# Lights too bright?



## blakcloud (Apr 13, 2006)

Riding home tonight three people stopped to tell me my light is too bright. One was a pedestrian, the other two were drivers and one actually told me to shut if off (like that was gong to happen). It is a Mi Newt X2. It was on flashing mode which I prefer when riding downtown traffic.

My light is bright but there are so many other brighter lights than mine. In fact I have been debating in getting something brighter from the Dinotte family of lights. These are not the only complaints I have gotten, I have plenty more but never three in one ride. 

I make sure it is what I believe is angled correctly, so that it is not shining in other drivers eyes yet is good for me. When I am not in high density traffic I put in on high so that I can see where I am going. Do others get complaints? Should I even care what they say?

What I think is happening is they are mesmerized by the flashing light and for some unknown reason don't stop looking at it. When I have a driver with his high beams on I look down and to the right until he/she passes. Common sense to me.


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## cydswipe (Mar 7, 2002)

I don't feel any light can be too bright. Perhaps it is hitting them in the eyes, gee, that's too bad, they saw you and didn't collide with you. I wouldn't take any stock in their comments. ride safe.


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## zriggle (Apr 16, 2008)

As long as it's reasonably angled down, I wouldn't sweat it. Their lights are brighter still. Maybe point it down just a hint more?


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## wrecks (Jul 28, 2007)

I keep my Magicshine on low or bright without flashing. In my opinion, if an oncoming driver is blinded/distracted by your light they may be more likely to either hit you or swerve and hit something that could interfere with you instead of just noticing you. And let's not get into drunk drivers...


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## KWL (Jan 31, 2005)

I don't like flashing lights. I think you are right that the flashing is a distraction to others. I'm surprised we don't find people seizing from all the flashing bicycle lights. 

Aiming is critical. Stand your bike somewhere with the lights on, then walk 50 feet away and turn around. Are you being blinded by your light? Given the usual spill from a bike light I've found aiming the hot spot of the beam only 20 feet in front of the bike creates just the right amount of light to oncoming traffic. 

This goes double for MUTS. Jeebus, folks...turn OFF the @#$%@^ flashing and run steady lights when riding a MUT.


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## mechBgon (Sep 28, 2009)

If you want to run a flashing light in traffic, a DiNotte would be more civilized. The MiNewt X2 is not that bright, but the strobe rate is quite aggressive.


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## lancezneighbor (May 4, 2002)

I have MiNewts and they are not even that bright. I think you just encountered three weirdos in one night.


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## Leopold Porkstacker (Jul 15, 2005)

LOL. I’m not even going to comment.:idea:


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## kata (Dec 12, 2005)

I think aiming your lights so that you don't outrun your beam footprint is more important. Don't worry about peds, or motorists and concentrate on riding safely. 

I own a single Mi-newt, and have never gotten such comments. If I did, I would consider it a complement knowing that my light is working properly as it should get me noticed.


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## Hippienflipflops (Aug 21, 2007)

cant be too bright...do you realize how easily bike lights (generally) are overpowered by car lights?? i think the fact that they saw you means its just right....gee sorry for the inconvenience of a bright light so you dont run me over...


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

No such thing as too bright. Drivers need to learn to deal. Ask they to turn off their lights too if they don't like it. Alternately you could suggest that they stop driving.

If they were annoyed by it it means they noticed. I mean, if you at two 1200 lumen systems or something similar they MIGHT start to have a complaint. Some people just want something to complain about.


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## Fixed (May 12, 2005)

*no*

Until bike lights are significantly brighter than a car's headlights, they are not too bright. I want as much vision and visability as I can get. No car is ever going to crash from being blinded by even the brightest bike lights. Pedestrians and other cyclists get annoyed with bright bike lights, but readily accept cars' lights that are much brighter. I don't get it.

