Flag Pole Lights?
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Flag Pole Lights?
We just got a pair of Catrikes. We got flashing lights for the rear, but I was wondering if there was some sort of strobe that could be mounted on top of the flag pole? It seems like a more attention getting position than down low on the frame. Obviously it would have to fairly light weight. Anyone seen or tried anything like that?
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 217
Bikes: Rans Screamer, Catrike Expedition, Specialized Montain Bike, Cannondale Quick SL1
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I ride a Catrike Expedition. On the flag staff, on the lower portion that came with the trike, I drilled a hole through a wine cork and mounted it on the upper portion of the lower pole, with a set screw so it could not turn, and to this I attached a Planet Bike strobe "blinky" red facing aft. I drilled a small hole through the trike fitting that holds the pole on the frame of the trike, and through this, I inserted a "hairpin" that prevents the flag pole from twisting. This makes it easy to take the whole thing off of the trike when it's on the bike rack behind the car. The light flashes at about 5 feet above ground; very visible. It's been a great system for years and I'm told I am visible to anyone coming up from behind. The flag I use is from "Be Seen Wear". Mike
#3
rebmeM roineS
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Metro Indy, IN
Posts: 16,218
Bikes: Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
Liked 350 Times
in
228 Posts
google "bike flag pole lights"
I have no personal experience with flag pole lights
I have no personal experience with flag pole lights
__________________
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
Bacchetta Giro A20, RANS V-Rex, RANS Screamer
#5
You have not yet seen a tail light until the bike shop kid walks across the parking lot about 100 yards away in broad daylight on a sunny day and points this blinky thing back at ya, then the shop owner tells you to turn around and look back into the bike shop at all the bike reflectors reacting to that 'Cree' LED~
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/eq...-light/p/12539
My life is worth $79 I tell ya !
~~~A tail light from the future that makes every ride safer, the Flare RT is ANT+ enabled to partner with the brilliant Transmitr wireless control. Boasting 65 Lumens of 270 degree visibility, Flare RT is the first tail light designed for daylight visibility, easily seen from up to 2km away.~~~
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/eq...-light/p/12539
My life is worth $79 I tell ya !
~~~A tail light from the future that makes every ride safer, the Flare RT is ANT+ enabled to partner with the brilliant Transmitr wireless control. Boasting 65 Lumens of 270 degree visibility, Flare RT is the first tail light designed for daylight visibility, easily seen from up to 2km away.~~~
#11
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
You can make a pretty visible flagpole light with a simple piece of lexan tubing and some RGB lights from https://amzn.com/B00DTOAWZ2 and a controller https://amzn.com/B009C2Z3D6 and of course a 12vdc power source Amazon.com : Talentcell 12V DC Output Lithium Ion Battery Pack For LED Strip/Light/Panel/Amplifier And CCTV Camera With Charger, Multi-led indicator Black (3000mAh) : Camera & Photo or just buy them pre-made from GlowWhips - Safety flags | ATV flags | LED Antenna Topper | Lighted Whip Pole
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sin City, Nevada
Posts: 2,913
Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
Likes: 0
Liked 243 Times
in
191 Posts
I just got finished modifying a dollar store 4 LED light stick to run on a single 3.7V 3600 maH 18650 Li-Ion battery instead of the 3 AG3 button cells it came with. Total weight including the light, battery, battery holder and 30 inches of wire is 72 grams, slightly under 3 oz. It takes less than a minute to install it on the flagpole with a binder clip. It should run for many hours on the one battery. It's not a daytime running light but I have never bothered with one in a decade of trike riding and over 40,000 miles with no accidents. Plenty good for cruising around the neighborhood looking at the Christmas lights. I couple it with a very bright flashing white headlight at the front and two bar end flashing lights for side view.
