Perfect commuting light – MagicShine or Cateye?

[cyberknight]

No reason why you can't stick some tape on the top of the beam, but light travel in linear, so will go everywhere, but over the top will stop some spill. Ideally you angle just down, so the main beam hits 30 foot in front of you.

+1 angled downwards i have never had a problem

 

[mrmacmusic]

...
At the end of the day any light thread will have people who have their favourite light based on their own experiences , i am in the MS camp but i am sure everyone's light solution works for them.

Indeed – everyone has their own solution, but shared user experiences are invaluable, and the reason I started this thread

 

[mrmacmusic]

The beamshots I've seen of the 816 are very floody - a large spread of light that will illuminate the hedge next to you as much as the road! (Okay, that's a slight exaggeration... ) The 808E gives a beam with more "throw", if user comments are to be believed, so more light will be projected down the road rather than into oncoming motorists' eyes - provided it's angled down and aimed properly. I'm thinking about getting an 808E myself.

The asteri 6 would probably be fine at speed if you aim one lamp down close, say ten feet in front of you. It's close enough that you could just run it on the low power setting. Aim the second lamp further out and run it on high - that'll let you spot that pothole with enough time to avoid it!

I had a B&M Ixon IQ - in fact, I still have it. In pieces, in a desk drawer. It had a lovely beam pattern and was almost the perfect commuter light but unfortunately it's fragile - mine died after it fell off the mount (it wasn't clicked in properly, and the mount doesn't really give you positive feedback about when the light's securely in place). If they bring out a more robust version with more modern LEDs (brighter!) I'd get another one in a flash - if you'll excuse the pun

Thanks McWobble

 

[mrmacmusic]

I've stumbled across another contender for "perfect commuter light" – the Philips LED Bike Light. Looks intriguing, in that it seems to be rather bright (80 lux), with a commuter-friendly beam pattern (i.e. with cut-off) and German StVZO approval (sounds good).

This was the very interesting reading that led me to check out the Philips , but I've still not splashed my cash quite yet

 

[albion]

It seems to have something like 2 4W LEDS, possibly a bit more efficient than the StVZO approved LIDL one.Usage on low is similar to the LIDL one.

 

[Red Light]

No reason why you can't stick some tape on the top of the beam, but light travel in linear, so will go everywhere, but over the top will stop some spill. Ideally you angle just down, so the main beam hits 30 foot in front of you.

Tape on the lens won't work unless it has a specific directional element built in (as on car headlight). Either the optics need to be designed to not send light in that direction or you need a beam block some way in front of the lamp (what is technically known as the difference between near field and far field)

 

[peelywally]

i like my cateye but im getting a magicshine for this winter ,

beams variable so no problems there and 1600 lumens compared to the "be seen" 50 lumens or whatever it is on the cateye makes it a no brainer,

about 70% of my riding is country lanes and sustrans paths with no lighting in the city i can get away with a button lights front n rear with cateye as main light but no more im sick of squinting around the countryside following a dull glow , cars have blinded me for years its payback time