Well well well, I seem to be back here again.
CPF was instrumental in me building my own LED mountain bike lights what seems like many moons ago. I learnt loads and completed an immensely satisfying project.
Back then decent led lights cost the earth and building my own saved me a lot of money as well as meaning I had cutting edge technology on my bars.
The world has changed quite a bit and now led lighting is pretty cost effective. This creates a bit of a dilemma for me. Do I build my own lights or just buy something off the shelf that in some ways could do the job a lot better. In this thread I hope with CPF members help, opinions and advice to firstly answer this question.
I want to add dynamo powered lighting to our city/urban/utility bikes. My criteria for the project are (in no particular order)
The bikes/lights need to not attract unwanted attention and minimise the chance of theft as the bikes sometimes need to be left locked unattended in and around the city.
The lights need to provide lighting that makes the bikes/riders visible and allows riders to see at night in the Sydney environment they will be used in (mainly lit streets but sometimes through unlit parks (Centennial Park)).
They must fulfil New South Wales's legal requirements.
They should be maintainence free, reliable and robust.
The system should be as efficient as possible.
A nice to have would be USB charging for iPhones and possibly other usb devices.
I'm planning to build up wheels using the SP PD8 (disc) dynamo hub and the existing rims on the bikes (700c)
So far the light options I've looked at include
AXA Pico30 Steady Switch Front Light https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=39891
At €14 it's pretty damn cost effective
AXA Luxx70 Plus Steady Auto Front Light https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=98764
€56 very bright and includes USB charging
I want to mount any rear light on the seat tube but haven't found something I'm happy with yet.
Both of these front lights are approved for use in Germany which means they have excellent cut off to avoid blinding other road users.
They also have very clever features like auto switching.
Interestingly though I have these sitting doing nothing from my previous project
Previous project can be found here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Halogen-to-Cutter-Cree-LED-conversion-project
They are 2 very robust cat eye alloy light heads that I installed MR16 (I think) 3 Cree led and optic units from cutter into. They have good heat transfer pathways and a bit of space for electronics (taskled maxflex drivers currently)
I've seen Martins circuits and also his diy rear light design so I can see that it should be pretty possible
BUT
I'll be honest, I haven't got a clue when it comes to the electronics circuits so I'll be learning from more or less scratch.
AND
I'm new to Sydney so don't know where to buy any of the componentry from.
But the learning is a key part of the game isn't it?
So is it worth investing the time in making my own lights or should I just buy something?
I figure if I was to make something myself it has to do one or both of the following:
1- Give me something suitable for my needs at least as good, if not better, than I could buy
2- be at least, if not more, cost effective than buying. (Ignoring time of course)
CPF was instrumental in me building my own LED mountain bike lights what seems like many moons ago. I learnt loads and completed an immensely satisfying project.
Back then decent led lights cost the earth and building my own saved me a lot of money as well as meaning I had cutting edge technology on my bars.
The world has changed quite a bit and now led lighting is pretty cost effective. This creates a bit of a dilemma for me. Do I build my own lights or just buy something off the shelf that in some ways could do the job a lot better. In this thread I hope with CPF members help, opinions and advice to firstly answer this question.
I want to add dynamo powered lighting to our city/urban/utility bikes. My criteria for the project are (in no particular order)
The bikes/lights need to not attract unwanted attention and minimise the chance of theft as the bikes sometimes need to be left locked unattended in and around the city.
The lights need to provide lighting that makes the bikes/riders visible and allows riders to see at night in the Sydney environment they will be used in (mainly lit streets but sometimes through unlit parks (Centennial Park)).
They must fulfil New South Wales's legal requirements.
They should be maintainence free, reliable and robust.
The system should be as efficient as possible.
A nice to have would be USB charging for iPhones and possibly other usb devices.
I'm planning to build up wheels using the SP PD8 (disc) dynamo hub and the existing rims on the bikes (700c)
So far the light options I've looked at include
AXA Pico30 Steady Switch Front Light https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=39891
At €14 it's pretty damn cost effective
AXA Luxx70 Plus Steady Auto Front Light https://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;product=98764
€56 very bright and includes USB charging
I want to mount any rear light on the seat tube but haven't found something I'm happy with yet.
Both of these front lights are approved for use in Germany which means they have excellent cut off to avoid blinding other road users.
They also have very clever features like auto switching.
Interestingly though I have these sitting doing nothing from my previous project
Previous project can be found here http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...Halogen-to-Cutter-Cree-LED-conversion-project
They are 2 very robust cat eye alloy light heads that I installed MR16 (I think) 3 Cree led and optic units from cutter into. They have good heat transfer pathways and a bit of space for electronics (taskled maxflex drivers currently)
I've seen Martins circuits and also his diy rear light design so I can see that it should be pretty possible
BUT
I'll be honest, I haven't got a clue when it comes to the electronics circuits so I'll be learning from more or less scratch.
AND
I'm new to Sydney so don't know where to buy any of the componentry from.
But the learning is a key part of the game isn't it?
So is it worth investing the time in making my own lights or should I just buy something?
I figure if I was to make something myself it has to do one or both of the following:
1- Give me something suitable for my needs at least as good, if not better, than I could buy
2- be at least, if not more, cost effective than buying. (Ignoring time of course)