led bike lights

[across the pond]

Has anyone tried those new cateye led lights with the 'opticube' reflector? Any good? I'm trying to weigh up one of those or something like a versalux bulb in a standard 2d or 2c bike light.

ta.
derek.

 

[lightuser]

yeah- we got into this a few weeks back and here's the thread We concluded that although no one has had one and actually knows anything (!) the Opticube is a set of Nichia whites, because it couldn't be anything else on that few batteries. You can draw your own conclusions about the performance... I am looking more at luxeons for my bike. I thought maybe this was a set of luxeons at first, but it isn't.

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

I think I've seen this bike light in Halford's...quite expensive though.
I've just aquired a pushbike and I'm making my own LED lights for it...
1 8000mcd 10mm variant of the BT series torch in diecast aluminium for the rear, and a modified bike light incorporating a mixture of white and cyan LED's for the front light. The final colour will be about the same colour as those "vision" bulbs for car headlights you can buy at Halford's.
I might include a "dipping" function in my design using some motorbike-style switch gear. The best LED's for the job are those from Paul Flannery (http://www.paulflannery.com) I buy all my cyans from him for my torches and he does dome very good white LED's too!
I'm not sure yet whether to add a dynamo and a charging circuit to make the lights self powering!
I reckon I could construct these reasonably cheaply... The problem is not the construction of the light itself but making something to attach it reliably to the bike!

Matt

 

[BentHeadTX]

The opticube,
Heard about them on a bicycling newsgroup, they work great for a LED light... but only if you want to be seen...not actually see anything past 15KPH
The 5 watt Luxeons are a bit of a mess at this point. Get one of those current/voltage regulating Lambda or Bad Boy drop in lights for two AA flashlights. They make handlebar mounts that hold those lights.
After the 5 watt LEDs become stable, get one of those and use the AA Lambda Illuminator or Bad Boy AA for a carry around light. That is what I am doing.

 

[BentHeadTX]

Forgot to mention,
The Lambda/Bad boy AA flashlights use the 1.25 watt collimated Luxeon Star LEDs. Go for the brightest thing you can get!

 

[across the pond]

I guess I'm looking for two lights - one led light to use when roads are lit by street lamps, and a second powerful one to light up the road when it's dark. This seems the easiest way at the moment, since the majority of riding is going to be led only on lit roads.

I've already made up some power packs for the more powerful light, using 6v sealed lead acid batts (small 4AH ones) which are fine weight-wise on a bike. I've wired connectors/sockets so I can just swap packs between charger and bike.

Was thinking of using meccano for making a nice light-weight bracket to attach the big light to the handlebars.

For the led I could always use my opalec minimag I suppose. I've seen a rubber strap that attaches aa mags to bike handlebars.

 

[cave dave]

Originally posted by across the pond:
...For the led I could always use my opalec minimag I suppose. I've seen a rubber strap that attaches aa mags to bike handlebars.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">That rubber strap is crap. I had one break the second time I used it. And needless to say it was dark and I had 10 more miles to go. Not a good time for something to break. Use a two fish lock bloc instead. They allow the light to wiggle up and down but at least they are more secure.

 

[Alan]

If price is no object, you might be interested in Lupine's LED bike lite.

Alan

 

[mekki]

Last week, after almost getting nailed by someone in a car, I strapped an Arc AAA to my helmet. It certainly isn't bright enough to light up the road (I have a halogen bulb for that), but it is fantastic for illuminating street signs, license plates and and other reflective stuff. A quick nod of the head towards oncoming drivers seems to grab their attention; I think the weird blue-white light surprises them.

 

[socalrunner]

I use an PT Aurora on my helmet.. I have a standard Niterider that I use that puts out anywhere from 12 - 32 watts of useable light.. But I wanted something additional to help cars see me and for me to see my HR Monitor and Cyclocomputer. I bought a Princeton Tec Aurora because it has both a steady and flashing mode.. Cut off the elastic strap and buy 12 to 18 inches of velcro with a loop in it and voila light useable helmet light. It weighs under 3 ounces with batteries. When I use the light in Flashing mode I have more cars notice me on the road. I have included a pic below. Just click link below for image.

http://www.geocities.com/e_pipins/girohelmetwaurora.jpg

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

hmmm...still thinking about doin a complete lighting system for my pushbike.
I've never understood why pushbikes aren't available as standard with lights, mudguards, etc. When you buy a motorbike, even the cheapest Jialing CJ50 comes complete with lights!
I think a certain amount of electronics is required if I want my lighting system to be self-powered. Pushbike dynamos, are they AC or DC output? If they are AC then I need to incorporate a bridge rectifier... if DC I've got to prevent the dynamo becoming an electric motor running off the battery. I intend to use a small SLA battery - which could be installed under the crossbar somehow?
Probably the use of some simple electronics from a motorbike might work...
I just want a lghting system on my pushbike which will give me a functionality of motorbike lights, no need for dry batts...

