michaelm101

Are these lights bright and truly non-offensive to oncoming vehicles?

I have several lights from Cyclolite, Niterider, L & M, etc and every time I check and see what they look like from the on-comer's perspective, they are blinding and annoying... at any angle.
Thx in advance!

Gresp15C

The B&M lights are designed to control the beam and prevent being too bright to oncoming vehicles.

In a typical parabolic reflector light like the Cygolight, light that emanates at wide angles from the LED is captured by the reflector and directed into the main beam, which can be directed towards the pavement. But light coming directly from the LED is still visible from above the "horizon." This is the light that is annoying or blinding to oncoming cars / riders. I experience it the worst on the bike path during the winter, and I am in fact temporarily blinded.

The B&M design collects light and redirects it at an angle, so that there is not a separate "direct" beam. This is a much better design. There is still enough uncontrolled light (referred to as "spray" in the industry) to make you visible to oncoming cars / riders. But not so much as to be blinding.

There's an inexpensive light sold on banggood.com, with a similar design:

https://www.banggood.com/XANES-600LM-XPG-2-LED-Bicycle-German-Standard-Smart-Sensor-Warning-Light-Bike-Front-Light-Headligh-p-1142083.html?rmmds=search&cur_warehouse=CN

We now have several of these in the family fleet, and they work great. They are "officially" tested through the depths of a Wisconsin winter. I'm not discouraging getting a B&M, which is kind of the quality leader in this space, but it's useful to know that there's a low cost alternative. As I understand it, Germany has regulations requiring this kind of design. Automotive headlights are already regulated, and I think there's just an issue of the regulators not keeping up with advances in the power of modern LEDs.

Note that I have some training and experience in optics, including lighting design.

You can correct the issue with the parabolic lights such as the Cygolight by putting a piece of tape over the middle of the lens to block the worst of the direct beam. I used some aluminum tape (from repairing my heating ducts) for this purpose, as it sends the direct beam back into the light and produces a useful amount of "spray."

michaelm101

Thanks very much for your detailed and well informed response. I'm gonna check out that link you sent...

michaelm101

$8.99??? Seriously? Does this light actually illuminate the road ahead or is it a light to simply be seen by motor vehicles? Thx!

Gresp15C

It's pretty dang bright, e.g., considerably brighter than the little ones with a pair of AA batteries. Recommended by another BF member. I use it for night riding in town, including bike paths that are pitch black.

I have an optical power meter at my workplace. I'll measure it.

fietsbob

I have an Ixon IQ 4 AA battery powered .. rechargeable or not.. being German made it does not flash ..

beam cut off lights down not up.






...

noglider 

Count me as another person who cares a lot about beam shape. Most Americans don't care.

I have the IXON Core and that Xanes light. They both have sharp cutoff beams. I haven't compared them side by side, but I compared the Xanes with the B&M dynamo powered light. They have comparable beam shapes, and the Xanes is brighter. The Xanes is an incredible value, except that it is cheaply made and may not last long. I don't regret spending $50 on my IXON Core. The Xanes is good enough to keep as a spare. I like it so much that I have two. I keep one in my bag, just in case.

I've received compliments from strangers on my IXON Core and my other B&M light (dynamo) because they are focused to look bright but not painful to the eyes. They are not super bright, and I have to slow down to about 13 mph in the dark. That's not a problem for me. Some people insist on going faster at night.

The Xanes light is available for $16.60 from Amazon, so you get their customer service. It can be worth the extra bit of money. I once bought a Chinese light from Amazon, and it didn't work, and the vendor didn't respond, so Amazon refunded me my money.

Andrey

I also have the Xanes light , B&M dynamo lights and original Ixon IQ lights.

In my experience Xanes just does not have the power of the other B&M lights, but for the price it is very nice with a very bright white LED and produces enough light on high to ride at 18 mph on the road. It just does not throw the light far enough like the other more expensive lights.

The feature I like the best about the Xenes light is that it works while being charged, it means you can use it all night long while it is plugged into USB auxiliary battery. I suspect the built in battery will only last for a couple of hours, never tested it yet. Most more expensive lights do not work while being charged.
It is also very light and it is probably the best "spare" light to the main more powerful light if you need to ride night after night. It is my favorite light though if I need the light just in case because I can not make it back home before it gets dark.

P.S. For $20.00 you can get two lights though and you just can not beat that!

noglider 

I'm glad to know the Xanes works while charging. My IXON Core does, too.

Andrey

Nice to know that also. May be in the future I will get the Core light as well. I bought the Xanes light because you had recommended it before on this forum . Thank you.

noglider 

I, in turn, learned of it from someone here on bikeforums. I don't remember who it was. It's far from perfect, but damn, it packs a lot of value. The USB port in one of mine is misaligned, indicating the low build quality, but for $10, I'm not complaining.