Road lights...dazzling drivers problem!

[ScillySuffolk]

...off road lights...

That's your problem, surely? Off-road lights are intended to illuminate a wide area (overhanging branches and projecting roots) where there is no oncoming traffic.

The "arms race" in lumens has almost entirely ignored the question of suitability and seen high-powered, indiscriminate torches being deployed on the road by cyclists, where other road users' lights are strictly regulated so as not to dazzle others and endanger everyone.

With all due respect to previous contributors, temporarily blinding someone who is in charge of a ton or so of metal, whilst they are heading straight towards you at speed, is ill-advised to say the least...

 

[wookiee]

...off road lights...

That's your problem, surely? Off-road lights are intended to illuminate a wide area (overhanging branches and projecting roots) where there is no oncoming traffic.

The "arms race" in lumens has almost entirely ignored the question of suitability and seen high-powered, indiscriminate torches being deployed on the road by cyclists, where other road users' lights are strictly regulated so as not to dazzle others and endanger everyone.

With all due respect to previous contributors, temporarily blinding someone who is in charge of a ton or so of metal, whilst they are heading straight towards you at speed, is ill-advised to say the least...

I agree so what would be suitable road lights?

 

[captaincosmic]

Re:

I think car lights are too bright anyway ang get dazzled all the time by my fellow car users.
I do a significant amount of driving (55,000) per annum and my advice is that you are better off being seen by other road users than run off the road or worse.
Get a peaked helmet so you can use the peak to avoid their high beams and carry on riding

 

[mattsccm]

Some of the more expensive lights do have a designed in beam cut off. I suppose that this is one of the things you are paying for. Along with batteries that are not just recycled laptop batteries maybe?
C+ has a review of a few this week.
I just point my Chinese driver blinders down when on the road. Still get enough light. I often keep them high and dip them when I would in a car hoping that the oncoming vehicle sees that and responds as they should.

 

[mattr]

Get some thickish plastic, cut an 8-10 cm diameter semi circle of it out and heat it/bend it to fit the top of the light and zip tie it on over the top half of the light body.
It'll reduce the top half of the beam significantly.

 

[wookiee]

Get some thickish plastic, cut an 8-10 cm diameter semi circle of it out and heat it/bend it to fit the top of the light and zip tie it on over the top half of the light body.
It'll reduce the top half of the beam significantly.

This is something I was thinking of doing...

 

[NeilM]

Re:

Like Mike, I use the single source version of that as my winter road light. I ride a lot of unlit country lanes and have never had any problems seeing the road/potholes/badgers/cow poo etc.

I also use three of the single source type offroad (two on the bars and one on my lid), including night laps at Mayhem, so I fancy a five source unit is going to be pretty unpleasant 'in your face'.

Be careful with obscuring your present light, with five LED's in there, the body will get pretty hot, even on the move.

 

[mattr]

Nah, i have a 5 led lamp ~1700 lumens (real ones, not marketing ones) and the lamp body never gets too hot to touch when riding, even riding very slow and steady (climbing offroad etc)

Stopping in the middle of the woods in the summer, i'd not like to do that!

 

[hamster]

The problem with all these Chinese lights is that the optical design is dreadful. It is also really hard as the LED source is a flat chip unlike the thin filaments of old. That's why most car LEDs are used for side / fog lamps and not main beam. Note that even car halogens have a reflector to bounce the light backwards into the reflector first.

There are a couple of German lights where the LED faces backwards and then give really decent beam shaping. Have a look at the B&M ones which are designed for road use.
http://www.bumm.de/produkte/akku-schein ... -core.html

The Chinese guys don't seem to have the expertise for this kind of stuff.

 

[mattr]

IIRC Germany actually have laws regarding front light beam designs for bikes. Everyone else just have a safety standard.