B&M Dlumotec Oval Plus first impressions
I had my first night ride with my new dyno light yesterday. Mixed lighting conditions from extremely well lit (no headlight needed to see clearly) to quite dark (although never zero ambient lighting).
These are my first impressions, they'll probably change as I have more time to experiment and get used to the new light. All comparisons are with my home-made 2x3W LED front light (non-cycling specific lenses, high beam is 1.5W/LED, low beam is quite a bit less than that).
These are my first impressions, they'll probably change as I have more time to experiment and get used to the new light. All comparisons are with my home-made 2x3W LED front light (non-cycling specific lenses, high beam is 1.5W/LED, low beam is quite a bit less than that).
- There is moderate spill to the sides, but the majority of the light is very tightly focussed in the centre, certainly more focussed than I'm used to. This meant I felt a little under-illuminated around corners, but I think this is more a function of what I'm used to than not actually having enough light.
- I haven't yet worked out the exact vertical focus pattern (with a battery light I can just switch on and stand in front of it). I hope I wasn't dazzling anyone.
- This is an old model light and it shows. The LED isn't a patch on newer offerings. Peak brightness is slightly better than my existing low beam (possibly because it's focussed over a narrower area) but no comparison with the high beam.
- The beam is steady with no flicker at 10km/hr or above. At a walking pace (taking off up a hill, going around hairpin bends) there's a very annoying flicker between main brightness and standby brightness - I'm honestly glad I don't suffer from seizures. I would definitely need to switch the light off when walking the bike - just the time it took to put the bike away was enough to hurt my eyes.
- Switching the light off just severs the connection to the hub, it doesn't kill the standby light. I almost wish for a way to do this, to 1) stop my bike being lit for the first 5 minutes of being parked and 2) save that energy for standby when I'm just starting a trip.
- The current mount is a bodge involving two L brackets. Unfortunately i have no left right adjustment, and it's pointing slightly to the left. More bodging necessary.