gaucho777 

As the title says, I'm looking for a classic-looking front head light (or front/rear combo) that is also USB rechargeable. I don't think I want to mess with dynamos or batteries. All chrome or alloy preferred. It doesn't have to be the brightest light, but I don't want a weak light either.

Another thought was to retrofit a vintage light by replacing the innards. Thoughts or experience with this?

It's for this early 70s Gitane I've been working on. It'd be a shame not to take advantage of this frame mount.

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Andy_K 

I feel like I saw a thread where someone did this. I have no idea who. I think it's a good idea.

JaccoW

That's a pretty nice bottle dynamo mount!

bikemig 

Soma has some retro looking lights.

bark_eater 

Modern lights are so much smaller than a lot of the old bulbed head lights, that I would think you could mount the entire led unit inside behind the original lens. The limiting factor would be getting the heat out of the shell. I've seen a couple conversions where the vintage lens is left off. If you really want to hide the modern electronics, I think you'll need to engineer some sort of heat sink. I'd try and use copper make the light mount and connect it to the the vintage metal light shell to draw the heat away. If that wasn't enough, I'd connect it to an external strip of copper on the bottom of the shell to act as a radiator.

SJX426 

Looks like a sew-up tire. I don't know that I would run a bottle dynamo on the sidewall of a tubular.

Anyone doing that?

gaucho777 

Yes, those are tubulars—and expensive ones at that. That wasn’t my initial reason to avoid a dynamo though I definitely wouldn’t want to risk damaging these tires.

gaucho777 

Thanks for this info. That’s a lot to think about and research. I don’t have much experience jiggering with electronics so that route may be beyond my skill set. If I used an LED system, would there be much heat?

Germany_chris

most modern bottle dynamos can be run on the rim.

Markeologist

Classic rando bikes had flashlight mounts...I think you can still find some made by Wald which you could probably rig to fit that fork mount. Find an old classic chrome flashlight and use rechargeable batteries.

Markeologist

...better picture of an Alex Singer with twin flashlights here...you should be able to bolt some flashlight holder to the fork mount...would look pretty *****'n.

gaucho777 

Thanks @Markeologist I was looking at something similar on the Jitensha Studio website: https://www.jitensha.com/eng/lighting.html. Their shop is only a couple miles from my house. Not USB rechargeable, but definitely a contender.

gaucho777 

Thanks for the suggestion. I do like the look of the Torpedo light. A good option, though not rechargeable, and only a 6 hour run time for 4 AAA batteries? I don't plan to use the light a lot, but I'd still prefer not to add batteries to the landfill or worry about when the batteries will run out.

Markeologist

Ah Jitensha Studio...haven't been there in a very long time but they always had such great stuff is such a boutique setting. There stuff is not cheap...could probably find something French and vintage off ebay for significantly cheaper.

no67el

If you search on some of the big web retailers (like the A or the E) for "classic retro LED bike light" you get a bunch of stuff like THIS. Prices all over the place from 10-40, depending on your tolerance for overseas manufacture etc.

Fairly classic round/cone-shaped light, LED's--- but most of what I see requires AA or AAA batteries, not the USB-rechargeable you were searching for. But you can always buy rechargeable AA batteries and a charger....

I've had success finding small LED replacement bulbs for lights in old car dashboards etc.--- and the light quality is quite good. I have one of those classic old box-shaped D-battery lights that slid onto the light brackets common on old British bikes, and I've thought about just converting it using LED bulbs--- the old light was maybe enough to make you visible to others at night, but not really enough to actually illuminate the road ahead....

bark_eater 

Its not a lot of heat generated but LEDs and their electronics are designed to work best at a certain temperature range. I have a single AA led flashlight and if it turns on in my pocket for a while the heat is noticeable. The kind of heat sink I was envisioning for a light inside a vintage body would be a strip of copper hose clamped to the led body and attached to the vintage shell with an existing fastener or a pop rivet. Securely mounting a modern light inside the shell might be fussy, or maybe the stock fork crown mount could go to an existing fastener.

gaucho777 

How much drag do the dynamos add? I confess that I have a fragile cyclist psyche when it comes to excess drag on a bike...Are my brakes rubbing? My brakes must be rubbing! Nope, just out of shape.

bark_eater 

Check this out. There's plenty of room in there.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Dyn...YAAOSwRnVfWWkc

noobinsf 

Somafab has those Panasonic dynamo hubs on closeout for $21 right now. I have a couple in my cart, but I have yet to close the sale.

JaccoW

Sounds like a mod like @bark_eater proposes might be in order.

I did it a few years ago:




As for the dynamo, take a look at the velogical rim dynamo.

ZudeJammer

i used to just hold the flashlight across my handlebars for night rides

Soody

How about this on bluelug?

RINDOW

usb rechargeable. I reckon you could easily enough mount it on that dynamo thingo.