12V LED headlight recommendations?

[cwah]

Thanks guys,

I'm looking for small (very important) but strong and wide beam.

This one seems ideal:

http://stores.intuitwebsites.com/hstrial-QualiRegResou/-strse-24/LED-Turn-signal-fdsh--LED/Detail.bok

Signal light + normal light combined together. But damn 200$ that's way too expensive.

Also found this light:
http://cgi.ebay.fr/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300694904042#ht_3048wt_1139

2000 lumen, stronger than the magicshine MJ-880 and also cheaper. It's maybe a good light?

[hjns]

This works fine for me. More than enough light to illuminate the road at 30mph, and also quite blinding for oncoming traffic.

[cwah]

But is it blinding the traffic because it doesn't have a wide beam? not completely sure how that works works

[cwah]

Received my Magicshine MJ-880 today and pluged it to my 12V converter:


This light is incredibly small for 2000 lumens and perfect for a small bike such as the Brompton.

Just a problem:
It makes a lot of heat when I turn it on... still a bit afraid to run it at 12V rather than the 8.4V standard... I hope it will keep working for a long long time..

[ohzee]

That magicshine is nice , but 200$ US is quite a bit of money for a light for me.

Still if it lasts at 12v I would say it's pretty temping.

[cwah]

Yeah, if you're looking for a small and powerful light, this magicshine seems to be the way to go.

I purchased it for £97 (156$) without the battery as I didn't need it on ebay

[Scruffoid]

the $30 4 cree LED unit from ebay works very good. You can get both 12V and 24V - 90V ones and they draw about 9watts of power. I have commuted with mine now for a week or so at midnight for 28km and it is just great.

There is a link to it in another post in this thread or go and check it out in the for sale - new items posts.

Scruff

[DVDRW]

My poors man Light that beats every expensive ready to use light:
50W LED ~11$
DC4.5-60V to 1.2-30V 90W PSU 12$ - to running 50W led (dimmable) from 48V battery
Heatsink + Reflector + 2 degree lens + making waterproof ~15$

[potatorage]

My poors man Light that beats every expensive ready to use light:
50W LED ~11$
DC4.5-60V to 1.2-30V 90W PSU 12$ - to running 50W led (dimmable) from 48V battery
Heatsink + Reflector + 2 degree lens + making waterproof ~15$

So what heatsink, reflector, and lens are you using?

[ohzee]

Yea like to see video of this in action also.. you can drive that led with just the dc-dc converter ?

[biohazardman]

It's really hard to beat the Magicshine lights for the price vs output. I guess those who whine about them being to bright don't know how to push the button to dim them down? They have several settings different depending on what/where you purchase. Me I like mine on full when in the dark and even at that the output is less than half what a single car light is. Still I made a shade for the top of mine that keeps the beam down a bit for oncoming traffic . If I'm in the city I run them dimmed a click or two as there are usually streetlights to help. Out on the open road two of them, I just buy the heads at about $40 US, are the ultimate for in the pitch black 20-30+MPH kind of night driving. I was sad to see that Geomangear went out of business awhile back so you won't be getting them there.

Magicshine
http://reviews.mtbr.com/blog/magicshine-mj-808/

Lots of lights MTB review
http://www.mtbr.com/cat/accessories/lig ... uctlisting

Alternate mount for Magicshine
http://www.el34world.com/Misc/bike/BikesLights38.htm

Schwinn light
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7716&start=15#p118711

K-light
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=15106

My other post on lights with links
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=16748&p=244934#p244934


Many pages of lights and beamshots
http://s199.photobucket.com/home/amticoman/allalbums

[d8veh]

You need to change your thinking about bike lights. The modern ones with Cree T6 LEDs are easily bright enough for for ebike applications. Three T6s are about equivalent to a 12v 60w halogen car headlight in the amount of light that they give out, except that they're much lighter and will run from a small, light Ultrafire pack, which is far simpler than using DC/Dc converters etc.

Branded bicycle lights are starting to use Cree T6 LEDs and they're rather expensive. You can can get unbranded ones, which are exactly the same for a fraction of the price. You can now get a five T6 torch that has rechargeable Ultrafires for about $50, which will give out so much light that it'll push your bike backwards. One T6 is more than adequate for riding unlit cycle trails at night time. Three T6s is overkill. Just search Ebay and you can find them.

