Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - lighting for nightime forest ride

I plan to get some kind of head light mounted on my bike that will give me enough visability to ride in the woods at night. I dont know what kind of light setup would be best. I saw a three led cateye and a single led cateye at the store. Also I am interested in the DIY halogen 12v 20W setup. Can anyone give me pros on cons of these type of setups please ?

Another thought: Fenix Digital L2D Black Premium Q5
For 1/5th the price of a cateye triple shot. I don't know how bright the cateye is, but the Fenix is AWESOME! I use it for night riding on city streets and night trails. On the city streets, the lights do not get washed out and I feel that I can see well and drivers CANNOT miss me. On the trails, it's like riding in the day, it's THAT bright!

https://www.fenix-store.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_65&products_id=362

One light that I have had good luck with is the Niterider MINEWT X2 Dual.
It throws out a nice beam and since it is on two seperate lights, you can adjust one to be close and the farther out. It give you some flexibility.

The only drawback is that the batteries will only last a little under two hours at high intensity (3 and half hours at low intensity).

I have had mine for about 7 months now and I am very happy with it.

I hope this helps.

Fenix L2D is great, but the form factor is long which means I bump it a lot when not thinking about it and there isn't a ton of side-spill to see around with. I am definitely thinking about trying to break one apart into a separate battery pack, cause that would just about make it perfect. Plus they are cheap and use standard rechargeable AAs, so you can always find a replacement battery when needed. I regret not buying two or three of them.

Also I am interested in the DIY halogen 12v 20W setup.
Are you an experienced DIY person? If so you might consider building an LED headlight. DX now has a triple aluminum reflector for high power Cree and SSC LED's. You can easily build a headlight thats brighter than an MR-16 20-watt halogen light with no where near the power drain. The three LED's can be sandwiched between the reflector and an old CPU heat sink.
http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_11922_1_small.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11922

http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_2394_1.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.2394

http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_3256_1.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3256
You'll have an extra driver but don't worry, you can use it in the DIY taillight.:D

http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_1776_1_small.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_1776_4_small.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1776

Build a Pond Scum, you won't be dissappointed. Be sure to overvolt to 14.4V's to get maximum light ouptut.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=245737

Bar Mounted
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/finished1.jpg

Helmet mounted
http://gallery.mtbr.com/data/mtbr/500/Pond_Scum_helmet_mounted.jpg

Build a Pond Scum, you won't be dissappointed. Be sure to overvolt to 14.4V's to get maximum light ouptut.



And/or a set of Retinal Burners (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=368772). Get more than one lamp and make sure you have one mounted on your head. And don't mess around with only 12V...get the extra 2 cells;)

When riding off-road at night, make sure that you are on trails you know. Ride with only a little light on up hills and save the burners for downhill. It's also a good idea to know how long your batteries will last before you go getting 20 miles away from civilization.

The main reason you should have more than one light is if something goes wrong but it's also wise to carry an LED back up flashlight. It is absolutely no fun stumbling around in the dark, in the woods, in the middle of the night without a light. Been there done that.:rolleyes:

Here's a quick list of pros and cons off the top of my head and speaking strictly from my experience. Hope it helps.

DIY Halogen Pros:
-Most lumens per buck period
-Excellent quality of light (ie colour temperature for discerning details)
-Cheap bulbs, lots of selection for beam angles (online anyway not so much at home depot).
-Simple and reliable.

DIY Halogen Cons:
-Short Run time...(this is the killer for most people considering Halogen despite all the pros)
-Batteries/Chargers are expensive.... or heavy and bulky.

DIY LED Pros
-Fairly bright, starting to come close to Halogen
-Less power consumed/longer runtime
-Cheaper lighter batteries

DIY LED Cons
-Lower quality of light (tends to be bluish/higher colour temp, less useful for discerning detail)
-Higher level of electronics understanding required.
-Heat sinking requirements

Proffesional lights Pros
-Small and light
-Easy to install, ready to go out of the box

Proffesional light Cons
-Expensive! They're manufactured for a small market.
-Possibly not as much light as a DIY set up. Certainly less than 2x20W overvolted Halogens....

Pig_Chaser - Very nicely said. Only one thing I can think of adding -

Professional light Cons
- most professional LED lights are using LED's that are about a year behind what is the latest and the greatest.

right now the diy halogens seem more attractive. I can build a test rig for like 5$ just to see what to expect and see if I want to focus more on this. Battery is still unknown. A buddy of mine can supply me with very small 12v led acid batteries (unknown amp hours until I go over and check but free!!!), Also I have access to small selection of left over laptop lion 4000+ 10.5 and 14.4v packs. If the lighting turns out very clear and bright with the halogens, I will try and focus on power supply. If that fails I will move on to diy leds.

