Headlight Beams

Attention!

There are photographs on this page, and there is text on this page. I made the photos, and I wrote the text. If you only look at the photos, you will come away with a false impression of the relative merits of the headlights used. You MUST read the text as well. Without the text, the images are worthless.

Also, since these images were made, some of the headlights have been changed by the manufacturers. So some of the beams are no longer exactly as shown. I am currently working on updating these images to better show how the current production lights appear..

Peter Jon White

I've made some images of various headlights for comparison purposes. All of these images are made with the same camera, a Canon 5D digital SLR using a Canon 45mm tilt/shift lens tilted to enhance the focusing on the road surface. The camera's ISO speed, shutter speed and f stop are identical for all of the images; ISO 3200, Shutter 1 second, f/5. No image processing was done to any of these images other than size reduction, both to the physical size and the file size using JPEG compression. This has no effect on what you see here. It only speeds up the downloading time to your computer. The camera's position is identical for the first series of images, being mounted on a rigid tripod. The position of every light is almost identical, about two feet to the left of the camera and below it, hand held. The brightest point of each headlight's beam is aimed at the horizon, or more specifically, at the end of my driveway, about 140 feet away from the camera. You can see light shining on the road surface from the right side. That is from the outside light on the Peter White Cycles World Headquarters building. We camouflaged the razor wire, turned off the zenon spot lights and gave Hobbes the attack cat the evening off.

The range of apparent brightness in these images is exagerated. This is because of the way that a camera records images as compared with the way that our eyes and brains create images. There is simply no way to objectively display the difference in brightness between the Lumotec headlight and the Supernova, Edelux and Busch & Müller CYO headlights. In these images, the Lumotec and Luceo headlights appear dimmer, and the high end headlights appear brighter than they are in use.

Also, these images are made with the light motionless. LED headlights will be brightest when the LED itself is coolest. So cooling can be very important. When the light isn't moving, there's little air movement to cool the light. Some headlights have better cooling for the LED than others. In the future, I hope to have images made after the lights have been switched on for 5 minutes to reach full temperature, and have a fan blowing air over the light to simulate the cooling that would normally happen while riding. Those images should be available in spring, 2011. As I write this in December 2010, it's too cold to make meaningful comparisons for those conditions when most people would be riding. In other words, all LED lights should be a bit brighter in the dead of winter than in summer. And snow on the ground changes everything as well. Of course the differences are usually small, but we are making comparisons after all.

Also, the camera exagerates the difference in illumination between the area where the beam is focused, and the areas outside of the focused beam. There's always more light to the sides of the beam, and closer to the bike, than the images would make you think.

I could try to make the brightness of the images more closely approximate what you would see if you were standing in my driveway while I make these images. But I would probably not produce images that everyone would agree were accurate. So I have decifded to simply make all of the exposures identical, and hope people understand the limitations of the medium. Please take my descriptions of the beams and their usefullness into account when evaluating the beams. If you think that, based on these images, buying one of the expensive headlights towards the bottom of this page will give you a headlight that's as bright as an automobile's headlights, you're going to be very unhappy. None of these headlights are as bright as a car's headlights. Not even the ones at the bottom, where detail in the road surface are washed out by the exposure.

My car is parked off to the right. The vertical streak of light towards the upper left is a tree, illuminated by the outside shop light. You can also see tree trunks on the right of the driveway, but they are illuminated by the bicycle headlight.

Every light is held about 2.5 feet off the ground. So a light mounted at the fork crown of a bike with 700c wheels will be higher, meaning that the headlight will project onto the ground a beam a bit shorter than you see here, and the beam closer to the cyclist will not be quite as bright as you see it here. The difference will be subtle, but I mention it here anyway.

You'll find a short article about headlights here.

Lumotec Fly, 2.4 watt halogen

The streaks of light from the bottom right of the image are from the outside light on the side of my shop building. That light is plenty bright enough to ride with, and you can see that the Fly's beam, aimed beyond that light is even brighter. Like all Busch & Müller headlights, it has a sharp cutoff at the top of the beam so as not to focus light into the eyes of oncoming drivers and other cyclists.

The Lumotec Fly has all the light most cyclists will need in most conditions. Even a 25mph descent will not be a hair raising experience for most night riders.

