Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Try an overvolted MR-16. Blows the doors off an MR-11...and maybe HID. I have 4 MR11 lamps pushing out 2700 lumen (I don't have any problem with the beam pattern by the way) and I added an MR-16 this last week. It puts out almost as much as the other 4 lamps combined. I can illuminate a tree a block away and see individual leaves. Can't do that with the MR11
I call it the Martian heat ray
What wattage is your MR16... and what voltage are you running it at? I'm putting my homebrew system together and I plan to use two 20W MR16's overvolted at 14.4V on a NiMH pack. One spot and one flood on separate switches so I can run one or both to balance light needs and runtime. Runtime should not be a huge factor... my ride is about 45 minutes each way with lots of time and facilities at work to recharge if needed.
Your post makes me wonder if I'm going too far with the flame throwers! Whaddaya think?