Helmet AND handlebar lights... what's your setup?

[xeladragon]

Two questions in particular:

1. Which light is brighter? Your helmet or bar light and why? I have a max 200-lumen light that I can easily swap between bikes, and a max 900-lumen light that can't be easily swapped (bar mount requires an allen wrench) but can be helmet-mounted, so that's what I'm stuck with. I think I'd prefer to have the weaker light on my helmet mostly as a courtesy to drivers and other cyclists but... oh well...

2. Do you point your bar light straight ahead or angle it down so that it's not aimed directly into the eyes of oncoming drivers? If down, then at what angle approximately? I'm currently at around 10 degrees... still pretty damn bright when I'm standing 20-25ft away, but I don't want to angle it down too much since it's my "to be seen" light.

[Peter B]

I run an Exposure Diablo on my helmet (200/300/900 lumen) and a Strada (200/400 lumen) set to flash on the bars. The flash is more of a pulse than the seizure-inducing staccato of some I tried. The Strada keeps me visible to oncoming traffic. The Diablo gives me directional vision and works splendidly for training at the windows/faces of distracted drivers sleeping or texting their way from the office parking lot out into and across my lane. Works to similar effect with the roadside wildlife as I get nearer my rural home. I usually run the headlamp at 300 lumen level but can bump it to solar flare output for fast descents once I'm out in the dark countryside.

For the back I use a PB Superflash and/or an Exposure Flare. You know the PB flicker and the Flare can be a 70 lumen steady beam or a slowish pulse/flash. I round it out with reflective ankle bands and some reflectives on my upper body.

I've driven past enough invisible-till-the-last-minute cyclists to realize I want to be noticed in the dark.

[xeladragon]

I've got the Diablo too... great light. The medium setting is bright enough for most of my commute.

For flashing bike front/rear, I recently replaced a Planet Bike Blaze 2W and Superflash Stealth combo with a Niterider Mako 200 USB and Solas USB combo. New lights are definitely brighter but the included bar/seatpost mounts are sorta crappy. You need to tighten the seatpost mount pretty snug in order for the rear light not to slip/angle downward after riding over some bumpy roads. Bar mount's worse... I had to order a different/better one that comes with Niterider's higher end models.

[svelocity]

I ride with a mini flashy on my helmet (front and rear) and a Niterider MiNewt on the handlebars and a superflash on the seatpost. If I'm riding my touring rig I have a SON28 with a Schimidt Edelux with the superflash.

I do this set up because a) my riding is mostly in the city so I want to get my flashy's as high as possible (over parked autos) so drivers/pedestrians notice me; b) I don't want to but a super bright light in a drivers/pedestrians face when I turn my head; and c) I can't stand seeing the a flashy light in front of me. I find it distracting to the enjoyment of my ride. :p The ultra bright MiNewt and Edelux are great for illuminating my path down hills and dark sections. Plus cars who are in front of me definitely see me coming.

If I was in a rural area I may change this set up and put the MiNewt on my helmet.

[palincss]

For me, a helmet light is strictly for night time navigation: reading the cue sheet and the computer.

I just got a Fenix LD01, scarcely larger than the single AAA cell that powers it, weight 1 oz.
http://www.copquest.com/18-8300.jpg
The low power setting seems to be about the right brightness: too much and the glare off the cue sheet destroys your night vision. And the weight is almost unnoticeable. That's a huge improvement over the Princeton tech EOS I used to use: it felt like a brick on top of my head, and after an hour or so started giving me a pain in my neck.

[jdhansen63]

I've got a Serfas 1500 on the helmet and 500 on the bars. I put the big on on the helmet because I like to see where I'm going especially on the trail.
JH

[achurch]

Bigger lights on the bike to see....

I like the flashing helmet light (front and back) because it is clear that I am not a car/motorcycle which people have told me the bike mounted lights resemble. As I commute in the city, I think the height/movement of the helmet lights helps make me be seen better even though they are not as bright.

[froze]

I use two lights, one on the bar and one on the helmet. The bar light is my brightest, it's a Phillips Saferide, this is a fantastic light it projects a flat low beam similar to a motorcycle head light. The next light is a Cygolite Mitycross 480 that sits on the helmet, it's not as bright as the Phillips and it puts out a round beam. I don't think there is any right or wrong with putting a brighter light on the bars or on the helmet, you do whatever you feel lights up the road the best.

Because the Phillips has a flat low beam I can aim it for maximum distance and it won't hit drivers in the eyes. Then I use the helmet light to flash drivers with if needed otherwise I point the beam down toward the ground and a tad to the right so it won't hit their eyes.

[UberBike]

I have a lot of blinking lights on the bar that I can turn on as the other fades out for long rides

If the rides are mostly in town with a lot of street lights I will put my brighter light ( serfas true 500 ) on the bar to light up any debris on the road and have a blackburn super flea on the helmet to look directly at drivers in intersections to get their attention

If I know im doing a ride with no street lights, either out in the farms or MTB I will go with a pretty bright light on the helmet to look into the turns

Last season I had a chance to do a few night test rides with a Nightrider pro 1500
I spent the better part of one night trying to spook and chase critters

When I turned it off I had that eerie feeling you get during a blackout, heh