mountain_lion

Hey thanks, we need to ride today to make use of an offer that expired yesterday?? Which "Trail Centres" are these that have time machines?

Much depends on the type of and configuration of the driver circuit you are using (buck or boost), but from 3xD-cells in series = 4.5V, your options are limited. Assuming the driver circuits are integrated in the light heads, you could just connect the 2 heads in parallel. This will double the load current and halve the run time (in theory; in practice the run time will be even less than half). The supply voltage from 3xD-cells in series will not be sufficient to drive 2 LEDs in series from one driver. See B_L's earlier post.

Thanks. Now you know why I asked for camera settings. Not bad for a single LED, but most likely less than 180 lumen. Should still be fine on the road.

I agree, no need to be so hard on Speedi15. (and if you have never tried to build anything yourself, go comment on something you can buy with your credit card). I like his idea. Nothing wrong with his light. I am sure it will serve him well for a while. Some of my DIY attempts of many years ago had less light output than his light and worked fine for me at the time. We know his light is not even in the same league as Brighter-Lights, but it does not have to be. He wanted a light for under R1000 and did it. His only mistake was to blindly believe the light output as stated on the packaging of his torch. I gave him some subtle hints in that direction with my posts yesterday evening... Speedi15, I would like to know more about your light and how it compares to my own DIY effort. Please post your beam shot photo's with details of the camera settings used. A photo of the light mounted on your bike showing the details of the mounting system will be interesting too. Finally post the details of the torch you bought. Others on a tight budget might want try your mod too. Saves all the work of building your own housing.

Now why do you remove the only pic we have?? It was not that bad!

Difficult to judge from that photo. What shutter speed and lens opening did you use? It is a bit open where you took this photo; nothing to reflect the light, but it does look like a concentrated spot beam. Ideally you want a bit more spread for a bike light. I am not suggesting you should compete with Brighter Lights, but having another light to compare with does help to get an idea of the light output. We all know how optimistic light manufacturers can be with their rated output...

As others have also mentioned, the expensive part of a light is the batteries and charger. You need to compare apples with apples. If you are using non-rechargeable D cells, your running costs are going to be high. (not to mention the impact on the environment...)

The important part is the beam shots. Lumen claims are only half the story, post the pics! (even batter get Brighter Lights to take the pics with a comparison with his lights) Also which light did you buy and from which shop?

Oh yes, to answer the original question... Stan's tubeless conversion, tubeless tyres on Anthem full sus 2.3 to 2.5bar (front and rear; still experimenting) recently managed to get just under 90kg!

Erhm... Yes' date=' interesting, but also see this thread from last year... [/quote']

You need to Zip the file first (only zip file uploads are allowed). Then use the File upload button forum_images/post_button_file_upload.gif top of the reply dialog (not quick reply). Configuration changes to the Hub seem to break the file upload function from time to time, preventing file upload to some forums. The file upload button is shown as I type this reply, so should work for this thread at the moment... Alternative will be to upload the file to another server on the web and post a link to it.

Aicorner, how about uploading your spreadsheet to this thread?

Yes, interesting, but also see this thread from last year...

What kind of riding do you intend doing?

Saw some last week on lower Canary as well. Just don't eat them; very poisonous!

I don't understand your mounting system. Mounting the housing onto a handlebar and/or helmet is the most complicated part of a bike light. You want something that is easy and fast to mount and remove, but is still secure on rough terrain. mountain_lion2008-05-30 12:09:02

Well you've just managed to describe my whole mission' date=' to get cree Q5's, affordable, genuine and a reliable supplier. So as soos as I got that figured out i'll give you more info... Still waiting from a few suppliers to reply from USA, europe, and australia... I'm going to try and get them straight from the factory, that in it's turn will be a little complicated because you have to be a company that manufacture electronics as far as I know. Have a few contacts so i'll see what I can do... oooo wil be so nice if I can get that done!!!! [/quote'] Keep up the good work night tider and please keep us up to date with your efforts. My research showed the same as yours, so I just settled for the Luxeons to get a light built. I plan to build a second light and if I can get some Cree Q5's it will be great! If only I could have the time available you have as a student.... enjoy!

I am interested, but only in the Cree LEDs, optics and drivers. Will do my own housing etc.

I came across the Scottoiler lube system. http://www.scottoiler.com/active.asp Looks interesting. Has anybody used this? Is it any good? Available in SA? The guys on MTBR seem to like it... http://www.mtbr.com/reviews/Lube/product_127854.shtml mountain_lion2008-05-29 00:51:12

I also do most myself. I don't build wheels or true them and I have never opened and serviced a shock. The rest is all simple enough to do IF you have the time. The nice thing is, you can fiddle with it until it is just right. The way you want it. The mechanic at the LBS has many bikes to do in a day. Of most tools you don't need the very best, because you don't use it that often and take care not abuse it, but I agree the real cheapies are a waste of money. I don't have a torque wrench (its on my wish list) although in all the years that I have been my own bike mechanic, I have not managed to damage anything due to incorrect torque (but I have never owned top of the range bling...). mountain_lion2008-05-29 02:11:44

Enjoy the cycling in the land where the bicycle is king! We want reports and photos!