering on any of my lights is at very slow speed, like pedaling up a steep hill, and at that low speed and low hub output I am not surprised at flickering considering it is an AC circuit.

On my commute, there is a road that has a lot of cross streets that people use because they are shortcuts. As long as they don't stop for stop signs, they are faster. Every night I there is someone flying up to a stop sign just at the right moment that they haven't seen my headlight. That's why I always have a helmet light. And nobody stops for stop signs around here ether, so it's really dangerous. I was thinking about all sorts of side visibility lights, but I don't think any of them will work as well as a helmet light in the face.

Perhaps employ the BrightSide bicycle light?


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f925653387.png

I have never seen a dynamo headlamp with side visibility. The pattern is cut vertically but the sideward illumination is also limited. I use a lot of reflective tape on the sides of my bike and rims. My light has side illumination but is not a dynamo one. Your best bet is probably a battery powered helmet light to supplement the dynamo light.

There have been some dyno front lights where they emphasized side lighting. I'm thinking I even had one, a supernova maybe. I had a battery light from Planet bike that had side lighting and they still make a dyno version with side lighting that still doesn't seem to have any cutoff. The side lighting on the blink mode of the battery light was incredibly annoying, and every time I tried to turn it off, it started blinking. I think that the headlight is one of the least effective spots for side lighting.

I saw three (3) riders clip and crash into roundabouts curbs on PBP 2019. One of them said to me, "Merde, c'est le deuxieme fois".....I have seen riders clip curbs and crash in the night on brevets in the USA. They all had one thing in common.

If I were still working and commuting by bike, I would probably have a helmet light as a supplement. That would have to be attention getting. Aside from abundant side reflectors, this is probably OP's best approach.

Yup, I was considering the Brightside or Blackburn Beacon and then thought- there must be dynamo headlights that offered side light visibility and down the rabbit hole I went....

Based on the recommendations ( and thank you!), I need to

1) get a helmet
2) add on a helmet light
3) attach reflective spokes

This is off topic but I wish I lived somewhere with proper bicycling infrastructure.... Is there a place on earth that has southern California weather and real separate bicycling infrastructure?

B&m iq-x
 

Decided on the B&M IQ-X for my NWT. Should be as bright as the Edelux and still no side light visibility but did order some 3M spoke reflectors- I'll put them on both bikes:thumb: to get that side visibility.

Thanks for the recommendations!

Maybe somewhere in Colombia? I hear cycling is taking a big uptick there, and it was already big, I believe. How's your Spanish?

Sometimes you don't need cycling infrastructure as much as decent roads. We don't have many bike lanes in the mid Hudson Valley of New York State, but people generally drive courteously, and traffic is light. There are signs on the small rural roads that say BIKE IN LANE to tell the motorists that they should expect to see cyclists in the travel lane. There isn't really a choice on these roads, as they have no shoulders, so of course we will ride in the lane. Traffic is light, too. But we certainly do not have a California climate.

I would love to visit Columbia(!!!) so who knows? Ciclavia started in Bogata and is pretty inspiring.

I live in Los Angeles where people in cars generally do not drive courteously, follow speed limits and don't like to share the road.with.anyone. At least we have CicLAvia :)