Hitchington
Lovely stuff
- Location
- That London
Haha, remember these beauties? I seem recall these were the only lights you could buy back in the 80s. No chance of dazzling anyone with this strapped to your bike.
Cyclist, please "Dip, don't dazzle."
- Thread starter BlackPanther
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
the_mikey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
Haha, remember these beauties? I seem recall these were the only lights you could buy back in the 80s. No chance of dazzling anyone with this strapped to your bike.
I remember...
No chance of cycling very far before the batteries run out with those strapped to your bike.
I remember when I was at secondary school I used to cycle to school but during the darkest months I wasn't allowed to ride as the cost of buying batteries daily was too much for my parents so they would drive me to school or I'd walk....
winjim
Smash the cistern
I saw someone last week with a pair of these:Haha, remember these beauties? I seem recall these were the only lights you could buy back in the 80s. No chance of dazzling anyone with this strapped to your bike.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Even a legal light or a light with a nice cut off to the beam will dazzle if pointed in people's faces.
But whatever light you want, but point it at the blooming tarmac...Simples.
But whatever light you want, but point it at the blooming tarmac...Simples.
Hitchington
Lovely stuff
- Location
- That London
The 1990s UPGRADE!I saw someone last week with a pair of these:
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
The front light was awful (I remember creeping along trying to spot the white line at the road edge with one) but therrear was surprisingly visible. The last generation of BS lights were much better (cateye and co) but it's nearly impossible to find them in shops now.I saw someone last week with a pair of these:
Hip Priest
Veteran
There's a fella I see regularly on my commute who has a blinding flashing light pointing straight ahead. You certainly can't miss him.
biking_fox
Guru
- Location
- Manchester
It was necessary when the first LED lights were not that bright. A little 2xAAA 3 led jobie works quite well in strobe mode. It became de-rigour. And then when in only the last couple of years, 500lm lights were around, strobe was kept going.
I too meet far too many cyclists on a cyclepath with far too bright oncoming lights. Most are fine though. I'm not sure pointing them down actually makes much odds, they have a conic output, so unless you're getting no distance out of them at all, you probably are still blinding oncomers. Have you checked how they look?
I am equally surprised at just how hard it is to pick out and unlit ped in dark clothing even with 500lm of light down the path. And just how effective even a tiny stripe of reflective material (or pedal reflectors) is at highlighting presence on an unlit path.
Drago
Legendary Member
- Location
- Suburban Poshshire
Yes, I've checked, and aiming my Chinese retina blaster at the ground 8-10 metres head of the bike does not dazzle, and provides most excellent forward visibility.
It really ain't difficult.
It really ain't difficult.
crazyjoe101
New Member
- Location
- London
The worst are the ones with T6s or brighter on the strobe (not flash) setting presumably pointed at something over the horizon.
crazyjoe101
New Member
- Location
- London
Flashing lights tend not to be a problem; it's either excessively bright flashing lights or poorly positioned lights or both.
As for rear lights I think the general consensus is that:
1) Brighter is better (Obviously this only goes so far)
2) Two lights is a good idea as you won't know if one has stopped.
3) One solid is a good idea as it can help those behind you to estimate the distance between you and them. (EDIT: Just as important at the front)
Front lights are much the same but with 'see with' lights the aim becomes much more important and it's usually never a good idea to use them on flash or strobe mode.
Personally, I use a Chinese T6 light fitted with a beam spreader to see with, mostly on the 'low' setting. I can set it up so that the beam is always 'on the ground' and never in anyone's eyes, and I've never had anyone indicate that the spill light (light not part of the main 'beam'), even on high, is too bright. I also use a Cateye Volt 100 to 'be seen', this is usually on strobe (again, with the 'spot' or 'beam' on the ground), but even then, that's the absolute brightest light I'd be comfortable using flashing as it is still fairly bright.
Anyone got a link to a wide angle lens for a magicshine MJ808? I normally have mine pointed at the floor about 2-3 metres away, I only rotate up if necessary.
I did see one guy use a home made cut off for his magicshine - a section of plastic bottle on the top of the lens.
On the subject of dazzling, it's worth bearing in mind it gets worse with age.
Your glare recovery time lengthens, also you get a lot more light scatter from within your eyes, especially if you're developing a cataract.
So what's OK for a 20 year old, might be quite disabling for a 60 year old!
My father hates driving at night for this reason.
I did see one guy use a home made cut off for his magicshine - a section of plastic bottle on the top of the lens.
On the subject of dazzling, it's worth bearing in mind it gets worse with age.
Your glare recovery time lengthens, also you get a lot more light scatter from within your eyes, especially if you're developing a cataract.
So what's OK for a 20 year old, might be quite disabling for a 60 year old!
My father hates driving at night for this reason.
fossyant
Ride It Like You Stole It!
- Location
- South Manchester
OP
OP
BlackPanther
Hyper-Fast Recumbent Riding Member.
- Location
- Doncaster.
An excellent point. I have 3 different bikes with MagicShine clones (Cree)
On all 3 I've replaced the standard lenses with the wide angle lenses. Unfortunately they no longer appear to be available on ebay in this country, so last time I had to get them from Illinois USA! I'm surprised suppliers don't include these lenses (at a small extra cost) as they're cheap as chips, and make a massive difference. They produce a stronger, focused beam that lights up only the road and not the sky!
