Need suggestions for Headlight / Taillight

G

g725s

100 mW
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
40
Location
Laguna Niguel, California, U.S.A.
Hello,

I just put together a BBSHD mountain bike and seems because of my work schedual the best time to ride is now getting dark.

Looking for suggestions on a good Headlight and Taillight that I can connect to a 52v battery.

Edit: I'm also open to a stand alone option with its own battery, maybe one that would use my own chargeable AAA battery(s)

Thanks!
 
I have picked up a few head and tail lights from Lunacycle, they work on 52v and reasonably priced
 
Marin said:
I have picked up a few head and tail lights from Lunacycle, they work on 52v and reasonably priced
Click to expand...

Yes, I've seen those. But was wondering what other options might be available for comparison. At Luna they only have the one headlight and the one taillight.

I might also consider stand alone head and tail lights too. I'm just starting to look into this.
 
For headlights, I tried a few different things, before the higher voltage led's got cheaper. Tons of options out there now. Don't go with the super cheap 12-60v led light you see on ebay, it's dim.

What I settled on was two 800 lumen flashlights, which fit nice in a rubber handlebar holder I got on ebay. I had to look hard for the lights, because most run on three AAA cells. I wanted one that runs on two AA cells. I had tons of those in nimh for cameras. Charging three nimh a bitch with the charger I have, that charges them in pairs.

Plenty bright for me, but what I really liked was that I can aim one low and one high, giving me a nice beam including the last few feet to my wheel.

The main reason I wanted a removable light, was for touring. The lights could then easily be used in my tent.

For rear, I used two of the cheap flashies that run on AAA, and just run dry cells there.
 
For a good bright focused beam, I use one of these -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-CREE-XML-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-2500LM-Adjustable-Focus-Zoom-Light-Lamp-/281880917693?hash=item41a16976bd

For bike mounting, several options here -
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=Adjustable+Swivel+Flexible+U-shaped+Clip+Bracket+For+Torch+Light+Flashlight+Lamp&_id=171390674586&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658

For a decent floodlight which doesn’t seem to blind oncoming riders and runs off battery packs up to 100VDC, I’ve been very fond of these -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3W-DC12-100V-Motorcycle-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-Waterproof-Bright-LED-Headlight-/371722345796?hash=item568c60dd44

Basically, I use both. Majority of the time the flashlight is just on flasher mode and flood provides plenty of light but sometimes on really dark & desolate roads I rely more on the high and focused beam of the flashlight.

I'm sure someone will come along and call my suggestions "rubbish" while suggesting $300 bicycle lights. I've tried the "Stellas" of the bicycle world and they're good but I've been using this setup for couple years now with excellent results while saving a ton of money.
 
Ykick said:
For a good bright focused beam, I use one of these -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mini-CREE-XML-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-2500LM-Adjustable-Focus-Zoom-Light-Lamp-/281880917693?hash=item41a16976bd

For bike mounting, several options here -
http://www.ebay.com/sch/sis.html?_nkw=Adjustable+Swivel+Flexible+U-shaped+Clip+Bracket+For+Torch+Light+Flashlight+Lamp&_id=171390674586&&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2658

For a decent floodlight which doesn’t seem to blind oncoming riders and runs off battery packs up to 100VDC, I’ve been very fond of these -
http://www.ebay.com/itm/3W-DC12-100V-Motorcycle-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-Waterproof-Bright-LED-Headlight-/371722345796?hash=item568c60dd44

Basically, I use both. Majority of the time the flashlight is just on flasher mode and flood provides plenty of light but sometimes on really dark & desolate roads I rely more on the high and focused beam of the flashlight.

I'm sure someone will come along and call my suggestions "rubbish" while suggesting $300 bicycle lights. I've tried the "Stellas" of the bicycle world and they're good but I've been using this setup for couple years now with excellent results while saving a ton of money.
Click to expand...