The suggestion for waterproof RGB lights is a good one and the price for the ones on Amazon isn't bad. You can do way better on the battery pack if you are willing to buy from overseas as I almost always do. Similar battery pack which is more compact but with the same capacity (Ebay # 141735087797) $13.89 postpaid and a compact controller for the RGB lights (Ebay # 161884476433) $.74 postpaid. You can buy just one meter (39") of lights for $3.08 postpaid here (Ebay # 381420648022) if you want to experiment. Just specify RGB, 5050 waterproof, 1M 60 lights, and LED light strip only in the selection boxes. Sometimes the lights and controllers don't come with the tiny 4-pin connector to go between them but that too is available for a pittance (Ebay # 271979548659) $.74 for 10 and is postpaid. Delivery from overseas takes about two weeks and comes to your mailbox via USPS. Never got charged an import tax one orders as large as $150.
I have 3 lengths of these same waterproof RGB lights as Christmas lights on my house. They are visible in daylight but don't expect them to attract all that much attention. At night, they will be very visible from a long way off. The controller allows you to chose individual colors or flashing while changing colors at the same time. The lights and controller weigh very little.
The suggestion for waterproof RGB lights is a good one and the price for the ones on Amazon isn't bad. You can do way better on the battery pack if you are willing to buy from overseas as I almost always do. Similar battery pack which is more compact but with the same capacity (Ebay # 141735087797) $13.89 postpaid and a compact controller for the RGB lights (Ebay # 161884476433) $.74 postpaid. You can buy just one meter (39") of lights for $3.08 postpaid here (Ebay # 381420648022) if you want to experiment. Just specify RGB, 5050 waterproof, 1M 60 lights, and LED light strip only in the selection boxes. Sometimes the lights and controllers don't come with the tiny 4-pin connector to go between them but that too is available for a pittance (Ebay # 271979548659) $.74 for 10 and is postpaid. Delivery from overseas takes about two weeks and comes to your mailbox via USPS. Never got charged an import tax one orders as large as $150.
I have 3 lengths of these same waterproof RGB lights as Christmas lights on my house. They are visible in daylight but don't expect them to attract all that much attention. At night, they will be very visible from a long way off. The controller allows you to chose individual colors or flashing while changing colors at the same time. The lights and controller weigh very little.
#13
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I agree, ebay or alibaba is much cheaper for these things, but amazon has a no-questions-asked return policy .. and with as much less than-fully-functional stuff I get from china I like to be able to send it back and get another, less broken one <g> .
I just got finished modifying a dollar store 4 LED light stick to run on a single 3.7V 3600 maH 18650 Li-Ion battery instead of the 3 AG3 button cells it came with. Total weight including the light, battery, battery holder and 30 inches of wire is 72 grams, slightly under 3 oz. It takes less than a minute to install it on the flagpole with a binder clip. It should run for many hours on the one battery. It's not a daytime running light but I have never bothered with one in a decade of trike riding and over 40,000 miles with no accidents. Plenty good for cruising around the neighborhood looking at the Christmas lights. I couple it with a very bright flashing white headlight at the front and two bar end flashing lights for side view.
The suggestion for waterproof RGB lights is a good one and the price for the ones on Amazon isn't bad. You can do way better on the battery pack if you are willing to buy from overseas as I almost always do. Similar battery pack which is more compact but with the same capacity (Ebay # 141735087797) $13.89 postpaid and a compact controller for the RGB lights (Ebay # 161884476433) $.74 postpaid. You can buy just one meter (39") of lights for $3.08 postpaid here (Ebay # 381420648022) if you want to experiment. Just specify RGB, 5050 waterproof, 1M 60 lights, and LED light strip only in the selection boxes. Sometimes the lights and controllers don't come with the tiny 4-pin connector to go between them but that too is available for a pittance (Ebay # 271979548659) $.74 for 10 and is postpaid. Delivery from overseas takes about two weeks and comes to your mailbox via USPS. Never got charged an import tax one orders as large as $150.
I have 3 lengths of these same waterproof RGB lights as Christmas lights on my house. They are visible in daylight but don't expect them to attract all that much attention. At night, they will be very visible from a long way off. The controller allows you to chose individual colors or flashing while changing colors at the same time. The lights and controller weigh very little.
