Commuter bike light build??

[Buck91]

Ok, so I know this stuff has been gone over hundreds of time... luckily I'm not too worried about the eletronic side of things (FWIW, I got three DX Q5 stars I'm going to use with whatever driver I decide on).

What I'm thinking about is a good form factor for this light. I need it to be very compact and quick/easy to mount and unmount from the bike. Small enough to stash in a (rather large) jacket pocket. I definately plan on running a 12vdc pack, not sure on Ah yet (depends on what I end up driving the q5's at).

So any ideas on a suitable housing for this setup with q/r mouting options (twofish is a viable option)? Naturally, an external battery pack will be easier to accommodate, but perhaps there is a solution for a single unit? Right now, the only thing that comes to mind is a mag head mod... But then, Who said I need to use all three on a commuter light. A single Q5 running at 800mA or so should put out a ton of light and fit into a very compact form. Something like this would work GREAT as a starting point due to the way the led star mounts in it (extremely easy to modify and excellent heat sinking). Any ideas, gentlemen?

 

[green814]

Check this out. http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=368896

Chris

 

[herulach]

Something like that does look like a good host, and the head will make a decent mounting point. Are you looking for a strobe or just a steady lamp? That or a similar host with a new driver & a q5 should be plenty for a commuter light, and run off aas would sort your portability problem, unless you're set on 12V, in which case a bottle cage battery would look relatively innocuous, maybe put a socket in the mouth?

 

[Buck91]

Well, I have no qualms about running of integral AA's (or similar), but I want to avoid a long light as it will tend to rotate the twifish more, I think.

I know for a fact that a nicely tinted SSC P4 properly driven (to about 100-130 lumens) is plenty for commuting; with a good reflector and window. I used the Nite Rider Sol last winter. I have a version of that DX light which I've modified with a Q5 and upgraded driver pulling 1A out of the battery, which is a 14500 li-ion. I can run it off NiMH also, but it is approximately half as bright (very interesting driver, I'll see if I can dig up the specs if anybody is curious).

I was thinking either an LSD or high capacity (which would work better in low temps??) battery pack covered in shrink wrap and maybe tool dip and then velcro-banded to the stem (much like my now-sold Nite Rider) would be good for the pack...

Green814, thats a good link, I'm going to look into it more; especially using a twofish instead of the rubber strap, this may have potential!

 

[mkrabach]

I found that a single Q5 running at about 1 amp is adequate for backup night riding, or roads that do not have much traffic. I found that I needed 3 Cree P4 to do the job on roads that had serious traffic. The best combination that used a Maglite head is this link. http://www.kayakaccessri.info/krabachwebsite/bike_light/bike_light_project/proto8.html
The beams shots for the Q5 are Prototype 4, and the above is Prototype 8, are on this page. http://www.kayakaccessri.info/krabachwebsite/bike_light/bike_light_project/light.html
Note that on Prototype 8 I used three different DX tri-optics to find which worked best. I found the SKU1912 gave me a beam just perfect for riding on a road with a normal 2-4 ft paved shoulder. It allowed me to see road conditions 50-80 ft ahead. If you ride at 10-12 mph you need that much beam range.
The problem of easy removal was solved with the plastic clamps used in all the Prototypes.