Lumotec Fly Senso Plus: $ 30.00

Spanninga Luceo LED

The Luceo has the same total light output as the Lumotec Fly, but spreads it out a bit more. The bluish LED light has a different effect than the halogen bulb and in some situations may not provide as much brightness for the rider, but certainly puts the available light over a larger area than the Fly. The Luceo is available in both dynamo powered and battery powered versions. The light output is identical for both types. The version used here is the dynamo version.

Both versions mount only at the fork crown on bikes using either V brakes or disc brakes. These are now 40% off their regular prices.

Luceo XS with standlight for 6 volt dynamo, On Sale: $ 35.50

Luceo XB for 3-AA batteries, On Sale: $ 34.00

The Luceo has enough light output for most situations. This comparison is perhaps a bit misleading, as the Luceo is best suited for the slower cyclist, and should be aimed a bit lower. When aimed lower, the light patch is positioned closer to the rider and it's quite a bit brighter on the road. So instead of the top of the beam being 140 feet away, 75 feet or so would be better. That's plent if you're riding at 10 to 12 mph. In the rain, it may not give some riders enough light to see the road well, but will give other road users enough light for them to know you are there. So in an urban environment with overhead street lighting, it's ideal. In dry conditions, it's plenty of light for moderate speed riding, say 10-12 mph. Just stay away from steep descents. For the good weather commuter, either rural or urban, it's all you'll usually need.

Hella HL2000

The HL2000 is not only brighter but has a larger beam than the Luceo. Notice how it lights up the grass to the left and fills in the ground close to the camera. So this is better for the faster rider, enabling you to see further ahead, and have more time to react to whatever you are approaching. Not a factor if you're not working up a sweat.

Here the HL2000 is set to low power to conserve battery life. It's now about the same brightness as the Luceo, but of course still has a larger beam. The HL2000 is designed for handlebar mounting only. It's normally a battery light using 4 AA batteries, but can easily be run from a dynamo as well with an optional mounting and wiring kit. Several kits are available, some allowing the light to be mounted at the fork crown.

HL2000: $ 65.00

HL2000 with NiMH batteries and charger: $ 104.00

Busch & Müller DLumotec and Ixon

Both of these headlights are now discontinued. And note that the Ixon is a very different beam from the Ixon IQ, which you can see just below.

This image was made with the DLumotec. Please take my word for it; the Ixon beam is identical. It uses the same LED and the same reflector. The DLumotec is dynamo powered, the Ixon is battery powered. I really like this headlight for anyone riding at moderate speeds. It has plenty of light right in front of the bike, so working your way through potholes and glass on city street is safer, and you still have enough light at a distance to make cruising at 18mph comfortable. There's enough spill light above the focused beam to make it easy to see street signs.

BUT BUT BUT PETER!!!! BRIGHTER IS BETTER!!!! Right?

Uh, well, yeah, but if a light is bright enough, and costs less than a brighter light, and if the less expensive light has a more useful beam with spill light illuminating road signs above the road surface and lots of light close to the bike, is the brighter light necessarily better?

And please remember what I wrote above. These images exagerate the brightness of the brighter headlights, and exagerate the dimness of the dimmer headlights, by comparison. I could easily manipulate these images in my computer to make the dimmest headlights seem extremely bright.

The DLumotec Oval headlights are discontinued and no longer available. I've left the image up for comparison purposes.

Busch & Müller Ixon IQ

Here we have a very bright headlight, the B&M Ixon IQ. This photo shows it at full power. If you have a hilly route this is what you need for the descents. Notice that close to the bike there's less light than with the DLumotec/Ixon beam above.

As of Fall, 2010, the Ixon IQ beam has the same shape as the IQ CYO R, seen below. So there is now plenty of light projected close to the bike, and the distance beam is just as bright.

By the way, the shape of the focused beam of the Ixon IQ, is identical to the Lumotec IQ Fly, IQ CYO R and IQ CYO RT. All of them use the identical mirror to focus the light from the LED.

And here's the Ixon IQ at low power. This is bright enough for most conditions. Use it at full power in the rain and on busy roads. Otherwise, save your batteries.

Ixon IQ without batteries or charger: $ 116.00

Ixon IQ with batteries and charger: $ 148.00

Lumotec IQ Fly

Look familiar? This is the Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Fly. It has the same LED and optics as the Ixon IQ and is the same brightness as that battery light at full power, but the Lumotec IQ Fly is powered by a dynamo. These have also been changed in Fall 2010 to have the same taller beam as the CYO R headlight.

Many switch options.

