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From: AMuzi <am@yellowjersey.org>
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles.tech
Subject: Re: connected lights
Date: Thu, 12 Sep 2024 07:53:18 -0500
Organization: Yellow Jersey, Ltd.
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On 9/11/2024 4:42 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
> On 9/11/2024 5:34 PM, AMuzi wrote:
>> On 9/11/2024 3:49 PM, Frank Krygowski wrote:
>>> On 9/11/2024 3:37 PM, Wolfgang Strobl wrote:
>>>> Am Wed, 11 Sep 2024 17:23:22 GMT schrieb Roger Merriman
>>>> <roger@sarlet.com>:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> There is also the fact I like lights that can kick out 
>>>>> more oomph that a
>>>>> Dynamo can do, and I’m not wild on such cut off beams, 
>>>>> while my commute
>>>>> light has a low wide beam on low, ie fine around town 
>>>>> and so on, with the
>>>>> High Beam to give a bit more punch in the woods and so on.
>>>>
>>>> In my experience, a modern, StVZO-conforming LED based 
>>>> headlight is more
>>>> than good enough for riding in city traffic. More power 
>>>> usually only
>>>> serves to blind other cyclists and still can't compete 
>>>> with car
>>>> headlights. Riding in the woods and in the dark, on the 
>>>> other hand, is
>>>> better done using a weaker, but wider beam.
>>>>
>>>> The only reasonable need I see for more powerful 
>>>> headlights is when
>>>> driving on unlit rural roads. Here you need a powerful 
>>>> low beam and
>>>> sometimes also a high beam.
>>>
>>> I agree woods riding is different than road riding. But 
>>> I've done lots of unlit road riding with dyno lights and 
>>> no problems. So have countless randonneurs.
>>>
>>> Night vision varies, I'm sure; but I believe the general 
>>> desire for more and more and more lumens is caused by the 
>>> same mechanism the triggers the desire for more and more 
>>> rear cogs, less and less bike weight, bigger and bigger 
>>> pickup trucks, etc. After a while, people are chasing 
>>> advertising copy or quickly diminishing returns.
>>>
>>
>> You've repeated that for years, implying that unlike mere 
>> mortals you are magically immune to the evil spell of 
>> marketers. OK, that could be true.
>>
>> Or maybe other people actually ride offroad and actually 
>> need brighter lights than you.
> 
> Read again, Andrew. See where I said "I agree woods riding 
> is different than road riding"?
> 

And all the others inbetween who may very rarely ride 
offroad without ambient streetlights but want the capacity, 
people who use the wondrous little things for car repair and 
the like (me, just not on my bicycle), people who just want 
'the best one' and yes some amount of the Veblen effect.

As with most consumer decisions, sorting out motive is a 
fool's errand as people sincerely misstate motive as they 
sometimes don't have any conscious logical process.

-- 
Andrew Muzi
am@yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971