Dutch Recumbent Trike Lighting Project

Here is how I built a lighting system for my recumbent trike.

Let me start with the result. I Also showed this picture in the Ideas for a light on a flagpole for a low recumbent thread.

The image shows the trike photographed with and without camera flash.

As indeed this trike is low, and I experienced car drivers could not see me behind other parked cars, my first addition to the Trike was a flag.

The flag is a slightly modified delta-kite. The kite supplied the flag and fiber rods for the flag post.

I Later cut off the yellow fabric. An ANSI vest was the donor for the reflective material on the flag. I Had both lying around unused, would probably order a 'Purple Sky Flags' flag if I had not.

For the headlights, I really wanted to have two lights, one above each front wheel. The advantage is that is shows clearly the trike's width to oncoming traffic. The video in the thread 'Recumbent Trike Light Project' clearly shows that. But, the mudguard mounting on this trike is very flimsy; it would not support a decent size light. So instead, I opted for a lighting system with one central 3 Watt LED and two smaller, lighter 5mm LEDs on the mud guards.

The lights on the mudguards are modified KaiDomain flashlights, each with one white 5mm LED, driven at approximately 50mA through a resistor. I Realize that these lights are not up to CPF standards, putting out only 5 or 6 Lumens :duh2:

The lights mount to the mudguard with a single rivet:

The main headlight also falls under 'not up to CPF standards'. The basis for this light is a 3 Watt LED spot light from Conrad.de. It was the standard light used by local Velomobile builders for some years, and I used it because I had a couple of them lying around.

The LED spotlight has a Luxeon LED. TO make it more acceptable, I replaced that with a CREE XR-E R2.

The lens was also modified, and I glued a cut in half lens to it, similar to what is discussed in the 'Let's design...' thread. The aim is to reduce above the horizon light and prevent blinding oncoming traffic.

The light mounts to the front boom of the trike:




For the tail light, I modified a Europe standard reflector/ taillight combi with 1 Watt red (Luxeon-like) LED retrofit. A Spanninga ARCUS XB, also because it was available.

So that's the project status so far, still need to build a 2 cell Li-Ion battery pack to power the lights.

I realize that this setup is not creating my own daylight, but it should be enough to make myself more visible in traffic

Erwin

Nice job of reuse. Thanks for the summary. Is the XR-E R2 at 1 amp? Was it selected to help get a narrower oncoming friendly beam a bit more easily than taming a larger die of the XP-E, XP-G, or XM-L?

I assume you will keep us apraised of tests or comparisons with the Strada's lights, maybe even some night pics to show what drivers see?

Hi Brian, sorry to disappoint you, but there was no elaborate selection process. The XR-E was simply the only LED I had lying around.

Did a test ride today, and the lights performed marvelously. Just not enough light 'far away', so thinking about adding a thrower...

Here is a small impression of the lights in action:






Please note the not-standard camera settings. The photographs look a lot lighter than what I experienced.

Lost a post.

Yeah, camearas with auto light sensing adjust brighter.

Is it perspective? It looks like the light is aimed a bit low. The cut off could be higher putting the half-hotspot higher and extending throw.

Thought about your reversed lens approach to get a cut off. I wonder if the added section should be less than half the lens to leave a portion of the upper hot spot alone, if not all of it to help throw.

BrianMc said:

Is it perspective? It looks like the light is aimed a bit low. The cut off could be higher putting the half-hotspot higher and extending throw.

Click to expand...

Could be, the light is near horizontal. Maybe a side-effect of being near to the ground? Distance from light to ground is approximately the high of the front wheels (20").

BrianMc said:

Thought about your reversed lens approach to get a cut off. I wonder if the added section should be less than half the lens to leave a portion of the upper hot spot alone, if not all of it to help throw.

Click to expand...

Might be worth to try. Another time, the glue I used is pretty permanent

Solved the battery problem and used two 2600mAh Li-Ion cells attached under the seat with Velcro straps. Same 9-pin sub-D connector I use on my Helmet Light and on the Giant Aero bike, so can use the same charger

Here is the switch. Nothing fancy. Just all ON and all OFF with a very audible click

Sorry for the blurry images - the pictures were taken in low light.

Here is an indoor wall shot with 10% reduced intensity. Light 3m in front of wall.

You can see the reduced glare above the hot spot and a faint image of the LED die (top half). Reading of the light output reduced from ~130 Lumens to ~110 Lumens when adding the reversed lens to the light.