Also, for all the idiot pedestrians (walkers, joggers, runners, dog walkers, roller bladers) who get annoyed by my bright lights on the MUT, maybe I would not have to use such bright lights if you would stop wearing pure black and dark blue and jogging three abreast across the trail cluelessly when it's pitch black outside. If I didn't have bright lights, I'd run over you.


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

*What we really need*

It would be handy to have assorted comebacks to snide remarks about our bright lights:

"Thank you very much!"

"Glad you saw me!"

"Anything to brighten your day!"

"Just trying to make things safer out there!"

or the more apt:
"Go to he!! a-ho!e"
"Glad that an idiot like you noticed"
"Have you been drinking too much?"


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## jrm (Dec 23, 2001)

*its the flashing mode thats freaking um out*

A no a light CANT be to bright. I say try the solid beam mode.


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## blakcloud (Apr 13, 2006)

Thanks for everyone's comments and advice. Tonight I used the high beam instead of the strobe and I think I am going to try that for a while. I like the idea of a strobe because I do think it catches peoples eyes so I have a few Planet Bike mini-lights that I will use in the flashing mode and see how that goes.


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

I get complaints about my rear lights, Fibre Flare on flashing and PB Superflash on constant. 

On the front I've got a Mi Newt Sol on constant and a cheapy 3 LED on flashing to attract attention. I've found that to be the best combination front and back since the constand beam helps drivers judge the distance and the flash attracts attention.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

It all depends on context. If you are riding on a MUT, then it's probably rude and unnecessary to run a 500-lumen light or a flashing strobe. It also depends on how how have the light pointed.

However, if riding on streets, I don't think your lights can be too bright unless you are pointing them directly in peoples' eyes. Helmet lights can do this if you aren't careful. Realistically, most bike lights are far weaker than car and motorcycle lights.

I don't have a lot of sympathy for joggers running on streets. Most of them dress in black with no or no color, lights or reflective gear. If they have a death wish, that's there problem, but I don't want to get injured (or sued) from running into them. So I don't mind frying them with my LED light if that gets them move out of traffic.


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## ratspike (Mar 14, 2006)

I've been flashed with high beams a couple of times but otherwise they only comments I've received have been along the lines of "wow, no way I wasn't seeng you!", and that's been from walkers/runners I've encountered on off road night rides. I run a Dinotte 400L on my helmet and an 800L on my bars, angled appropriately so I don't blind oncoming drivers. I'm also of the opinion that bike lights aren't at the point yet where they're too bright, but some drivers seem to take them personally - one of my teammates got read the riot act by a woman who was really upset about his Planet Bike blinky. Sorry you chose to look at the bright light lady...do you stare into oncoming headlights too?


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## Slim Again Soon (Oct 25, 2005)

Regarding the flashing lights, nothing I can muster on my helmet or my handlebar could compete with the seizure-level twitch of the typical cop car.

Each year, they seem to amp up the blinkity-blinkity-blinkity.

If that's not a problem, then my Fenix L2D on "turbo blink" is hardly an issue.

And I take care where I point that thing. _You could put an eye out!_


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## Fogdweller (Mar 26, 2004)

Like most, your goal when riding at night is to be seen, period. If your light is too bright for others, it's their problem, not yours. It's their distraction vs. your life so reply with a quick apology but don't change what you're doing. Trust us on this one....


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## Henry Chinaski (Feb 3, 2004)

tarwheel2 said:


> It all depends on context. If you are riding on a MUT, then it's probably rude and unnecessary to run a 500-lumen light or a flashing strobe. It also depends on how how have the light pointed.
> 
> However, if riding on streets, I don't think your lights can be too bright unless you are pointing them directly in peoples' eyes. Helmet lights can do this if you aren't careful. Realistically, most bike lights are far weaker than car and motorcycle lights.
> 
> I don't have a lot of sympathy for joggers running on streets. Most of them dress in black with no or no color, lights or reflective gear. If they have a death wish, that's there problem, but I don't want to get injured (or sued) from running into them. So I don't mind frying them with my LED light if that gets them move out of traffic.


