krobinson103

As the final finishing touch on my "good" bike I've added a couple of cree torches to the bars. They can be focussed or wide beam, and have 4000mah batteries. Good stuff. I set them up and checked them outside and the range is ... impressive. With one on a wide beam and aimed in front of the wheel, and the other on a narrower beam aimed further out I can see as far as I need to travel at any speed under 40km/h or so, which is plenty fast at night.

But, I have to consider (tried it to be sure) that the sheer amount of light is going either temporarily blind, or at the least destroy the night vision of any oncoming rider. This can't be a good thing at 4am in the morning. Anyone have any suggestions on how to use these lights without causing others problems?

zacster

Possibly aim them so that they throw the light straight and to the right, avoiding the oncoming rider. I'm assuming you are right side drivers in S Korea, otherwise obviously point it the other way.

Unlike with cars, which have fairly uniform lighting, you can't just assume you'll see an oncoming bike quickly enough that you can dim the lights. I find these torches to be too bright even on low anyway. Car lights have different directional patterns.

Burton

This will probably go against your initial inclinations, but the wide beam is the one that will be the biggest issue for oncoming traffic - particularly on a bicycle trail. Oncoming cyclists will be more and more outside the coverage cone of a narrow beam (10 to 20 degrees) as they approach you and will be OK. The wide beam (25 degrees and up) will probably spread enough to light up their faces at a distance of 15 feet. If you can see lit up faces - they probably have to deal with looking directly at your beam. So that would be the one to turn off.
I kinda went through this exercise last year and thats what made me decide to use beams with a cut-off myself.

Tor

I seldom deal with other cyclists, but I still prefer to use a light with a cut-off. It makes a substantial difference in how well I can illuminate the road without putting a really bright light in other people's eyes. I use the Phillips Saferide battery version modified with the addition of the guts of a USB car charger inside and a wire coming out that connects to my 13.2V NiMH pack. Works excellently, and I am now working on putting together a high beam that will consist of a 12 degree quad LED optic from luxeonstar.com, and this upcoming housing*. I've actually got two housings on the way. Not sure if I'll decide to eventually use both on my bike or do something entirely different with them.

Tor

*Disclosure: No connection to the project except as a new customer.

Giro

Get an shiny finished aluminum can (e.g. Diet Pepsi, Silver Bullet beer) , some reasonably sturdy scissors, some filament/strapping tape and roll some snoots for your lights.

1. Cut the aluminum can apart so you have a rectangular sheet of aluminum.
2. Fold a thin of the can strip over itself on two opposite edges to prevent sharp edges.
3. Roll an aluminum tube (more reflective surface on the inside) the diameter of your lights by rolling it tightly around the light's front.
4. Filament tape the tube to maintain the diameter and either slip the tube over your light or tape it in place.
5. Cut away the aluminum "tube" at the bottom and lower sides so the light spills to the ground and sides rather than reflecting up into someone's eyes. You can fold any sharp edges if you cut straight lines.
6. Done.

Yes, it looks very Fred, but at night no one will be able to see it that clearly. It also has the advantage of putting all that light down and out where you need it rather than wasting it going up into someone's eyes.

proileri

Giro has the right idea. A tube in front of the light works well as a shade, or any kind of a lip. Simplest version is to take a piece of cardboard/piece of aluminum from a coke can, and use rubber bands / tape to put it around the headlight.

krobinson103

I played with the aiming points and found a pretty good balance where its not going to blind anyone, but still puts out a pretty good range. I'm actually pretty happy with it. 300 lumens is about right to allow to ride fast, but not too much to be overkill.