I plan to get some kind of head light mounted on my bike that will give me enough visability to ride in the woods at night. I dont know what kind of light setup would be best. I saw a three led cateye and a single led cateye at the store. Also I am interested in the DIY halogen 12v 20W setup. Can anyone give me pros on cons of these type of setups please ?

I have 3 bike lights:
1- NiteRider Digital Evolution 5/10/15 watt settings (this was my first bike light; I picked it up marked down from $239 to $30 at an REI Garage Sale, too good to pass up!)
2- Fenix L2D Premium Q5 (cost = approx. $60 w/S/H)
3- DiNotte 200L (cost = sale price of $100 through DiNotte without batteries or charger - takes AA batteries - plus S/H)

I have done a lot of night riding on very technical singletrack (if you're in the Pacific Northwest: Tapeworm, Skookum Flats, Banner Forest, Lake Sawyer, and Capitol Forest), all with the NiteRider, mostly at the 10 watt setting (before I got #2 and #3 above). The Fenix and DiNotte are both noticeably brighter than the NiteRider's 15 watt setting. I'm currently on a hiatus from mountain biking due to time constraints: I'm stuck on the road for now. When I do more night single-track riding in the future, I'll use the Fenix on the helmet/DiNotte on the bar setup.

For any but the fastest downhill singletrack (anything less than 15- 20 mph, which most night riding is), one Fenix on a helmet would suffice.
Good luck!

Pig_Chaser - Very nicely said. Only one thing I can think of adding -

Professional light Cons
- most professional LED lights are using LED's that are about a year behind what is the latest and the greatest.

True, but some of these lights can be retrofitted with newer emitters as they become available. I spent 20$ and roughly doubled the amount of light coming from my lights - if even better emitters come along, I could easily do it again.

True, but some of these lights can be retrofitted with newer emitters as they become available. I spent 20$ and roughly doubled the amount of light coming from my lights - if even better emitters come along, I could easily do it again.
The latest offering from SSC.
http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_11809_1.jpg
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11809
SSC P7 W724C0-BSYPI 3.6V~4.2V 12W LED Emitter (Bare) 570~740 lumen's in a single emitter package.:eek:
These will be replacing those mercury filled curly Q lights in your house very soon.:D
I can't wait for compatible optics so I can use it on my bike and for my motorcycle headlight.

DIY LED Pros
-Fairly bright, starting to come close to Halogen
-Less power consumed/longer runtime
-Cheaper lighter batteries

DIY LED Cons
-Lower quality of light (tends to be bluish/higher colour temp, less useful for discerning detail)
-Higher level of electronics understanding required.
-Heat sinking requirements
6 months ago the above statements were true. LED technology is progressing rapidly.
New LED's are now brighter than halogen and the color is closer to a pure white.

Fenix L2D is great, but the form factor is long which means I bump it a lot when not thinking about it and there isn't a ton of side-spill to see around with. I am definitely thinking about trying to break one apart into a separate battery pack, cause that would just about make it perfect. Plus they are cheap and use standard rechargeable AAs, so you can always find a replacement battery when needed. I regret not buying two or three of them.

That's quite odd. How do you have the light mounted? I have never had a problem bumping into mine mounted on my bars with a Two Fish mount.

I just got back from the local electronics shop they sell the mr16's 20watt for 1.99$ canadian!!! unfortunately they have no sockets... I found for 9.99$ a fully enclosed metal type fixture that comes with a 55watt halogen bulb and the wire/tab outside ready for any power source. The thing is, it took just the bulb, not like the mr16's which have there own housing and different sized pins. Are there any kind of bulbs I can get for this kind of fixture that might be just as good as a mr16 ?

I just got back from the local electronics shop they sell the mr16's 20watt for 1.99$ canadian!!! unfortunately they have no sockets... I found for 9.99$ a fully enclosed metal type fixture that comes with a 55watt halogen bulb and the wire/tab outside ready for any power source. The thing is, it took just the bulb, not like the mr16's which have there own housing and different sized pins. Are there any kind of bulbs I can get for this kind of fixture that might be just as good as a mr16 ?
For reasons beyond me to fully understand the only way to get a socket compatible with the MR-16 bulbs is to purchase the entire fixture and remove the socket from it.:( I've looked very hard in the past when I was playing around with halogen lights to find a source for MR-16 sockets to no avail. I've progressed past halogen so I'm not to worried about that stuff now. LED's are so much easier. Here is a view of a headlight I built using two SSC Z-power LED's , a 15X30 degree lens, a 10 degree lens, mounted in a standard outdoor aluminum electrical outlet box. The entire box is working as a heat sink so overheating is never a problem. Once the cover with clear plastic is mounted it's totally waterproof. I'm powering it with a dynamo so no batteries are required or wanted. Lumen output at 7 MPH and faster is 240 so it's roughly equivalent to a 10-watt halogen bulb but with 85% efficient optics light output appears brighter than a 15-watt MR-16 halogen bulb.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/light.jpg

http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/tourlight.jpg

Excellent idea, using the outlet box and recepticle cover.
I imagine a person could fit some AA batteries in there as well.

