martynaaas

So I've been looking for decent tail light for a while now. I specifically wanted to have a very minimalistic yet functional tail light. So my priorities were - a light that is bright, has an accelerometer and does not require too much maintainance (so no battery charging). It might sound a bit too much for some but I like my accessories to be top notch.

After doing a little bit of research, I've found these flexible LEDs which can be mounted onto pretty much anything. It is designed for motor bikes but I thought that it could be adapted to a bicycle as well. The two difficulties that I see in this are - connecting it to some sort of battery and making it actually work (LEDs turn bright red when braking and yellow when pressing turn button).

I figured that if I connect it to my brake lever it could replace the accelerometer and if I attached a few additional buttons on the handlebar, it could act as a turn light (which is not a must but I thought if I could integrate it, it could be really functional as I'm mostly cycling in busy city streets).

Regarding the battery power, I found this RL700 Generator which I believe should be enough to provide power to the LED strip and keep it running even when I stop at traffic light or just don't go fast enough. I would also use it to supply power for my head light.

The mounting is not a problem and if I was going to do this project, I'd just make a metal U-shape part and attach it to my seat. It would also be possible to glue it onto the rear rack (unfortunately I don't have one).

I'm not an electrician so I need an advice from someone more knowledgeable in this area to comment on the pros and cons of such idea and tell me is it feasible or not.

10 Wheels

Moved from General

martynaaas

Sorry, didn't realize there was a specific forum for this topic. Thanks for moving this.

fietsbob

Hub dynamo powered tail lights that Come out of Busch & Muller in Germany, sense the Alternator hub pulses , and when they slow down a sensor in the tail light discharges a small charged Battery
to Glow More Brightly. for your tail and Brake light.

Turn signal ? reflectors on the back of your hands, sleeves of Your Jacket,
or a yellow light you turn on with the hand you are sticking out ,
is the only thing that will have significant width to be visible ..

I saw a 50+ LED tail light on a New Motorcycle a while ago with directional arrows that Blinked
as part of a Pie Pan sized tail light,
But of course that has burning Petrol powering the Generator on that Bike.

fietsbob

Your RELight is 1/2 of an induction power source the other is the wheel magnets passing by.
inducing a pulse of electricity A capacitor in the black box is what holds the pulses to have a steady Output

andy_p

I don't think the Reelight generator will produce anywhere near enough power for that LED strip. The lights Reelight sell to go with the generator (https://www.reelight.com/en/products...er-rear-light/) appear to have one fairly dim LED each, but the LED strip has near 20 very bright LEDs. The issue is the generator design - I expect Reelight have done the best they can, but it can't match a hub dynamo in power output.

You also have the issue of converting the Reelight generator output to 12V.

What's wrong with using Reelight's own lights? Or maybe something like the Busch and Muller DToplight, which has the standlight integrated (although again, I'm not sure if the Reelight generator could even power that. Especially as they don't publish any data on the generator output).

I'm actually working on the same problem myself - I've just got myself a hub dynamo, and I also want a simple, maintenance free rear light with a standlight. I even made myself a prototype, and put it in a case like this one: https://www.cycleexif.com/wp-content/...-porteur-3.jpg

I'd much prefer to have it in a more modern, flat-style case though, and mount it to the back of my pannier rack.

Hope all of that was of some use to you!

martynaaas

It was definitely helpful. And I gotta say... I fell in love with that bike in your photo, even though you can only see a back wheel of it.

Reelight almost satisfies my needs except they don't offer any rear lights with accelerometer (or some other technology with the same function). Like I said, I mainly commute in busy city streets so having one that could function as a brake light would be very useful. So many times I've heard cars beeping behind me after I stop quickly for one reason or another. And I don't want to see that day when someone doesn't react in time and run me over.

I'm surprised such lights are not popular enough among cyclists to be much cheaper. The cheapest one I found was Lupine Rotlicht for around 100 Euro.

andy_p

It would probably be easier to fit a switch to your brake, and have that control a second light.

Tanstaafl

Marty,

I am assuming you want the lights for added visibility to cars coming up behind you you. I have not mounted many lights to bicycles, but I have seen many different installations of LEDs on motorcycles by folks trying to increase visibility. Most of the lights like you have shown look good at 10 feet. However, you will want cars to see you much further away than that. turn them on and walk to the end of the block and make sure they are visible from there. Blinking lights are much better than steady. After seeing many different types of LED lights, nothing is as effective as something like the Whelen TIR3, or something similar. Those are probably more than you want due to the power requirements.

The spacing of the yellow lights, when viewed at the distance suitable for cars will probably be too close together to give a reliable directional signal. Again, look at them from the end of the block.

Regards,
Jeff

martynaaas

Thanks for a thorough reply. I'm probably going to choose from some blinking lights, like you suggested. Seems to do the work better than those steady lights for sure.