Lumotec IQ Fly Senso Plus: $ 93.00

Schmidt Edelux

The Edelux uses the same reflector as the original Ixon IQ and Lumotec IQ Fly, but pretty much everything else is different. If you look carefully, you'll see that the road surface is starting to wash out in this image compared to the image above. That's due to the added brightness.

Edelux: $ 190.00

Supernova E3 Pro

You can see that the Supernova lights up a larger area than any other light I sell, except for the E3 Triple. See below. It's a round or symmetrical beam, brightest in the center. I've aimed the top of the bright central spot right at the end of the driveway. The area closer to the camera is brighter because it's closer, not because the E3 puts more light there. And you can see that the trees are lit up, including the leaves overhead. The advantage here is that road signs are much easier to see. But oncoming cyclists and drivers may wish your light wasn't so bright above the horizon.

You'll never have the sense that you're riding down a narrow tunnel with this headlight. It's more like riding on a nice sunny day.

I don't know if the Supernova has more or less total light output than the Schmidt Edelux. The E3 doesn't get nearly as bright in any one spot, but it does have a much larger beam, so it's hard to make a direct comparison of total output.

Supernova E3 with Lefty Mount: $ 210.00

Schmidt E6

Here's the Schmidt E6. I made this image the next night, so the camera is not aimed exactly the same. But the exposure is the same.

The E6 uses a halogen bulb, so the color is yellowish, and the beam isn't nearly as wide as many of the newer LED headlights. But notice something interesting. The very end of the driveway in every other image is a bit darker than the driveway a bit closer to the camera, say one quarter of the way down from the very top of the beam. But with the E6 the end of the driveway is just as bright as the rest of the beam, except the bottom third of the beam, and that's because I'm holding the light in my hand, lower to the ground than it would normally be by about a foot. Now, all of the other images were made with the light at the same height, so the comparisons are valid. The point is that the E6 has the ability to concentrate a great deal of light at the very top of the beam, making the furthest section of road relatively brighter than other beams, compared to closer sections of the road. This is explained in my article here.

So, yes, the E6 is older technology, it uses bulbs that you'll have to replace after about 100 hours of use, but the optics are very impressive, I think. The beam is narrow, so you're riding down a somewhat narrow tunnel of lit road with no other lighting. The Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Fly, Supernova E3 and Schmidt Edelux all put more total light on the road, but the E6 still looks pretty good to me.

Also, regarding halogen headlights, older people often find that the bluish light from LEDs makes it harder to see details, particularly in the rain, than the more yellow light from the halogen bulb. Also, LEDs emit light at only a few specific wavelengths, whereas a halogen bulb's spectrum is smoother, creating light over a much larger range of wavelengths. So, sometimes, brighter isn't necessarily better.

Schmidt E6 Primary 2.4w: $ 103.00

These next four images were made and added the evening of May 21, 2009. I tried to replicate the same camera position as before. I have angled the camera down a bit to better show the nearfield lighting from these newest headlights. The tops of the beams are aimed the same as before and the camera, lens and exposures are identical; ISO 3200, f:5 at one second, Canon 5D with Canon 45mm TS-E (tilt-shift) lens.

The yellow streaks of light are from the incandescent light at the cornor of the shop building. Since that light has a constant output, you can see that the exposures are all the same. The camera is on a tripod, about four feet to the right of the headlights and about two feet higher. The headlights are firmly mounted on a stand, at the same height as they would be when mounted at the fork crown of a bike with 700c wheels.

Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ CYO

The IQ CYO is Busch & Müller's update to the IQ Fly for 2009. The IQ Fly is still available, and a great value. But if you want an even brighter headlight, the CYO is what you want. It uses a higher power LED than the IQ Fly, and has a large heat sink to keep the LED cool. The lower the operating temperature of the LED, the brighter it runs. The CYO keeps up with the big boys in the battle for brightest dynamo headlight.

Many switch options.

Lumotec IQ CYO Senso Plus (Black housing): $ 117.00

Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ CYO R

The IQ CYO R uses the same new LED as used in the IQ CYO, but the reflector is different. The IQ CYO R reflector takes some of the light and projects in toward the ground close to the front of the bike, filling in the dark area close to the rider. This is helpfull for cyclists riding slowly on dirt roads, through pot holes and around obstructions like you often find on bikeways. At high speed you won't care about nearfield lighting, since there's nothing you can do anyway.

Many switch options.

