I think max brightness only mattered when the optics weren't as optimized. I actually do NOT want a 2000-3000 lumen night-to-day light, way too much glare & reflection. It sucks when you go near some foliage, or even just close to a light colored rock, and your hyper-bright light suddenly gets it's full beam reflected right back into your face by something just a few feet away. And that's just with a 1200ish lumen light, I can't imagine how destroyed my vision would be with 2-3 times as much light bouncing back.
At some point, no matter the optics, more lumens isn't going to add useful brightness to the area you need to see in order to ride. 4000 lumens might be able to light up trees a half mile away, but that's literally useless for riding.
I chase the exact same experience riding at night as during the day, and a Bontrager Ion Pro on my helmet and a Gloworm CX (self-contained X2-ish) on the bars, I can and do ride the exact same things. Too much more and the trail just ahead becomes "over-exposed" and blown-out color-wise, way harder to gauge traction when you can only see shapes.
Jan. 31, 2023, 9:47 a.m. - Justin White
I think max brightness only mattered when the optics weren't as optimized. I actually do NOT want a 2000-3000 lumen night-to-day light, way too much glare & reflection. It sucks when you go near some foliage, or even just close to a light colored rock, and your hyper-bright light suddenly gets it's full beam reflected right back into your face by something just a few feet away. And that's just with a 1200ish lumen light, I can't imagine how destroyed my vision would be with 2-3 times as much light bouncing back. At some point, no matter the optics, more lumens isn't going to add useful brightness to the area you need to see in order to ride. 4000 lumens might be able to light up trees a half mile away, but that's literally useless for riding. I chase the exact same experience riding at night as during the day, and a Bontrager Ion Pro on my helmet and a Gloworm CX (self-contained X2-ish) on the bars, I can and do ride the exact same things. Too much more and the trail just ahead becomes "over-exposed" and blown-out color-wise, way harder to gauge traction when you can only see shapes.