3 times' a charm
Well it seems that 3 times’ a charm - as with all manner of things. If you’ve followed, or at least reviewed this thread, you know that my first attempt was literally a melt-down, plain and simple. And though my second try was a partial success; in the end my mount proved too weak for the hammering dished out on the mean streets of L.A. Also: though the MR11 20 volt flood was a quantum leap ahead of dual Cayeye EL500’s, it was just a tad dim for the darkest, fastest descent on my commute.
So; submitted for your approval, DanO’s Illuminator 3000 deluxe. First and foremost, I wouldn’t hesitate to go mountain biking, if I that was my bag, with the new mount. I think I could hang a canned ham from it - no problem. Second; the Sylvania Tru-Aim MR16, 20 watt, 8 degree spot, halogen lamp is to the MR11 flood, what the Mr11 flood was to my weak AA powered LED units. By comparison, it looks like a police helicopter is following me around with it’s search light on! 30 mph in the dark? No problem.
I was a bit hesitant to go back to plastic, even though I was using PVC as opposed to the ABS which melted in my first attempt. But Sylvania claims this lamp has a reflector which directs most of the heat out the front. I also used aluminum tape on the inside of the housing. The light still gets pretty hot at a dead standstill, but doesn’t melt. (Still, I wouldn’t leave it left of while the bike was parked for 2 hrs.) And even a 10 mph breeze drops the temp dramatically. So I think that I’m structurally sound. Of course time will tell how many heating/cooling cycles the PVC is up to.
So for now we’re good to go. Anyone considering building one of these should definitely plan the light around the MR16 diameter bulb - even if an MR11 series light would be more convenient. Did I spend as much building 3 lights as I might have simply buying one from Night Rider or Cygolite? Maybe. But this was fun. And I ended up with a WAY better mount.. for my bike, at least.
DanO