Lumotec IQ CYO R Senso Plus (Black housing): $ 117.00

Supernova E3 Pro Asymmetrical (original version)

The E3 Asymmetrical gives you not only a huge beam, but a very bright one with very good nearfield illumination. We have very few original versions of the asymmetrical E3 left in stock. The new version has a sslightly different beam shape. See below. When I first saw the new beam, it was projected against a flat vertical surface, and it looks very different from the original beam. But projected on the road, they are quite similar.

E3 Asymmetrical with Lefty Mount: $ 210.00

Supernova E3 Pro Asymmetrical

Supernova now calls the E3 the E3 Pro. They did this to help people understand that since the E3 was introduced a few years ago, they have been making regular improvements to the light; by using brighter and more efficient LEDs and by improving the electronics. As of this writing, October 2009, they still are shipping some versions of the E3 Pro with housings that just read "E3", because they have lots of these housings. But the lights are all the same E3 Pro, the latest LED and electronics.

One real change is to the Asymmetrical version, which has had a change in the optics to meet the German StVZO regulations for bicycle headlights.

Supernova E3 Pro Symmetrical

And here again is the standard Supernova E3, with the big round (symmetrical) beam. I've made another image of this so you can see it compared with the Assymetrical version with exactly the same camera position. I've aimed the brightest part of the beam, the center, just below the end of the driveway. which provides the most even illumination of the road surface. Notice again that the trees get lots of light. If you hit a moose while riding with this headlight, you really need to consider another nighttime activity.

Supernova E3 Pro Lefty Mount: $ 210.00

Supernova E3 Triple

The Triple uses three LEDs, so it's a bit brighter. Also, the round beam is larger. It's more of a flood light than a spot light. The driveway surface is washed out a bit in the E3 photo, so the E3 Triple, being brighter, is still just washed out on the road surface. It's easier to notice the differene in brightness by looking at the trees and leaves, particularly straight down at the end of the driveway. The E3 Triple image was made a couple of weeks after the E3 image. Same camera exposure settings, but the foliage is grown in a bit more.

Supernova E3 Triple, Handlebar Mount: $ 342.00

If you're using a Schmidt hub dynamo, you can power two halogen headlights. You could use a Lumotec or a DLumotec (LED) headlight as a Primary, with the wider beam for lower speeds, and then add a Schmidt E6Z Secondary headlight for fast descents. This can be done with hub dynamos, but not with sidewall dynamos. So if you're not sure if you would prefer a wide beam or a narrow beam, get a hub and get two headlights, one of each type.

All halogen dynamo headlights I sell use the same bulbs; either the 2.4 watt or 3 watt bulb. If used with a .6 watt taillight, use the 2.4 watt bulb. If you prefer a battery taillight, use the 3 watt bulb in the headlight. Some LED headlights can be used with or without a taillight, but some must be used with a wired taillight. See details on the respective light pages.

None of these headlights should be positioned upside down. In the case of the Busch & Müller, Spanninga and Supernova headlights, that can allow water to collect in the housing, shorting out your lights in the rain when you need them most. But more importantly, by rotating the lens upside down, the brightest part of the beam hits the road closer to you, making for a light that is next to useless for clearly seeing the road ahead for any meaningful distance.This doesn't apply to the symmetrical Supernova E3, but it does apply to the Asymmetrical E3. While the Schmidt E6 is impervious to water penetration, placing it upside down is particularly silly, since you've spent so much money for a carefully refined beam pattern, and by reversing it, you make the light beam worse than the cheapest dime store flashlight.

Metric connectors attach the wiring to some of these headlights. These metric connectors are virtually impossible to find in the United States. But I stock them by the hundreds. So if you have any concerns, buy some extra connectors when you purchase your system. They are very inexpensive.

Some headlights are hard wired for attachment to the Schmidt SON dynohub. All have connectors to attach optional taillights. We stock lots of wiring and connectors to allow many configurations for your bike. We don't have a package as such, since everyone's bike is a bit different. We prefer to sell you exactly what you need to give you the best lighting for your needs.

For more information about lights for the Schmidt hub, go to the Schmidt headlight page.

Article: The Perfect Headlight

Every light here is distributed in the US and Canada by Peter White Cycles. Any bike shop can order these lights directly from us. See this page for more information about setting up an account.

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This page updated: Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Peter White Cycles
24 Hall Rd.
Hillsborough, NH 03244
USA
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