Re: connected lights

On 9/12/2024 9:21 AM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:

Am Wed, 11 Sep 2024 16:49:52 -0400 schrieb Frank Krygowski
<frkrygow@sbcglobal.net>:
 

On 9/11/2024 3:37 PM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:

Am Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:23:22 GMT schrieb Roger Merriman
<roger@sarlet.com>:
>
>

There is also the fact I like lights that can kick out more oomph that a
Dynamo can do, and I’m not wild on such cut off beams, while my commute
light has a low wide beam on low, ie fine around town and so on, with the
High Beam to give a bit more punch in the woods and so on.

>
In my experience, a modern, StVZO-conforming LED based headlight is more
than good enough for riding in city traffic. More power usually only
serves to blind other cyclists and still can't compete with car
headlights. Riding in the woods and in the dark, on the other hand, is
better done using a weaker, but wider beam.
>
The only reasonable need I see for more powerful headlights is when
driving on unlit rural roads. Here you need a powerful low beam and
sometimes also a high beam.

>
I agree woods riding is different than road riding. But I've done lots
of unlit road riding with dyno lights and no problems. So have countless
randonneurs.

 So do I.  But don't make the mistake of using the sparkling light of
decades-old cars as a yardstick for the lux or lumen that modern cars
throw your way.
 

>
Night vision varies, I'm sure; but I believe the general desire for more
and more and more lumens is caused by the same mechanism the triggers
the desire for more and more rear cogs, less and less bike weight,
bigger and bigger pickup trucks, etc. After a while, people are chasing
advertising copy or quickly diminishing returns.

 Sure. But nevertheless, modern cars have a lot more potential to blind
you for a long time, in the dark. Having a good night vision doesn't
help. In fact, it increases the risk of being dazzled by an oncoming
vehicle.
 I too believe that most cyclists never experience such situations and
that a trend to overpowered headlamps is mostly fashion, proven by the
fact that many if not most cyclists fear using their bicycle in traffic,
avoid riding on rural roads in the dark _and_ use inferior, ill adjusted
or broken lights, when they do.
 But there _are_ rare situations where more light helps.  Rural roads
with occasional car traffic, driven at or slightly above the speed
limit, with their lights in the high beam mode are an example. ...

Since retiring, I'm doing much less night riding, but I've done plenty over the years, including on unlit country roads.
I agree that the most difficult moments are when an oncoming car's high beams are in one's face. But I doubt that any reasonably powerful bike light can overcome that problem. It's bad enough when it happens while driving my car.
When cycling, what's effective for me (and probably much more effective than brighter bike lights) is to tilt the brim of my cycling cap downward to act as a visor, and prevent or minimize the blinding before it happens.
BTW, I've noticed the same problem even with cars' low beams in rolling terrain. A car cresting a rise will have me in the "hot spot" of the low beams. Again, shading the eyes helps; and thankfully the problem is usually very brief.
--
- Frank Krygowski