Ykick,
Thanks. The more I think about it, I like the idea of the flashlight as a headlight. I'm going to go this route for starters with the headlight. As I like the idea of using my AAA NiCad batteries.

I found this article: https://electricbike-blog.com/2015/04/23/bike-head-lights-9w-389-switchback-3-vs-10-42-led-20w-head-light-from-ebay/ and tend to agree if I do attach a light to my 52v battery it would be best to have in-line fuse.
 
The more I think about this I am really leaning on wanting a Flashlight for a headlight. Is this a bad idea for any reason?

I like that I could take it off and use it to check things out on the bike at night.

With this in mind, anyone have suggestions for the best Flashlight holder?
 
I'm running this light. It is hard to mount. It takes 12-24v. The best thing is that is has a true low beam/high beam. I feel safe riding at night.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018LXCV4U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
Metallover said:
I'm running this light. It is hard to mount. It takes 12-24v. The best thing is that is has a true low beam/high beam. I feel safe riding at night.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018LXCV4U/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Click to expand...

That thing is HUGE! Let's see a picture of that on your bike please.
 
Didn't get pictures of what it's like facing the light. The low beam is way easier to look at than the high beam, yet still bright enough to be seen. I think the light pulls about 30W on high beam, but don't quote me on that.

Light is hacked on there. I will some day mount it better, hopefully!







low beam


high beam
 
I've been using an Ultrafire A100 as a bar-mounted light for a while now, pretty happy with it. You'll get the best performance from a 18650 cell and dedicated charger but it can also run on 3 AAA cells. The beam is wide and circular with a very even spread, no 'hotspots' or dim areas. It's not ideal for really dark roads but it's certainly not bad either and it can also be dimmed enough not to dazzle others. It has a zoom function as well which can be quite handy if you need to see further ahead.
 
I did a flashlight for a while.. but always worried about it being stolen and when I forgot to charge it and it was almost dead and I had to ride home in the dark I went for a dual cree light from eBay as my headlight. Been using it 2 years and would never go back. I only went for 500LM and even with 2 crees its a bit hot. If I did it again I would probably go for a broader and brighter headlight. Luckily my commute is only a few miles.

For tail light I had a basic static tail with 5 LEDs, but I've had some cars get uncomfortably close so recently decided I wanted something that caught more attention and kept then back. So I got a flashing LED
http://www.ebay.com/itm/371239440351?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
which I find very nice. At $3, its a great addition. I aim it at the ground about 10-15FT behind me and it makes a flashing spot almost 6 feet across 10ft long. Cars now keep a bit more distance :D
 
Exaggeration or what?
18 cree's though! 4 modes, xml t6
https://www.ebay.com/i/332337949277?rt=nc

though I debated whether to go with this unit
https://www.gearbest.com/headlights/pp_971695.html

This is cheap, earlier post, worth the pocket change to try out a few ;)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3W-DC12-100V-Motorcycle-Electric-Bike-Bicycle-Waterproof-Bright-LED-Headlight-/371722345796?hash=item568c60dd44

Maybe a few of these
https://www.ebay.com/p/Mini-2500lm-Adjustable-Focus-CREE-Xm-l-T6-LED-Flashlight-Torch-Lamp-Light/1649097047?_trksid=p2047675.m4096.l9055


So many choices, buy a few of the cheap shit first I guess.
 
Being seen during the day and at night has always been a problem, my bike runs on 12s lipos (52v fully charged) and what I did was to get a transformer they use on golf carts 48v to 12v on ebay. Also on EBay have many 12v headlight and tail light setups you can buy. With a micro switch I have also included stop lights and turn signals. I ride with lights on all the time just like a motorcycle.
 
There are lots of other threads on this topic. Search is your friend.

Some lights are designed properly for this purpose and do the job better. They are even legally required in some jurisdictions. Flashlights are not optimal. More lumens is not always better, and many lumen claims are pure fallacy. Do plenty of research, there are lots of choices, and many poor ones.
 
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