purple hayes

I'm knowledgeable enough to make my own bike light, but I'm not knowledgeable enough on how to make it look better. Any tips and/or tricks to making a DIY bike light look a little better?

NoRacer

Hey, John. How's it going?

Sorry about the hijack.

LittleBigMan

I think over in Total Geekiness thread (good luck searching that monster! ) there are some posts about using automobile driving light housings, I think they were Optronics brand or something like that. Do a search on "Optronics" in the forums and see what you come up with. I think these lights accepted MR-11 or MR-13's, so you could put in what you want for wattage.

Also, I recommend looking into Phillips energy-saver bulbs. A friend sent me one he wasn't using and it's great, putting out about 50% more light per watt than a standard halogen bulb, allowing me much longer run time, which also allows me a more powerful bulb for my small battery.

Good to hear from you, Purple Hayes, wasn't there a newspaper article on you commuting from Grayson to Atlanta? Keep up the good work...

DCCommuter

Spraypainting something black makes it look a lot more like it belongs on a bike. It also helps to use "bike style" hardware, such as allen head bolts instead of regular hex or philips head, and the Minoura bracket instead of cable clamps.

However, at a certain point you have to just accept your geekiness and it will accept you.

RonH

Hi John. Haven't heard from you in a while. Good to see you're still around. How are things going in your part of Gwinnett? Still working at the same place?

Can't help with the light, but as Pete suggested, try the Total Geekiness thread.
Lots of black tape? Spray paint?
Post some pictures when you're finished.

ItsJustMe

I noticed that in addition to their inexpensive ($110) HID lights (which look nice), TrailTech has some very nice looking MR11 and MR16 chromed brass lights. They're around $50. A little steep but not bad, and they certainly look good.

Here's the page:
https://www.trailtech.net/atv_light_parts_1.htm

Here's how I mounted my HID from them (looks the same as the MR11 halogen)
https://www.hauntedfrog.com/gallery2/...serialNumber=2

purple hayes

Hi, right back at you, Isaias.

Yup. Earlier this year. (two, in fact)

I'm in the Gwinnett part of Loganville now, but still work in the same place. The new commute is around 17-18 miles each way. Still looking for the best route to work.

RonH

John, you're a TRUE bike commuter. Moving so your bike commute is 2-3 miles longer.

rnagaoka

I'm in the process of brewing up some lights myself. As LittleBigMan says, the Optronics Fog lights seem to be the "standard" for no-hassle and cheap gratification. They hold mr16's, which I actually prefer for their larger, more efficient reflectors and choice of the above mentioned Philips Masterline energy saver bulbs or "HID" white bright Solex bulbs. (Put 2 side by side on your handlebars and it'll look like you're entering the Dakar Rally)

Besides the famous "Geekiness" thread, here is a condensed tutorial on a home-built Optronics light:

https://www.peteryan.com/morc/BikeLightsPart2 (or try...)
https://www.peteryan.com/morc/BikeLightsPart2.pdf

DCCommuter

I was out riding with my optronics lights this afternoon (it was daylight and they weren't turned on) and a pedestrian asked me where I got them. So I guess they look OK. A minoura clamp and a piece of aluminum angle spray painted black complete the look.

Brian

Where can I get a lightweight battery to power my 1 million CP Cibie Rallye lights?

steveknight

https://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/P...002817/c-10101
I have this light andi t is nice and small.

biodiesel

use two. On my MTB i have 2 lights, right next to the grips. The seperation means the lights pick out shadows and give more depth, makes the bike look more car-like... I get lots of comments on the setup.