Yep. If you're on the MUT notch it down and turn it down a bit to avoid blinding oncoming cyclists. But on the road with cars, go for it.


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## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Henry Chinaski said:


> Yep. If you're on the MUT notch it down and turn it down a bit to avoid blinding oncoming cyclists. But on the road with cars, go for it.


 I do the same thing. With my 900-lumen light (awesome), I use the less intensive mode on MUT's. On the road, it's full blast but I make sure my light is slightly tilted downwards. And, I don't use flashing.

As technology advances, we probably will get to the point where bike lights can be equal or more powerful than car lights. Parity!


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## Jwiffle (Mar 18, 2005)

I agree with everyone who says the lights are not too bright. I have a set of the MiNewt X2 Duals. I will run the flash mode at dawn or dusk, but if it's dark I will usually just run the low beams. I'd run the high beams, but this way I don't have to charge it as frequently, and I can see fine with the lows. I don't really like the flashing for when I'm actually trying to see, although they're great for being seen.

I've had people comment on my lights plenty of times, but it's always been compliments. Or just something like, "Whoa! look at his lights." Most aren't used to seeing the dual setup.


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## bahueh (May 11, 2004)

just point it down a bit more...you should be fine. and turn off the strobe...it can be distracting to other road users (i hate strobes...I don't see the point at all).

the Mi Next x2 is what? 400 lumens? I have a 900L NiteRider (love it!)..but have it pointed about 10 feet in front of me..there's enough residual/peripheral light to see the road uphead at 20+mph...


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## waldo425 (Sep 22, 2008)

Too bright? No, not possible.


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## dhfreak (Sep 12, 2009)

You should have smacked the driver in the face! Fuk him and his annoyance with your 'commuter' light; I'm sure it only interferes with his ability to text and drive!


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## hepcatbent (Aug 19, 2009)

I'd run aircraft landing lights if I could figure out how to carry and power 'em! I have two headlights, one on steady aimed properly to see with, and one (a cheaper and not as bright cateye) on flash aimed directly into oncoming traffic. I've gotten a few negative comments about the flasher, but I've always responded "I'm glad you saw me!"


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## Tweezak (Dec 6, 2008)

I'm sure this was already said but I didn't read the whole thread.

I'd bet money that the thing that is really annoying them is the flashing, not the brightness. I am running an Ayup and a Dinotte (now converted to a tail light) and most recently a Baja Designs Strykr. Since it's been dark on my commute I've been running them steady...no flash. A buddy at work who is a fellow rider saw me the other day from his car and had to look directly into my lights. He said "it was like looking into the sun" but never even suggested that it might be too bright. However, he's also a bike commuter and tends to have a "f**k 'em" attitude toward drivers so he's definitely biased.

That said, the strobe mode on the Strykr is just that...a strobe...like what you'd see in a disco. Freakin' crazy fast...I won't use it on the road. It might be a good rescue beacon because it is supposed to run for 12 hours but it's too spastic for on the road, imo.

One last comment.

When I was running my Dinotte on my helmet, I got flagged down several times by people asking what kind of light I had. People liked that they could see me from 6 blocks away and wanted to get something like that for their kid or some such.

Too bright? Pfft...maybe in fog (and that's a pattern issue, not brightness) otherwise...no.


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

cydswipe said:


> I don't feel any light can be too bright. Perhaps it is hitting them in the eyes, gee, that's too bad, they saw you and didn't collide with you. I wouldn't take any stock in their comments. ride safe.


When I'm driving and something with too-bright lights comes at me, I unconsciously drive toward it. As do a lot of people. You might want to re-think that "Wah wah too bad" attitude.


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## MercRidnMike (Dec 19, 2006)

For my off-roading, I've got a DIY LED on the bars of my mtb and a 15W halogen on the helmet (for shadows and the different colour...though I will likely replace it with a Magicshine in the not too distant future). Total when full up is ~1200 lumens...great for going fast on singletrack in the dark, but overkill on the road....I usually dial it down to about 500 lumens for the tarmac. 

