Exposure Blaze rear light - too bright?

[E65Ross]

I have been running an exposure blaze rear light for a little while now, but someone commented that the setting I run it on (brightest setting but flashing) is too bright.

In reality, it probably is brighter than a cars fog lights, which are annoying. But with a car with fog lights....you are following them for a while, but you pass a bike quite quickly.

Should I run it on the lower setting, or let people see me from orbit? It certainly would be ideal for rides when it IS foggy, but is it "too much" for normal riding, either at day or night?

For reference I usually run the Exposure blaze on full power flashing, and a Moon LX70 on constant but low. Could always run the blaze on constant on medium or low and run the moon on high flashing (the battery on the moon is very poor compared to the exposure.

Cheers

[SteveSteveson]

It's not just annoying, but I find some people's lights make it difficult to see the road past them. Even worse when I am cycling. I had 4 or 5 peoples front lights when I was cycling home on Friday that I could not see past, and 2 people I passed had painful rear lights. It's not just drivers but also cyclists. Lights don't need to be bright to be seen, and if they are brighter than a cars fog lights then it is too bright.

[E65Ross]

spiritof'76 said:

What lumens is it ?.......I have a Moon Ring rear light at 25 lumens and it's super intense at full setting ! Anymore would seem pointless to me, so much so that in anything less than fog I run it in strobe mode

80 lumens on full!

[Magic919]

I wouldn't change it. My wife commutes all year round and uses one. Some of her route is unlit and other parts poorly lit. I want her to be noticed. It works well in my experience.

The thing about the Blaze, like most LED lighting, it's very directional. Unless you are right on axis, it's not anywhere near full brightness.

Light output is not that easy to quantify, IMO. I'm sure it's far fewer lumens than any fog light, but that's clearly not the full story.

[marting]

I've got a TraceR which is the same light but USB chargeable I believe. I've had similar comments when its on flashing and the Mrs is with me. I think its not too bad if its not flashing through.

[E65Ross]

marting said:

I've got a TraceR which is the same light but USB chargeable I believe. I've had similar comments when its on flashing and the Mrs is with me. I think its not too bad if its not flashing through.

The TraceR is 75 lumens, the blaze is 75. The blaze is also usb chargeable. The main difference between the TraceR and the blaze is the battery life on the blaze is much longer.

[loudlashadjuster]

I do believe there is such a thing as 'too bright' when rear lights are considered.

My main rear, a Moon Comet, is rated at 30 lumens and I only ever run it in the lowest power mode on steady, or flashing (which I assume is at 30 lumens) if I'm out for more than about 3 hours and there's a chance it would die if left on constantly (it's rated for something like 3.5 hrs on low).

Even on the lowest setting though it is easily as bright as some car lights, any brighter and I reckon it would be unpleasant to follow for any distance.

[okgo]

I use the tracr on the weakest setting on pulse, its more than enough. And battery lasts a few days then.

When doing time trials on main roads I put it on full, but they're always during the day so I feel like the extra power is required, at night I think that would be OTT.

[SixPotBelly]

I think it depends when and where you're riding. I have a similarly bright rear light and tend to go for...

Open Road:
Daytime = full power flashing
Night = low power pulsing

Town:
Daytime = off
Night = low power steady

All assuming riding solo.

Edited by SixPotBelly on Monday 18th January 11:42

[E65Ross]

Thanks for the input chaps. I often run with lights on during the day and think the high power may be better there, but at night the low or medium power would be sufficient.

[Fluffsri]

If they are moaning it means they have seen you! I run mine on full during the day in crap weather and flash at night. Id rather be moaned at and not squashed!

[AyBee]

I had a word with 2 people the other night because I was riding home towards SW London from the City and a number of rear lights were blinding everyone within about 10m. I can understand wanting something bright when you're in the middle of nowhere on your own, but just be a bit careful about what setting it's on when you're in traffic or with other cyclists

[loudlashadjuster]

Fluffsri said:

If they are moaning it means they have seen you! I run mine on full during the day in crap weather and flash at night. Id rather be moaned at and not squashed!

