mountain_lion

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/julesandjames/home/disk_and_quick_release/ https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=26651

See http://www.gpsies.com/upload.do?uploadMode=convert for an online convert tool to convert .tcx files to other more useful formats e.g. .gpx.

OK, the DX sku is at the top of the page. And being P7 this will be a "single" LED, but multi die, so should be compared to something like the Cree MCE. Any idea what the drive current is?

Vitality membership for me and my wife = R200pm = R2400pa. This is excluding the cost of fitness tests and activation fees for benefits etc. With Vitality you need to go big, i.e. get max points and use as many as possible of the big benefits (air tickets, hotel stay) every year to make it worth while. Else it is better not to join at all. There is no local Virgin Active in town for us and you need to see many movies before you make up R2400 in sayings. Many people get suckered by the potential savings, but then never get the points to get the true benefit. I am not knocking Vitality, it works for some. Just make sure you actually win at the end of the year.

What can you do with Vitality points these days? (not sure what the present perks are; not a member anymore, just Discovery member) I was a Vitality member for several years. Got gold status; no problem if you read the material every year. 2 fitness tests used to almost do it. We used Vitality a few times for holidays etc, but hotels etc are not my scene. Then did the sums again and found that the monthly vitality membership fee could be better spent on things that I actually want rather than being limited to what is available on the points list.

RC batteries will work, but did you notice the cost!? In general the RC / hobby shops are a rip-off. To be fair, it should also be noted that most RC toys draw high load currents for a short period, while a LED bicycle light draws a lower current for a longer time. Battery current for my lights is less than 1A. 1A from a 2200mAh battery is 0.45C. Some RC toys draw 50A+ i.e. more than 22C for a 2200mAh battery! This calls for a different (and more expensive) type of battery. Laptop batteries are a more suitable alternative for bicycle lights.

Will be nice if you order those and let us know how they perform. I had a look at them too, but decided against it because: not sure about quality & actual capacity rating not clear if any protection circuitry is includedno solder tags to easily wire into battery packno battery holders available for 18650 type batteries mountain_lion2008-09-29 11:58:33

No internal GPS in the E51, but you can connect an external GPS via bluetooth.

Where did you get the battery pack and charger? www.all-battery.com There are better batteries available but shipping to SA usually makes it way too expensive to consider. I ordered from All-Battery with USPostal shipping i.e. SA Post office on this side. All arrived safely; I think within 2 weeks from order. Paid via PayPal. There might be local suppliers of Li-ion batteries in SA too, but I could not find any online. Maybe try the yellow pages... mountain_lion2008-09-28 14:21:36

Parts list for the triple Cree on round heat sink: Similar parts list to above, but the mounting hardware is replaced by a heat sink and Al disk machined on the lathe. Short section of 50mm PVC pipe and a 50mm PVC coupling (modified on lathe) is used to enclose the LEDs and hold the lens in place. This is not a common heat sink (from old PC); I only had one. Lenses replaced by combination lens from DealExtreme R30. No major difference in cost. A much lighter light (Al is lighter than brass), but more difficult to construct.

This is just to give an idea of what you need as well as cost. I had many items available in my collection of "stuff that might be useful for something sometime..." Parts summary for 3 individual Cree LED light (costs approximate): 3 of Cree XR-E Q5 bin LED total R170 (DealExtreme / Kaidomain / Cutter) 3 of Lens and holder 8? total R50 (DealExtreme / Kaidomain / Cutter) 3 of Brass Conex stop-ends (end caps) total R60 (hardware store) T-bracket @ R10 Screws R20 Driver (e.g. Buckpuck or bflex) R250 (Rabtron / Cutter / TaskLED) Wires, solder, heat sink paste, silicone etc. R20 Switches, plugs (design / driver dependent) R50?? L-bracket to fit in LED flasher mount @ R10 LED flasher mount R? (I had one) Battery pack (12V to 14V) + Charger e.g. Li-ion ~R500 Total parts: ~R1200 Note that the battery and charger makes up approximately half of the total cost. NiMH AAs will work as well, but you need at least 10; 12 are better. Labour: you decide... Remember to include shipping, duty and VAT if you order online from international suppliers. Mounting the light on the bike is the most difficult part of any DIY light project. You need to play with it and see what works for you. I ended up hanging this light from the LED flasher mount, because of its weight. Was not stable other way round (as pictured here). Unfortunately this drops the light to behind the gear and brake cables. Edit: 2009 Latest mounting method is L-bracket padded with hi-density foam and strapped directly to the stem with rubber band (cut from old car tube). Very stable and can be slightly adjusted while riding. Will take and post pic later... mountain_lion2009-04-03 14:37:44

Sorry, parts list with possible sources I will post (will try to do it tomorrow), but as already said it takes way to much time to do for others. The fun is in making your own for personal use. After that, it becomes work and my day job pays much better. Speaking of which, I must get back to work...

I will post some prices later. However be warned that building your own light is not worth it from cost point of view if you calculate the time spent. It takes many hours... Many parts used were from "scrap" that my dad and myself had collected over the years. You also need a nice workshop. My dad has a very well equipped garage and all the wet weather in the Cape over the last few weeks gave me a good excuse to spend some time with him. We had loads of fun playing with the lathe and pondering over several design options...

680mA load current @14.8V from the battery. 1A drive current through the LEDs.

Blfex driver has 5 brightness settings. You can operate it in 5 level mode or duo mode (2 setting). For duo mode you can choose any of the 5 levels for the 2 you use. No problem dimming. But who needs to dim off-road? At 680mA load current at full blast (level 5) the theoretical run time from 2200mAh is more than 3 hours (still need to test the actual run time from this battery). PS: It has been too wet in the Western Cape to mow the lawn, and when the weather is good, I grab the opportunity to go for a dryer ride!

The beam shots above does not show it well, but the combination triple Cree lens gives a better result than the 3 individual lenses. The beam pattern can be seen better from a side view against a flat surface (like my dining room wall): 3 individual Cree's: Triple Cree in round heat sink: As can be seen here, the composite lens (sourced from deal extreme) gives a nice narrow spot to light up the road ahead (about 10? ?), but also has usable side spill of 30? +. The 3 individual lenses has a wider total beam, which spreads the light over a wider area, so it seems less bright. I am not sure if I will even need the helmet light with this light. Will have to go ride some really twisty single track at speed to see...