On 2/10/2018 9:25 PM, John B. wrote:
On Sat, 10 Feb 2018 19:25:57 -0500, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

On 2/10/2018 4:03 PM, Joerg wrote:

Everyone installing a high-powered LED light on a bicycle, front or
rear, should walk towards their lit bike during daylight and then again
at night. If the light is annoying, do something about it.

I agree with this.

But I'd add, before buying high powered LED lights, check out any more
ordinary lights you have in a similar way. Have a friend ride your bike
as you observe. I've done this many times with friends.

Contrary to current myths, you do not need super-powerful lights to be
plenty visible. Any headlight that shows the road sufficiently will be
perfectly visible to motorists, and taillights need far, far less power
to make you safe.

I've read the comments about blindingly bright bicycle lights and
always wondered about it. Basically, sitting on my bike my eye line is
higher then the driver of a Toyota - I've checked this a number of
times - thus a light that was blinding to me, sitting on my bike, must
certainly be blinding to a guy driving a Toyota.... which doesn't seem
like a good thing to do, at least blinding the other driver seems
counterproductive to being seen.

Your thought processes are far too sophisticated for many bicyclists.
Their brains switch off after they've uttered the sentence "I want it to
be BRIGHT!"

What I've always done with bar mounted lights was to set the light
horizontal which puts the beam at almost exactly the same height as
the stop light lenses on my example Toyota Taxi.

I use StVZO headlamps, and I aim them so the brightest part of the beam
points just a little below horizontal. That part of the beam probably
hits a level road about 30 feet ahead of me.

I think part of the glare problem is people with round, flashlight-style
beams, instead of beams shaped like vehicle headlights. If they point
the brightest part of a mega-lumen light at the road 30 feet ahead,
there's enough upward spill to blind others.

And further down the thinking scale are those who use a mega-beam but
point it horizontally or even slightly upward. This can only be
explained by a combination of timidity and stupidity.

So far, at least, I've had no indication that auto drivers didn't see
me, or see me in a timely manner.

Same here. Quite the opposite, in fact; motorists have always seemed
extra careful and courteous to me at night, even when I was using only
2.4 Watt incandescent lights.

Yet some claim they'd be dead if they weren't blinding other road users.
:-/


--
- Frank Krygowski