Another thing the E6 E6z combo excels at is reach. My office is at the top of a 1200 ft mountain, which does not have lights on the road way. I often work late and as such I usually make the decent in pitch black. Here is where I have found the trapezoid pattern to be ideal. It reaches far better into the dark than any high power trail light I have tried before. Trail lights shine light evenly in all directions, including upwards. While this is good for trail riding, it is not an efficient use of light on the road.

As for the lack of spill light, at first I found it a little disconcerting when I would look to my left or right side and see darkness. However, at road bike speeds I would never head in such sharp direction, as such for my purposes the reflector design seems to put the light where I tend to needed it most.

That said, at slower trail speeds ( < 15 km/hr) with sharper turns the light pattern is restricting - it all depends on what you are doing. A helmet light, or a flood light may help in these situations, especially if you encounter these conditions rarely.

In the end it depends on what your needs are. The E6, E6 Z combo are a highly specialized to a particular kind of riding. If you ride on slower, twister roads you may consider a different primary light, one with more spread and shorter throw, saving the E6Z for the job as a secondary when speeds are higher.

Just read your article on the E6. I have been commuting for many years, I do a 22 Kms (13 miles) each way, mostly on unlit country roads. I have tried many battery set-ups over the years and have found some good, grunty lighting solutions, but was left with the old problem of having to re-charge all the time and store heavy batteries. Also found that expensive globes blew frequently. So, a friend of mine suggested a dynamo set-up, and after researching I bought the E6, E6-Z and built a new front wheel around the SON. One thing I have found for sure is that the lights are highly focused, with low spillage, so this presents the problem with “seeing around corners”. I have found that adjusting the beam pattern of the two lights to cover the maximum possible area is the best way to overcome the issue. My house is 1600Ft absl and my work is at sea level so you see that going home is all climbing. On the climb I sit at about 19 Km/h which is not quite enough to generate sufficient power for the secondary but in some flatter sections I boot it up and with the separated beams I find it makes a huge difference. I can descend quite fast on the same winding road without fear (at about 50 Km/h). Overall I am very impressed, and most of all I like the concept of the energy for the lights being human powered, and not relying on greenhouse gas generating electricity to re-charge my batteries every night.

Nice write up on the E6, but I think you’ve got it wrong. Add an LED helmet light to the mix for your commutes and doubles and you’ll have it made (esp if you ditch the Cateye and replace it with a “be seen” light. The helmet light is perfect for reading road signs and general navigation on brevets, as well as for seeing round corners, descending, and for when you slow down to climb. I’ve been using a Danolite that will give me about 2.5 hours of continuous light - but I switch it on and off as needed, so I’ll easily have it last 3-4 hours on 4AA rechargeables.