Had a problem with the panniers running into the wheel, so i changed that and mounted a trunk.

Tail light now mounts to the trunk.

The reverse lens idea appears useful. Good. Because I was trying to think of what I do if my lights are too unfriendly. Nice to have a 'Plan B' to try. Thanks. :thumbsup:

Sorry to hear the rear panniers were literally a drag. But it isn't like you are carrying 70 pounds of self support gear. So the higher COG should be no problem for only 2-4 Kg.

I see why your hands would get wet on rainy days. I can't link directly to the page by forum rules but I don't want to host the picture for one post. So hopefullly the front fender shot of a long front and tail on a front fender is OK when you paste this into your browser minus the single quotes: 'http://support.velo-orange.com/#fenders.html'. Some add leather mudflaps for curb clearance and even more road slop protection. Siamesing/overlapping a pair of fenders each side should do the trick, if you can't find/afford long ones. I made a suprisingly good looking leather mudflap from the tongues of a pair of worn boots sewing them together. You'd need two pair, though. I sewed them up oiled them and pressed them in a vice to remove the lacing creases. Shown on front fender:

BrianMc said:

The reverse lens idea appears useful. Good. Because I was trying to think of what I do if my lights are too unfriendly. Nice to have a 'Plan B' to try. Thanks. :thumbsup:

Click to expand...

I Think it is a useful concept. Better than a circular beam, but not as good as a purpose-built reflector like the B&M lights. Added bonus: Improved side visibility.

BrianMc said:

Sorry to hear the rear panniers were literally a drag. But it isn't like you are carrying 70 pounds of self support gear. So the higher COG should be no problem for only 2-4 Kg.

Click to expand...

It should not. In fact, when I do load it heavily, it is with groceries and the trip will be a slow one.

I Would like to have some additional luggage-carrying capacity. Thinking of adding a trailer. There are a lot of cheap bike-trailers for children sold over here. Maybe I'll buy one and convert it to carry bags instead.

BrianMc said:

I see why your hands would get wet on rainy days…Some add leather mudflaps for curb clearance and even more road slop protection. Siamesing/overlapping a pair of fenders each side should do the trick, …

Click to expand...

Yes, the mudguards are too short. Both on the front wheels and the rear. Maybe I should only drive it in fair weather ;-) Either that or find some longer ones. Don't want to spend too much on the Trike.

BrianMc said:

I made a surprisingly good looking leather mudflap from the tongues of a pair of worn boots sewing them together. … Shown on front fender:

Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip; it does look surprisingly good

You don't need to buy new fenders.

Two 'Dutchman'* Methods (Dutchman is a carpentry term for a reasonably to very attractive patch that saves replacing something as expensive as a door, for example. This is in contrast to 'cobbled' or cob-job which is an unattractive patch.):

Method 1: See if LBS or a local group restoring old bikes has a fender that matches close enough for your aesthetic tastes (one man's Dutchman may be another man's cob-job). Epoxy or rivet extensions on the current fenders made from such fender(s) for best aesthetic and functional effects.

Method 2: Requires greater skill an attention to detail to avoid cobb-jobb look. Find appropriate plastic jug or bottle (can be the hardest step). A fender extension into a wider mud flap is doable out of US 1 gal milk jugs. Copper rivets like used for leather, can make the installation look stock.

The fun in these is to reach a level of workmanship that they are invisible to others. While you save about $70 here, in new fenders.

I Have found some reasonably priced black aluminium fenders for 20" wheels. I Ordered two pairs (front and back) so if needed I can combine both on a front wheel. They should arrive later this week

I Also found a reasonable priced HD cam. It is the HD version of the 808 #8 key fob cam I already have, the 808 #11, shipped for just over €28. It arrived two days ago.

The camera mounts with Velcro to a strip of aluminium, bolted to the end cap of the front derailleur tube. It sits 15cm (6") above the front light.

I Made two small movies to show the image quality. Fortunately, it does not come close to that of your new camera, but is suits my needs just fine.

Video #1 (Day)
Video #2 (Night)
(Remember to set the image to 720p when watching )

The night time video on Youtube is less bright than the original video as recorded, so sadly this does not do justice to the camera.

Video #3 (Night, camera on roundabout)

You need some blinkers!

