What's a good e bike headlight?

[Ch00paKabrA]

I came across another mounting bracket for lights so I thought I would share.



they are on sale for $2.50 for next 11 hours but the $5.00 full price is not too bad either:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item-img/...ip-led-headlight-rotary-clamp/1312294895.html

Perhaps someone will find it useful.

'Cal

 

[Alan B]

I ran the evening commute with only the Fenix BT20 headlight this time. It worked out well. I'm liking this light more as I use it.

 

[Ykick]

Dunno if these have been posted here yet but as I reworked a nice Dahon Jetstream for a friend it had these impressive lamps:

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Scorch-Front-Rechargeable-Light/dp/B005ZGQBK2/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1416313153&sr=1-14&keywords=blackburn+led

Under $40 pro beam, functions and rugged mount.

 

[cheekybloke]

I have several of these for home made high power led headlights
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/201059502388?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
Adjustable constant current and constant voltage driver
Darren

 

[Alan B]

Dunno if these have been posted here yet but as I reworked a nice Dahon Jetstream for a friend it had these impressive lamps:

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Scorch-Front-Rechargeable-Light/dp/B005ZGQBK2/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1416313153&sr=1-14&keywords=blackburn+led

Under $40 pro beam, functions and rugged mount.

140 lumens would not be enough for my route.

 

[Ykick]

Dunno if these have been posted here yet but as I reworked a nice Dahon Jetstream for a friend it had these impressive lamps:

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Scorch-Front-Rechargeable-Light/dp/B005ZGQBK2/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1416313153&sr=1-14&keywords=blackburn+led

Under $40 pro beam, functions and rugged mount.

140 lumens would not be enough for my route.

I wouldn't expct them to be "enough" for a motorcycle.

 

[Alan B]

Dunno if these have been posted here yet but as I reworked a nice Dahon Jetstream for a friend it had these impressive lamps:

http://www.amazon.com/Blackburn-Scorch-Front-Rechargeable-Light/dp/B005ZGQBK2/ref=sr_1_14?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1416313153&sr=1-14&keywords=blackburn+led

Under $40 pro beam, functions and rugged mount.

140 lumens would not be enough for my route.

I wouldn't expct them to be "enough" for a motorcycle.

If it were a motorcycle it would be in the traffic lane at 60 instead of the bike lane at 20.

I wouldn't expect 140 lumens to be enough for an ebike at 15-20 mph on a totally dark street with occasional oncoming headlights that prevent the eyes from adjusting to the dim light. I suppose it depends on whether one needs to actually see the road surface, or if one trusts there are no important surface debris or imperfections that need to be observed with adequate advance warning to avoid them.

Speaking of motorcycles, I see the Zero FX 2015 has projector headlights, probably LED. Wonder who makes those.

 

[friendly1uk]

I guess people have seen these. Do they work? I can't imagine a legal laser spreading it's light over such a distance would work without camera trickery.

 

[Ykick]

Riding the CroBorg now feels a bit more like the Zero Motorcycle I test drove.

Your words, not mine...

Ever consider how over-the-top, intense blinding headlights may interfere with oncoming legitimate "bicycle" riders attempting to use "your" bicycle lanes?

 

[amberwolf]

I guess people have seen these. Do they work? I can't imagine a legal laser spreading it's light over such a distance would work without camera trickery.

See all those white and red horizontal lines in the outdoor pics? Those are the headlights and taillights of other vehicles streaked across the pic by the camera shutter being open for probably at least several seconds, to get enough light to be able to see those that clearly. It's also what makes the rest of the scene look so brightly lit.


I don't imagine that in traffic most poeple would even notice those laser lines--but I haven't seen them in person.


I think that something like MattyCiii's Folding Lefty Lightstick would be a much more visible solution to "marking your lane", if bulkier. Since it's actually sticking out to the side, it's a whole lot more likley that vehicles would give you the space while they avoid it. If they do hit it, since it folds, it shouldn't knock you off the road (though in the single unlikely case of a car that swerves left directly into it without any relative forward motion between you, I suppose it could).