For reasons beyond me to fully understand the only way to get a socket compatible with the MR-16 bulbs is to purchase the entire fixture and remove the socket from it.:( I've looked very hard in the past when I was playing around with halogen lights to find a source for MR-16 sockets to no avail.

Sockets for halogen is readily available from Battery Space (http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2070). A Google search for MR16 sockets pulls up about 41,000 hits, too.


I've progressed past halogen so I'm not to worried about that stuff now. LED's are so much easier. Here is a view of a headlight I built using two SSC Z-power LED's , a 15X30 degree lens, a 10 degree lens, mounted in a standard outdoor aluminum electrical outlet box. The entire box is working as a heat sink so overheating is never a problem. Once the cover with clear plastic is mounted it's totally waterproof. I'm powering it with a dynamo so no batteries are required or wanted. Lumen output at 7 MPH and faster is 240 so it's roughly equivalent to a 10-watt halogen bulb but with 85% efficient optics light output appears brighter than a 15-watt MR-16 halogen bulb.



I not sure I agree with the statement that LEDs are easier. At it's simplest, halogen requires a battery, a wire and a bulb. You can go more complicated with connectors and a switch but you don't anything more than that. LED requires more circuitry and added optics to get it up and running.

LED is simple. Here's what you need for major components.

LED
Led lens
driver
simple switch/potentiometer
battery

That's it. Not only that, dimming is easier, there's a much need highly visible flashing mode, 200 lumens flashing at 10 hertz is ridiculously bright, and much more noticeable than a 700 lumen steady light, you just can't miss it.

Overall, it's much more portable, transferable, and lighter (think 4 AAs battery plus 100 grams for the light).

I'm dumping the battery system to trails on later on this year, I'm planning to use dynamo hubs exclusively for road, if the project LED lumens comes out later this year, you can probably get 700 lumens at 10 miles an hour.

Kind of a cool little article... good place to start I suppose.

http://www.bikemag.com/gear/accessories/LED_Light_Test_1/index.html

LED is simple. Here's what you need for major components.

LED
Led lens
driver
simple switch/potentiometer
battery

You are forgetting the heat sink. And which driver? How do you choose? What does the driver do? Any other things you have to take into consideration for the LED to work? I've looked at what schematics I can find that and there's a whole lot more to them than a lamp, a battery and a wire. I'm not an electronics guy and the whole schemer looks very complicated.


That's it. Not only that, dimming is easier, there's a much need highly visible flashing mode, 200 lumens flashing at 10 hertz is ridiculously bright, and much more noticeable than a 700 lumen steady light, you just can't miss it.

I have never understood the need for dimming of lights. I've never needed dimmer lights...if anything I want brighter! That's why I ride with 3 lamps putting out 1600 lumens...each! The only weapon I have at night on a bike is my lights and I'm already carrying a knife into a gunfight, why would I trade my knife for a rock?

As for the whole flashing thing, I've never understood the need. I'd much rather have a steady lamp that gives me good illumination of the road so that I can see hazards before I run into them. If I need to get a driver's attention, I have a very powerful (we're talking 100 m or more of throw) helmet light that gets far more attention than 200 lm of flashing light. Just riding down the road, my helmet light is moving all over the road.


Overall, it's much more portable, transferable, and lighter (think 4 AAs battery plus 100 grams for the light).

Personally, I don't care about lightness of the unit. I care much more about illumination, i.e. light output. My system may not be as light as an LED but I can throw down much more light than any LED (or even HID) system currently made...commercial or DIY. I also have enough run time for what I need it to do. If I were doing rides that lasted longer than my current capacity (around 2.5 hour), I might consider LED. Or I could just carry a larger capacity battery.

Transferability is a function of the mounts you use. Some DIY LED systems don't look too transferable to me. Some DIY halogen systems can, and are, transfer from bike-to-bike in seconds. Personally, I wouldn't have a system that couldn't be easily transfered.

LED is simple. Here's what you need for major components.

LED
Led lens
driver
simple switch/potentiometer
battery

That's it. Not only that, dimming is easier, there's a much need highly visible flashing mode, 200 lumens flashing at 10 hertz is ridiculously bright, and much more noticeable than a 700 lumen steady light, you just can't miss it.

Overall, it's much more portable, transferable, and lighter (think 4 AAs battery plus 100 grams for the light).

