snarkypup

So, I've got everything I want for my '69 Raleigh Sports either on the bike or ordered, except one thing: a headlight. I need a great light, because I have real problems seeing even in heavy shadow, much less low light. Since I live near Seattle, it gets dark here early in the winter. I'd hate to shelve my bike for six months a year! That said, I don't want to stick the ugliest light ever on my pretty vintage bike. I don't have a dynamo hub, so this will have to be battery operated. I've seen some nice looking vintage-y headlights, but they get poor reviews for actual light, and the newer ones seem really... anachronous.

While I will need to be seen, I'll be mostly on a paved trail, so the purpose would be more to SEE the road ahead of me and avoid trash, crazed suicidal rodents, and other general hazards, than to avoid cars.

Is there a good light out there that won't look totally ridiculous on my old bike? Please don't suggest that I put an LED in an old housing, as I have zero experience with electricity and wires and such, nor do I wish to gain any. Anyone have a suggestion for an off-the-shelf light they've used and really liked, that won't look like total crap? Thanks!

mazdaspeed

Would there be a market for old looking lights with LED's retrofitted into them? I am capable of doing this... lol

wahoonc

Probably. I love my B&M Retro, but because it is a 2.4w halogen it is basically worthless with the ~1.8 watt out put from a vintage dyno hub.

To the OP. Consider a B&M retro and add a bottle generator. You will get the better quality light and still have that retro look. FWIW on my Superbe I use the stock head light (very weak BTW) and a clip on battery powered LED. I take the LED off during the day and leave it in the saddle bag.

Aaron

tatfiend 

Mazdaspeed;

I agree with Aaron. Very possibly a specialty market out there. Actually I am surprised that B&M has not come out with an LED version of their Retro light, hiding IQ Cyo optics and electronics inside it. To me that would be close to ideal.

Andrew F

Sounds like maybe it's time to start a little retro-fit cottage business. What do you think the material's cost would be for a conversion?

southpawboston

i recently did an LED conversion of an old french cibie headlight. housed inside of this casing is a cateye opticube LED. not the brightest out there, but it is good enough for all of my urban riding. the biggest challenge for me was finding an LED circuit board and battery housing small enough to fit inside this small shell. i was limited to an LED that operates on a single AA battery.







i also did a taillight LED retrofit on this old 1950s soubitez taillight:



i should add that while the cost of conversion was pretty trivial, the amount of time required to do it properly and reliably is pretty steep. you couldn't effectively recoup sustainable labor costs.

snarkypup

Heck, if someone is willing to do this for me, I'm willing to pay what I would pay for an off-the-shelf light. Anyone want to take on the challenge? I'd certainly buy one. Something bullet-y, but with reliable, strong light. That would rock.

Then yes, a clip-on LED that I could remove would be nice for additional light, but I like the look of a vintage light as well, so if I had a good vintage one, all the better. I'm not into adding thing just for the aestetics. I want them to work, too! Though that barely explains the old roads frame pump I just bought (the pump pegs kept catching my pant leg, I swear).

snarkypup

Wow, Southpaw, those are beautiful! Nicely done.

ColonelJLloyd 

^
I covet this LeJeune something awful, man. What a fantastic job you've done.

I'm restoring my '73 Sports and am on the same hunt for a suitable headlight. Preferably one that mounts to the Heron bracket on the steerer tube.

gna

I rebuilt an old teardrop Union Headlamp with a Cree Q5-WC LED, so I suppose I should update this thread. I just fixed my digital camera, so I'll try to take pictures tonight. It's very bright--my wife thinks too bright. I used a switch that I got at Axman Surplus. While there, I picked up some Luxeon 350ma emmiters off a roll that I may use on other lights.

It was a fun project, though I do not know very much about electronics. I have an old SA lamp (with yellowed glass) that is my next project.

That's why I still have my old frame pump between the pegs:

shuttervox

Here is my quasi-retro headlight setup:
(stainless steel LED flashlight and copper pipe clamp)




[k]

sauze

All I know I'd be interested in something like this for certain

southpawboston

ooh... very nice in a steampunk sort of way! love that rotating wheel bell, as well!

i made a similar mount for an LED flashlight for my wife's bike to supplement the anemic bottle generator light, but not as pretty as your mount. i used a piece of plumbing strap mounted to a piece of straight stainless steel that used to be a rear rack stay. to keep the flashlight snug and secure i slipped a piece of an inner tube over the plumber's strap, as a sleeve.

southpawboston

hey, this exact thing happened to me... i also got a frame pump from old roads as the solution!

jamesj

We need more detail photos so we can make our own.

snarkypup

I also liked Veloria's set-up on her DL-1 (see here: https://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2009/...d-vintage.html), and I suppose her set-up is totally doable. I don't know... it's still not very vintage. But it may have to do.

