vr, sounds like you may have hit on something! Keep us posted.

Well, my Optronics lights finally arrived. I got the QH-8CC because it has the black plastic housing rather than the chrome metal housing of the QH-7CC. They seem just about perfect for bike lights - light weight and not too large. They look right at home. Naturally, I immediately disassembled them one of them to begin Frankenstein surgery (note my signature). I replaced the 50W MR-16 bulb with the super-white 35W 10 degree spot I had ordered. I shortened the original wires, attached longer leads, tucking the splices back up inside the housing. Hope it doesn't get hot enough in there to melt the tape before I can do something more durable. I also removed the mounting bolt and bolted the housing onto a semi-quick release mount from my old Vistalite set. Tadaaa, ready to roll. I haven't found a switch I like yet so I will be hooking the light directly to the battery for a few days.

The battery will continue to reside in a small handlebar bag. I have supplemented the bag's strap mount with a length of inner tube looped all the way around the bag and bar to support the weight of the battery. This may be unnecessary I just don't like the idea of a 4 lb (or 9 if I use the 7AH) battery bouncing around, banging on the bottom of the bag and stressing the straps. The innter tube works great and is quite inconspicuous, but I will eventually replace it with a nice nylon strap.

Now, I could use the light this way indefinitely though a switch will definitely be more convenient, but I will be working on improvements so I can eventually detail what I have done for the benefit of others here. Toward that end I will probably wind up spending extra money, but I hope to be able to describe an inexpensive and easy-to-rig light setup. I would like to include taillights, too, as I have time to work on mounting and wiring. Tomorrow I will probably report on how the light and new bulb work...and whether anything burned up!
Regards,
Raymond