Over-powerful LED lights

[PH]

There is such a thing as common sense. If you use a high power LED on your bike, make sure it is pointing so it is less likely to dazzle, and only use it at the highest settings if you really need to,

The thing with common sense is it isn't very common and it often doesn't make sense. A light with a spherical beam (Like yours) is going to dazzle on any setting and if you point it down far enough not to, it will be of zero use to you. Lights with shaped beams, that have a clear cut off, are far better, though even these aren't perfect.

[mattsccm]

All somewhat pointless I believe. No one is going to impose limitations on their own vision just to keep other happy and it isn't something that can be imposed on any aspect of life that isn't regulated and policed.

[mattheus]

All somewhat pointless I believe. No one is going to impose limitations on their own vision just to keep other happy and it isn't something that can be imposed on any aspect of life that isn't regulated and policed.

Well, there's the people on these threads that do exactly this.
Just for starters ...

[Biospace]

There is such a thing as common sense. If you use a high power LED on your bike, make sure it is pointing so it is less likely to dazzle, and only use it at the highest settings if you really need to,

The thing with common sense is it isn't very common and it often doesn't make sense. A light with a spherical beam (Like yours) is going to dazzle on any setting and if you point it down far enough not to, it will be of zero use to you. Lights with shaped beams, that have a clear cut off, are far better, though even these aren't perfect.

Considering the highlighted text, are you sure this is the case? A circular beam will project into an ellispoid when angled down, is it not possible to direct down and slightly to the left so the top point of the ellipse is angled away from oncoming vehicles, not dazzling them at all, but providing plenty of illumination of the road ahead?

[PH]

A light with a spherical beam (Like yours) is going to dazzle on any setting and if you point it down far enough not to, it will be of zero use to you.

Considering the highlighted text, are you sure this is the case?

Yes. If you angle a spherical beam down so the top edge is on the horizontal, then you get 80% of the output in the few meters right in front of the bike, where it's of no use at all.

[PH]

No one is going to impose limitations on their own vision just to keep other happy and it isn't something that can be imposed on any aspect of life that isn't regulated and policed.

I disagree. I think there is a lot of ignorance on the subject, with many riders unaware that non dazzling lights that don't limit their vision are available. Lights such as this one
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/commuter-lights/

[mattsccm]

I have tried them. Ok not all and they don't whack a big beam 50 metres or more away with a nice wide spread. And that's what I need gravel riding at night with the added hazards of boar, deer and badgers plus timber extraction created ruts. Yes I could slow down but that's not what I want. Or so people will say. Also they are not cheap when you can get a million lumens for 25 quid from China.
And ultimately why bother? Blinding you doesn't affect me on the whole. I am sure many people are fully aware of this issue by so what will be the comment.
I think that some people have a bit too much faith in human nature.
Rhetorical questions of course.

[Biospace]

A light with a spherical beam (Like yours) is going to dazzle on any setting and if you point it down far enough not to, it will be of zero use to you.

Considering the highlighted text, are you sure this is the case?

Yes. If you angle a spherical beam down so the top edge is on the horizontal, then you get 80% of the output in the few meters right in front of the bike, where it's of no use at all.

For sure, there will be more light than needed directly in front of the rider but with a torch I occasionally use on a spare bicycle, unless you're travelling over 20mph there is more than enough spread of light for relaxed riding. It's easy to adjust up for when there are no approaching vehicles; when there are, a long section of more distant road is lit by their lighting, unless it's another bicycle.

[atoz]

The light in question is an ageing Cateye Volt 800. On it's lowest setting it gives out comparable light to a conventional Opticube Cateye that uses AA batteries. That is the setting I use around town as we have good street lighting here. The next setting up is one I would use on local unlit lanes. You really need this setting at the very least for this use. The top setting is for bad visibility or lanes where you need more light eg bad surfaces. This is not adequate for some lanes and weather esp fog and that's where the Volt 1200 light I have comes in useful.

These lights are actually quite a modest output compared to what you can get now.

Maybe my eyesight is a bit better than average in the dark but I find the second setting adequate enough for what I use it for. The first setting is only really to be seen by other road users IMHO.

Noone in our village has complained about me dazzling other road users, and I've lived long enough there for that to happen.

When I think of what was commonly available years ago as cycle lights it gives me the shudders. I know you can't live forever but there is such a thing as managing risk.

[Jules59]

I rarely cycle in the dark now since retiring 7 years ago. But when I did I had two lights; one broad beam pointing down to give good illumination close in front and another light with a pencil beam for long distance that didnt stray into on-coming traffic. Im guessing lights are much brighter now but the setup I had back then seemed fine.