If you're thinking of buying some proper lights ...

[scant]

Thanks chaps . but no way I can spend £200 on lights .

Might have to go the homemade route . cant be that difficult . :?

do a search, theres loadsa sites with step by step build yer own lights. maplins will also be your friend

i've got some vista nite sticks for sale that need some work, but the general guts all work fine if u want a starting point?

 

[cchris2lou]

I ll do a few searches and see where I take it from there .

 

[gump]

hate to say it but STW have had a few monster DIY light threads too.
There are places that sell the simple switchable LED drivers, if you already have some housings and mounts, this is the hardest part for DIY to make look good. The wiring is simple to follow.


I bought the L&M second hand, little used, fully boxed etc for about £180 IIRC. It was a struggle to spend this much on a light, but it is pretty awesome.
Keep thinking about modding one of my old Cateye with an LED to leave on winter hack for commuting with, but y'know.. Another job I never get round to.

 

[Augustus]

I use Lumicycle Halogens. 12w spot + 20w flood.

Gotta say I like them more than the LED's around. More of a flood light than a sharper more contrasty light. Was out with Steve PSD and his USE Exposures and they are a lot better than LED's of old and he liked them (needed the joystick helmet lamp too though deffo) but I just prefer the light from the halogens.

Pity it's yellowy by comparison though.

 

[ededwards]

I'm after some lights too, looking at LEDs but don't want/can't spend much so might have to go secondhand unless anybody knows of any Frankenlights?

I have seen diagrams of how to make some lights yourself but frankly it is all beyond me. Could be a tidy little side line for someone.

 

[The Ken]

We made our own 35w lamp with a 4700 Nimh rechargeable battery and a 12v halogen garden spotlight, cost about 30quid all in, cars flash us when we are near the road so I reckon it is bright enough....only lasts about 1.5 hours though.

 

[kaiser]

For a budget option I bought 2 led torches from ebay and mounted them to the bike. Although for commuting they light up unlit country roads enough to not worry about visibilty, I reckon one more and/or a head torch would do the trick for off road. I chose ones that use the cree P4 led as used in the u.s.e. exposures, these ones

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=150206550238&ssPageName=STRK:MEWN:IT&ih=005

giving 145 lumens each, quite a good size for bar mounting too.

 

[kaiser]

Should also look at candlepower forums too for some homemade ideas, a project for the future.

 

[heathy]

The new hope leds are worth a look, the guys from my lbs who i sometimes do night rides with have em, and to be honest there awesome :shock: Easily more than enough light for a off road blast :!:
They also are very small and the battery can be attached to even a small
stem, keeping wires down to a minimum.

 

[cchris2lou]

We made our own 35w lamp with a 4700 Nimh rechargeable battery and a 12v halogen garden spotlight, cost about 30quid all in, cars flash us when we are near the road so I reckon it is bright enough....only lasts about 1.5 hours though.

where did you find out about making them ?

with 2 or 3 batteries , should be plenty for MM .