Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - led bar lamp + led headlamp not enough need help.

So I recently got in a bad accident due to poor lighting. I was running a blackburn quadrant + a 4 led head lamp. I need something more. I like the amount of light and color from the nightrider trinewt but I don't want to have to use a separate rechargeable battery pack. I could use one if it was small enough to mount on the handlebar with a really short cable. I don't ride for long periods at night generally maybe an hour at most round trip. I'm OK with some sort of DIY setup as long as it doesn't look super ghetto. any advice?

The FENIX L2D (2 x AAs) with rechargeable batts (use 2000+mA) would suit you perfectly. Get one with a lockblock for $55ish, and you'll be good to go with no regrets. Get 2, and you'll be able to take on anything. Search some recent posts for the FENIX, and you'll be convinced. About 2hrs of runtime, and no overheating issues whatsoever. Bulletproof, and compact, with no wires. Dang.

Sounds great. I'll look into it. Thanks for the tip. hopefully no more of this... https://filebox.vt.edu/users/soneill/copyDSCN1119.JPG

I also wear my helmet now. And not just when I go mountain biking.

Ouch. That's actually a crummy looking suture job as well - although in honesty, one would be hesitant to suture that thing if it had crud in it. Looks like an orbital hematoma as well - ouch!

Get some LIGHTS! (and rest.)

Wow... That was a terrible accident.

I run a nice bright LED on my head (CREE drop in) and an overvolted MR16 20 watt flood on the bars and I see pretty good. If you get the Optronix housings (I think walmart is the best place now) it doesn't look that ghetto at all. You do need a seperate battery pack though...

If you want to keep it on the bars the fenix is probably the way to go with some rechargeable batteries...

Here you go.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11119

http://www.dealextreme.com/productimages/sku_11119_1.jpg

This flashlight is very bright and has three modes, high, low, and flash. Has a descent run time considering the exceptionally bright light produced in high mode. You can save money on batteries running in low power mode, Strobe mode will get you noticed by everyone. Battery's are internal so no wires or external battery packs required. Uses three different types of batteries including AAA. Moderate cost when compared to other CREE lights. Here is a photo of a flashlight mounted on handlebars using an EMT conduit hanger available in building supply and hardware stores for less than a $1 and an old blinkie clamp. The CREE light is more than three times brighter than the flashlight shown below.
http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r154/n4zou/mounted.jpg
Note the blinkie in addition to the flashlight as a be seen and emergency backup light.

I just replaced all my other lights with two of these:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9634

held on the bike with these

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.8274

and powered by these

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5790

which are recharged by this

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.6105

for a total of around $75 for everthing, and I couldn't be happier. These lights are so freakin' bright you won't believe it, and they're much smaller and lighter than you'd think. The batteries hold more power than my five-pound SLA did, and there's no wires to run. My commute is about a half-hour each way, and I recharge the batteries weekly.

With two lights, I can put a spot on the road ten or fifteen feet in front of me, and aim the other light further up for a longer streak of light up the road. Or I can use one light on high mode to see the road and the other one flashing so cars can see me. You have to see it to believe it, but strobe on this baby is so bright that every reflective surface within half a mile in front of you lights up: it looks like the WORLD has started vibrating. If a cager hits me from anywhere to the front of me, it'll be because he WANTS me dead.

And hey, I can always grab one off the bike for, well, anything else you'd use a flashlight for. It's easy as pie to clip the flashlights into or pull them out of the rubber mounts, but they're secure enough when riding. If I were a mountain biker I might throw a velcro loop over the top gap, though, and night trail riders will probably also want to diffuse the beam somehow, as it's a pretty tight spot as is. I'm planning to order one or two lenses with diffusing film from this place

http://www.flashlightlens.com/str/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=ucl_lens

and I'll let y'all know how I like it. I've ridden a few weeks with the stock lenses, and the only time I feel like I need more light spill is on dark bike paths: I'd like to know when a raccoon or a nutria is about to waddle out in front of me. On city streets, I like 'em fine the way they are.

Bottom line: I'm never going back to bike lights. The latest generation of power-LED flashlights beats anything I've seen made for bikes on price AND performance, by a LONG way.