Triple Cree XR-E Bike Light

nightrider

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While CPF was down, I had time to finish this Triple Cree XR-E (P3 bin) bike light. I used an nFlex driver and some square Ledil lenses that turned out to fit perfectly in the aluminum housing that I made. The lenses are one 4 degree spot and two 9 degree diffusers. I'm driving them at 750ma with the nFlex. The light is powered by a 14.8v, 4A, Li-Ion battery pack which goes in my camelback and the light is worn on the helmet. The light weighs 125g and the battery a little over 400g. The construction is almost entirely 1" square aluminum tubing.

IMG_1985.jpg


IMG_2001.jpg

Notice the 4 degree spot lens in the middle and the two 9 degree diffusers on each side.


Here are some beamshot comparisons at a distance of about 25 feet. All were shot at F2.8, 1/4 sec, ISO 400.

The first shot below is my Fenix P1:
1_Fenix_P1.jpg


Next is a dual Luxeon V bike light that I built:
2_Dual_Lux_V.jpg


Next is a triple Luxeon III bike light that I built:
3_TripleLuxIII.jpg


Finally the triple Cree XR-E is shown below!
4_TripleCreeXR_E.jpg



I've started a LED Bike Lighting guide Web site.. it's not finished yet, but here's what I have so far. It includes the links below as well.

Here are some links to the light housing construction and the installation of the Crees, electronics, and lenses.

Enjoy!
 
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nightrider

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greenLED said:
Man, is that much light street legal? :devil:

Fantastic build, nightrider! :twothumbs

Thanks greenLED. Street legal? I don't know, I only use it for off-road trail riding at night. :grin2:
 

greenLED

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nightrider said:
Street legal? I don't know
Regardless, I want one!! :party:

Just out of curiosity, do you have a halogen or HID bike light you could compare your light against? It's obvious it completely smokes all your other creations, I'm curious how it compares with the incans.

Did you also custom-build that battery pack?
 

nightrider

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greenLED said:
Regardless, I want one!! :party:

Just out of curiosity, do you have a halogen or HID bike light you could compare your light against? It's obvious it completely smokes all your other creations, I'm curious how it compares with the incans.

Did you also custom-build that battery pack?

I don't own an HID, but I ride with a bunch of folks that do. The light probably doesn't put out as much total light as the HIDs, but it has more throw. This triple cree probably puts out around 400 lumens where most of the HID lights put out 550 - 675 lumens. I'll try to take my camera one night and do some comparison shots with one of my buddies' HID light. I probably have just as much light on the trail in front of me, but not as much side fill... but to solve that problem I use another Dual Luxeon V on the handlebar :) So my total lumens with both lights is about 640.

I have some 10w and 20w 12volt halogen lamps, but I don't have a 12v battery to drive them. I've been wanting to make this comparison myself. Maybe I can find a fellow rider that has one I can borrow.

The battery pack is a pre-built, protected, Li-Ion pack from batteryspace.com.
 

Pinter

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Nightrider, very nice work and also very well documented!
Liked it very much, thank you for posting the whole process.

One question: I know that you are using stars, but wondering whether Ledil optics fit if I solder the wires on top of the Crees?
 

Brum

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Pinter said:
One question: I know that you are using stars, but wondering whether Ledil optics fit if I solder the wires on top of the Crees?
Check the Ledil specsheet, it has a drawing of the underside of a Ledil optic with a bare emitter pictured in it, it shows enough room on the sides to loop the wiring through. With stars (or round PCB) you have to file/remove some of the underside of the optics to make way for the wiring. I believe nightrider did this.

As posted on MTBR: impressive!

Now if only my bFlex would show up.... :rock:
 

eebowler

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nightrider: I'm freaking IMPRESSED! Good work. :twothumbs

The instructions and directions were excellent also! :bow:
 
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Pinter

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nightrider said:
The light is powered by a 14.8v, 4A, Li-Ion battery pack which goes in my camelback and the light is worn on the helmet. The light weighs 125g and the battery a little over 400g. The construction is almost entirely 1" square aluminum tubing.
You are a real biker when you are specifying grams :)
Too bad, carbon is not a good heat spreader...
 

bbaker22

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Very very nice. Excellent evolution in design simplicity, too.

I'm thinking a 4xCree will actually be competitive with my HID and will blow away the TriLuxIII that I built last year. I'm trying to be patient and let people like you work out the intracies of the XR-E's before I jump in. :)

thanks,
baker
 

KWillets

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The ledil's aren't clear as to whether they fit with wires on top of the emitter, or what installation is recommended. The design seems to allow wires to come from below and reach the solder pads, but the optic itself fits down around the metal ring and may contact the wire.

The glue pads are foam, and they may squish down over wires soldered onto the star without too much trouble. I haven't installed mine permantently, but test fitting seems OK.

Carbon fiber is a very good heat conductor, BTW.
 
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