Any suggestions welcome

Matt

 

[dukeleto]

(first post )
I used to have an exceptional light source for a bike (I do lots of night-riding):
a Schmidt hub hand-built wheel (see http://www.nabendynamo.de/). Absolutely amazingly efficient! I used it to lite up a 20-led array made with 9600mcd white leds (www.techt.ch) receiving roughly 30mA each. It was VERY bright
The sad side: the (ultra expensive) front wheel got stolen a month ago in full city despite the motor-bike style U-lock protecting it (found the lock angle-grinded in half) and I managed to blow the LED array while trying out some NiMH batteries on it :-(.
For those who can afford it the schmidt hub is really top stuff ...

 

[MicroE]

I did basically what Socalrunner did.
I mounted a PT Aurora to the front of my helmet with super-strong Velcro. The RS p/n is 64-2363 (Superlock Fastener). The hinged back of the Aurora allows me to aim its beam parallel to the road. The Velcro removes easily for daytime riding.
Remember, the higher up a light is the easier it is to see. A helmet-mounted light is much more visable to oncoming cars than one mounted on the handlebars.
Ride Safe---Marc

 

[Illuminated]

Gentlemen,
I have to emphatically agree with all of you who have strapped some kind of good light to a helmet in that it is not only useful by being able to light where you look, but it definitely grabs a motorist's attention. I've had several drivers approach an intersection from either side and they have a tendency to "slide" into my path without noticing me - even with a good halogen light on the bike. With a light on the helmet, I automatically put the light on the appoaching driver and it usually stops them dead in their tracks while they try to figure out what they've just seen. Mission accomplished. I then redirect the light away from their eyes so as not to annoy them further. Works virtually every time. Another plus is that when riding with traffic, a bike-mounted light can often be obscured by cars, but a helmet light can be seen shining above those cars. Also works for getting motorists to dim their high beams out on those rural backroads. I recently received my first Luxeon-based light (Lambda Illuminator) and it seems brighter than !#*! (no kidding!) It throws enough light to use for moderate speeds, and provides constant light output for 1.5 to 2 hours from 2 AA 1800mA NiMH's. Placed on a porch step and viewed from at least 100 feet will make you see spots! I know that this can definitely annoy drivers, so use it conservatively for those purposes. The LI is fairly lightweight, easy to reload with batteries, has an easy-to-use clickie tailcap switch, and can easily be strapped to most helmets with vents. I suggest placing a small balloon over the tailcap switch just for insurance against a hard rain. I'll still be following along in your quest for the perfect bike light, though.
Good Riding! - John

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I've been using a RoyalBlue /o for my nightly rides to and from school. Since it kinda takes me where a downtown business area meets residential neighborhood (Eastside Milwaukee) I don't need a lot of light, just a quick glimps of 50' or so before me. I have a microswitched "trigger" by the brake lever. The RB is a great color for city riding, really turns heads, not too bright for drivers, peds.
Anyway, I use a LM317 adj'ble regulator (radioshack), a pot, resistor and a nicad radio control car battery in the under-seat bag. I mounted the luxeon to a reflector bracket from the seatpost on another bike. On the handlebars, I have full x+y adjustment and the bracket a thumb screw for during the ride adjustments.
The radio control car battery is great, had only to buy a cheap tamiya connector at the hobby shop. Plus, I already have the 15 min charger for the rc car. The battery could be lighter, I guess, but compared to my loaded backpack, its negligible.
Haven't worked anything out for rain, but the lux'll seal up pretty well, I'd imagine.

brendan

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

The problem with blue is that it could be construed as a "cop" colour and the local Plod may pull you over thinking that you re trying to impersonate a police officer!

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Yeah, I considered that "blue is for us police only..mace 'im!!".
The royal blue is "purple" enough that it shouldn't be mistaken for a police vehicle. Any trouble I encounter would be due to overzealous law interpreting. Also, its on a chrome BMX bike.
As this neighborhood has some 'security issues', there's quite a large police presence and I know at least a few PO's both on foot and in the cars have seen the light. No trouble yet.
Also, I don't have the light on all the time, I really only use it as needed: Quick 3-4 sec bursts once or twice a block.
I should point out that if its huge illumination or detail that you need, the RB is lousy. It is the dimmest apparent color and everything has that purpleyblue fuzz shadow when the light is on. I just need to see obstacles, sidewalk squares under construction, overturned garbage cans, etc.

 

[EMPOWERTORCH]

I was forced to use my pushbike after my Super Dream was handed over to the bike shop for some work to be carried out. I had to mackle together some lighting using some of the many torches I have in my collection. After trying several combinations of different style torches I settled on a BT1 (the original prototype model) lashed to the handlebars using a bootlace; and for the rear I used an LED-modded Ray-O-Vac swivelhead clipped to the rear of my knaspsack as a well situated back light. The mod used in the ray-o-vac is a single direct-drive red LED.
In addition to those lamps I strapped my Nite-Ised 2AA plastic torch to my head. This has a single Toshiba 8000mcd narrowbeam LED in it and is in fact one of the trio of torches bought for a quid a few months ago. This was in response to several suggestions made on this thread.
The BT1's illuminating capability was pretty impressive... until a car came up the hill, headlights and foglights blazing on a totally clear night and took my night vision away!
The torch strapped to my head proved useful... it lights up the reflective signposts, car number plates etc. And for a good distance, too!