What's a good e bike headlight?

alpharalpha

100 W
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I want one bright enough to see the ground ahead of me clearly, would a 12w led do that? I see them on eBay all the time for like $10. No room on my handlebars due to front bag so am thinking could mount it on the front of my lowrider rack, it would be closer to the ground that way too. Are there any particular ones that are preferable? I've never used led before, last I used was a halogen cateye back in the day. The pic isn't my exact rack but basically the same, it's that curved part that goes over the tire that I'm thinking of hooking the light to.
 

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Any of the Cree XML T6 lights should work ok.
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1311.R3.TR11.TRC1.A0.H1.Xxml+t.TRS0&_nkw=xml+t6+flashlight&_sacat=0&_from=R40
 
These are quite good too and can run straight from your main pack.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/12V-85V-Universal-Motorcycle-E-bike-20W-LED-Modified-Headlight-Lamp-Gold-/191146908569?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts_13&hash=item2c813e5b99
 
I have the same as Tench It is excellent, super bright, comes with aluminium clamp that is very easy to mount in different locations, and as mentioned it is 12-85 v. I got mine shipped free and less than 15.00 us.
 

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You guys talked me into trying this. Won't work on my 24s pack, but I've got an extra 4s pack I can use with it.
 
I bought this, and it is absolutely brighter than any small light that I have ever seen. It comes with the batteries and the charger, too. Not a bad deal, IMO. Also, you can buy a lens that can widen the field of view for the beam, so that's pretty cool.

http://www.amazon.com/SecurityIng%C2%AE-Headlight-Powerful-Headlamp-Activites/dp/B00AOEH4J2/ref=sr_1_4?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1404788858&sr=1-4&keywords=cree+led+bike
 
I have all the lights mentioned above. They're all bright enough for riding on unlit roads and trails. I was surprised at how good the ones are that run from the bike's battery. It's great not to have to worry about charging separate batteries all the time. You have to add some silicone sealant to make them waterproof because the DC/DC converter is loose in the back of the light where water can get in. The Cree T6 X-ML ones with their own battery pack are waterproof.
 
bionx 1954 said:
I have the same as Tench It is excellent, super bright, comes with aluminium clamp that is very easy to mount in different locations, and as mentioned it is 12-85 v. I got mine shipped free and less than 15.00 us.

I don't have any usable space on my handlebars due to a front bag so that's why I'm thinking of mounting it on the lowrider front rack to this partimagesCAYDUUN1.jpg

Maybe I could just add some hose etc to take up the extra space clamping it to that small tube but am considering this one$_14.jpg as I could just bolt it to that tube, again it might make it too weak, if so I could use a clamp to tighten it.

Which one do you think I'll have the most success with attaching to that small front rack bar?
 
Anything with a Cre XML t6 is generally going to be stupidly bright, the beam pattern depends on the reflector though, some have completely dire reflectors which do virtually nothing and you just get a big square beam pattern which is basically just the light coming from the LED. Decent reflectors spread the light evenly across the road, but without trying them or seeing a review its pot luck. Iv got a torch that's got 4x cree xml's in and it was about £175 and is brighter than a lot of car headlights, but its got a really good led driver and reflectors etc which make a lot of difference.
 
A $5 cree xml t6 zoomable flashlight works great. It's more than bright enough. If I run mine on the high setting it's good for 300' or more. The only problem is it will drain an 18650 cell in ~1 hour on high. On medium, it will last ~3 hours.
 
I run a SecurityIng® Super Bright 3 X CREE XM-L T6 3600Lm with a 12v to 9v converter. Works great, ridiculously bright.
 
There is this one, thats quite good as it runs off the DC outlet from the cycle analyst or your controller if it has one :
http://www.bmsbattery.com/led-bike-light/335-ssc-p7-c-4-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-headlamp-set.html
 
crea2k said:
There is this one, thats quite good as it runs off the DC outlet from the cycle analyst or your controller if it has one :
http://www.bmsbattery.com/led-bike-light/335-ssc-p7-c-4-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-headlamp-set.html

The DC output socket on a CA passes full pack voltage, that light is designed for the 8.4v pack that comes with it, it does not have a built in DC dropper so would not handle the output voltage from the CA without damage to itself and maybe the CA too.
 
izeman said:
could ANYONE tell me what this stupid flash mode is for? it's good for nothing. i don't get it ;)

For instigating seizure mode on unsuspecting passerbys :mrgreen: ?

[youtube]lQxUu6YqyuE[/youtube]
 
Tried 2qty of these recently and pleasantly impressed for $5-$6 shipped - http://www.ebay.com/itm/251506622006?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Required a ferrel (I used portion of 4mm bullet housing) over the pinch bolt and grommet for wire entry but all-in-all not a bad beam and runs on 10-100VDC.
 
Anything with a Cree T6 or the newer U2 emitter. The U2 is newer and a bit more efficient but the light frequency means it doesn't look much (if any) brighter than the T6 in use.
 
I just bought one of these
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/231204828453?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

It is light weight, ideal for bicycles, and has a nice retro look and the light is pretty good too and works up to 80volts all for $7.19 delivered.
The finish is a bit tinny but what do you want for $7. :?
 

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You could always put a voltage regulator between the CA and the light.

Tench said:
crea2k said:
There is this one, thats quite good as it runs off the DC outlet from the cycle analyst or your controller if it has one :
http://www.bmsbattery.com/led-bike-light/335-ssc-p7-c-4-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-headlamp-set.html

The DC output socket on a CA passes full pack voltage, that light is designed for the 8.4v pack that comes with it, it does not have a built in DC dropper so would not handle the output voltage from the CA without damage to itself and maybe the CA too.
 
izeman said:
could ANYONE tell me what this stupid flash mode is for? it's good for nothing. i don't get it ;)

I've used a solid very bright light and a bright flashing light to keep people from walking out in front of me on San Francisco streets. The flashing light keeps cars from cutting in front of me. It's a great safety feature when used with a strong headlight. I turn the flashing headlight off when I'm on the bike trail, but it's a lifesaver on city streets.
 
mclark999 said:
izeman said:
could ANYONE tell me what this stupid flash mode is for? it's good for nothing. i don't get it ;)

I've used a solid very bright light and a bright flashing light to keep people from walking out in front of me on San Francisco streets. The flashing light keeps cars from cutting in front of me. It's a great safety feature when used with a strong headlight. I turn the flashing headlight off when I'm on the bike trail, but it's a lifesaver on city streets.

If that's what you want there are plenty of cheap dedicated led lights that have multiple flash patterns- like the back lights but with a white lens. Flash isn't really needed on a headlight and even gets in the way as you cycle though different brightness. I've got one fitted in addition to a headlight.
I'd like high, low, off only for the main light, fortunately the led headlights I now have OFF-LOW-MID-HIGH-OFF, no flash UNLESS you specifically want it (it uses a different [longer] button press).
 
One of my favorite LED lights (that was stolen :x ) has a dedicated flash button. So instead of cycling through the modes, a single click puts you in flash and another click puts you back on the previous beam strength.
 
Check out this cool mount. It comes in a double sided version as well. www.johnsoncharger.com
 

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My lowrider front racks were made for suspension forks and when I put them on my rigid steel fork they press into my brakes; might be able to mod it to fit but if not the bolts on the mounts come out a bit for the rack to attach to and I could put a light on each one of those. Do you think them being cree leds matters a lot because I've found a good selection of lights that will run right off the pack and attach to my setup but while most are between 2-12watts only a few are cree t6 xm-l.
 
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