The worlds brightest rear led? - made in Britian by .....

[DrSquirrel]

You are making my point for me, the ideal place to centre your front light beam is approx 5 metres ahead on the road. The problem is that front light reflectors [with the 2 exceptions mentioned] are not designed to limit their spread in the same way a dipped car headlight is.
I have often remarked that when we are out cycling together at night and one is behind the other, if the front one looks back the light is so bright it is impossible to see anything else, not even the person on the bike!
Surely others have noticed this? I love the fact that the light is bright enough to cycle fast on dark roads, but it just doesn't feel right blinding other road users. I am now saving my pennies for the Strada which has a main beam and dip and the Hope will be used for off road excursions.

I get all this - some people are making efforts (in the DIY area) to make a better beam pattern using odd shaped reflectors.

It's still no different to approaching a car and not really being able to see past it that well either.

 

[dellzeqq]

Ignore the rear light question - I want to know how you survived being rear-ended by a car doing 55mph unless you were also in a car

I went through the air and slid along the ground for thirty yards, and came to rest with a kerb in my mouth. The clever bit was being spotted before I died of shock and loss of blood - it was just before midnight on a dark road.

 

[Chrisz]

Something like these?

Those are the ones I had - very good but I wouldn't buy them again As I said, the batteries cost a fortune and didn't last long. Just found a set on ebay that take a single AAA battery - and don't have a big logo over the lens like the Trek ones do

 

[RedBike]

<br />Unless your dynamo has the circuitry to control the output voltage, you will probably want a driver. What happened to the ones you previously had?<br /><br />Just because it needs say 2800mA @ 900lumen, doesn't mean that is the most efficient<br /><br />Drivers can be had for a few quid anyway.<br />

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I've yet to test the theory but there is apparently a diode in (shimano) hub dynamos which will limit the voltage to 6V. The quicker you go the higher the voltage, but the current (with low resistance) will always be 0.5A. <br />

I've managed to brake or loose several rear lights this year (pot-holes, rain and theiving little gits) but at the moment luckly I don't actually NEED anymore lights <br />

The main reason I was thinking of doing this project was because I have most of the parts already and I was curious to see if it worked. <br />

I'm currently building up a 'pub bike'. (Think MTB with slick tyres mud-guards and hub dynamo.) The dynamo light i've currently got on the rear mud-guard (0.3w halogen) is RUBBISH. This seemed like a simple way of giving that light a major upgrade without actually spending any money. <br />

The idea behind this bike is something I can leave in the middle of town at night and it isn't going to attract the wrong sort of attention. My exposure lights are BRILLIANT but you can't leave a set of £200 lights on an unattended bike and expect them to still be there when you get back.

 

[palinurus]

I'm going to get one and aim it at one of these mounted on my rack

 

[HJ]

+! what hj said

I find driving behind cars with unneccessary fog lights distracting, and it hurts my eyes. The best thing for visibility is a high viz jacket, and reflectors. I find bike lights don't show up well in traffic, when there are loads of car lights, but a cyclist's hi viz is visible from a long distance. If I was overtaking a bike on a narrow A road, a light that's too bright would only make the situation less safe. reflectors are cheap and don't need batteries either.

Sound like you are driving too close the vehicle in front to me, my experience of using a bright rear light is that drivers give me far more room. Wear all the Hi-Viz you like but it won't have the same effect. As for being seen at a long distance, there are several regulars on this forum who can attest that the Dinotte 400L is visible at distances of up to a mile in full sun light. But what we really need is better drivers, and I speak as an ex driving instructor.

 

[gaz]

I'm going to get one and aim it at one of these mounted on my rack

PICTURES OF THAT!

 

[RedBike]

<br />I'm going to get one and aim it at one of these mounted on my rack<br /><br /><img src="http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll155/Mister_Penguin/yhst-11227554152912_2126_1717928.jpg" /><br />

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Thats brilliant.

I have these zip tied to my bob trailer.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AA-Battery-po...Celebrations_Occasions_ET&hash=item3f04286c95

I've often wondered if id get away with exchanging my flag (on the trailer) for one of these
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/12v-magnetic-...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4aa54128f9