Scratch-built TriLux III (Bike Light) finished!

[BryGuy]

Don't worry about the confessionals...that's how I learn some of what not to do!

BTW, handle your optics as little as possible, mine are all scratched up and I thought I was being careful with them.

How do you think a 3 way switch (off, resistor for low, no resistor for high) would work as a sub for the pot? I'm assuming you have it rigged like fig 9 on the buckpuck data sheet?

Can you compare/contrast between the optics/reflectors in everyday use? Road or trail?

Love these bike light posts!

 

[nightrider]

How do you think a 3 way switch (off, resistor for low, no resistor for high) would work as a sub for the pot? I'm assuming you have it rigged like fig 9 on the buckpuck data sheet?

Can you compare/contrast between the optics/reflectors in everyday use? Road or trail?
Love these bike light posts!

3-way switch would work fine, I almost went that way as it was hard to find a 5k pot that would fit into the body of my light. Yep I've got the figure 9 setup (except driving 3 Lux IIIs).

My night riding is trail only. The reflectors provide more intesnse spot beam, with ample spillover. Optics... well I guess it depends on what you use, but potentially more flood at the cost of throw.. I am not an expert in that area. I like more spot beam coming from my helmet, and a little more floody light mounted on the handlebars. Helmet + handlebars is the way to go, in my opinion, for the trails. Handlebar light is lower angle and causes shadows to be cast on the trail, giving you better indication of stumps, bumps, etc. The helmet light has the advantage of casting beam where ever you look. So the combo is great. If I had to have only one, I'd go with helmet mounted light though.

 

[andrewwynn]

you definitely want to use an audio or log taper pot.. it's really nice with the buckpuck!

you can cut down a 20IMS but need to cut the FRONT off.. another common mistake is to try to take down an optic from the sides vs the front.. cute building up legs to temporarily fix the oops.. so are you going with 17s? you'd probably still get more throw with 20s that are cut off on the front.

Oh.. btw.. there is a tiny 8-level digipot i use in my VIP light.. it's exponential so absolutely perfect for this kind of dimming solution.

-awr

 

[nightrider]

The buckpuck docs say to use linear taper pot, but I think a log taper would work better too. It's very touchy on the low end with the linear pot.

I'm still going with 20mm reflectors; making new, longer case front. Will not cut these at all.

The 8-level digipot sounds interesting. I'll have to look around for one.

 

[bbaker22]

So, I'm building a tri-luxIII version of a bike light and wonder: how are the reflectors supposed to fit onto the stars? Do the little feet sit down in the cutouts or are they supposed to sit on top of the board? Also, do I need to glue the reflectors down, or can I just rely on the compression from the lens to hold them in place?

thanks,
baker

 

[nightrider]

So, I'm building a tri-luxIII version of a bike light and wonder: how are the reflectors supposed to fit onto the stars? Do the little feet sit down in the cutouts or are they supposed to sit on top of the board? Also, do I need to glue the reflectors down, or can I just rely on the compression from the lens to hold them in place?

thanks,
baker

Yes, the little feet are supposed to fit down in the cutouts with the body of the reflector resting flush on the surface of the star. You can either put a drop of adhesive on each foot, or choose to hold them in place with a lens. But for a bike light, I prefer gluing in place because they would rattle around (especially on the trail). Obviously, my photos of the reflectors show how I screwed them up by chopping off at the base (in order to fit) so I ended up having to glue the legs onto the surface of the star.

- Good luck.

 

[andrewwynn]

you definitely need to use a log pot.. led dynamics will supply the wrong kind if you get it from them.. linear pot is just about useless.

The reflectors' feet fit in the notches if 20 or 27, just on top if 17.

I glue them on with silicone if i want them to stay put.. like in the case of one of my BAM mods.. where the reflectors don't touch the lens.

-awr

 

[Darell]

Since we're all learning here...

First off - GREAT looking monster you've got there. Secondly, I can tell you from lots of bike-light experience, that the cooling fins are likely not needed. They look cool, but the rush of air over the whole thing will do an amazing job of bleeding the heat to the atmosphere. Long ago when I used an L4 strapped to my handlebars, I realized that the L4 didn't even get warm while I was riding. If I turned it on, and sat it on my bench, it would be too hot to hold in just a few minutes. Passing air does a WONDERFUL job of bleeding heat away. Of course this assumes an ambient air temp of under 110° or so - and some effective way of getting the heat from the LED slug to the outside of the case.

 

[greenLED]

nice, really, really nice!

Don't worry about those confessions, we all have our little (or, in my case, looooong) list of mods gone bad - or dead- that we won't admit having.

 

[LightSward]

Looks awesome! I agree with the combination of handlebar mounted light and helmet light. I do a combination or road and trail riding out here in the outskirts of Beaverton, OR.