Ebike Headlight

[paul]

i did not like the mount for the electric bicycle light so i took some steel and bet it. drilled it and painted it. i used an old light mount from a junk light as the mount. this for me is a much better set up. my e-bike had enough stuff on the handlebars and this is also a lot more solid

 

[Nehmo]

I'm envious. I want a big light too.

 

[Easy Rider]

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction Mike.
I purchased two of them tonight. I'm going to wire them separtely. Use one for the regular beam and the other for the high beam.
Should be interesting when everything comes in!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Motorcycle-...ies&hash=item3ccbe25da0&vxp=mtr#ht_822wt_1018

 

[n3glv]

i bought a 250lm (lumens) Cree tactical flashlight (low,high,fast-blink) at Dayton Hamvention for it turns out way too much for an aaa light. Turned the knurling off of it
in the lathe and it slides into the Schwinn 1w blinking bike light holder.
It's nice, but sort of hard on batteries, so just ordered a so called 1800lm t6 cree bike/head strap lamp. Amazon buyers say it says 1200lumens on the box but still it should
be AWSOME! (6600ma pack in velcro like above) I have always had a thing for bright
lights and film, this explains my PROJECTIONIST profession I guess..... (retired)

 

[bikeslob]

ok, thanks Paul, just bought one of those monsters.
Mine cost $62 off of Amazon free shipping. Nowhere on internet besides China could I find this thing, and didn't even look at shipping(Chinese was $42 without shipping).

Now to find where you got the strap. Going on backpack trip and want to light up the campground (and ruin my reputation with the other pariticipants).
thanks again, Paul

 

[middriveebike]

Are you going to power the headlight from the main power source? Like using a DC converter or sth like that?

 

[n3glv]

I been considering that, but 2.5hrs or so of runtime on rechargable is ok so far.
Would need a regulator or SMPS switched mode power supply to feed it the 8v or so it runs on I think.. maybe I'll take a meter to it today..
Btw I did find that the cigar lighter to usb things can tolerate 30v

 

[bikeslob]

Will this work to hook up the T6 5000 lumens light to my Lipro?

Drok DC Voltage Converter DC 15-55V 24V/36V/48V to 12V 1.5A 18W Step Down Power Supply

http://www.amazon.com/Voltage-Conve...058&sr=8-23&keywords=48v+to+12v+converterdnut

Here is my light's specs. Bought it after reading this thread. Can't wait to use it.
Type: Headlamp/Bike Light.
Bulb Type: XML T6 LED.
Number of LEDs: 3.
Lasting Lighting Hour:2-3hours.
Material:aluminum alloy.
Reflector:Aluminum Smooth/SMO Reflector.
Battery:18650 lithium cell,4400mA,Cable Length:67.5cm/26.57inch.
Discharge Time:180 minutes (100% brightness).
LED Colour: White.
Input Voltage:8.4V-12V.
Power Rating:10W.
Intelligent circuit control, 4 Switch Modes:
- 1 x CREE XM-L T6 LED.
- 2 x CREE XM-L T6 LED.
- 3 x CREE XM-L T6 LED.
- Strobe.
With LED indication for Power On, Charging, Full charge.
Power Source: 1 x 8.4v 4400mAh Battery Pack.
Working Time: 2 ~ 3 hours after full charging.
Charging:
- 100V ~ 240V Battery Charger.

--------------------------
By the way they make a 6000 and 7000 lumens version too!

 

[n3glv]

12v @ 1A is 12w, so 1.5A = 18w
should be fine

 

[paul]

my headlight kept bouncing and eventually the mount broke, roads here are very bad. anyway i tried it on my helmet, was weird at first with the extra weight however i really like it. where ever i look it lights up. also on handle bars it bounced like crazy, steady stream of light on the head, i think it is the perfect set up for a motorized bicycle light

 

[n3glv]

I have mine mouted on my basket, which can be moved from one bike to the
other via a quick release. I used a tail reflector bracket and screwed it onto
the basket frame, then connected a chunk of pvc pipe this leaves room on
one side for my other AAA powered light if I want to run twin lights.
I had to wrap some rubber (rescue tape, love that stuff) around the PVC to
prevent the bands/mount from slipping down as I ride.
Recently however, the wires going into the battery pack pulled out. :-(
Since I ride an ebike and already had 24v or so going to the handlebars though
I decided to try and run the headlight from the 5v USB (formerly cigar lighter
adaptor) source there. It works ok, always indicates low batt (red) and is about
2/3 or so as bright as from the batt pack, but I never have to worry about if I
remembered to charge the lamp pack, or running out partway home.

