Bicycle Mechanics - Building me own light

Hi I am building a halogen light setup for myself for riding in the dark (duh...lol) and have some bits and peices but I need to know how to attatch 'em to the bike.

I have an old light switch that i can use to mount thelight to, but I need a shade around the light to stop blinding anything to the side (its 20watt) and i was thinking a bit of pipe maybe?

I have attached pictures.

Regards,
Brendon

what's the power source?

plastic pipe might work. I would cut the piece of plastic that holds the bulb down some as well.

or you could use some plastic from a plastic jug. something like a laundry detergent bottle. they should hold light back well enough and you should be able to shape it however you like.

Try this, http://www.nas.com/~petes/bikelite.htm I opted to use the two pipe clamp method. It works well. ;)

One reason to use the black housing is that these lamps "spill" lots of light out the back of the bulb reflector. The black material keeps it out of your face. I made one out of a 1 1/4 inch under the sink drain trap. The white plastic lets lots of light out the housing. BTW 20W is lots of light.

Pretty impressive. If I start riding at night, I'll be using this design for sure! Keep adding updates. :)

This looks like a audio/visual lamp. Maybe a 20mr16? What is the required operating voltage? These lamps are not very efficient to use for battery operation. They are also used for outdoor lighting . If it is an a.c. lamp it will not work for what you are intending to use it for.

Try this, http://www.nas.com/~petes/bikelite.htm I opted to use the two pipe clamp method. It works well. ;)

Hey!
This is the best thing I've seen yet! Thanks!

Here is another link http://www.audax.uk.net/lights/ This page has all kinds of links, reviews, and information. You can build a very effecent bike lamp from scratch if you don't mind them being "homade" looking. I will also let you in on a little secret, the most expensive part of most market lighting systems is the battery packs and charger. These usully count twards about 50-75% of the total cost untill you get to the HID and large LED lamps.

You can get 12 volt lamps that look just like a projector lamp. Many out door lighting setups use these lamps with a 12v converter to save on power. These lamps can even be found with a cover glass glued inplace and some 6v lamps are out there also. Many of these are used in the base of fiber optic christmas trees!

My dad is an electrician aand has helped me a little bit, we are just a bit stumped to the mounting. I'm going to read through the links, thanks. We don't want to use normal plastic pipe for the surround as it will most likely melt, according to dad!

It is a 12V DC lamp with a 10degree spread. The battery is a 12v DC 3AHour.

Will keep you all posted with pics!

Brendon

Trust me the plastic will not melt. It has to hold up to boiling water poured down a sink, now doesn't it? Mine didn't melt either! :D

Boiling water in most of the world will never be hotter than 100 degrees celcius (212 Farenheit). That's not very hot, a light bulb can start paper on fire, which is (as per the title of the book) is 451 degrees farenheit, or even higher.

I'm not suggesting that the PVC pipe will melt, only that your imperical evidence is flawed.

Have you tried spitting on a hot light bulb? much hotter than boiling point.

Nit Picked! :rolleyes:

A 20W 12V MR16 lamp with a front glass won't melt pvc pipe! ;)

Check this thread out, it might help...
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/crforum?50@1.dT80ajbJY2F.8607278@.ef73a68/25

they use that style of lamp (dichroic) in small spotlights for cars. I went halves with a mate in a set from an auto parts store, and mounted it on my helmet. I downsized the bulb to 20w as the one that came with it was a 50w. The only problem I have with it is the 1.7kg of battery on my back!

Ah, the old Kiwi ingenuity at work. Your using a household light switch? (220V) Man, go down to Dick Smith, or Mitre 10 and get a small, waterproof switch.

Keep us updated on the progress.

(How did I about that? I used to live in Chch)

uciflylow - how/where is the battery carried?

I have seen them on racks, in trunk packs on racks, in homade bags hanging from the top tube, and I used a modified waterbottle cage attached to the frame. I suppose you could, hang it from the handle bars, a back pack, behind the saddle, a front rack, in a house, with a mouse, in a box, with a fox. Woops got carried away! :p

Have an immagination people!

Your ingenuity is “shining” through on this light. You should put some together and put them on ebay.

dear NZLcyclist:

that is a easy job if you don't care of the style. Notice the groove on the bulb, you may be able to twist a wire on it and the rest of the wire you may twist on any part of your bike. put on the connector on the bulb and route the connector and linked elelctrical wire through the top tube of the bike, and finally connect to power source, connect a switch in between power and bulb. the bulb can be used as bare one, I had built similar light last year year in Texas, I did not ride in down pour rain, but the light went through light rain without any problem. by the way I used SLA 4.0 Ah battery, bought a clever charger in WalMart, and bulb from HOme Depot. the total cost of the light, arund 50$. It is brighter than some guys 200-300$ bike light. Enjoy building


Lei Lin

the bulb can be used as bare one

For me this will cause some problems, and I will be shading myself and other road users from the glare. also with some of the above designs, housing and attatching the light are together in one.

Brendon

I finally got around to making a few pictures of the one I made. It uses the drain trap I was telling you about. It has a toggle switch mounted on board, a conecter inside that makes bulb replacement easy, and pipe clamps for a mount. The bulb has a glass cover and is easy to replace just by unscrewing the end cap. This is about as cheep as you can make a good light system.

Check out "bikeclub.org", scroll down on home page to light link. The sight hasn't been updated for a while, but there are some good ideas for homegrown lighting. Good luck![FONT=Arial]