Adjusting your cordless headlamp correctly: Maximum beam range without glare

Adjust the distance from the wall and the light edge

• Place the road bike, ready to ride, on a level surface in about five metres away against a vertical, light-coloured wall.
• Make sure that the tyre pressure is appropriate for normal riding conditions. Ideally, someone should be sitting on the bike or applying a load to it similar to that experienced whilst riding.
• Measure the height of the centre of the spotlight from the floor and mark this height as a horizontal line on the wall.
• Switch on the battery-powered spotlight in dipped beam mode and loosen the bracket just enough to allow you to adjust the angle by hand.
• Adjust the headlamp so that the sharp cut-off line is at five metres just below the mark, level with the headlamp takes place.
• If the cut-off line is at or above the mark, gradually lower the headlamp. This will reduce the glare for oncoming traffic.
• Tighten the bracket again and check that the headlamp cannot be turned when you touch it.

Checking on a dark road

The wall provides the basic setting; the test drive is what counts. Drive along a dark, straight stretch of road and check: the beam of light must cover the carriageway, the entrance to bends and any uneven surfaces in front of the front wheel. If it only reaches a few metres, the headlamp may be raised slightly. If the cut-off becomes blurred or shines at eye level of oncoming pedestrians, it must be lowered again.

Important: Greater beam range is not achieved by increasing the lamp’s wattage, but by ensuring a uniform light pattern. The current TOUR test of battery-powered spotlights for aero cockpits It therefore assesses both the near and far fields together.

TOUR most recently tested these seven spotlights

• Amazon LF 36 Bicycle Light Set
• Busch & Müller Ixon Rock
• Cateye GVolt 80.1
• Lezyne Macro 500+ Mount Reverse
• Lupine SL Grano F Silver Edition
• Sigma Aura 100 with Out Mount Front Adapter
• Trelock Lighthammer 100

The latest test summary from the 8 September 2026 covers seven models approved under the StVZO and assesses, amongst other things, the light pattern, burn time and mounting.