Double barrel CREE R2 bike light – FINISHED.

[pe2er]

This is the new light for my shopping-bike. It replaces my Basta Comet II converted to Luxeon lamp.

Basis for the light are two CREE R2 Drop-in modules (Dx SKU 11836),

two brass fittings for 22mm copper water pipe,

two end caps for the same water pipe,

and some electrical parts – SPDT switch, diode and DC receptacle.

All this is bonded to a plastic clamp using Araldite Epoxy.

A black spray paint covers the beautiful Brass colour. Maybe next time I'll make brass a 'steampunk' light

This is what the light looks like at the moment:

I Plan to do some test rides and then add a clear lens in front of each barrel, probably attaching it using heat shrink tubing and some silicone sealant.

 

[a1penguin]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

That's a nice looking light!

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

That's a nice looking light!

Thanks!

I Plan to do some test rides and then add a clear lens in front of each barrel, probably attaching it using heat shrink tubing and some silicone sealant.

This turned out to NOT be one of my brightest design ideas.
The transparent (CD Jewel-case plastic) lens turns kind of milky-white during the heating, and too much heat deform the lens. And I don't like the way it looks.

Time to think of some other solution

Meanwhile, I took a little ride with my new light. Here are some shots of the new double barrel alongside the Basta Comet it is going to replace.

With flash. It's my errand bike. The light is more expensive than the bike

Beamshot from 2 meter in front of a wall. All light you see is emanating from the new double barrel light

 

[Linger]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

DX and KD sell p60 glass replacement lens. I got 10 dx lenses for $1.50? Completely appropriate, indistinguisable from stock lenses. They're a lip bigger than your reflector but you should be able to grind / sand them down. I just left the lens bigger: I used the extra outside lip to afixed it with norland optical adhesive to the reflector, and with a gitd o-ring around the joint it looks OEM

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Thanks! That sounds like the way to go. Will order some
and

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Here is the new battery pack for my double barrel CREE R2:

It consists of two Samsung 18650 cells, rescued from a laptop battery pack.

The pack is similar to he one I use on my commuter bike, it just has two cells instead of four. here is the schematic:

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

In another thread, my attention was drawn to a thread about the (low) efficiency of the SKU 11836 drop-in module's driver: http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?t=236337

So now I understand why it gets so hot Should have done some more reading before ordering...

Meanwhile, Dx was so kind to ship me my new lenses

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

This is how I wired the Double barrel CREE R2:

With the switch in position 1, only the Left CREE R2 is powered.

With the switch in position 2, the Right CEE R2 is powered directly, and the Left CREE R2 is powered through a silicon diode.

This is a graph of power versus battery voltage:

Clearly, power consumption at 7.4 Volt (nominal voltage of my battery pack) is sub-optimum. It consumes about 12 Watt. By increasing the voltage above 8.5 ... 9 Volt, input power increases to about 8 Watt. So I would be better off with a 3 cell LiIon pack :tinfoil:

A second improvement would be to replace the SPDT and diode with a DPDT switch.

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

The slow boat from China arrived today, carrying... only the clear lenses.

This is what it looks like with the lenses epoxied to the reflector. Looks better than the heat shrink sleeve IMHO.

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Here is a new picture of the - now finished - light. The epoxy has an unexpected but very welcome side-effect; it drastically increases my side visibility

Mounted it below my handlebar instead of on top of it. This I hope will reduce the change of it getting damaged in the shed.

 

[HEY HEY ITS HENDO]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

:thumbsup: excellent!! i would like to see your next, a MK2 version
with R5 :devil: and wow beautiful "steampunk" brass finish

..... http://www.dereelight.com/module-list.htm

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Thanks :thumbsup:

That ís a tempting thought :huh:

3SM(3-stage Muti-power digital) Cree XP-G module

• 1. • Input Range: 3.4~9V
     • Output Range: 1.2A
     • Battery Type: 2xCR123A, 2xRCR123, 2x18650
     • Features:
       • constant output using CR123's
       • three stage output,100%-50%-5%
       • memory functon
       • change level by push switch

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Final parts arrived yesterday, so now it is FINISHED

​

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Just for fun, a comparison between my 'Errand' bike on the left, and my 'Commuter' bike on the right.

First, one R2 drop-in illuminated:

And finally, both R2's under power:

I Just realize that it is time to upgrade my commuter bike's lighting

Maybe one of those XP-G drop-ins :devil:

 

[herulach]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Is the blue LED on the left pipe a battery status indicator or just an on/off light?

 

[spankone]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

xpg's are fab, my lights will be done soon I'm doing the same sort of thing as you but using 2 ultrafire host and 2 dual xpg drop ins.

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Is the blue LED on the left pipe a battery status indicator or just an on/off light?

It is just an ON/OFF light.

Actually, the LED is just there to fill a hole I drilled in error ;-)

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

xpg's are fab, my lights will be done soon I'm doing the same sort of thing as you but using 2 ultrafire host and 2 dual xpg drop ins.

What XP-G drop-ins are you using? I Am looking for an affordable one

PS: Found one at Dx:

 

[spankone]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

I'm using nailbender dropins $45 but well its a quality product and each drop in has 2 emitters and huge floody beam :naughty: might be over kill for you though on a comuter bike.

 

[pe2er]

Re: Double barrel CREE R2 bike light. – almost finished.

Ah, yes, I found the thread with the "Linger Special".

Must be a lot of light, using two of these US$ 45 is a bit over the top for me though ;-)