# Extremely bright homemade light



## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Deleted


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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...fa21365&itemid=280504174226&ff4=263602_263622

$10 more bucks and is arguably the best light that you can buy for the $$.


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

cesslinger said:


> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...fa21365&itemid=280504174226&ff4=263602_263622
> 
> $10 more bucks and is arguably the best light that you can buy for the $$.


I saw those but couldn't see anything in the peripheral area. With a dual setup, or even a 3 light setup like REI suggested... youll be running pretty high.


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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

kubo said:


> I saw those but couldn't see anything in the peripheral area. With a dual setup, or even a 3 light setup like REI suggested... youll be running pretty high.


You saw them as in you tested one on your bike? Myself and a few others use them for night shuttles on SOMO and they are wide enough for everything but maybe the fireroad.


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## Guest (Aug 9, 2010)

kubo said:


> I saw those but couldn't see anything in the peripheral area. With a dual setup, or even a 3 light setup like REI suggested... youll be running pretty high.


Helmet mounted light... light is where you look


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## Koa Poi-dog (Aug 6, 2010)

kubo said:


> I saw those but couldn't see anything in the peripheral area. With a dual setup, or even a 3 light setup like REI suggested... youll be running pretty high.


As Cress mentioned have you really tried them out? I have a pair and ridden with folks who also has a pair and it's damn bright. Running one on the handlebar and one on the helmet is F'n bright. Plus do you know how bright 900 lumens are?  They do have a very narrow beam of light but you can get the lens that puts out the wide beam of light and that answers your question of peripheral lighting. :idea:


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## rlb81 (Aug 18, 2008)

I give you a thumbs up for giving it a shot and making something work. That being said, don't crash because you're going to have a tough ride home in the dark if you do!


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## Douger-1 (Jan 7, 2010)

Clever setup. You are a better man than me because I wouldnt have the patience to sit there and put that together. Looks a bit bulky to me and I also wonder what happens when your batteries run out. Are you going to have to solder in another C battery bank? 

I also noticed the package says each light is 48 lumens. So with 4 lights in your setup you are running at only 192 lumens. I bought the magicshine 2300 lumen lightset for only a little over $200 shipped and they come with rechargable Li-Ion batteries. The magicshine 1400 light has 2 floods for good peripheral light. Not that MS is the best but I have found the set to very well performing for the $$.

Regardless who cares what you use as long as it works. Nice DIY project.


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Douger-1 said:


> Clever setup. You are a better man than me because I wouldnt have the patience to sit there and put that together. Looks a bit bulky to me and I also wonder what happens when your batteries run out. Are you going to have to solder in another C battery bank?
> 
> I also noticed the package says each light is 48 lumens. So with 4 lights in your setup you are running at only 192 lumens. I bought the magicshine 2300 lumen lightset for only a little over $200 shipped and they come with rechargable Li-Ion batteries. The magicshine 1400 light has 2 floods for good peripheral light. Not that MS is the best but I have found the set to very well performing for the $$.
> 
> Regardless who cares what you use as long as it works. Nice DIY project.


I have a battery pack that I can switch out the batteries.

If you count the lumens then I guess you should count the 45 lumen single LEDs that are hard wired on... Not to mention the reflective material so each side is a multiple so thats 400 lumens x4.... ??

Lumens are units that the eye perceives... so theres not really a controlled measurement to that. It will depend on where you're riding, the distance, the light color, what the light is shining on, etc... So if someone is claiming a Lumen count, throw that out of the widow.

I am sure there are other great produts out there.... Im not claiming this one to be better. It just worked for me

I found some rechargable C batteries for 8 bucks... they work great and last longer than 1.5 hours


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Koa Poi-dog said:


> As Cress mentioned have you really tried them out? I have a pair and ridden with folks who also has a pair and it's damn bright. Running one on the handlebar and one on the helmet is F'n bright. Plus do you know how bright 900 lumens are?  They do have a very narrow beam of light but you can get the lens that puts out the wide beam of light and that answers your question of peripheral lighting. :idea:


Again you are running at 250+. For with a DIY project you can get the same thing for 75...


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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

kubo said:


> Again you are running at 250+. For with a DIY project you can get the same thing for 75...


I know math is not everyone's cup of tea...

"I bought the magicshine 2300 lumen lightset for only a little over $200 shipped and they come with rechargable Li-Ion batteries."

"For with a DIY project you can get the same thing"

"So with 4 lights in your setup you are running at only 192 lumens."

You are not getting nearly the same thing as you are about 708 lumens below the "rated" output and you still spent $75 on parts. Plus, you get a cool sticker with a geomangear order... I don't see your sticker:nono:


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## tamen00 (Mar 10, 2004)

Sweet... I can outrun light, I really do pedal that fast!