Using fog lights in a traffic jam: same logic.

I can't imagine being moaned at by a driver, it's more other cyclists I'm thinking of. Being half blinded by flashing red spotlights then turning into a dark street isn't much fun.

[AyBee]

loudlashadjuster said:

I can't imagine being moaned at by a driver, it's more other cyclists I'm thinking of. Being half blinded by flashing red spotlights then turning into a dark street isn't much fun.

Lean your bike up against a wall, stare at your flashing light for a little bit and then take a look around and see what else you can see - that's what it's like for bikes behind you!

[E65Ross]

loudlashadjuster said:

Fluffsri said:

If they are moaning it means they have seen you! I run mine on full during the day in crap weather and flash at night. Id rather be moaned at and not squashed!

Using fog lights in a traffic jam: same logic.

I can't imagine being moaned at by a driver, it's more other cyclists I'm thinking of. Being half blinded by flashing red spotlights then turning into a dark street isn't much fun.

Not quite. Cars with fog lights on aren't passed quickly and you're often stuck behind them for some time. Cyclists are usually dealt with within a few seconds.

[SteveSteveson]

E65Ross said:

loudlashadjuster said:

Fluffsri said:

If they are moaning it means they have seen you! I run mine on full during the day in crap weather and flash at night. Id rather be moaned at and not squashed!

Using fog lights in a traffic jam: same logic.

I can't imagine being moaned at by a driver, it's more other cyclists I'm thinking of. Being half blinded by flashing red spotlights then turning into a dark street isn't much fun.

Not quite. Cars with fog lights on aren't passed quickly and you're often stuck behind them for some time. Cyclists are usually dealt with within a few seconds.

Depends on the road. If the road is tight, or very strait, you can be behind the cyclist for several seconds, which is more than enough for it to cause night vision issues, and just encourages people to want to get past you. Cars coming the other way are in front of you for even less time. That does not stop full beams being an issue.

Never mind the poor sod having to cycle behind someone with a mega watt laser flashing away.

[Fluffsri]

SteveSteveson said:

E65Ross said:

loudlashadjuster said:

Fluffsri said:

If they are moaning it means they have seen you! I run mine on full during the day in crap weather and flash at night. Id rather be moaned at and not squashed!

Using fog lights in a traffic jam: same logic.

I can't imagine being moaned at by a driver, it's more other cyclists I'm thinking of. Being half blinded by flashing red spotlights then turning into a dark street isn't much fun.

Not quite. Cars with fog lights on aren't passed quickly and you're often stuck behind them for some time. Cyclists are usually dealt with within a few seconds.

Depends on the road. If the road is tight, or very strait, you can be behind the cyclist for several seconds, which is more than enough for it to cause night vision issues, and just encourages people to want to get past you. Cars coming the other way are in front of you for even less time. That does not stop full beams being an issue.

Never mind the poor sod having to cycle behind someone with a mega watt laser flashing away.

Where I commute I dont see many cyclists, especially this time of year, I ride country lanes to work so not much of an issue. As a car driver Im happy to see a bright red light, it beats last minute avoidance of the dick dressed in black with a red candle as a back light.

[E65Ross]

Interesting differences of opinions here. I think the brightness modes equate to 80, 40 or 20 lumens. I guess I could run it on 40 lumens, which is still pretty bright, and reap the extra battery life benefits....

[SixPotBelly]

Or, as I suggested in my post, choose the setting according to the need?

80 Lumens for fast roads in the daytime,
40 Lumens for fast roads at night,
20 Lumens at night in town (or group riding).

[untakenname]

I have a xeccon 240 lumen rear light which is stupidly bright but I only use it on max settings in Bright sunlight on NSL roads. Overall it's a bit overkill, needs its own external batterypack and only lasts about 4 hours on max. If I'd known how bright it was I most likely would have bought a lesser all in one.