Current Best Front Light - 600lm max

meanredspider

I'd say lux x 8 = lumens (in an extremely rough way because it's an apples to pears comparison)

itboffin

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Here's the one I've just bought: 100 lux, probably about 500 lumens (but I'm not sure).

Thats waaaay more than 500 LM jeebus that's a lot of light

itboffin

Oh stock manufacturers pics :lol

meanredspider

DrLex wrote:

Must say, UE's choice looks very impressive.

Given his earlier comment, it must be Dynamo driven...

UndercoverElephant

meanredspider wrote:

DrLex wrote:

Must say, UE's choice looks very impressive.

Given his earlier comment, it must be Dynamo driven...

But of course! And yes, it's a stock photo - it's not in my sweaty mitts yet. Still a lot of light from 2.4 watts!

Always hard taking your own photo of a dynamo light, since when you stop riding, they drop the output. I'll give it a go, though, when I get it.

itboffin

Best to just use a 4x4 with hunting lights like that stock pic eh

veronese68

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Lumens are the total output of the LED, lux are the amount of light that is reflected from a 1m square about 10 meters away. The German traffic regulations use lux (minimum of 10), so the lights that conform to that also use lux. Other places use lumens because the numbers are generally bigger.

If you have a bright LED, but very wide spread you'll have lots of lumens but not much in the way of lux. Likewise you can have a relatively low output LED with a narrow spread and get a lot of lux.

It's a mess, really.

I've heard that before, I think. It's just not the sort of thing that stays in my tiny mind. MRS's simple 1lumen = 1/8 lux works for me.
Can you do an approximately equals sign with the squiggly line on a standard keyboard? Wanders off to Google...

Edit: Yes, 1 lumen ≈ 1/8 Lux
But I cheated. Should be Alt 247 but it doesn't seem to work so I copied and pasted.

apreading

Nobody has mentioned the Fenix BC30 yet. This has all the good parts of the Cateye Volt linked to earlier - all in one unit, no separate battery but really useful beam shaping and a small hood - to make it more traffic friendly and, quite frankly, better. I got the one with removable batteries, so you can take spares and put really good quality batteries in and it has really good runtimes. The mount is solid as a very solid thing, although it a bit on the bulky side. Metal body will be better than plastic if you really are getting the brightness quoted because you need a good heat sink. And comes with a remote switch if you want one.

Ouija

Wolfsbane2k wrote:

Slowbike wrote:

The Cateye Nanoshot+ is what I use - my wife has a Volt700 - both are really good lights. <snip>

I was torn about recommending the nanoshot+ as I'm loving mine, but having done a walk around the bike at night time on low with it in the "normal" riding angle, it was so glaring I wouldn't want to be a driver or another cyclist coming towards me. I've played with a "g"volt, and love the throw pattern, but it's just not as bright - if I could convert the nanoshot plus to be more StVZO beam form compliant (fully complaint would be too much) I'd be in heaven - I'm looking at Fresnel lenses at the moment)

That, and it's back up at £80 ish when I got mine at £40 gives me the impression that must be better bargains out there now.

If you want to reshape your beam, here's a quick 'Ouija' mod.....

1) Buy some car beam deflectors. Essentially some Freznel material.

2) Measure the diameter of the glass front of your light and try and find something (coin) of identical size and use that to cut out a hole in the Freznel sheet (it's quite thick).

3) Now cut the resulting coin shaped piece in either half (If you want to lose some of the spot) or a third, keeping in mind that it's the long sided ridges on the Freznel pattern that will be facing up towards the sky.

4) Now place that half moon shaped object on the top half of your lights glass and, if you got the dimensions right, it should wedge against the sides of the lights bezel so that you don't need to resort to gluing it in place etc.

What does it do?

It essentially acts as a soft vertical cutoff, taking some of the light that's going upwards into the trees and redirecting it down between the spot and your front wheel so that the beam forms a upside down exclamation mark pattern (or a keyhole shape, if you prefer). Puts a bit more light on the ground and less up in the air and in drivers faces. It's the same principle as the Fenix BC30's shaped lens (which i also have).



You can also do something similar with a credit card magnifying glass....



Cutting out a hole in the center that matches the diameter of the glass in your light will widen the beam from a spot to a flood. Cutting a hole closer to the edge (where the freznel ridges are wider and run parallel) and placing this in one whole lens on a two emitter light will create a second, wider hotspot just below the first hotspot (a high/low light, as i like to call them). Only covering a half/third of the upper part of the glass with a half moon shaped piece from the edge of the card will, once again, deflect some of the light going up into the air down onto the ground (just like the Fenix BC30 in the pic above).

Being a thin material, unlike the car beam deflectors, you can place the cards material behind the lense and between the reflector cup on most lights and the pressure will hold it in place (and stop dirt getting into the ridges).