I think you know what I meant... the throw on that light will not be focused enough to ride off road at speed, you will not be able to see far enough ahead when moving fast to prepare for stuff coming up.


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

tamen00 said:


> Sweet... I can outrun light, I really do pedal that fast!
> 
> I think you know what I meant... the throw on that light will not be focused enough to ride off road at speed, you will not be able to see far enough ahead when moving fast to prepare for stuff coming up.


Ok. It works great, tried it out last weekend


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## tamen00 (Mar 10, 2004)

kubo said:


> I don't think you are going to out run light... :thumbsup:
> 
> But thats the point is to be spread out... So there are less shadows. Screws me up in the trees
> 
> How do you suppose you build a 2000 lumen helmet and bar light for 75.... or even buy 2 magic shines for 75??


Sorry... you can not buy 2 magicshines for that... I did not mean that...

Check out the DIY light forum for info on building lights. There are a bunch of cool ones that people have made, and some really simple cheap ones you can build. I have been running my home brews for a couple of years now and they work great... it is fun to come up behind someone at a race with the "whatever the greatest $700 light" is at the time, and they have to pull over because their shadow is so dark they have a hard time riding...


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

GeoMan Gear,

http://rds.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0geuowUV...j/EXP=1281468564/**http://www.geomangear.com/


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

cesslinger said:


> I know math is not everyone's cup of tea...
> 
> "I bought the magicshine 2300 lumen lightset for only a little over $200 shipped and they come with rechargable Li-Ion batteries."
> 
> ...


My so called "rated" lumens to this setup is (192 + 180) x 4 = 1488 of a "flood light" type of light.

I'm not selling anything, just sharing knowledge man.

And tell me how long run time those batteries last on those MS again? How do you charge it? Can you run to the store and replace the batteries?

Are the batteries replaceable? Because we all know how long rechargable batteries last. How much is it to replace those?


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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

kubo said:


> My so called "rated" lumens to this setup is (192 + 180) x 4 = 1488 of a "flood light" type of light.
> 
> I'm not selling anything, just sharing knowledge man.
> 
> ...


I'm talking about stickers man... where are the stickers?

Your math is wrong again though... you get 48 lumens when using the flood light mode on each light... so 48+48+48+48= 192.

The MS batteries are typical lithium batteries that you can buy at radio shack. Some people mod their MS battery packs for extended ride time... however, it runs for like 20 hours or something stupid on the lowest (still bright enough) setting. To charge, you plug that sucker in the wall like any other lithium battery.

No one is knocking your MacGruber skills, but you shortchanged yourself by trying to reinvent bike lights with that kit. Go to the home brew light forum, those guys really know what is going down...


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

cesslinger said:


> I'm talking about stickers man... where are the stickers?


haha Ill have to work on a sticker for it.


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

tamen00 said:


> yeah, and that 192 lumens is really unfocused and spread out... probably outrun the light on faster sections - even 4 of those would not work well for any real off road riding. Also, 8 bucks for batteries on each ride - that adds up fast
> 
> For $75 and about the same effort, you could build a helmet and bar mounted light that would be about 2000 lumens - I have all the parts I will sell you, I have enough lights!!
> 
> Or, just buy a couple of the magicshines (the 900 puts out about 500 lumens, the 1400 about 800 lumens), a couple filters, and you are good to go with no effort


8 bucks for rechargable batteries does not equal $8 for batteries each ride


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## u2metoo (Jul 4, 2006)

Version 2.0 helmet mount.

Nice hack, BTW. Just don't be starting any forest fires with that thing.


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## Jibro (Mar 21, 2010)

u2metoo said:


> Version 2.0 helmet mount.
> 
> Nice hack, BTW. Just don't be starting any forest fires with that thing.


Amen to that


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## dfrazm (Oct 4, 2007)

...no helmet mount required, and you can add a second unit


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## Phillbo (Apr 7, 2004)

can we get a better picture of that thing mounted on your bars.... it looks HUGE in the last pic above.


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## AZ (Apr 14, 2009)

Phillbo said:


> can we get a better picture of that thing mounted on your bars.... it looks HUGE in the last pic above.


A beam shot would be cool too . Thanks . Nice hack by the way .


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

the e-experts are out in force today. 

I appreciate the hack and the effort. I wonder if they were placed in a general rectangle what the spread would be like. Necessity is the mother of invention!


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

haha


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## Phillbo (Apr 7, 2004)

better picture... how wide is that thing?


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Phillbo said:


> better picture... how wide is that thing?


Its pretty wide. 
I haven't measured it exactly, I was just sizing it up to my bike. I would say it to be about a foot long. Looks like a UFO going through the forest, haha. 
Its a plastic composite material. Its pretty bulky but surprizing light. I mounted it to old hayes nine brake levers... I cut the end off the brake levers and used the pivot hole as the mounting hole. Worked perfect at that time since I didnt want to drive everywhere looking for the right brackets mount that wont move when I hit a jump. So with that said... I hit every jump at Candy at night, except for the big booter (that would be death at night) and it held great in place great.