On the Cx bike, I've got 2 x 15 W halogens (roughly 650-750 lumens depending on the conversion). I only run them that bright on the singltrack and MUTs when no one is right near by (too many dang dogs to leave them low). Still, when I get close, I claw back to 1 x 8W (lowest setting on the bar unit) to try not to blind them and power back up once I'm by. 

In both cases, aiming is important...you want to be seen and see what you need to, but not blind the folks you don't want to hit you / be hit by you. I'll admit to having been flashed by cars initially, but these days the lights are pretty well set up. Doesn't mean I won't throw up a lot of light to wake an idiot up, but I try to be nice wherever possible.

Jwiffle, my wife and I will agree with you about the comments. Canada day we usually ride to see the fireworks and the way home is by paved MUT. I am generally running the halogens, she's got a couple 1W LEDs as "see me" lights and we usually have pedestrians clearing out of the path in front of us saying stuff like "Get over...I think it's the cops coming" or "whoa, bikes with real lights...what a great idea!"


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## Eclectus (Dec 27, 2009)

Most drivers would rather see a brightly lit bike hundreds of yards in front of them, than a suddenly appearing black shadow with a little dim glow-bulb 50 feet in front of them.

I use my MTB at night. It takes me down country roads, urban streets, MUTs and single-track. My wife and I have Dinotte 800Ls and 400L helmet mounts. A half-power 800 (400 lumens) is sufficient most of the time. I like my wife to use her 400 helmet in strobe-mode for extra be-seen safely, particularly when coming up on intersections and parking lot driveways where drivers don't necessarily stop as the law requires. You can aim the helmet light at them and it gets their attention. 

I angle her helmet light so that when she is riding it is beyond her bar light, so the flash is pretty washed out by the steady bar light. 

Mostly I ride on my own, so I borrow her 800L, and run a dual setup on halfpower apiece (800 lumens) on the road and streets. At 1600 lumens full power, it's more light than necessary and shortens run-time more than preferable. 

We use 400L taillights (also in the daytime, where their unmatched superiority to other taillights is evident.)

There are great headlight options, but getting uniform equipment is convenient and Dinotte does have super battery prices, so we're going to be Dinottees for the next several years. If I were just starting out, I'd probably get Magicshines. 

We also have MonkeyLectric spokes lights on our MTBs and lots of reflective tape. We carry PBSFs for back-up. (PBSFs are super bang-for-buck pre-sunrise and post-sunset lights, especially a pair, one low on the bike, another on your helmet or jersey neck.)

We run bar lamps on strobe on dark gray, rainy, snowy and foggy days and at dusk before we need lights to see our pathway. On bright days, our taillights on strobe give drivers more time and distance to relaxedly calculate how and when to comfortably pass us--Dinottes excel at alerting drivers behind you to your presence--up to a quarter mile on sunny days (more than a mile at night) if there is direct line of sight. The only time they "fail" is when you are at a stoplight, planning to go thru, and a car or two behind you wants to turn right, then thru-going cars behind them can't see there's a bike ahead until the right-turners turn, revealing you ahead. 

If you ride the same route daily, drivers who take the same routes learn, "Oh there's that bike--rider ahead I see all the time, gotta change lanes," and things work well. 

You can't please all drivers. Some will yell at you, "Get on the sidewalk!" if your town doesn't have bike lanes. On MUTs, many of which were federally funded specifically to promote bike use, walkers and joggers have taken over, and now have right of way. They can use the sidewalk, but prefer our built-for-biking trails. 

As a driver-observer, I think 400+ lumen LED headlamps run on steady are more than adequately visible to others at night. TriNewts, Cygolites, L&Ms, MagicShines and others are all terrific.

For weaker lights, running them on strobe mode is arguably best on the street, particularly in heavier traffic, and assuming there is enough ambient light that you don't need a headlamp to see ahead of you--unless you like riding "disco style". 

