OT? LED bike headlights - can these be for real?

I use my bike a lot and I'd be a lot more comfortable if it had lights instead of only reflectors. So I went on a google, and this is one hit:

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But, FIVE BUCKS? For a headlight? How would I find out if they're worthwhile, without plunking down the five plus S&H - and plus, just scroll down a little and the first one in the table includes a taillight, for THREE SEVENTY_NINE!!!!!?????!!!

Is this really possible with today's LED technology? Or would they last about a month before the LEDs cook themselves?

Thanks, Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise
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That's all pretty much in line with regular bicycle lamps. After all, they've got to compete or everyone would stay with incandescent light bulbs.

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Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/
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Joerg

Rich Grise wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@example.net:

That seems consistent with what my housemate paid for his; he spent more on NiMH batteries and charger. The lighting is usually operated in flash mode, which doesn't appear to have shortened the life of the LEDs.

Both units are detachable (to prevent theft) and the headlight makes for a pretty good flashlight.

--Damon

Reply to
Damon Hill

Just gotta love those e-Commerce in a box kits...

Reply to
PeterD

Its a toy, You need something like this...

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Cheers

Reply to
Martin Riddle

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I can assure you that these lights are complete rubbish, it will barely light the ground in front of you. They are exactly the same as the headlamp version available 10-for-a-10 bucks. You get what you pay for, it ain't even worth 5 bucks. The LEDs are the lowest grade junk, and the output is hopeless. WAY less than a single real Luxeon 1W led for example. My Princeton Tec EOS headlamp with a single 1W Kingbright LED (also available with bike mount) beats the pants of this rubbish - no comparison.

The plastic is brittle and cracks at the slighest bump, the thing will fall apart in your hands before the LEDs fail or the crap contacts corrode.

I've got a Fenix L2D CREE torch with a bike mount:

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I recon it's the cheapest way to get a HUGE light output for a bike, high output purpose designed bike lights are very expensive. The light output easily lights the road 20m in front of you.

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

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Forgot the link:

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AAA battery capacity is fairly small though.

Dave.

Reply to
David L. Jones

Damon Hill wrote in news:Xns9B1184A7466F3damon161attbicom@127.0.0.1:

I use a 1W Luxeon 2 AA flashlight by Ray-o-Vac I got at Wal-Mart for $18,use a couple of spring clamps to hold it to my handlebars. It's also a nice flashlight for the home.

What I'd like is a pair of 1W LuxeonLEDs in a single housing and drive current supplied by a couple of D cells/inverter.

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Jim Yanik
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Jim Yanik

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I think I achieved not too much less than that with a hot-rodded Cateye HL-EL 5200.

That is a maybe $40 4-AA LED light with a Luxeon.

So...

I use NiMH rather than alkaline. The lower voltage causes additional need to hot-rod the driver.

There is one resistor - I somewhat remember being 15 ohms. I replaced it with two 10 ohmk 1/2-watters in parallel.

I painted the heatsink with a Sharpie to inctrease its ability to radiate heat. (Other exreriments since then gave me results that outright paint works better than such a thin coating.)

I replaced the LED. If I did that now, I would use a Luxeon K2-with-TFCC "emitter". However, I used a Seoul Semiconductor P4. I had to add spacers somewhere (I forget exactly what and where), and I had to omit the LED "clamp" and glue the LED onto the heatsink with epoxy, since the P4 has its optical center in a slightly different location than a Luxeon does.

Result: I widened the beam about 50% and roughly doubled its intensity. The souped-up HL-EL5200 makes a heckuva flashlight - gives a 4-D-cell Mag a run for its money.

The effective intensity outdoors at night at distance was increased maybe only 40-50%, since the Seoul Semi P4 had a lower scotopic/photopic ratio than the Luxeon that I replaced with the P4. Nowadays the Luxeon K2/TFFC is available.

OK, so it's not quite half a 20 watt halogen. But then again there is the Osram Ostar LE UW E3B-PZQZ-4C8F, available at Digi-Key. That one requires a substantial heatsink!

- Don Klipstein ( snipped-for-privacy@misty.com)

Reply to
Don Klipstein

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