I'm dumping the battery system to trails on later on this year, I'm planning to use dynamo hubs exclusively for road, if the project LED lumens comes out later this year, you can probably get 700 lumens at 10 miles an hour.
It's gets even simpler when your driving high power LED's with any standard 6 volt
3 watt bicycle dynamo. This is the circuit I use on my touring bike with a tire driven bottle type dynamo.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/DynamoUSB.jpg
I only show one high power LED in the headlight circuit just to keep everything as simple as possible. Here is a site showing many dynamo driven LED circuits utilizing up to 6 high power LED's driven from a single dynamo. http://www.pilom.com/BicycleElectronics/DynamoCircuits.htm
When I am on a tour I take along a GPS unit and use the dynamo to keep it recharged. Here is a description of the circuit.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=390107

You are forgetting the heat sink. And which driver? How do you choose? What does the driver do? Any other things you have to take into consideration for the LED to work? I've looked at what schematics I can find that and there's a whole lot more to them than a lamp, a battery and a wire. I'm not an electronics guy and the whole schemer looks very complicated.

LED technology is overwhelming to those without any experience in electronics. I can understand that.


I have never understood the need for dimming of lights. I've never needed dimmer lights...if anything I want brighter! That's why I ride with 3 lamps putting out 1600 lumens...each! The only weapon I have at night on a bike is my lights and I'm already carrying a knife into a gunfight, why would I trade my knife for a rock?

As for the whole flashing thing, I've never understood the need. I'd much rather have a steady lamp that gives me good illumination of the road so that I can see hazards before I run into them. If I need to get a driver's attention, I have a very powerful (we're talking 100 m or more of throw) helmet light that gets far more attention than 200 lm of flashing light. Just riding down the road, my helmet light is moving all over the road.

I personally find anything over 1000 lumens an overkill, and yes, I have used a 1000 lumens worth of pure white LED beams on the road. The colour is much whiter than car's HID lamp. Dimming is an option I prefer because one, there are times where I actually don't want that much light on the road, we're talking <300 lumens.


Personally, I don't care about lightness of the unit. I care much more about illumination, i.e. light output. My system may not be as light as an LED but I can throw down much more light than any LED (or even HID) system currently made...commercial or DIY. I also have enough run time for what I need it to do. If I were doing rides that lasted longer than my current capacity (around 2.5 hour), I might consider LED. Or I could just carry a larger capacity battery.

Transferability is a function of the mounts you use. Some DIY LED systems don't look too transferable to me. Some DIY halogen systems can, and are, transfer from bike-to-bike in seconds. Personally, I wouldn't have a system that couldn't be easily transfered.

Lightness to me is also a moot point, a lot of commerical and DIY LED systems are not very transferable, it's transferable depending on how you make the system, most of the DIY LED has such poor mounting system, it's almost laughable (no offense to those with crappy mounts). Another issue is, I dislike using large amount of batteries, and I like my batteries (AA) to be transferable to any electronics in the household. Thus, no use of proprietary battery for a specific purpose. I have ridden 5 hours at night, it's nice to have a dimming option to conserve battery so I don't have to carry one all the time. You can certainly argue I don't have to worry about conserving battery if I brought a bigger battery along instead, leaving the light on at full power is overkill, I prefer to dim my lights because I don't need the full 700 lumens. Most of the road I ride on are empty and dark at 2:00am, IMO there is no need for 1000 lumens.


It's gets even simpler when your driving high power LED's with any standard 6 volt
3 watt bicycle dynamo. This is the circuit I use on my touring bike with a tire driven bottle type dynamo.
I only show one high power LED in the headlight circuit just to keep everything as simple as possible. Here is a site showing many dynamo driven LED circuits utilizing up to 6 high power LED's driven from a single dynamo. http://www.pilom.com/BicycleElectronics/DynamoCircuits.htm
When I am on a tour I take along a GPS unit and use the dynamo to keep it recharged. Here is a description of the circuit.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=390107

I'm planning to use circuit #10, I didn't want the autoswitching as I like to control the light output instead of having the brightest mode all the time. No, I'm not planning to use 6, that's an overkill with Seoul P4s. 4 is enough. Tire driven is not going to cut it here, most of the time it's wet.

LED technology is overwhelming to those without any experience in electronics. I can understand that.

See n4zou post below. I could make more sense out of Egyptian hieroglyphics:rolleyes:



I personally find anything over 1000 lumens an overkill, and yes, I have used a 1000 lumens worth of pure white LED beams on the road. The colour is much whiter than car's HID lamp. Dimming is an option I prefer because one, there are times where I actually don't want that much light on the road, we're talking <300 lumens.

Although stringing together enough of any lamp to make 1000 lm still gives the same amount of light, the quality of 1000 lm from 5 sources isn't the same as 1000 lm (or 1600) from a single source. The amount of light that you use is a personal choice. I ride mostly urban settings and I need something that is impolite, brash and eye catching. If a driver looks at me and wonders what that thing is when I'm 500 m off, I figure the lights have done their job.



