Decent quality headlight

BloodLust said:

Currently available, I was planning to get the Fenix BT10 because of the AA but Fenix just announced new bike lights coming this year if you can wait.
www.fenixtactical.com/fenix-bt10.html

A BT20 runs on 18650s and has 2x the lumens.

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trailblazer295 said:

I was looking at the twofish and similar bike mounts for use with my quarks but the flood nature of the xml would not be safe for city riding as it would blind other drivers. I'm looking for a more bike specific design that will aim the light sideways and down and not high into drivers eyes.

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trailblazer295 said:

I'm looking for a more bike specific design that will aim the light sideways and down and not high into drivers eyes. I don't have the skill or tools to build my own so looking for recommendations of lights that would work for my application.

Thanks

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PCC said:

Most bicycling headlights use the same technology as common flashlights so going with even the Fenix BT series bicycling headlights won't prevent or even lessen the glare to oncoming traffic compared to using a common handheld flashlight of the same output level. Your best bet here is to get a bicycling headlight that conforms to the German bicycling headlight standards as they are very similar to car headlight standards and are designed to reduce glare on the road.

As far as quality bicycling headlights are concerned, there are quite a few manufacturers out there that produce a quality product. The problem is that you did not specify a budget. You also didn't specify if it mattered to you that the light be a single unit or a separate battery pack and head unit.

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Savvas said:

I can only suggest something from my own commuting experience which has mainly been limited to dynamo lights. I have used some excellent battery lights from DesignShine, Amoeba, Light&Motion & NightLightning. These are all excellent lights and good value for money. However the specific parameters you seek are difficult to meet unless -as someone has indicated - you go for a German standard light. There are a few battery driven lights built to this standard - the ones I'm aware of are made by B&M and Dosun. Although I haven't tried them, I would expect these battery lights to have similar performance to their dynamo-driven counterparts which I have been using for the past few years.

These dyno lights - the Dosun headlight, the E-delux and the Philips Saferide -are all excellent and outstanding performers in the context you describe. Some are much more expensive than others but in terms of value for money I'd have to point to the 'lower' end of the market - Philips, Dosun & the cheaper B&Ms. So there is plenty of choice if you want the German standard, though maybe not in your LBS if you live in the USA or elsewhere outside Europe. One internet vendor I can unreservedly recommend for such lights is Bike24. Wiggle, Dutch Bike Bits and Roseversand are also great to deal with.

One alternative of course is to build you own - either battery or dynamo - which is actually quite easy and relatively inexpensive if you don't mind the agricultural look! You won't be able to achieve the German standard but I have found that by using very narrow TIR optics such as the 8degree Crees from DX, careful aiming and mounting will come very close to what you want to achieve because such reflectors have limited spill and glare can be minimised. When it comes to lights that meet the 'sharp cut-off' optical standard you are after, we are ruled by the European markets which of course mostly favour dynamo lights! I'd maybe start by looking at the B&M products.

Others may disagree with what I've suggested - I can only speak from my own experiences.

savvas

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trailblazer295 said:

I was more concerned about the flood shining directly into the eyes of drivers. Don't want to have a bright flashlight riding around like having bright high beams on.....

I don't have a set budget but looking $100-$150cdn. I'm looking for a bar mounted light, a seperate pack is okay as long as it secures well to the bike. Also easy of charging cells is important. Who makes bike lights to german standards?...

I have looked up the saferide as I've seen it mentioned in a few threads. But when I looked up the specs at only 100lumens that's not enough light riding on a dark path even at a slow speed. I'm looking for more power when I'm alone in the dark and then lower the brightness as the situation requires.

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• Reactive Lighting Technology: Light sensors adjust light output instantly meaning less need for manual intervention, keeping your hands free. Optimised to guarantee burn time

Savvas said:

Well it was exactly glare/spill/whatever you want to call it upsetting oncoming drivers that I was referring to and it's exactly this that the 'German standards' are aimed at. You can look all of this up elsewhere on the CPF bike list and on numerous web sites and forums including Peter White's - http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/lightingsystems.htm - and this one - http://swhs.home.xs4all.nl/fiets/tests/verlichting/index_en.html

All of the manufacturers I mentioned - B&M, Philips, Schmidt, Dosun etc make excellent lights to the German StVZO standards. Others too - notably Trelock & Hermans and many others.

Beats me where you get the 100lumens from for the SafeRide. Have a think about it for a moment - 2 x 3watt LEDS running conservatively with modern leds producing at least 100 lumens per watt. Even if you are dynamo powered and sharing with a rear light, you'll still get several hundred lumens. More to the point, virtually all of that brightness is concentrated, car-headlight style exactly where you need it rather than being sprayed all over the joint like a garden hose (or like a conventional Fenix-style flash light). If you read the swhs review site and other reviews (such as the 2013 mtbr shootout) you'll find that the Philips LBL (80LUX battery version of the SafeRide) is rated as just about the best value and best performing bike light available anywhere!

It sounds like you only have experience of round-reflector style lights. The StVZO standard ones I have mentioned are far more refined and highly developed lighting devices. As I have said, I (and others here) can only tell you what we know from our own experiences. For a bar-mount at your budget I'd look to the B&M battery powered lights, those similar lights made by Dosun and Trelock (all available from Bike24) or the separate battery pack B&M lights that I think Peter White carries (I'm presuming you are in the USA - you haven't said...).

Savvas

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trailblazer295 said:

This is where I read 100 lumens
http://www.mea.philips.com/c/bicycle%20lamps/led-bike-lights-saferide-bf60l60balx1/prd/;jsessionid=8CF731B0A33BAD3350A4435E111F4CA7.app120-drp2?t=specifications

I'll read those reviews and check it out. It says I'm from Canada in my info to the left.

Thanks for the help.

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PCC said:

Most bicycling headlights use the same technology as common flashlights so going with even the Fenix BT series bicycling headlights won't prevent or even lessen the glare to oncoming traffic compared to using a common handheld flashlight of the same output level. Your best bet here is to get a bicycling headlight that conforms to the German bicycling headlight standards as they are very similar to car headlight standards and are designed to reduce glare on the road.

As far as quality bicycling headlights are concerned, there are quite a few manufacturers out there that produce a quality product. The problem is that you did not specify a budget. You also didn't specify if it mattered to you that the light be a single unit or a separate battery pack and head unit.

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