LED takedowns as bike headlights?

vonirkinshtine

vonirkinshtine

Member
May 21, 2010
1,033
178
39
LKN, NC
So I'm doing a night ride later this month and I'm pricing headlights for bicycles and the price and selection are making me shake my head.  I can either get a glorified flash light for around $30, or I can get some mack-daddy unit for $400.  I'm wondering if I could run an LED takedown light off a battery and mount it to a bike?  A white TIR style light would probably work too.

How much run time could I get off a battery like this?

http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhbatterypackpowerizer12v4200mah5x2xsc-flatforrccarboat.aspx
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I would say using a TIR-3 (or more preferably, a Titan/Cannon/Apollo) would be your best bet since its a lighthead rated to be outside...  An MR-11 isn't suited to be out in the weather...  

As for the battery, I would assume that it would last a good amount of time...  But I'm not an electrical specifics kinda guy...  lol
 
I've actually used everything from a 3x7 to a rect 25 high power for rear lights for distance rural rides in the past. Keeps cars far off your rear end.


For forward lighting I've seen people use tir 3's with good results. Personally I'd recommend a feniex or other brand small led work light as the reflector will be built to throw light forward, and have the proper heating to disappeate heat buildup. Regardless ensure you have something flashing both forward and rear to signify it's not a moped or other weird motorised vehicle.


For battery recommendations you are going to have to do some math. Figure out your total load and hours lighting will be required. Personally I'd add at least an extra three hours to your timings just for safety and thatll tell ya what battery to look for.


I had a very small booster pack (about the size of a FedSig ss2000 brain) with a 12 volt cig plug I used for my battery. Fit on my bike rack quite nicely.


Another option would be to check wow.dx.com I've used some of their led bike lighting items with good results. Not badly priced either. Just takes a few weeks for delivery via mail.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
unlisted said:
For battery recommendations you are going to have to do some math. Figure out your total load and hours lighting will be required. Personally I'd add at least an extra three hours to your timings just for safety and thatll tell ya what battery to look for.


I had a very small booster pack (about the size of a FedSig ss2000 brain) with a 12 volt cig plug I used for my battery. Fit on my bike rack quite nicely.
Click to expand...
So...say I bought a Feniex Titan X-100 (5").  On FEVER's website it says the amp draw is 700mA MAX.  If I wanted to run the light for 5hrs I would need a 3500mAh battery (theoretically).

Another thing I need to consider with the battery is weight.  I'm sure I could toss a lawnmower battery in there, but if I'm going to be riding close to 100 miles, that extra 5lbs would really hurt me.

What about a 12V cordless power tool battery?  Something like this:

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=568137-353-BAT420&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=50107014&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

is rated at 4000mAh.  I would just need to figure out a way to connect to it.  Hm, that might end up being more trouble than its worth.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
lawn mower battery is way to haevy to mount to a bike plus theres that whole "acid" thing. get a 7-9AH SLA or AGM type battery weighs less and no acid to leak unless you crack the case open.

or find you one of thos ebike batteries that look like a water bottle
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'd say one of those would work, nice.

for sales, I am sure you will have a flood of emails very soon.. ;)
 
I noticed that Nick has a special on Feniex T6s in white. Would those work or should I stick to the Titan?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
  • Like
Reactions: TritonBoulder47
just grab two 4000MaH 7.2 volt RC Car battery packs and wire them in series giving you 14.4 which is well in the 13.8 to 24v range that alot of lights will accept, theyre light and charge within 30 minutes on the right charger.
 
Knight347 said:
just grab two 4000MaH 7.2 volt RC Car battery packs and wire them in series giving you 14.4 which is well in the 13.8 to 24v range that alot of lights will accept, theyre light and charge within 30 minutes on the right charger.
Click to expand...
Hm, hadn't thought of that.  Not a bad idea though.  Definitely a lot easier to get my hands on too.

Here's another question.  Do I really need spot light optics for this application?  Would something like a SnM eflood work just as well (if not better)?
 
you have to ask yourself...

do you want to see the dark scary monster 30 feet in front of you...

or the 20 feet of ants to the left and right of your front tire?

id say go with a combo or more then one light you can switch between
 
Jarred J. said:
you have to ask yourself...

do you want to see the dark scary monster 30 feet in front of you...

or the 20 feet of ants to the left and right of your front tire?
Click to expand...
Hm, I didn't realize the difference in optics would be that great (even though I'm sure your statement is a bit exaggerated to begin with).  Spot light it is!  I would consider a combo if I wasn't running this off battery and had the juice to spare.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Too late  :satan:

Bought a Titan X-100 from Nic yesterday.  I ordered this little gem today:

[SIZE=11.5pt]http://www.batteryspace.com/nimhbatterypackcombo12v3500mah50whflatbatterypackcharger.aspx[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]I know math isn't ideal (losses due to heat, junctions, etc), but I think I should get close to 4hrs of run time out of this combo.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]As soon as I get the pieces I'll post a built thread  :2thumbs: [/SIZE][SIZE=11.5pt] [/SIZE]
 
I have seen some crazy bright little lights on bycicles before. I once saw a red flashing light so bright that i actually thought it was an emergency vehicle but when i got closer it was just some guy dressed like those olympic bycicle guys in spandex in some fancy bike. And when i passed him up i could see his headlight LED flash bouncing off the pavement..... And this is in Texas in the bright sun around 1 pm.

I dont know what alien technology that guy had but i they should use that for emergency vehicles

Who knows it might have been a new Texas DPS economical unit they were road testing who knows....
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Good lord, SLA? NiMH? Ditch all that heavy outdated nonsense and look for some lithium based packs. You can get very high capacities for a fraction of the weight. Pricey yes but consider its application. On a car which doesn't much care about an extra couple pounds sure use an SLA. For a bike, use lithium chemistry.


Heck even running four CR123s in series (more in series-parallel for higher capacity) would be preferable to an SLA.
 
Solvarex said:
Good lord, SLA? NiMH? Ditch all that heavy outdated nonsense and look for some lithium based packs. You can get very high capacities for a fraction of the weight. Pricey yes but consider its application. On a car which doesn't much care about an extra couple pounds sure use an SLA. For a bike, use lithium chemistry.


Heck even running four CR123s in series (more in series-parallel for higher capacity) would be preferable to an SLA.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I know.  I'm paying a weight penalty for using the NiMH pack.  The LI packs were 3x the price!  If this setup is as amazeballs as I think it will be I might upgrade.

I'll have the battery today and the light tomorrow.
 
Ok, this will be my last post in this thread before I move this party to an install thread.  I got my light from FEVER and battery pack from batteryspace.com

I've attached two pictures from my functional test last night.  Obviously, the two pictures are with and without the light on.  I used my Canon T3 so I could lock the shutter and aperture so the camera didn't try and auto-adjust for light settings.

IMG_4300.JPG

IMG_4299.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: unlisted
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum Statistics

Threads
54,803
Messages
453,249
Members
19,560
Latest member
Sfelock

Share This Page

Share this page
Top Bottom
Back