jnbrown

Would like to get some LED spoke lights to improve side visibilty.
Most of them have disposable lithium batteries but would prefer to use rechargeable AA batteries.
Would also like to be able to remove and install easily so I could take it off for daylight riding.
Monkeylight looks good but having to zip tie the batteries to the hub means I would have to leave it on all the time or waste a bunch of zip ties.
Hokeyspokes is another one, can be removed with a screw driver. I worry a little bit about the weight of the batteries throwing the wheel off balance.

G1nko

I run MonkeyLights on my front wheel and just leave them on. I don't notice the wheel being out of balance. You mount the led board and the battery case opposite from each other so they sort of balance each other out.

I love the MonkeyLights. They get me noticed on my winter commutes in the dark, which is what I want, and I run them just for fun in the summer if Mrs. G1nko and I are riding back from the local watering hole.

You must have your reasons for wanting to take them off, but I just leave them on. The Monkeys come with a metal anti-theft strap you use in place of a zip tie, if that's the issue. The Monkeys use a small rubber grommet between the spoke and the led board to reduce noise. I would suspect repeatedly running zip ties through them would quickly ruin the grommets.

One charge on Sanyo Eneloop 2700s lasted over 2 months of daily 30-minute o/w commutes in the winter, b-t-dubs.

chaadster

I have both Monkeylights and Hokeyspokes, and the Monkeylights very literally outshine the Hokeys in every way. The Monkeylights are awesome in their function; Hokeyspokes I wouldn't recommend to anyone to buy.

I also leave Monkeys on year-round without trouble. I have the first model with the batteries mounted on the light-board, and while a little care was used to mount them opposite each other, perfect balance wasn't hard to acheive.

I agree leaving them on is best, but if removing often is on the agenda, there are reusable zip ties that have a release lever.

jnbrown

My reason for not wanting to leave them on is I want switch them between my road bike and tandem.
Both bikes are high end and it would look kind of funny riding with it during the day but not inconceivable.
I could mount the battery to tandem front wheel and then switch that between bikes.
I could also maybe use strong velcro instead of zip ties.

chaadster

If you haven't, consider that's a lot of flashing and carrying on to have going on under your nose. I run mine on the rear.

Bikeforumuser0011

You could also consider SpokeLits (bright, although you may need more than one one each wheel), or Reelights which run off of magnets through a conducting current.

JBHoren

+1 on the Reelights!

chaadster

I think Spokelits don't come anywhere close to Monkeylights in terms of brightness, and if Fun Factor is a thing, then the Spokelits really get outshone by ML.

Do Reelights have spoke lights? Aren't they just a headlamp/taillamp system?

fietsbob

Long time ago, in NL, I got a thin tube of reflective plastic, with a wire down the middle,
that formed a ring around amongst the spokes, inside the rim, unlike the reflective ring on tires,
its far enough up from the brake grime and general dirt to be clean & visible, better..

adding a few LEDs to that sort of ring , would be a simple improvement.
It could be induction powered, like Reelights

jnbrown

I think the Monkeylights are maybe more than I need and too much trouble to move around.
The SpokeLit looks like a good option but I wanted something where I would not be throwing away batteries.
I could maybe adapt a AA battery to it, or I might just make my own frown scratch being that I am an Electrical Engineer.

no motor?

Or you could use these reflectors: https://www.lightweights.org/store/pr...hp?productid=5

jnbrown

I like that. A few strips on the rims and crankarm should do it.
LEDs are cool looking but not worth the hassle I think.