Eddi

Someone once said: "If you're main concern is GPS accuracy go for a Garmin, If it's heart rate go for a Polar" However that being said, they all within 1-2% accuracy to one another, Main thing IMO is user preference in terms of features and user friendliness. I use a RCX5 for it's switching between sports (it's triathlon after all), and I don't have to recharge it every second day or so. I replace a R70? battery every 8 months. Also rechargeable batteries loose their punch as time goes by...10-20% per year or 100 recharge cycles. Had it for 2 years now and wouldn't go for anything else. Just my 2c

Ditto

Yep, ~800 Lumen is sufficient for nearly any type of riding. But you will notice the difference between 800 & 2000 lumens: https://community.bikehub.co.za/topic/126822-how-i-built-my-own-bike-light/#entry1947299 One of a couple reports on bad batteries: http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-night-riding/exploding-battery-pack-cree-xm-lt6-led-bicycle-light-837382.html

Hence the reason I built my own proper light! ALL of the DX, extremelights, even the Ryder light comes from the 'same' factory. It seems that only Ryder as a company is willing to man-up with a semi-decent warranty to compensate for sub-standard electronics/components. If you're buying a cheap light you might find yourself buying another one within the next 2-3 years. But as a general rule of thumb, all Li-ion batteries loose 20~30% of their rated capacity (talking about good quality batteries here!) within a year or 300 charge cycles which ever comes first, after that it drops faster. Another thing on batteries, I remember coming across a thread a while ago on another website were some bloke opened up 2 of such battery packs from cheap Chinese lights only to find recycled laptop cells. I'll paste a link later when I find it. You get what you pay for!! Insomniac = out!

Any import Duties? I'm keen on the Aero TT bars. Plus what's shipping for an item that "small" (if you have a rough idea)?

Just an update. I did some pricing etc. And if anyone is interested, I'll make them for R3500 with a bigger battery. Just send me a PM. Chrs

Absolutely! Best feeling when what you've designed/planned and built gets finished and it's exactly what you wanted. Thanks for comments/compliments from everyone. Nice to know I'm not the only one who appreciates a good light.

Thanks for the info Bobbo, will definitely try and get my hands on those. Is the writing of code not difficult though?

Thanks! I'll make them for anyone who's interested, but I can't buy all the parts (round R2k) out of my pocket,wish I could but ja..., I'll do it on a deposit method or so. PM me then we can work something out. Thanks! I prefer to do DIY myself when and wherever possible. PIC's are awesome little things!! Wish I had the knowledge and equipment to mess with them myself. The Lathe is really handy! just need a bench top mill now... I have a couple other lights I want to start building.

Thanks! I also tried to source everything locally but some of the parts I just could not get hold of. On another note, I did make the casing myself, including turning threat for the end caps. http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/IMG_0916.jpg The lathe: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/IMG_0918.jpg

I can make you one...casing or complete light...? made that one on a bench lathe at home. Using a b3flex, 18650 batteries gets expensive when you get to the serious 3400mah rated ones, Also protection/balance PCB's are expensive to keep all the batteries at the same voltage which is crucial with Li-*** batteries I'm using a RC hobby battery with a balance charger, to me it seemed like the safest and better priced option. input: 21V (5cell battery) 3000mah Only for R20 000 000 LOL! Yes, I can fill a book on this...The short version: the pictures don't really do the justice, what seems to be a complete white-out on High is actually a really nice lit stretch of paving. You really have to see the light in person to get a good feel for it. Yes, MEDIUM does seem like enough light(Medium is roughly 1000lumen) which i'll do most of my riding on, but when i'm doing 50 -60kmh downhill on Seaview road I want light way ahead of me, this is where the remote switch comes to play. Also I'm using 3 LED's in series, on Medium level it draws ABOUT 6.5 Watts compared to a single LED at 1000lumen which draws about 11 Watts (including losses in driver) see where I'm going...? Haha, yeah frame building is also on my bucket list...Would love to try and build my own carbon TT frame. Any test Pilots?

Pics are included Sho, just the parts (Alu/LEDs/battery/driver etc.) was around R2k Yes and no. Some parts I got from Cutter the rest is from all over. At first I was going for a movable mount but after some thought I preferred a more permanent fixing as I only have 1 bike. And the O-rings on other types or mounts tent to perish over time which I don't like. If I had the money yes! If it does get to production I'd also make some minor improvements

Hi All. Just thought I'd share this with everyone, will try and keep it short. A 'couple' of years ago with the introduction of high power LED's got me very interested and I started to research and "play" with these amazing things. With M@gic lights soon to follow I wanted a light that gave me what I wanted, out of a light, knowing what could be done if you really want to. I basically started designing my own light body, got hold of all the parts etc. which I WANTED, and done some calculations where I could, together with some trail and error and finally got round to building one after a year and a half or so of "development" so to speak. So first of all my wants was that the light be thermally efficient (not heat up to the point of "pop" and no more light, like the early M@giclights), have PLENTY of lumen to throw out in front of me, be of reasonable size and have "hands-free" operating together with a suitable battery and some protection features included. I ended up with a light (pics to follow) with these features: 3000 lumen max (ACTUAL lumen, not overstated like most manufacturers do) battery that provides 2hrs of runtime on max, roughly 8hrs on medium (1000 lumen) Thermal protection(if the light reaches 60 deg C, it will switch to medium level automatically battery warning + protection (warns me through small indicator LED when battery is half discharged / almost flat and fully flat, and cuts-off when battery is completely flat) 5- modes (constant light) 6-modes (flashing) NO having to cycle through modes (little on that later...) wired remote switch so I can change modes without taking my hand of the handle bars cable-tie / zip-tie mounting method (I don't like O-ring mounts) customizable / programmable driver Ok, enough with the reading, I guess you just want to see the light at this point: Mounted on my bike with battery inside a self-made Neoprene pouch with water proof power connector, small "dot" above the middle wire is the little red indicator LED I mentioned earlier: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/IMG_0906.jpg Wired remote switch on the lift, just where I prefer it: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/IMG_0910.jpg And to get good understanding of the power of the light I took some photos all with the same camera and settings. The control shot: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/CONTROL.jpg Lowest light level: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/ELIOR_L1.jpg Medium-Low: (sorry for the blurry pic, it was damn cold that night) http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/ELIOR_L2.jpg Medium: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/ELIOR_L3.jpg Medium-High: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/ELIOR_L4.jpg High (3000 lumen): http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/ELIOR_L5.jpg And a "1000 lumen" brand name bike light for good measure: http://i1189.photobucket.com/albums/z425/Eduan_Adams/ELIOR/PA_smallXM-L.jpg Ok, the mode working thing; You use the light by two ways of pressing the switch, a short "click" or a "press" (longer than a second) a Click turns the light ON and also steps up the level from low to high, with one step with each "click". A "press" steps the level down again, and long press turns off the light. So yes, no having to cycle through all to levels/modes all the time. If I want the light to FLASH: from the light turned OFF I use a "press" instead of a "click" to turn on and the light is then in FLASH mode. There is 6 flash modes which I can also program to my liking. As en example, you can have a constant flash in Medium-Low level or a combination of any 2 levels (alternative bursts of HIGH / MEDIUM / HIGH / MEDIUM / MEDIUM etc.) Switching between flashing modes works in the same way as with the constant mode, a "click" steps to the next flash-mode and "press" steps back one mode. Nice hey?? And to end off I named the light "ELIOR" which is Hebrew for "My God is my light". Questions and comments welcome. And if any body wants to see the light in person, PM me, I live in PE. Happy and SAFE riding!!