I'm planning to use circuit #10, I didn't want the autoswitching as I like to control the light output instead of having the brightest mode all the time. No, I'm not planning to use 6, that's an overkill with Seoul P4s. 4 is enough. Tire driven is not going to cut it here, most of the time it's wet.

Huh:eek:

A prime example of why I don't think LED is a simple as you say;)

It's gets even simpler when your driving high power LED's with any standard 6 volt
3 watt bicycle dynamo. This is the circuit I use on my touring bike with a tire driven bottle type dynamo.

I only show one high power LED in the headlight circuit just to keep everything as simple as possible. Here is a site showing many dynamo driven LED circuits utilizing up to 6 high power LED's driven from a single dynamo. http://www.pilom.com/BicycleElectronics/DynamoCircuits.htm
When I am on a tour I take along a GPS unit and use the dynamo to keep it recharged. Here is a description of the circuit.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=390107

That's simple?! Your description of it is even less so. Guys, I work in chemistry...specifically with these kinds of compounds:

http://chemistry.umeche.maine.edu/Fort/Gosta-Lignin.gif

http://chemistry.umeche.maine.edu/Fort/Cellulose2.gif

http://chemistry.umeche.maine.edu/CHY431/Hemicell2.gif

http://chemistry.umeche.maine.edu/CHY431/Hemicell3.gif

These are the most abundant chemical compounds you can find on earth. They are the basic building blocks for every plant on the planet. They are the chemist equivalent of your schematics and are reasonably easy to understand...if you have the knowledge and training necessary to understand them. But, as simple as they may be to me or any other chemist, I would never say they are simple to anyone else.

I know that your electronics may seem simple to you but don't assume that they are simple to those of us untrained in the art. If you continue to insist that it's simple, I'll have to come back and explain the acid cleavage of the β-O-4 linkage between primary lignin subunits or the activation of the primary hydroxyl unit in cellulose to nucleophilic attack by isocyanate derivative in the carbanilation of cellulose for molecular weight determinations in gel permeation chromatography and why xylan units aren't carbanilated due to the inability of the isocycantes to promote nucleophilic attack on the secondary hydroxyl units:eek::rolleyes:

Don't make me go all chemistry on ya!:D

See n4zou post below. I could make more sense out of Egyptian hieroglyphics:rolleyes:

Like I said, I understand that those who have no experience in electronic will not be able to figure that out, but that's self-designed dynamo circuit, it's an unfair comparison because nobody needs to build one as you can easily buy one for $4 from DX for battery powered LED lights.

Connection of Halogen
Halogen bulb - switch - battery

Connection of LED
LED - driver - switch - battery

It's just one extra step to do.


Although stringing together enough of any lamp to make 1000 lm still gives the same amount of light, the quality of 1000 lm from 5 sources isn't the same as 1000 lm (or 1600) from a single source.

1000 lumens from 5 sources are not that much bigger than a halogen, if using Luxeon Rebels, the form factor can actually be smaller than a halogen. The LED n4zou pointed out in Post #13 is 900 lumens at a fraction of halogen's size.


The amount of light that you use is a personal choice. I ride mostly urban settings and I need something that is impolite, brash and eye catching. If a driver looks at me and wonders what that thing is when I'm 500 m off, I figure the lights have done their job.

The drivers here are very friendly, almost too friendly, I have no intention of pissing them off with 1600 lumens of light.



Huh:eek:

A prime example of why I don't think LED is a simple as you say;)

Most people will not venture out to build one of these, I gather most of those who have high-end dynamos are satisfied with the market offering of 200 lumen lights. Showing that site is a mistake by n4zou's part because it only scares people away from building LED lights (most people do not need dynamo as they are not doing all night rides), and most won't be using that anyways unless they have a dynamo (or thinking about getting one).

Talking about electronics to a laymen is like a doctor describing medical symptoms to a patient, you have to explain it as simply as possible.

I said it in the beginning of my post, the connection of an LED light is

LED - driver - switch - battery.

You can even forgo the regulated driver if you don't mind gradually losing light as soon as the battery is plugged in. If you have a Petzl headlamp, you'll know what I'm talking about. Then you will have this.

LED - switch - battery. I have driven two LEDs with 7.2V battery direct, no-dimming or power setting, it works.

Since you are satisfied with your setup, I see no reason in converting you. Just laying out some details for those who are scared by LEDs, because as more people invest in this technology, the faster it will grow, which is what I want. In short years to come, a 3W LED putting out 1000 lumens is certainly possible. Then cyccocommute might think about going LED. :D

I just got back from the local electronics shop they sell the mr16's 20watt for 1.99$ canadian!!! unfortunately they have no sockets... I found for 9.99$ a fully enclosed metal type fixture that comes with a 55watt halogen bulb and the wire/tab outside ready for any power source. The thing is, it took just the bulb, not like the mr16's which have there own housing and different sized pins. Are there any kind of bulbs I can get for this kind of fixture that might be just as good as a mr16 ?