[Alan B]

There are many different situations that we ride in, and the lighting requirements differ. To handle these situations the proper light pattern will work better than the typical flashlight type pattern (which is generally a very poor choice for night biking with too much light in the small center of the beam and not enough elsewhere). Regular bike lights are generally not designed for ebike speeds and may not cover well enough at distance. Many bike lights are just LEDs thrown into random reflectors and the light is not patterned properly for street riding. Look at motorcycle light patterns to see something that is more appropriate. There are very few legal LED headlights, hopefully this will change as they might be the best for ebikes.

I ride along a 50 mph highway with a wide bike lane and my Cycle Lumenator puts out lots of light but I can't see far enough at times with oncoming lights. The hazards in the bike lane include rocks, gravel and the occasional tree branch. On the other half of my ride I am curving through a twisty road with narrow lanes and oncoming cars so need to avoid blinding the drivers and need to see to the sides for turns. There are no street lights on either of these roads but cars do provide some lighting and lots of glare.

I think for my riding I need both good patterning and low/high beams. Low beam should be kind to oncoming eyes and light up the road nearby both to the center and sides; high beam needs to reach out and light a defined rectangle far ahead as well as leaving the close in lights on.

I have a couple of other lights that I will test, but I suspect none of them are really designed well for this use.

[pdf]

Magic Shine and DC/DC convertor for me. Works for me! The lights from Grin Cyclery have a built-in DC/DC convertor so would be more convenient to install. They charge for the convenience, but everything I ever got from there was very well made.

[hjns]

I have now two front lights and two rear lights. All of them connected to a 12V dc dc converter.

For the rear, I bought a DOT approved Moped light (halogen) with brake light (halogen). When I touch the brake handle, it will not only cut off the motor and do regen, it will also activate the brake light. Makes me feel safer when braking and have some stupid car on my tail.

For the front, I have a DOT approved halogen Moped light which is blended. In a stark dark night, it will only allow me to go <20mph / 35kmh. For higher speeds, I activate my CREE superled. I switch between the blended light and the superled using a conventional 3-speed switch, located directly under my left thumb. So I can switch immediately from superled to blended, in order to not blind ongoing traffic which may overrun me when blinded......

[potatorage]

Tell us more about your brake light! I've been looking for a solution to the ebrake and brake light problem for a while .

[Alan B]

I grabbed two of my 1,000 Lumen (claimed) MagicShines to add to my Cycle Lumenator tonite for the dark ride home. Report at 11.

And no, they are not 1,000 Lumens, but they are probably 600 or so. These are not the P7 models, they use a different, more efficient LED. Unfortunately the pattern is not optimal but there should be lots of light.

[Chucked]

I am planning on buying this light this week.

has 3 of the CREE XML T6 LEDS for a claimed 5000 lumens output (i expect more like 3000-3500)
comes with a few mounts and the battery pack and a cheap rear blinking tailight.


hard to beat this package for 70$ and free international shipping.

i will be running a lcd monitor power supply that i bought on amazon for 7$ as my dc-dc, it outputs 12V 6A, and can take 20-240V DC input (even though the label says input: AC 110-240V)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-In-1-SKYRAY-5000-Lm-3x-CREE-XM-L-T6-LED-Bicycle-bike-HeadLight-Light-Headlamp-/170934863499?pt=UK_SportsLeisure_Camping_LightsLanternsTorches&var=470211382861&hash=item27cc83068b

do you guys know of a better deal than this before i pull the trigger?
will i be able to use these mounts with this light? http://www.hoffmanamps.com/MyStore/perlshop.cgi?ACTION=enter&template&thispage=BikeLights&ORDER_ID=!ORDERID!

[snellemin]

I ordered a similar 3x xm-l light head from amazon for $59 shipped. Comes with battery, headband thingy and charger. No backlight. I'll be using it with my bootleg Magicshine MJ-872. A pair of those will light up your path pretty good. Check out my vid. Watch 30 seconds into the vid.

http://www.amazon.com/3800Lm-Headlight-Headlamp-Bicycle-Light/dp/B009QX8B2Q/ref=sr_1_8?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1353364465&sr=1-8

[BATFINK]

My review of the skyray S6 with cree t6 LEDs here:


I compare it with magic shine 808,

This skyray light is the best light I have ever bought

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=45604

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[Alan B]

I tested the Cycle Lumenator against a pair of MagicShine 808's tonite. The report is just posted in my 'Borg thread, link in my sig.