I wonder how well it lights up the road. I get that she wants to be seen, as do I, but I also need to see as well. Would a headlamp on my helmet solve that problem, or just make me more visable? I have a nutcase helmet, so it would be easy enough to put my headlamp on it.

People recommend all sorts of set-ups, but they rarely specify if the light is for them, or for others. I want one that works primarily for me, then as a safety measure. I'll be mostly on a trail with no cars, but lots of bumps and potholes and such, and NO streetlights.

And if someone wants to start a vintage case-modern LED business, I'm your first customer!

southpawboston

i always use a planet bike 4-LED helmet headlamp, but to be seen, not to see. it doesn't do nearly as well a dedicated headlamp. to see, you need very powerful lights. none of my headlights are really suitable for dark, unlit trails, and i doubt you could squeeze a truly powerful setup into a vintage case because of all the battery power needed... but you may come close if you go with a cree LED system... it uses very little power.

Oldpeddaller

Mount a pot-holer's (Speliologist's) head - torch on your bike helmet. I don't go caving but I bought a rechargeable (lithion ion battery) caving headlamp many years ago to use when night fishing on dark, remote beaches. The elasticated head strap fits really securely to a fishing cap and to a construction worker's hard-hat (worn when fishing under cliffs) and also on my Bell cycling helmet. It projects a very bright, clear beam of light directly where your head is pointing with an estimated range of about 30 yards. Could be confusing to others when you look behind though. Lamp has two settings and the battery life is 4 or 12 hours depending on the setting used. Recharge time is 6 to eight hours. Just an idea, it wouldn't affect the look of your bike.

greengage

If someone would start selling LED-retrofitted vintage lights OR making a nice big vintage-style LED headlamp, I'd be right in line behind Snarkypup. I currently have three gorgeous, non-working sets of head and tail-lights--two Dynamos and one bottle generator--and though I love tinkering with my bikes, I stop at anything electrical. People comment on the headlamps all the time--they're so handsome --but if I ride at night, I bring out the Catseyes. Given that I ride almost exclusively in cities and towns, I'm more concerned about people seeing me than being able to illuminate the road, but I'd love to have the lights working.

dedhed

Most of those look big enough to fit the whole Magicshine head unit inside, unscrew it from it's mount and screw it inside the housing.

Allvit54

...this unusual 'Colani' headlight is the only surviving part of a Union bottle generator setup that I bought at a LBS in Germany in 1985. The tail light of the set got vandalized in the mid-90s (someone with nothing better to do, probably some punk kid, took the lens off and smashed it), so I took it off and installed this in its place:



...subsequently replaced the LEDs with high-brightness ones (I am reasonably handy with a soldering iron).

I eventually scrapped the generator altogether; it was putting too much drag on the bike, and the bottom terminal got broken off. I retrofitted the headlight with a Nite-Ize 3-LED conversion kit intended for larger 2-cell Mag-Lite flashlights, two N cells and a sub-mini switch...works reasonably well...

mickey85

I got a light like the B&M for my ex girlfriend's Raleigh Sports from Restoration Hardware. They don't have them anymore, but they are nice pieces. My only complaint is that they take a 9V and are hard to fit the battery in.

snarkypup

Hmm... went to REI today and spontaneously purchased the Cateye HL-EL530. Thought: well, I'll decide later if I want to mount this on the fork of the bike. The first guy I discussed all this with at REI thought it would be a great light, very bright. As I was still debating, I noted the Niterider MiNewt 150 cordless. I thought it had a pleasantly retro look, but the price was over double the Cateye. Another REI employee wandered over. "Do you want to see, or be seen?" he asked. "See," I said. He nodded to the Niterider. "Then you want this one, not that one." Of course, I bought the Cateye. Then I read more about them. I think second guy was right. It being REI, I can totally take the Cateye back. I also bought cycling gloves, and hated those too, so when I take them both back, I can pretty much afford the Niterider. Thoughts?

shuttervox

Ok, I just did a DIY post, here

snarkypup

Gosh, that's beautiful! Love the felt. I almost feel like I do that myself. Almost. Great instructions! I'm actually tempted to try it, but I still don't think I'd get it quite right. No metal confidence here.