I'm currently working on a set - some very basic results so far, just testing the brightness vs a Radbot1000.
The blinker is just a white LED i had lying around & its <5cm from the radbot - so no indication of how it'll operate, just for brightness comparison.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/user/rigidmount#p/a/u/0/CFGdqsJVSr0[/video]

Thanks for the advise Nate, but I don't think I 'need' blinkers.

First of all - blinkers are not allowed by Dutch law - lights must be steady on.

Second, as a driver, I do have experience with bicycles using blinking lights. In adverse conditions (at night, rain pooring down), a blinking light makes it hard to place a bike. It makes it hard to judge distance, speed and direction of travel of the bike.

And Third: To date, I have yet to encounter an affordable blinker that is as bright as the 1 Watt red Luxeon LED I used on this bike, although some are coming close.
New Blinky King? >25 lumens?




So no blinkers for me

Erwin

pe2er said:

First of all - blinkers are not allowed by Dutch law - lights must be steady on.

And Third: To date, I have yet to encounter an affordable blinker that is as bright as the 1 Watt red Luxeon LED I used on this bike, although some are coming close.
New Blinky King? >25 lumens?
Erwin

Click to expand...

I think there might be a communication issue - by blinker i meant turn signal, not just a rear flashing light.

I've got the flashing circuit sorted - and I'll be using some 1W 140degree Orange LEDs, 180,000-200,000mcd
hopefully not more than a week away before i get the LEDs & can sort the setup out.

Well, then I agree with you fully. Have been thinking about installing turn indicators as I find it annoying to only have one hand on the handlebar when signaling for a turn. Especially because I only have one brake lever at my right hand. So I have a choice. Either brake for a sharp turn, or signal my turn with my hand.

Erwin

pe2er said:

Especially because I only have one brake lever at my right hand. So I have a choice. Either brake for a sharp turn, or signal my turn with my hand.
Erwin

Click to expand...

Bingo - exactly why i made them!

Here's the setup on the actual bike with proper spacing - the Australian Design Rules specify that motorbikes need 240mm of spacing between them, i set it up with about 320mm. Cant wait for the Yellow LEDs - looking good so far!

State law here requires signalling for 200 feet (61 m) in zones less than 50 mph, 300 ft (91 m) in higher speed zones CONTINUOUSLY. They also require you to maintain control which requires both hands on the bars. Don't you love having to obey motror vehicle law which was never written considering the operation of a bicycle? I have Windshields on in winter and really don't want to move my hands out of them, either. On the other hand only about 15% of drivers signal their intents to turn. I am the only cyclist I have seeen who signals at all but I haven't observed them all riding in a turning situation, just enough to know that most motorists don't know hand signals. But a cyclist in an accident seems to be blamed if they can find anything you did wrong regardless if it is relevant or not (like not having a bell as if that would be heard by the guy with the stereo in the steel cocoon). So turn signal indicators are on my list, down the road, so to speak.

Judging by the mount, I guess that the # 11 camera has the horizontal of the video in line with the horizontal of the camera body, is that correct, Erwin?

Erwin:

Does the manufacturer of your trike have a web site?

BrianMc said:

Judging by the mount, I guess that the # 11 camera has the horizontal of the video in line with the horizontal of the camera body, is that correct, Erwin?

Click to expand...

I Refuse to answer because the response could provide self-incriminating evidence of an illegal conduct punished by fines, penalties or forfeiture.

saltytri said:

Erwin: Does the manufacturer of your trike have a web site?

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Sorry, but no. the builder of my Trike is more likely a person than a company. I Don't know who built it, but am trying to find out.

pe2er said:

I Refuse to answer because the response could provide self-incriminating evidence of an illegal conduct punished by fines, penalties or forfeiture.

Click to expand...

I'm not sure the Fifth Ammendment to the Constitution of the United States applies to a non-citizen. I guess I'll know if we see left leaning video. Or not. P.S. The Department of Homeland Security is not known for having much of a sense of humor. They make the FBI look like stand-up comics.

Nate said:

Bingo - exactly why i made them!

Here's the setup on the actual bike with proper spacing - the Australian Design Rules specify that motorbikes need 240mm of spacing between them, i set it up with about 320mm. Cant wait for the Yellow LEDs - looking good so far!

Click to expand...

Are you planning on using the turn indicators together with a flashing tail light? If so, the flashing tail light may mask the flashing turn indicator, making its meaning less obvious to the car drivers behind you.