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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

kubo said:


> Its pretty wide.
> I haven't measured it exactly, I was just sizing it up to my bike. I would say it to be about a foot long. Looks like a UFO going through the forest, haha.
> Its a plastic composite material. Its pretty bulky but surprizing light. I mounted it to old hayes nine brake levers... I cut the end off the brake levers and used the pivot hole as the mounting hole. Worked perfect at that time since I didnt want to drive everywhere looking for the right brackets mount that wont move when I hit a jump. So with that said... I hit every jump at Candy at night, except for the big booter (that would be death at night) and it held great in place great.


Be careful... Fire in the Sky happened at Candy. Don't believe me, go into the movie rental store across from Cactus and inquire.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

kubo said:


> Its pretty wide.
> I haven't measured it exactly, I was just sizing it up to my bike. I would say it to be about a foot long. Looks like a UFO going through the forest, haha.
> Its a plastic composite material. Its pretty bulky but surprizing light. I mounted it to old hayes nine brake levers... I cut the end off the brake levers and used the pivot hole as the mounting hole. Worked perfect at that time since I didnt want to drive everywhere looking for the right brackets mount that wont move when I hit a jump. So with that said... I hit every jump at Candy at night, except for the big booter (that would be death at night) and it held great in place great.


damn you are jumping at night? That is impressive.

Funny story: was riding with some friends at night and there was this big doubles (fantasy Island in tucson). Anyway we all were riding with helmet lights and my buddy goes to do the double and I take the bypass illuminating him with my light where I can.

He unclips in the air and cases the landing. The force throws him directly to the ground and he stops dead. His light unclips from the helmet and proceeds to tumble and roll the few feet that its cable would allow.

From my vantage point it looked like he crashed and then tumbled and tumbled. I ran to were I thought he was and he wasn't there just his unplugged light. I turned and he was a good 5 feet behind laying right at the transition with a broken collarbone and a face full of dirt.

Moral of the story: never use multi release SPD cleats. Ever.


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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Phillbo said:


> better picture... how wide is that thing?


Here are a few more... It's not the best looking but it works great and with stuff you might just have laying around the house.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

Hey Kubo,
Loving the ingenuity and desire to light up the night. Not sure if you are aware or not but there is a Lights DIY forum here on MTBR with lots of good lights being built with the latest LED's - https://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=124

Here are some pictures of my light, The Amoeba -





































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## cesslinger (Oct 23, 2008)

scar said:


> Hey Kubo,
> Loving the ingenuity and desire to light up the night. Not sure if you are aware or not but there is a Lights DIY forum here on MTBR with lots of good lights being built with the latest LED's - https://forums.mtbr.com/forumdisplay.php?f=124
> 
> Here are some pictures of my light, The Amoeba -
> ...


How much were the parts for this?


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

That is the majority of work is sourcing parts. There is not a "one stop shopping" site. Most places are over seas. Shipping costs add up, also got figure in scrapping a few parts during the learning process. The large factor that is involved is the time modifying each component to fit in the small housing.

Trying to be diplomatic here, I build these lights on the weekends and sell them.






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## kubo (Sep 20, 2009)

Sweet setup, what do you mount it to? 
I havent ventured off the arizona forum much, I used to like seeing posts and replys by people I know. But the last couple months the forum natzis and grammer police have been out full force, more than usual at least.


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## scar (Jun 2, 2005)

*So small and lightweight...*

just use Velcro to mount it to the helmet









Bar mounted









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## Cycle64 (Nov 10, 2004)

Swamp ThAAng said:


> The only expert is me, and my DIY light system. It only costs $8.99 at Ace Hardware. Oh and bulbs are extra.


Do you need to use rough service bulbs or can you get by with standard bulbs?


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

I have moved this thread from the sadly summer cabin fever plagued AZ forum to here.


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## El34 (Jan 11, 2009)

Geez, that's one huge looking setup
Looks like a Flo shop light mounted to the bars 
Plus the weight of the light and batteries has to be huge also?

Too large, too heavy, not enough lumens and not the right beam shape for the high speed night stuff we do.

Me likes small round 700-900 lumen lights with super light Li-On battery packs that last 3+ hours

Just my .02
Your mileage may vary


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## mrbubbles (Apr 9, 2007)

El34 said:


> Geez, that's one huge looking setup
> Looks like a Flo shop light mounted to the bars
> Plus the weight of the light and batteries has to be huge also?
> 
> ...


Correct. 200 lumen is a joke, 700 lumen nowadays is hardly in the "extremely bright" category. The op is trying to compensate for wasting 70 something bucks.


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