canklecat

It's not quite the same as motor vehicle headlights. Those are required to meet certain standards including lenses to shape the beam, cutoffs and aiming (seldom enforced in my area -- Texas seems to have given up on enforcing most safety standards of any kind. You should see the horrifically dangerous makeshift trailer trains permitted to travel through the state to haul wrecked vehicles south of the border). And most motor vehicle lanes have enough separation to make oncoming high beams less critical.

But on our MUP, most of the paved path is nothing more than a suburban sidewalk, four or five feet wide. An oncoming cyclist blasting a 1500 lumen strobing headlight is literally blinding at night. Most cyclists who run nuclear strobe lights also have poor bike handling skills and ride the center of a narrow sidewalk MUP, leaving the rest of us mere inches to miss them. The only way to deal with it is to look down at the edge of the pavement to maintain orientation, and hope they don't veer off line.

That's another reason why I like the current NiteRider designs like the one mentioned above -- the Lumina Dual 1800. It has a proper lens to shape the beam, and a hood to provide some cutoff. I seldom see oncoming pedestrians shielding their eyes, which they often did when I was using Light & Motion and similar headlights that are basically just flashlights slightly modified for use on bikes.

On the MUP I use the NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 on "walk" mode at 100 lumens, or at most the 350 lumen low beam, with the beam aimed downward as far as practical while still being able to see.

I've noticed the city rental bikes follow pretty much the same pattern, with German standard type headlights, bright enough to see ahead without blinding everyone else.

GBK233

ya….my headlight has strobe feature that is crazy bright. But I only use it during the day. At night…I just run it as a headlight and the beam is aimed to illuminate the road ahead of me.
I run a headlight, garmin varia, and flashing red light on back of my helmet….and a green lighted vest.
Fortunately I ride a route with wide shoulders, 35mph speed limit and not a ton of traffic.

rumrunn6

to who? you? cars? other bikers on a paved trail? in my area, I've found that road riding bike strobes (flashers) can be brighter than on MUPs. some say no strobes on MUPs but I've seen very weak ones that seem appropriate. a steady light on a MUP is more widely acceptable. in my area, road riding is different altogether. have you tried aiming it down more? I have a very bright one w/ a terrible beam pattern so I have to use a DIY hood & point in down quite a lot. is yours on the bars or helmet?

I have another powerful light but it has a controlled beam pattern & I've yet to use it on the road. I am optimistic
I also bought a small unit, much less bright which is probably more suitable for "being seen". can be mounted on bars or helmet

I like strobes on the road because I think they grab more attention from a greater distance. giving cars more time to make any adjustments, if necessary

with Fall & Winter lighting changes we often have to use the same unit for being seen & then later for seeing. so it's good to have a 2nd light, or alight w/ diff. settings. or the ability to easily change where it is pointing
I've had my headlight die before getting home at night. not fun. I carry a backup

rumrunn6

those are intriguing. which do you have? how is it powered? how do you like it?

trekmogul 

German Lupine Genuine Lumens here and not the over inflated chinese junk that calls a 200 lumen light a 2000 lumen light.. I ran a 5000 Lumen Lupine Alpha with ZERO Step-down... I also have the Lupine 7200 Lumen Alpha buts is still unboxed...

curbtender

If you are running something extra bright aim it slightly down and to the right. You'll still be able to see the road hazards and cars won't be high beaming you.

xroadcharlie

I used to think if the light worked well in a dark garage it was good enough for the road. And it might be on a poorly lit road with no traffic. But on well lit busy road I see we need much more. Dusk and dawn are by far the worst time for visibility from a car drivers perspective. I don't know what's better in that situation, a very bright light that blends in with the sun making the cyclist invisible, Or no light at all wearing dark clothes to contrast with a blinding sun.

Either way I'm going to get myself a brighter light then one of those tiny lights with the button batteries I use up front now. The plan is to use the little one in stobe mode and a brighter one on low for general night riding. I'll use the brighter one on high in heavy traffic or on dark roads. They need not be blindingly bright. Perhaps in the 200 - 600 lumen range for most roads. Some 200 lumen lights are still reasonably priced. IMO. Keep the light aimed away from car drivers eyes. If you want they're/our respect, You have to show a little consideration yourself. Also I'm going to use a brighter back light too, probably set to flash.

For extreme conditions like riding at dusk or dawn with the sun I assume that I can't be seen by cars and ride accordingly.

It might be worth considering a good light, Not for the max brightness, But for long battery life on a lower setting which is still much brighter then those little cheap ones. At full power many higher intensity lights have a very short battery life.

Racing Dan

To be seen you shouldn't forget about reflective clothing. Some materials are very good at it and much less annoying than super bright flashes.