Headlights -- Without reinventing the wheel

[downzero]

I've been reading a lot on this forum, and it seems like everyone here is after the latest and greatest, even to the point of taking their lights apart, soldering in new PCBs, etc.

I am capable of all that, but in a world of the Internet and online shopping, that just seems unnecessary to me.

Is there nothing in the $50-100 range for a headlight that competes with the magicshine?

I'm certainly not looking to reinvent the wheel, but I would like to be able to buy a bright headlight in this price range without breaking the bank.

If anyone has any thoughts, please reply. Otherwise I'm going back to searching.

Thanks in advance.

 

[BrianMc]

You might try this site:

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/catalog/partsled.htm

P7 (same as Magicshine), very good thermal management (unlike MS),
Simple resistive hi/low, sinmple battery system, in the price range. Downside for those who leave their bikes in the rain or submerge them regularly, is that the Marwi housings are difficult to water proof completely, easy to make make water resistant, though.

He has comparison shots on a link there somewhere. He is also a good vendor to deal with.

Scar's Amoeba is more expensive than that, another great dealer apparently:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=403337

Another possibility:

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showpost.php?p=3251130&postcount=1

Maybe chelboed will respond, it sounds like he is building some..

 

[downzero]

Well, after further thinking, I'm going to start with a Fenix mount and my Solarforce L2, which I already have. The run time probably won't be that great (1.5 hrs or so on high), but at $12 for the mount, I will have time to evaluate what I want to do.

I'm quite surprised that there's really no good options in the $50 range. The $70-150 lights are extremely bright and offer some great features, but it seems like unless you're ready to spend that kind of coin, the best bet is a flashlight (with many opinions about which flashlight is best).

I'm of the opinion that something is better than nothing, so I'm glad I found something for now and I may upgrade later.

 

[PCC]

The problem with trying to find a better alternative to the MagicShine is that it is one of the best bargain bicycling headlights currently available in terms of lumens per dollar spent. If you are looking for something less expensive then, as you have figured out, attaching a flashlight to your handlebars would be the best alternative. I've found that the ThruNite XP-G reflectors are really good and floody for use on a bicycle but the 1.5A draw will kill your batteries quickly. I'm actually trying to assemble a D26 bicycling headlight right now using a ThruNite XP-G reflector but the driver is from a TLS TX3, which is a high/low driver rated from 2.8V to 12V and puts out 700mA to the emitter on high. With an XP-G it produces around 210 measured lumens out the front (OTF). A 1000mA driver would be around 300 lumens OTF but the batteries will not last as long. Obviously, longer run times requires more and/or larger batteries. A flashlight limits you to how many batteries you can use at any given time. It's not a good idea to use a larger flashlight on your bike for safety reasons (don't go strapping a 2D MagLED on there). That's why a vast majority of bicycling lighting systems have separate battery packs from the lighting unit.

If only 4Sevens would come out with a bicycling accessory for their modular line of flashlights. Imagine a flashlight head attached to an adapter that has a handlebar mount and a wire leading to another adapter that then screws onto any standard flashlight body with its tailcap? Buy a Quark AA2 Regular flashlight (or any other variant of this light) and this accessory and you're set. Take the flashlight, unscrew the head and put that onto the adapter that is attached to your bike. Take the battery tube and attach it to the other end of the adapter and strap that down to the frame or somewhere where it is out of the way. You'd be good to go.

 

[downzero]

I think that the real problem is finding a compact aluminum case that cools the lamp enough. If I had a light that I liked, I could make the battery work. There are all kinds of ways to put big batteries on a bicycle.

I wouldn't want to lug around ten pounds of battery or anything, but once the light is assumed, the rest is gravy. If your light pulls a lot of current, you just need a battery pack with more batteries in parallel.

 

[downzero]

Well if the Solarforce isn't enough, I'm going to try the Planet Bike Blaze 2W.

 

[tandem]

+1 on 4Sevens or other like minded firms entering the bike market. Between the commuter market, fitness market, racing and randonneuring market, and not least the equipment fanatic market, there's got to be far more potential bike light consumers than there are flashoholics.

 

[BrianMc]

If only 4Sevens would come out with a bicycling accessory for their modular line of flashlights. .... You'd be good to go.

Same would work with a helmet mount and the battery module could go in a camelback, pocket, or be velcoed to you someplace. Add an in line switch module for easy control. If you needed the runtime, you could carry a bandolier of spare cells in bodies capped aagainst water but ready to swap in. Such a setup might be useful to spelunkers, and kayakers and people in trades accessing attics and crawl spaces. That's the beauty of a modular system people will adapt it for myriad uses.