 

[The fingers]

A Roadie guy I see in the very early morning had those tail light/laser downlights a few weeks ago, now he's not using it anymore. Next time I see him I'll try and ask him what happened. They were visible for a couple of hundred feet max from 6 feet elevation to the rear and he had it coupled with a very bright green tail light. :?

 

[friendly1uk]

I guess going mental with red lights on the ground would be better than any other colour. Red doesn't mess with your night vision like other colours. If I were to use green, the colour our eyes can see best, the bright near-field would stop me peering in to the darkness ahead. If the near-field was lit red, Distance work is largely unaffected.

I have thought about a front light in red many times. It doesn't help traffic see which way your moving by colour identification, but red does at least get attention as it's a danger colour. I think off-road it could be a real winner though.

My brain is already prepped for using green light. I just don't realise everything is green until I come to see what colour something really is. Like watching black&white TV. It is ample. I'm sure I would adapt to red almost as well. Only almost though.. as we see less shades of red than green. You don't quite get the contrast.

 

[Alan B]

Riding the CroBorg now feels a bit more like the Zero Motorcycle I test drove.

Your words, not mine...

Ever consider how over-the-top, intense blinding headlights may interfere with oncoming legitimate "bicycle" riders attempting to use "your" bicycle lanes?

You are taking that remark quite out of context. The remark applies to the smoothness of the torque response throttle of the Sabvoton controller as opposed to the jerky PWM throttle of most ebike controllers. There are other ebike torque throttles, and it has nothing to do with bicycle vs motorcycle speeds, nor driving at night.

Our discussion here has often been about proper beam shaping to keep the light down on the pavement and not in the oncoming eyes. Most bicycle lights fail completely to do this properly. Low cost lights such as this thread supports are prime examples of how not to make a headlight. They make zero attempt to properly shape the beam and cause significant light to fall into oncoming eyes.

So you are right, we need properly controlled lights similar to the DOT/SAE requirements for vehicles. Perhaps not quite the same range due to the lower speeds, but even a pedal bike on a hill easily runs 30mph so we definitely need more than a cheap low lumen flashlight with a handlebar mount, or a bunch of super bright LEDs in a handlebar mount package with no beam shaping.


The BT20 employs various beam shaping techniques to place the beam down and not in oncoming eyes, and it has four brightness levels so in a city setting with streetlights they can be turned down where lighting the ground isn't the requirement. In my case the oncoming cyclists using the bike path are two highway lanes away since this path is along both sides of a highway. There is no other lighting, so your light must provide sufficient illumination to be able to observe the debris and road surface at your speed. The oncoming vehicles headlights insure that your eyes cannot dark adjust significantly. 140 lumens might be sufficient if you are pedaling at 7mph, but if you are running legal ebike speed here which is 20mph you need more light to be safe. Those flashlight based bike lights have no beam shaping so you have to point them severely down toward the ground and they still throw a lot of light upward into oncoming eyes. They are a poor solution for safety in this environment, in my experience.

 

[cal3thousand]

I've suggested this in other threads, and have implemented it on my wife's bike with 2 headlights. I am further planning some improvements but the basic idea works well for beam shaping such that we are not offending other traffic. I've been extra aware of this lately after driving and being annoyed by cyclists using lights that are too bright and not properly aimed.

The idea is to use projector- (or even reflector-) based lights (preferably LED) and inserting a piece of paper or tape on the bottom half on the flat side (requires opening the unit) of a projector lens. That will effectively create a beam cutoff and restrict upward glare. It's the same way that Bi-xenon headlights work to be able to provide a low beam and high beam using one emitter.

(for a reflector type light, you would paint the bottom half of the reflector)

 

[Alan B]

Beam shaping is important, and projector designs provide a good way to do this. If you have some examples of projector type LED lights it would be good to share them here.

I see the new Zero has projector headlights, as does our fairly new Prius.

