Lights

[AndySV1K]

Does anyone on here use either high power LED or HID ligting for night rides?

I used to use a set of Cygo lights that were modified to quadruple the power, they were great but ate batteries like nothing on earth.

The light unit could keep your hands warm in winter though!!

Im considering making some HID lights as the price to buy a set is ridiculous.

Anyone else interested in a HID light that will probably be slightly heavier than a comercially built one, but probably more powerful and certainly cheaper!

Ive not started yet, im just gathering ideas together but i have a plan, will try one and test it first before offering them to anyone.

Andy.

[flowerpot]

I use some Cateye Triple shots. £99 from Evans cycles. Bright enough for me but I'm not that quick when I'm in the dark.

[GrimJack]

I use Light&Motion HIDs.  You cannot beat HID for night riding - they don't get dim, awesome battery life, and far more light than anything else.

[Matno]

I've done a few homemade lights using Halogen bulbs available just about anywhere. The only expensive part is the batteries (got mine for about $35), but the rest costs less than $20.
The light is amazing (brighter than my buddies' $400 HID systems and without that annoying blue hue that only SEEMS brighter), and my batteries last for 2-3 hours, which is long enough for most of my night rides. If I wear BOTH a helmet mounted and a handlebar mounted light simultaneously, I swear it's almost like riding in the daylight! Lots of ideas on MTBR (just do a search for "DIY lights").

[jeffhop]

i use a cygolite hid on the bars with a 225 lumens cree led on my lid that i got off ebay for £14, the cree torch is an absolute steal for the money as its more reliable and nearly as powerful as my hid, if i had a choice again i wouldnt buy hid as its overpriced and led is catching up quickly.

[kiwi]

i use a cygolite hid on the bars with a 225 lumens cree led on my lid that i got off ebay for £14, the cree torch is an absolute steal for the money as its more reliable and nearly as powerful as my hid, if i had a choice again i wouldnt buy hid as its overpriced and led is catching up quickly.

ahhh the old 20;20 hindsight

[orange]

ahhh the old 20;20 hindsight

are there lights that can give you hindisght now? 

[Ziggy]

I've done a few homemade lights using Halogen bulbs available just about anywhere. The only expensive part is the batteries (got mine for about $35), but the rest costs less than $20.
The light is amazing (brighter than my buddies' $400 HID systems and without that annoying blue hue that only SEEMS brighter), and my batteries last for 2-3 hours, which is long enough for most of my night rides. If I wear BOTH a helmet mounted and a handlebar mounted light simultaneously, I swear it's almost like riding in the daylight! Lots of ideas on MTBR (just do a search for "DIY lights").

Same here
On a 35w lamp (over-volted by 20%) it's bright.  If I'm just going for a short evening ride though, a 50w lamp makes it silly bright!

[AndySV1K]

Hi Ziggy,

Is that a homemade?

I assume that its using an automotive 35w as thats what seems to be the norm with cars.

50W HID!! you could probably weld with that!

What battery are you driving it from and how long do you get from a full charge?

Andy.

P.S your 856 looks insanely red, have you just polished it?

[Ziggy]

See the quote - it's just halogen & tbh I don't see the need to change it for anything else!  4ah nimh battery pack gives enough burn time for the kind of riding I do at night, & it's bright enough even with a '20w' lamp

I have contemplated doing one with an automotive HID setup, just because it wouldn't be very difficult really.  I'll be installing a HID setup in my car once I get round to it (ie it's back on the road with the new engine working!), & am tempted to order 2 sets...  Over-volted halogen is surprisingly efficient though, & I'm worried that I'd be disappointed with the gains!

[AndySV1K]

I have bi-xenon HID in my car and they are by far the best lights ive ever had in a car.  by a long long way.

plus they are still just a little bit trick (as far as putting them on a bicycle anyway)

Im gonna go ahead and build one, its just the battery life that will be the biggest issue.  I can get nicad bat packs cheap as chips (and i mean a bag of chips that someone gives me for free) so i will trial with those, but think i will have to invest in a lipo pack or somehting to get some serious performance and range.

Andy.

[kiwi]

Same here
On a 35w lamp (over-volted by 20%) it's bright.  If I'm just going for a short evening ride though, a 50w lamp makes it silly bright!

how do you over volt ..if its a 6v lamp do you somehow have a 8v supply.....

[Ziggy]

Same here
On a 35w lamp (over-volted by 20%) it's bright.  If I'm just going for a short evening ride though, a 50w lamp makes it silly bright!

how do you over volt ..if its a 6v lamp do you somehow have a 8v supply.....

If I wanted to over-volt a 6v lamp by 20% (8v / 33% would be pushing it, I'd have thought) then yeah I'd make/buy a 7.2 volt battery pack...  I use 12v lamps & 14.4v packs!  Well, actually 7.2v packs in series, but that's just because they're easy to get hold of & I'm lazy

It's a fairly well documented / proven technique for getting more light/efficiency out of a halogen lamp...  at the expense of the life of the lamps of course.

[kiwi]

yes i have heard of it but wondered how it was actually done!

[Ziggy]

yes i have heard of it but wondered how it was actually done!

Nothing complicated!
7.2v chargers are all over the place...  Mine does upto 14.4v nimh packs, but if you connect 2 packs in series you could still charge them separately on a normal 7.2v charger.   No need of course, if you're using a '6v' lamp!