 

[paul]

can i see how you mounted it please on your motorized bicycle, picture or something, the pvc giving me some ideas. best part i found about having it on helmet is i can remove or put on in seconds also if i look to side or road or something i see what is their. (lots of wild dogs on island) i am always open to other ways to do things, i do not ride at night unless i absolutely have to however sometimes its a must

 

[n3glv]

Here is a link to a front on shot of the basket with both headlights.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B3pKUaxTCtr4NjFjeU16ODIxLWc/edit?usp=sharing

 

[paul]

awesome thank you so much n3. gave me some ideas to work with

 

[biknut]

I ordered up one of these;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-12w-l...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item257549e139

And it arrived today. Very nice well made piece.

But does it work as advertised? Only 1 way to find out. This has a constant current switching regulator and runs off anything from 12 to 90 VDC. Perfect for ebikes. So I connected it to a 24 volt power supply and took it out to the backyard. Here's the before

Pretty dark eh?

Not any more

Most impressive! Very good unit.

I just ordered one of these for my new bike. Thanks for showing it.

Any suggestions for a taillight?

 

[bikeslob]

I need the switching regulator. Got the light without one.

 

[Mike B]

I build my own with many red LED's soldered in series on a piece of perfboard you can get from Radio shack.

Get the LED's off ebay direct from China. They are so cheap it's incredible.

Then I route a pocket for the assembly in a piece of wood and pot it with clear epoxy.

 

[biknut]

I ordered up one of these;

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Super-12w-l...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item257549e139

And it arrived today. Very nice well made piece.

But does it work as advertised? Only 1 way to find out. This has a constant current switching regulator and runs off anything from 12 to 90 VDC. Perfect for ebikes. So I connected it to a 24 volt power supply and took it out to the backyard. Here's the before

Pretty dark eh?

Not any more

Most impressive! Very good unit.

I bought one of these headlights on eBay, and last night I finally got around to testing it. I'm planning to install it on my new ebike, if it ever gets here. The seller claims it has a very low current draw, so I put that claim to the test.

What I found in bench testing was it takes a very clean dcv power supply, or this light won't even fire. Of course since I'll be using my bike's battery to run it that won't be an issue, but for testing it was. The maximum voltage my power supply went up to was 64 vdc. I tested from 10 vdc to 64 vdc in 5 volt increments. 10 volts was the lowest threshold we could get this light to fire, and at that voltage it was very dim.

These are the results.

vdc......amp

10........0.6
15........0.8
20........0.6
25........0.45
30........0.375
35........0.321
40........0.28
46........0.242 not a typo
50........0.222
55........0.204
60........0.188
64........0.174

So we can see, especially considering how bright this light is, it really is very low current draw. On my bike which runs 72 vdc, this light will probably be drawing around 0.15 amp, which is super low.

 

[Mike B]

Cool, that's what I got. At 48V it's about a quarter amp.

Gotta love constant current auto adjusting switching regulators. Especially condensed into that teensy-weensy little wire dongle thingy.

I still can't believe how cheap this stuff is direct from China. Gets here quick too eh? I love ebay.

 

[biknut]

Cool, that's what I got. At 48V it's about a quarter amp.

Gotta love constant current auto adjusting switching regulators. Especially condensed into that teensy-weensy little wire dongle thingy.

I still can't believe how cheap this stuff is direct from China. Gets here quick too eh? I love ebay.

I know what you mean. I paid $34 shipped. If this light was in a store here in Dallas it would probably be $200.