Macro keep looking in hardware, auto and lighting stores, you should be able to find a MR16 or MR11 light head without too much trouble. I like MR11 for the smaller size, but the 16s are more efficient. For smooth flat trails 10-15w should be fine, tricky stuff or downhills 30w. For now choose a wattage that should give you about 1.5 times your expected runtime on whatever battery you've got.
Otherwise... I was able to get a bulb, socket and switch from the local lighting store. I went to a sports store and got a tennis ball and belt clip. Hardware store for some RTV silicone glue and wire.
This took about an hour to put together.
http://homepages.inspire.net.nz/~epiphany/Enter/Lights/Tennis2.jpg
The holder has a belt clip, which is tied to the handlebar and stem with cable ties.
http://homepages.inspire.net.nz/~epiphany/Enter/Lights/Tennis1.jpg

Ok , I'll admit that I am nearly complete clueless around electronics of any sort, and if any solder is required, I'm completely incapable of rising to the occasion despite how ludicrously simple the project may be. I don't even know what aisle of the store to go to get this stuff! I'm impressed by all you DIYers, and think you all do some crazy bang-up jobs with your powerful (and often nutty) lights.

I do, however, have the intelligence to buy:
1) FENIX flashlight (200 lumens) + rechargeable AA batteries
2) TwoFish lockblock velcro mounts

Steps:
Put batteries in charger. Put charged batteries in FENIX. Velcro to bike with lockblocks. Ride for 2 hrs, then change batts if necessary.

I've been loving this solution for the more technically challenged. =) But rock on you crazy halogen/LED DIYers! (That tennis ball solution is neat looking - did you at least spot for a new tennis ball, or you dug an old used one up?!)

I've been loving this solution for the more technically challenged. =) But rock on you crazy halogen/LED DIYers! (That tennis ball solution is neat looking - did you at least spot for a new tennis ball, or you dug an old used one up?!)
Agarose I would argue your fenix solution (the arch rival of DIY lighters) while bright is the second least fun solution (the least fun is "ride during the daytime"). :D
Also the flashlights use reflectors and tend to have beams with a very bright hotspot, ideal for a hand held flashlight but on a bike you want something wider, especially off road.

I splashed out on THREE balls, huge expense. I made a 20w and a 12w lighthead so I could choose as needed. You could use a connector strip so avoid that scary soldering iron. :eek:

Macro keep looking in hardware, auto and lighting stores, you should be able to find a MR16 or MR11 light head without too much trouble. I like MR11 for the smaller size, but the 16s are more efficient. For smooth flat trails 10-15w should be fine, tricky stuff or downhills 30w. For now choose a wattage that should give you about 1.5 times your expected runtime on whatever battery you've got.
Otherwise... I was able to get a bulb, socket and switch from the local lighting store. I went to a sports store and got a tennis ball and belt clip. Hardware store for some RTV silicone glue and wire.
This took about an hour to put together.

Wow. I just got my MR16 up and running without overvolting and it got REALLY hot. I'm really not sure I'd stick one inside of something soft and fuzzy...

Had no problem with heat, the rubber and RTV withstand it well. Been retired from bike service, last used as as and outside light around the BBQ, 2hrs at 20w no problems. The ball is always ok to touch.
Remember the point of over volting a halogen is to get it hotter, in theory the rubber ball insulates the bulb so is more efficient than a metal housing.

To add some fuel to the LED / Halogen discussion - there is no comparison in terms of simplicity. A halogen DIY rig is simply a bulb, some wires and batteries. Most people will opt for an inline switch for usage simplicity.

With LEDs you're looking at the LED(s), some wires and batteries. And some form of current limitation - ranging from a simple resistor (this is what's in those blinky on/off lights in consumer electronics) to a fairly complex circuit involving at least a half dozen components when you get into what people are using here.

Sadly none of this is directly related to the OP - to that question, I'd say go with the DIY halogen if you want to get the most bang for your buck. Basic soldering, commonly available parts and a little creativity can get you up and running with a 14v halogen light in an evening.
Commercial LED systems are attractive for their size and simplicity but I've found that the light quality available from a similarly priced system (as the DIY) is inadequate in the woods. I tried.

With LEDs you're looking at the LED(s), some wires and batteries. And some form of current limitation - ranging from a simple resistor (this is what's in those blinky on/off lights in consumer electronics) to a fairly complex circuit involving at least a half dozen components when you get into what people are using here.


