Dennis McKim
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Dec 13, 2017
- Messages
- 14
[FONT="][FONT="]TL;DR version:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Assembling a bright LED lighting system for a recumbent trike, providing nighttime navigation lighting and daytime conspicuity; soft edges on the nighttime navigation beam; power source flexible. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]As I stated in my introduction, I am in the process of designing the lighting system for my use on my recumbent tricycle. I'm documenting it here to harvest ideas from others ... and on the chance that some element of the discussion might be useful to someone else in their own project. I certainly won't be trying to convince anyone else that my choices should match theirs. My system may use components designed as bicycle lights, or it may use lighting elements not originally intended for cycling.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]For several years, I have been using a "iBlaast" headlight from Night Lightning in New Zealand. It is an excellent light except that it is not well cooled during low speed riding and it often auto-dims, and I want something with a different beam shape (more about that later). [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Background: I ride a Catrike Road, built in 2006. Photos of the current model Road can be seen here; the general configuration is the same, though mine does not have suspension.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]My nighttime riding is minor, and usually consists of 1-2 hours in the early morning at the beginning of a long ride, and/or perhaps an hour or so in the evening at the end of a ride. My rides are seldom longer than 100 miles, and can usually be completed during daylight hours. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]When riding in the day, I use lights front & rear for safety, along with vertical flags attached to the rear rack. My new system will continue to provide daytime conspicuity lighting as well as nighttime navigation lighting. Although I can ride (and have ridden) off-road, my preference is for paved surfaces. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]While I've been planning my new system for many months, and have tried several ideas regarding both front and rear lights, I'll limit my initial discussion here to the front lights and will take up the issue of rear lights later. I do know now that power for the lights can come from a self-contained battery, from a dedicated remote battery, from 5 volts via USB, or from a shared 12-volt battery, as long as the battery life supports my time needs (~ 2 hours nighttime plus 12 hours daytime). I will have a 12 volt battery on the trike for other purposes, and it can be tapped for lighting. I do not envision using a dynamo hub. I do want bright LED lighting. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Many recumbent trike manufacturers (including mine) provide an "accessory post" on the front boom, just behind the bottom bracket. However, mounting lights on that post puts the light short of the rider's extended foot during pedaling. That causes the foot to be brightly illuminated as it passes through the edge of the beam — a phenomenon known as "foot flash." Some riders are less-tolerant of that than others. I am on the "very intolerant" end of that spectrum, and will not mount lights on the accessory post. Instead, I have improvised an extension to the boom which gives me a platform extending out several inches beyond the bottom bracket, and that keeps my feet out of the cone of light from my headlight. That does put the light at only 19-20" above the ground, so the lighting of the road ahead tends to exaggerate road textures and imperfections. I am currently considering using a small bracket on top of my boom extension platform for the light itself, that will make the light 21-22" above the ground. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]My line of sight is from a position about 35" above the ground. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]I have tried a light on my helmet in the past, and did not care for it, partly because of my feet-forward, recumbent seating position. If the light(s) I select need(s) an external switch, I will probably mount that switch on the accessory post. [/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]One characteristic I want that is, perhaps, unusual, is a headlight beam with soft left, right, and bottom edges but a hard limitation of the top of the beam to prevent the brightest portion from shining in the eyes of drivers or other cyclists. While I understand that many people want a sharply-defined beam with knife-edge borders all around, I find that to be distracting and I want something that makes a very gradual transition from light to dark on the sides and bottom of the beam. I have looked at several very good lights that might have worked well, were it not for the shape of their main beam.[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Another requirement I have is for a light to serve for daytime conspicuity, with at least some portion of that light to be flashing. That light need not be extremely bright, but it should be visible over a broad angle; something approaching 180° along both horizontal and vertical axes. (I understand that others disagree with the use of flashing conspicuity lighting but I am going to use it.)[/FONT][/FONT]
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[FONT="][FONT="]Assembling a bright LED lighting system for a recumbent trike, providing nighttime navigation lighting and daytime conspicuity; soft edges on the nighttime navigation beam; power source flexible. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]As I stated in my introduction, I am in the process of designing the lighting system for my use on my recumbent tricycle. I'm documenting it here to harvest ideas from others ... and on the chance that some element of the discussion might be useful to someone else in their own project. I certainly won't be trying to convince anyone else that my choices should match theirs. My system may use components designed as bicycle lights, or it may use lighting elements not originally intended for cycling.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]For several years, I have been using a "iBlaast" headlight from Night Lightning in New Zealand. It is an excellent light except that it is not well cooled during low speed riding and it often auto-dims, and I want something with a different beam shape (more about that later). [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Background: I ride a Catrike Road, built in 2006. Photos of the current model Road can be seen here; the general configuration is the same, though mine does not have suspension.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]My nighttime riding is minor, and usually consists of 1-2 hours in the early morning at the beginning of a long ride, and/or perhaps an hour or so in the evening at the end of a ride. My rides are seldom longer than 100 miles, and can usually be completed during daylight hours. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]When riding in the day, I use lights front & rear for safety, along with vertical flags attached to the rear rack. My new system will continue to provide daytime conspicuity lighting as well as nighttime navigation lighting. Although I can ride (and have ridden) off-road, my preference is for paved surfaces. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]While I've been planning my new system for many months, and have tried several ideas regarding both front and rear lights, I'll limit my initial discussion here to the front lights and will take up the issue of rear lights later. I do know now that power for the lights can come from a self-contained battery, from a dedicated remote battery, from 5 volts via USB, or from a shared 12-volt battery, as long as the battery life supports my time needs (~ 2 hours nighttime plus 12 hours daytime). I will have a 12 volt battery on the trike for other purposes, and it can be tapped for lighting. I do not envision using a dynamo hub. I do want bright LED lighting. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Many recumbent trike manufacturers (including mine) provide an "accessory post" on the front boom, just behind the bottom bracket. However, mounting lights on that post puts the light short of the rider's extended foot during pedaling. That causes the foot to be brightly illuminated as it passes through the edge of the beam — a phenomenon known as "foot flash." Some riders are less-tolerant of that than others. I am on the "very intolerant" end of that spectrum, and will not mount lights on the accessory post. Instead, I have improvised an extension to the boom which gives me a platform extending out several inches beyond the bottom bracket, and that keeps my feet out of the cone of light from my headlight. That does put the light at only 19-20" above the ground, so the lighting of the road ahead tends to exaggerate road textures and imperfections. I am currently considering using a small bracket on top of my boom extension platform for the light itself, that will make the light 21-22" above the ground. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]My line of sight is from a position about 35" above the ground. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]I have tried a light on my helmet in the past, and did not care for it, partly because of my feet-forward, recumbent seating position. If the light(s) I select need(s) an external switch, I will probably mount that switch on the accessory post. [/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]One characteristic I want that is, perhaps, unusual, is a headlight beam with soft left, right, and bottom edges but a hard limitation of the top of the beam to prevent the brightest portion from shining in the eyes of drivers or other cyclists. While I understand that many people want a sharply-defined beam with knife-edge borders all around, I find that to be distracting and I want something that makes a very gradual transition from light to dark on the sides and bottom of the beam. I have looked at several very good lights that might have worked well, were it not for the shape of their main beam.[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="][/FONT]
[/FONT]
[FONT="][FONT="]Another requirement I have is for a light to serve for daytime conspicuity, with at least some portion of that light to be flashing. That light need not be extremely bright, but it should be visible over a broad angle; something approaching 180° along both horizontal and vertical axes. (I understand that others disagree with the use of flashing conspicuity lighting but I am going to use it.)[/FONT][/FONT]
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