The suggestion for waterproof RGB lights is a good one and the price for the ones on Amazon isn't bad. You can do way better on the battery pack if you are willing to buy from overseas as I almost always do. Similar battery pack which is more compact but with the same capacity (Ebay # 141735087797) $13.89 postpaid and a compact controller for the RGB lights (Ebay # 161884476433) $.74 postpaid. You can buy just one meter (39") of lights for $3.08 postpaid here (Ebay # 381420648022) if you want to experiment. Just specify RGB, 5050 waterproof, 1M 60 lights, and LED light strip only in the selection boxes. Sometimes the lights and controllers don't come with the tiny 4-pin connector to go between them but that too is available for a pittance (Ebay # 271979548659) $.74 for 10 and is postpaid. Delivery from overseas takes about two weeks and comes to your mailbox via USPS. Never got charged an import tax one orders as large as $150.
I have 3 lengths of these same waterproof RGB lights as Christmas lights on my house. They are visible in daylight but don't expect them to attract all that much attention. At night, they will be very visible from a long way off. The controller allows you to chose individual colors or flashing while changing colors at the same time. The lights and controller weigh very little.
#14
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sin City, Nevada
Posts: 2,913
Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
Likes: 0
Liked 243 Times
in
191 Posts
Very few problems with extensive overseas purchases
Buying from overseas Ebay sellers has not proven to be a problem for me and I ordered a lot of stuff from Banggood and individual Ebay sellers for both my bikes and in converting my entire house to LED lighting. I can only remember one case in which I got stuck because the seller described a pair of light dimmers costing $14 as being suitable for LED lights when it clearly was marked "Incandescent only" on the body of the dimmer. It wasn't worth the trouble of sending it back. I gave him as crappy a rating as possible and left a message warning future buyers that he wasn't to be trusted. Ebay sellers in particular don't want you to leave negative feedback so they will make every effort to correct mistakes. And yes, I have had problems with domestic Amazon sellers misrepresenting the product so it is not confined to overseas sellers. I can buy a 2.5 meter (8') natural white LED strip from Home Depot for around $55 or buy the same thing in twice the length from Banggood for 9 bucks in waterproof or $5 in non-waterproof. It sure is worth taking a chance.
#15
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 12
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Much better luck than I've had for sure. I don't believe I've bought from Banggood so I'll give them a shot someday. The ebay sellers I've dealt with don't seem to care about their feedback. For overseas stuff, I've started buying more from Aliexpress as at least they hold the money for a few days after delivery and I've got time to test the stuff and file a grievance if its got broken bits.
So far I've had good luck with zhitao's store-ws2812 - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling lamp uvb,lamp cat,lamp rose and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group and LED Boutiques - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling tube website,tubing coupling,tube ph and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group You really have to be on top of stuff and ready to test it right away when it arrives. Aliexpress autorelease of funding is 3 days after delivery if you don't do anything.
So far I've had good luck with zhitao's store-ws2812 - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling lamp uvb,lamp cat,lamp rose and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group and LED Boutiques - Small Orders Online Store, Hot Selling tube website,tubing coupling,tube ph and more on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group You really have to be on top of stuff and ready to test it right away when it arrives. Aliexpress autorelease of funding is 3 days after delivery if you don't do anything.
Buying from overseas Ebay sellers has not proven to be a problem for me and I ordered a lot of stuff from Banggood and individual Ebay sellers for both my bikes and in converting my entire house to LED lighting. I can only remember one case in which I got stuck because the seller described a pair of light dimmers costing $14 as being suitable for LED lights when it clearly was marked "Incandescent only" on the body of the dimmer. It wasn't worth the trouble of sending it back. I gave him as crappy a rating as possible and left a message warning future buyers that he wasn't to be trusted. Ebay sellers in particular don't want you to leave negative feedback so they will make every effort to correct mistakes. And yes, I have had problems with domestic Amazon sellers misrepresenting the product so it is not confined to overseas sellers. I can buy a 2.5 meter (8') natural white LED strip from Home Depot for around $55 or buy the same thing in twice the length from Banggood for 9 bucks in waterproof or $5 in non-waterproof. It sure is worth taking a chance.