This is not a complex circuit, it's $4 shipped. 5-mode regulator from dealextreme. LED - this driver - switch - battery. It's just one extra step more compared to the halogen setup.


http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_6190_1.jpg

Basic Electricity and Electronics is not really that complicated. When I joined the Navy I was a Machinist and Mechanic with no electrical background at all. When I got out of boot camp I was sent to San Diego where my first school was to be BE&E, Basic Electricity and Electronics. My immediate reaction was !:eek:!.
I went to the Chief and asked how in the world did I get put into electronics when I am a Machinist/Mechanic? He got me calmed down and told me that it was common for the Navy to take people and cross train them and I was lucky to have this opportunity. He was correct. My training was taken directly from The Navy Electricity and Electronics Training Series (NEETS). The material consists of self training modules. This allows a person the ability to get training in another field with faster promotions in rank and pay. These modules are available to anyone for free! Just download the first module and start training yourself in Basic Electricity and Electronics. They start assuming that you know nothing about electricity and electronics at all. You can stop at any point in the training you like. More modules you complete the more technical they become. Just a couple of modules would make anyone an expert in LED lighting. So where do you get this free Basic Electricity and Electronics training? Right here!
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm

I love this thread... who woulda thought that Halogen vs. LED would be so controversial!

I love this thread... who woulda thought that Halogen vs. LED would be so controversial!
Just stirring the pot...
LED are now at HID performance levels, people still say "halogen are brighter than LED" yet you never hear people say "halogen are brighter than HID".
:)

Just stirring the pot...
LED are now at HID performance levels, people still say "halogen are brighter than LED" yet you never hear people say "halogen are brighter than HID".
:)

I will:D

I will:D

Let me rephrase...
You never hear MORE THAN ONE PERSON say "Halogen are brighter than HID"
:p

The current problem with LEDs is they are much less efficient at higher currents. So although people quote 100lm/w for a R2 cree in fact when you push 1A through it you are only getting 70. Plus an optc and an exit window ... not so flash anymore.

The SSC P7 and whatever cree are about to release, multi LEDs in one package, should see a 50% jump in real world lumens per watt(quoting 90lm/w at 900lm, might be 115lm/w at 500lm!). So we might see single LED lights with enough lumens for everyone (except for cyccommute of course) and very good run times. And just maybe we will see no more arguing, but I doubt it. :rolleyes:

Macro: go diy with halogen. it'll work fine. parts are from home depot. and it's fun. altho leds are the way of the future, they are not yet packaged for the consumer. i have looked long and hard to find a simple plug in mr16 led. they are available, but expensive. i used 20watt last year on the trails in pitch black. i found them too bright as they created shadows that were dark. this year (very soon) i'll be using 10watts mr11. i too have a source of castoff laptop li-ion batteries. stick them in a old water bottle and get out there.

i can hardly wait for leds to become more available fully wired and in a reflector with lens. i would switch in a second if i could get one for 6 or 7 dollars.

Let me rephrase...
You never hear MORE THAN ONE PERSON say "Halogen are brighter than HID"
:p

The current problem with LEDs is they are much less efficient at higher currents. So although people quote 100lm/w for a R2 cree in fact when you push 1A through it you are only getting 70. Plus an optc and an exit window ... not so flash anymore.

The SSC P7 and whatever cree are about to release, multi LEDs in one package, should see a 50% jump in real world lumens per watt(quoting 90lm/w at 900lm, might be 115lm/w at 500lm!). So we might see single LED lights with enough lumens for everyone (except for cyccommute of course) and very good run times. And just maybe we will see no more arguing, but I doubt it. :rolleyes:

I'm not against LED...or HID, for that matter. However, I view the technology as too much in a state of flux to go sinking too much money into it right now. It's analogous to the full suspension phase of mountain biking. You can waste a lot of money being someone's test pilot or you can wait until things settle down a bit before investing your hard earned wealth. I'll wait, thanks;) I figure that commercial systems are about 5 years away from something that is good and won't radically change next year. DIY is probably 3 years away from the same.

One of the reasons I never made the shift to HID was cost. I refuse to spend hundreds of dollars for a light system when I can get nearly as good (MR11 bulbs overvolted) for tens of dollars. As a recent (this year) convert to MR16, I'm simply astounded by the light output of these bulbs when overvolted. For what I would have to spend for a single HID lamp system, I can get something that throws nearly 7 times the light. Since I believe in the 'more is better' approach to lighting, I'm hard pressed to go backwards. When LED's get to 1600 lm output from a single source, I'll consider them. ;)

i can hardly wait for leds to become more available fully wired and in a reflector with lens. i would switch in a second if i could get one for 6 or 7 dollars.
Here is a plug-in and go LED MR-16 3-watt 12 VDC light but it is about twice what your willing to pay but they are available.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5794
http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_5794_1.jpg

I like to bring this in for the LED-Halogen-HID debate.