On the other hand, a high-power LED unit on strobe rather than steady mode causes reflective signs to "flash", so bright strobes give drivers an alertment that something "doesn't compute" since street signs don't normally "flash"-- if this "wakes them up" that's good.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

I honestly do not understand why some cyclists use strobes. A weak one might be OK, but the bright ones would bother me to ride with, and would be rude to drivers and other cyclists. You want to be see but no need to cause seizures in other people.


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## Eclectus (Dec 27, 2009)

I saw this youngster riding about midnight with some low-power light on flash, maybe on the sidewalk. It looked good.

I see an old guy (70ish) riding his Roubaix Pro all year, he's done 15000 mi this year, slow but persistent. He uses a MagicShine on hi steady from sunset to night. When I'm coming from the other direction, he's always obvious in the distance. Even though it's not really 900 lumens, at 600-700 it's attention-getting.

I always honk and give him a wave. His PBSF is also very noticeable after sunset. He tends to gutter-hug, which I refuse to do, but he's got a successful routine. 

OPs use of strobe mode is not something to condemn. It's better to get drivers' attention, and a few to say it's "too bright" than to get hit, and the rider (or successors0 go to court, and the driver says, "I didn't see him or her. Really. You jury members, how many bikers have you come upon, and only seen them at the last second, and had close calls?" You take the jury out to the scene at night, and put OP's strobe on, and it's nolo contendere. No jury is going to believe the cyclist was "invisible" to the defendant driver, which in civil cases often requires only a majority, not unanimous criminal-case vote.


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## Pablo (Jul 7, 2004)

I like the strobe light and disagree with everyone on here suggesting that it is somehow rude or offensive. Do you people ever drive a car and look for bikes at night? Try it. Unless a cyclist has a Dionette tail light and a light setup for the 24 Hours of Moab, a small little white or red light on a cyclist is very easily overlooked amidst the various other nighttime lights and constant lights are simply not bright enough to be noticed and thereby safe unless you are on a road that is otherwise pitch black. The flashing catches drivers' attention, which is the whole point when riding in an urban area at night. It can be a be annoying, but it's well worth it.


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## Eclectus (Dec 27, 2009)

I think you do what you feel you need to do to be seen. If your strobe annoys drivers, the fact is the act of cycling annoys a lot of drivers who don't want to be inconvenienced by having to slow down and wait to get a passing opportunity. The strobe isn't going to blind anybody, they just have to shift their gaze to the right a bit. 

However, today's higher-luminosity LEDS are very noticeable on steady. First they are bright, second they are bluish. I find night-strobing annoying on my own bike, it's not a mode I want to use to see the pavement or trail ahead of me. 

But you have to judge drivers' behavior, and decide, what really works well. A strobe is more attention-getting, at any level of brightness, than a steady beam. You might try a combo, using steady to light your path, and a strobe aimed a bit more upward to get others' attention. There's no law that says you have to make do with one light running in one mode.

Tonight I saw my old-guy with his MagicShine on constant. Suppose he ponied up another 85 bucks and had a second one on strobe. I bet I would have seen him sooner. I've done dual modes, just playing around. I think if you do this, aiming the strobe a bit rightward is smart, because people crossing your path from the right are more common than inattentive left-turners.

The main thing is, we've had a quantum jump in the last two years, both literally and figuratively, in light brightness, and now the race is on to put lots of lumens out for lower bucks. And that's a good thing, because the more people can see and be seen, the safer they will be and feel. Before I put Dinottes on my wife's bike, she was a sidewalk rider/commuter. Now she rides with the cagers, no fear. A car can always cream a bike, but the vast majority of drivers aren't homicidal. Let them know you are there, and they'll avoid collision. Keep your own attention up, be ready to brake and swerve. Biking is relatively safe, relative to big-wave surfing over shallow reefs, ice-climbing, out-of-bounds skiing, solo transoceanic sailing...


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