A bit of experimentation is required but reasonably satisfying results can be had.

roger_merriman

meanredspider wrote:

I'm appreciating all of the replies though I don't think I'm any clearer than when I started

I might try riding with my SafeRide next week to see if I notice the weight and to see how the beam pattern works for me. Even if it is too heavy and clunky, it'll be another data point.

I was going to ask what sort of light your after, ie beam shape, and batteries ie USB rechargeable or battery pack.

if your after a cutoff beam type, then probably are looking dynamo or battery driven versions.

I ride a quiet royal park at non peak times, so blinding others isn't generally a problem. and need a good spread of light to help balance since my vestebular system is foobared, hence loving the Magicshine 858 I get light from front wheel with a wide beam shape, which still has a decent throw.

I assume your riding roads and have on coming traffic which generally rules that sort of light out in use are more like a high beam than dip.

meanredspider

roger merriman wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

I'm appreciating all of the replies though I don't think I'm any clearer than when I started

I might try riding with my SafeRide next week to see if I notice the weight and to see how the beam pattern works for me. Even if it is too heavy and clunky, it'll be another data point.

I was going to ask what sort of light your after, ie beam shape, and batteries ie USB rechargeable or battery pack.

if your after a cutoff beam type, then probably are looking dynamo or battery driven versions.

I ride a quiet royal park at non peak times, so blinding others isn't generally a problem. and need a good spread of light to help balance since my vestebular system is foobared, hence loving the Magicshine 858 I get light from front wheel with a wide beam shape, which still has a decent throw.

I assume your riding roads and have on coming traffic which generally rules that sort of light out in use are more like a high beam than dip.

Yup - lots of very narrow (single track) country roads - it's a must not the blind oncoming cars.

wolfsbane2k

Ouija wrote:

A bit of experimentation is required but reasonably satisfying results can be had.

Yep, those are exactly the steps I'm going through, and the idea was based upon the bc30. I have a bunch of Fresnel lenses left over from some vr/ fpv work we were playing with.
My biggest concern is actually getting them to stay in place without glue, as I can't find a way to get into the nsnoshot+ lens assembly without the risk of breaking stuff!

gabriel959

keef66 wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

I could use my Philips SafeRide 80 - but it always feels so heavy. Does anyone use theirs regularly (like others, I bought mine on the Rose deal)

If you like the beam shape of the Saferide have you considered the 80 Lux B&M Ixon IQ Premium? It puts all the light on the road so it doesn't dazzle oncoming traffic, but it still lights up both verges, and if you aim it properly it throws a long way ahead too. Plenty good enough for fast night riding (I topped 36mph last night with that tailwind!) Good for 5 hours on full blast on a set of 4 rechargeable AAs, so with a spare set you could make it through the night.
£48 from Rose. I didn't buy the one with the charger and B&M batteries as I already had those (Eneloops). I did buy the fork crown mounting bracket which solves the problem of my side exit Shimano gear cables getting in the way of the beam of a light on the bars.

My only reservation about it is the lack of weather sealing; the Fenix torch it replaced was properly IPX7 or something; it still works happily if I drop it in a bucket of water. So far the Ixon has survived a couple of soakings on the bike, but they say you can't run it upside down because of water ingress (failing to point out that the beam shape would be all to c0ck) I'm hoping that the right way up, on a bike with mudguards, it'll be OK.

I use my Saferide for commuting, it is a great light, and the spread is great. Shame about the weight, but for commuting or night riding, do 200 or 300g really matter?

meanredspider

No, you're right G959, in reality it doesn't - it's more psychological than anything. My white SafeRide just looks clunky. But I'm going to use it this week and definitely return the Garmin Varia.

DrLex

If you start fretting about the weight, just concentrate on the heat sink qualities of the construction.

oldbazza

Had no problem with my volt 300 mount,the only thing is to make sure it's properly clicked in.

Have changed over now to Exposure;got a trace r rear at first and then dumped a wad on a Strada front.Really pleased with both although the Strada is not exactly a small unit,the remote switch is handy too.

imatfaal

Ouija - top tip. Not sure I really need that - but gonna try just for a laugh cos it is such a neat hack.

UndercoverElephant

So, the new Bush and Muller IQ-X is a Goddamned light-cannon.



Excuse the blur, hand-held at 20 mph.

meanredspider

Bloody Hell UE

itboffin

Attached to a motor bike I suspect

UndercoverElephant

itboffin wrote:

Attached to a motor bike I suspect

Psht! I can still get to 20. There was a tailwind and everything.

slowbike

downhill?

prawny

Whoa, I need to get me one of those. Dynohub for next winter definitely, my Trelock is good on high power but I don't want to be charging it every two days.