6000 lumens.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/bubbles_mr/epic10_800.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/bubbles_mr/epic4_800.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p202/bubbles_mr/800_HB_steady__LB_steady.jpg

I use an MR16 20W on the bar and a drop in CREE P2 on my head and the combo works pretty well. I would like to go all LED to get the efficiency, but I have to admit that with all of the offerings it's a very confusing realm to dive in to. It's not that I can't figure it out, it's just that there's so many choices that I just haven't felt like taking the time yet to figure it all out.

Btw, it's optics, led, heatsink, driver, switch, battery for those of you that are actually paying attention....

I did my head light using this drop in upgrade module and it is indeed as easy as using a halogen and I highly recommend this unit. It has a bit of a hot spot but there is plenty of useable spill to help out. I don't see this as a primary light, but as a headlight its hard to beat.

http://www.ovrrdrive.made2own.com/uploader/files/2/cree_1.jpg
http://www.ovrrdrive.made2own.com/uploader/files/2/cree_2.jpg
http://www.ovrrdrive.made2own.com/uploader/files/2/cree_3.jpg

Cheap at DE too...

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6090

I just picked up 2 mr16 sockets from the local lighting store. On my way home I will stop by the electronics store and pickup the mr16 bulb. As for housing. I wish I can find some small fog light case for cheap. I guess I will go the pvc route. I will start off using my 12v led acid cell. But for sure in the end I will got NiMH

I went to Home depot and another depot store near me and had no realy luck finding plumbing to fit the mr16 bulb. What I did find at the home depot was a rubber pipe with two clamps, one on each end. I put the bulb in on one side, and a plumbing plug in on the other. I wonder if that rubber pipe can wistand the heat from an overvolted halogen. Here are pics of my find. I did not purchase cause I already made a wasted 9.99$ purchase on a halogen fog light where the housing is sealed and I cannot fit a mr16 inside. Anyways, I am just wanting anyones input on this. It does kind of look cool, and very simplistic.


69945

69946

I say try it.
My tennis balls had no heat problems. You wont know until you try.
Tell people you carefully chose a rubber mount to protect the filament from shock and extend bulb life. :D

I went to Home depot and another depot store near me and had no realy luck finding plumbing to fit the mr16 bulb. What I did find at the home depot was a rubber pipe with two clamps, one on each end. I put the bulb in on one side, and a plumbing plug in on the other. I wonder if that rubber pipe can wistand the heat from an overvolted halogen. Here are pics of my find. I did not purchase cause I already made a wasted 9.99$ purchase on a halogen fog light where the housing is sealed and I cannot fit a mr16 inside. Anyways, I am just wanting anyones input on this. It does kind of look cool, and very simplistic.




The rubber will probably hold up, at least for a while. If it doesnt' or if you don't need water proof lamps, check the pin hole lamps in the track lighting section. They may even have some outdoor stuff.

Happy hunting.

I was really busy lately, so I didn't have much time to continue building the light. I saw on sale the schwinn halogen head light and led tail light combo for sale, so I got it. I didnt care if the head light sucked cause I got it for the tail light. So, after testing it out a few times, I realized that this light does absolutely nothing. I can barely make out whats 2 feet in front of the tire, which gives me absolutely no time to react. I successfully hit 2 nice pot holes thanks to this amaizing light. At least it seems to ward off cars. Anyways, last night I finally finished drilling holes and installing the switch, soldering all wires on my mr16 light. I used a test .8amp led acid battery. OMG OMG OMG!!!! mr16 at 12V is so bright, im so curious to see it at 14.4. I lit up the whole side of my friends backyard all the way down to his neighbors shed. I cannot even imagine adding more. I will have to test in real nighttime forest conditions, but so far I cannot believe the amount of light this bulb outputs. (FYI I only used the schwinn halogen for evening runs in the city and parks, I just could not get any further then 5 feet into the woods with that thing)

I just came back 5 minutes ago from a nighttime forrest ride and I had this planet bike 3 led light (http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Bike-Beamer-Bicycle-Bracket/dp/B000HU11ZG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1210916377&sr=8-3) and apart from the terrible mounting bracket which kept slipping down whenever I hit a bump I realized that one light is not enough. If I had two of these, one mounted on each side of my handlebar, that would be sufficient for seeing the trail. As it was, I had it on the right side and had trouble seeing what was on the left side unless I turned my bike to the left. So, personally, I recommend getting two of those, or maybe slightly brighter lights. But definitely if you are gonna go for the handlebar route and not the helmet light (which I might have to try) get two lights, one for each side... my 2 cents
:edit: upon further thought, I think a brighter light would be advisable.