My head is ready to explode

[brad72]

Hi guys. I have been reading the forum for some time now trying to make up my mind on a new bike light to replace my dated halogen light. Last time I built a light the only option was the 1W luxeon. Now we have the chance to burn holes in oncoming traffic and be seen from distant planets

What i need is a little help to make the decision for my MTB build. Just when i think i've worked it out I read a post on another amazing light. I was originally looking at 4 xpe's but the mce is an attractive option.

What i have come up with is a single mce wired in 2s2p with a Iris Mce SS narrow optic. Hook this up to a hipflex driver at 1400mA driven by a 14.8v li-ion battery pack. You guys have built some amazing lights so how does this simple option sound?

thanks
Brad

 

[LEDAdd1ct]

Brad, perhaps you want to wait a month or two for the newer XP-G...? ;-)

 

[brad72]

Mmmm... my brain just swelled another inch or so..

The cool white XLamp XP-G provides 139 lumens and 132 lumens per Watt at 350 mA. Driven at 1 A, the XP-G produces 345 lumens, which is 37 percent brighter and 53 percent more efficient than the brightest XR-E LED. The XP-G LED has the highest lumen density of any available lighting-class LED, and it is based on the XLamp XP family package

On paper this looks like a pretty good light and should be able to get a better beam than the mce. If i make a housing to suit 3 individual dies I could have a super spot, medium and wide to suit the location of the ride and make each die adjustable to get the right throw. Mix a few of the tints together to get a nice contrast. This is getting harder every day. :mecry:

I just wish there was a firm release date.

 

[Linger]

Two helpful questions may be:
What are you replacing?
What are you using it for? (is this light for being seen, or for seeing)

But I say punt it all! Go spend $20 and build a light.

It sounds like you don't have any current gen led's. Go with anything and get a sense of it first, rather then looking for an ideal.

Get a K2 tffc and direct drive it from a couple of 1.5v's or an old portable phone 3.7v lithium cell

Get a Lux drive micro-puck (cutter.com) 500ma and attach an xpe r2 then attach a 2 AA nimh battery holder + cells and see how it feels, do you like the regulated output over the high-output direct drive.

Get an xpe / xre and any board that'll put out 700ma - 1000 ma and power it with some 3.7v cells and see if it's worth the upgrade from eneloops...

I say spend $20 and try somethings out first. I say this because reading posts and making a light are very different things. I've just started building myself, and deciding how you'll connect the optic to the host, or machining aluminium heatsinks my table saws, isn't something I got a sense of despite months on CPF before I first picked up a soldering iron.

 

[brad72]

All good points linger. The light I am after is to see with. I already have a a 20w halogen ssytem that I made a few years back but wiht the price of bulbs and failures at the most inconvenient times it is time to change.

I have one bonus i guess that I have an d excellent 3d cad program for designing the lamp housing and have a fully kitted out workshop with all the toys, sorry tools to build the light.

Like you said, get some stuff and start building

 

[Steve K]

Like you said, get some stuff and start building

to chime in, I'd encourage this. The modern leds are remarkably good, and you'll probably end up with a nice light regardless. Once you get some experience building and then using the light, you may decide to upgrade the regulator or leds in the future.

The technology will continue to improve, so there will always be opportunities to either upgrade or build a new light. Or maybe just start building a light for every bike you have??

cheers,
Steve K.