Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Retrofitting existing lights with LED bulbs.

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nwmtnbkr
09-25-09, 06:52 PM
Now that there are more LED bulbs with a wide variety of bases available, has anyone here retrofitted their old bike lights with LED bulbs and are you continuing to use them? I have 2 nice H/L lights with incandescent bulbs. (I've also added a third, LED light to my handlebars, which I've got aimed down to the road.) I've found some LED bulbs with the appropriate base, 100 Lumens and 110 degree beam pattern and am planning on retrofitting my lights so that all 3 front lights are LED, granted, the retrofits will never be as bright as the newer light that has about 20 LEDs, but then I don't want to blind and annoy others on the road.. Anyone else going this route?

n4zou
09-26-09, 07:33 AM
Reflectors used for incandescent bulbs are not suitable for use with LED's. It would be better to purchase a new LED light. 100 Lumen is not very bright in comparison to the new LED lights. You may even spend more attempting to upgrade your current incandescent lights with LED's resulting in poor light patterns and lower Lumen output. The new Magicshine is rated at 900 lumen on high and 500 Lumen on low and has a very good beam pattern. Run time is very good as well and comes with rechargeable battery pack.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.25149
nwmtnbkr
09-26-09, 10:28 AM
n4zou,

I don't want the two lights that I'm retrofitting to have huge Lumens out put--I'm not trying to blind drivers. The LED light that I have mounted between my two older lights has a high Lumens rating and I have it aimed downward toward the road. FYI, these bulbs are not CRE-styled, but actually made to be used as a retrofit in existing flashlights, using the original reflectors. I'm tired of our throw away culture and will go ahead with my retrofit, which also is going to only be 1/4th the cost of the Magicshine.

MarvelousMark
09-26-09, 11:02 AM
Haven't gone that route, but the only thing to watch out for is heat. The LEDs run hotter, so make sure that your housing and wires can handle the extra heat.
seeker333
09-26-09, 11:23 AM
This guy has already done all the hard work for you. His P7 light kits are simple and well designed with quality unmatched by most things you could buy from a Chinese maker. The beam output from his reflector (a reworked Marwi/Performance reflector) appears to be superior to the Magicshine based on pics.

http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/catalog/PartsLed.htm

He posts regularly here:

http://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=124&daysprune=-1&order=desc&sort=lastpost&pp=50&page=1