Reflectors don't control the beam very well with LEDs that throw the majority of their light forward so the reflector is not controlling much of the light. Note the design of reflector headlights also involves shields on the filaments to avoid the direct beam. Successful designs must use optics in front of the LED as well as the reflector to get control of the beam.

 

[cal3thousand]

The one that I am working with right now can be found on eBay and they look like this:



Item description: Super Bright Waterproof 12V 30W LED Laser Spot Light Lamp For Car Motorcycle


The unit I have will take up to 85V as it has a capable driver inside. Not sure about this exact one.

The issue I have is that the beam is too tightly focused. Good for 'throw' downfield, but not so good for the patch of ground right in front of your bike. I will post updates as I find more suitable lights.

 

[Alan B]

Does that turn out to be right for a high beam? (Clearly it is not a good low beam).

 

[The fingers]

A Roadie guy I see in the very early morning had those tail light/laser downlights a few weeks ago, now he's not using it anymore. Next time I see him I'll try and ask him what happened. They were visible for a couple of hundred feet max from 6 feet elevation to the rear and he had it coupled with a very bright green tail light. :?

Saw the guy again. He said he only uses the lane marker downlights on the unlit stretch of his commute (60mph zone). :?

 

[friendly1uk]

Thanks for asking him fingers.

I can't imagine adjusting my rear light along my journey, but each to their own.

 

[Barnfresh]

Ran across this light. Looks like they put a lot thought into the beam pattern at least for off road anyway. I especially like the way the mount utilizes the existing holes in the top crown. Got a message into them now to see if they offer one with a black shell and if they will ship to the US. http://store.quietrush.com.au/lights.html

 

[Alan B]

Ran across this light. Looks like they put a lot thought into the beam pattern at least for off road anyway. I especially like the way the mount utilizes the existing holes in the top crown. Got a message into them now to see if they offer one with a black shell and if they will ship to the US. http://store.quietrush.com.au/lights.html

Looks like a good light for off-road use. As you mention, not an on-road pattern.

 

[dogman dan]

It does look to me like they made it impossible to aim too high. That's the big offender with bikes blinding cars now that the really bright led's are here.

It's tempting to aim them high, to see way out there. But remember when you aim your lights, you don't want that car about to hit you to be totally blinded.

 

[TotalConfusion]

Ran across this light. Looks like they put a lot thought into the beam pattern at least for off road anyway. I especially like the way the mount utilizes the existing holes in the top crown. Got a message into them now to see if they offer one with a black shell and if they will ship to the US. http://store.quietrush.com.au/lights.html

This Quietrush company is only 1 km from me and runs his business out of his house across the road from my mates hous almost, Maybe i should go knock on his door and ask about the light myself for you.

 

[Modbikemax]

It does look to me like they made it impossible to aim too high. That's the big offender with bikes blinding cars now that the really bright led's are here.

It's tempting to aim them high, to see way out there. But remember when you aim your lights, you don't want that car about to hit you to be totally blinded.

I have to totally agree with you on this one dogman. It not just cars you are blinding, I have to look away at some of the lights coming at me on the bike path. Sometimes too much is just too much.

In Australia the regulations run something like a white light on the front and red on the back which can be seen at 200m.
It was written in the days of the dynamo and poor street lighting.
I try to make my lights make me visible to others rather than flooding the whole street. I can usually see where I am going by the street lights.

I have been using an interesting red LED reflector /light I found on eBay for a few dollars. It serves the purpose as a reflector and light, reflectors are supposed to be fitted in Australia. I use a 9v battery and a small flasher device fitted to my seat bag. I have just received the white one and will fit that as well. They are 60mm in diameter and 10mm thick with a 6mm mounting bolt and weigh a few grams. Ideal for a bicycle application. I have been running the rear one for several months now on a 9v battery but will now use a reducer to 12v and run them off my main battery so they come on anytime the main battery is on.

 

[Nanoha]

I've been looking everywhere for a full cut off led light. Finally got a hit:
http://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27270C-Round-Headlamp-price/dp/B007K8AA7I