Starlight 78 Bicycle Lighting System

As Marty Goodman wrote, regarding HID lights, "With vastly more light available, night bicycling is qualitatively far safer. The road can be lit both further ahead and, even more important, far more brightly to the sides of the bicycle."

Unquestionably, HID (High Intensity Discharge) lights, based on Metal Halide technology, provide the greatest efficiency. There are two big advantages of HID lamps. The first advantage is that they have no filament so they last much longer than filament based bulbs. The light is generated by an electric arc, which is why high voltage is needed. The second advantage is that they are more efficient in terms of the amount of lumens per watt, so you can get by with smaller and lighter batteries.

It used to be quite complicated to construct a homebrew HID lighting system, however there are now driving lights with integrated HID circuitry designed for motorcycles. There is no excuse for the high prices of HID bicycle lights, as the actual circuitry to drive the lamp is not very expensive.

Dual MR11 HID with 7/8" clamps is HIDH-875. You get one spot, and one flood for $245, but remember that this doesn't include batteries or switches. See http://www.trailtech.net/HIDH-875.html
Dual MR11 HID with 1" clamps is HIDH-100. You get one spot, and one flood I guess that you have to call to order, as it's not on their site that I could see.

If you buy the clamps from TrailTech, then you should get the lamps with the anti-shock non-rotating posts. If you are going to use your own mounting system, then get the lamps with the round post. These are not quick release clamps, so bear that in mind if you park your bike in high-theft areas.

TrailTech sells a line of helmet lights that comes with bar clamps, helmet mounts, battery and charger. Again, these are motorcycle lights, but nothing stops them from working on bicycles. A system with one lamp is $200, and a system with two lamps is $300. While these clamps are plastic, they are quick release which is an advantage.

There are several manufactures of HID lights for bicycles, but they are very expensive.

Personally, I believe that it's much more economical to over-voltage a 10 watt MR16 halogen lamp by 10%. You end up with similar illumination, at a lower cost. Note that to achieve the same illumination with an MR11 halogen lamp, you'd have to over-voltage a 20 watt lamp by 10%, resulting in about 24 watts, which would about double the power consumption of the HID. The downside to over-voltaging is that the lamp will last fewer hours. You should carry a spare bulb with filament based lamps.

LED Lights
LEDs are efficient, but it requires a large quantity of them to equal the intensity of a conventional filament based bulb. Some LED headlights use a number of LEDs, but the problem with this approach is that it is difficult to focus multiple light sources into a single beam. There are 5W LEDs now available but they are very expensive, and have a short life-span. The 3W LEDs are a good compromise, and you could use a 3W LED MagLite with a TwoFish LockBlock, and have an economical LED system.

Most of the LED bicycle lights are very poor, though there are some exceptions if you are willing to pay the price.

The DiNotte 5 watt Luxeon LED Headlight comes with 4AA NiMH batteries and a charger, and costs about $150 (on sale). This is nearly as expensive as the TrailTech HID system. Note that the Luxeon 5 watt LEDs run very hot, and the lifespan of the LED is not nearly as long as normal low power LEDs. LEDs suffer from the same laws of physics as other lamps. Luxeon lights with 3W or 5W LEDs will almost always be made of aluminum or steel, because the casing is part of the heat sink.

The CygoLite Hi-FLUX 200 uses a 3 watt Luxeon LED. It uses a water-bottle style battery. It costs $100 (on sale).

Light & Motion Vega 3W Luxeon LED Bike Light

All-in-one design with integrated NiMH cells (not user-replaceable AA cells). $120 (on sale).

While it would seem that pairing an LED lamp with a dynamo would be a terrific idea, there are issues that have precluded a good solution. First, the dynamo puts out AC, not DC so rectification is necessary. Filtering and voltage regulation is also necessary, as the LED voltage must be kept at a constant level. A buck DC-DC converter is needed to keep the voltage constant which costs some efficiency, though converters can be designed that are over 90% efficient.

There is one 2W Luxeon LED headlight for dynamos, the Inoled inolight, but there have been many reports of heat related failures with it (components becoming unsoldered due to the excessive heat generated by the Luxeon LED). The inolight will work with 6 volt or 12 volt dynamos. It costs $127 from Peter White Cycles. It can also be powered from a battery. Presuming that the reliability issues have been solved, it would make a good dynamo light.

At this juncture, the most economical high-wattage LED option is to buy an AA or C or D Mag-Lite with a 3W LED (the C size models aren't available with the LED but there are 3W Luxeon LED retrofit kits available). Use a TwoFish LockBlock/CyclopBlock to attach it to the handlebars. Avoid the 1W LED flashlights and bicycle lights with the non-adjustable lenses. The big advantage of the MagLite versus most other LED flashlights and bicycle lights is that the beam can adjust from spot to flood. Since it's a consumer product, it's not exorbitantly priced. The D cell flashlight is kind of big to have on your handlebars, but it can be used with the Wald flashlight holder. The 2C is a good compromise of duration and size.


3 Watt Luxeon Conversion for 2 C or 2 D cell Maglite.	3 Watt Luxeon Conversion for 3 C or 2 D cell Maglite.	2D 3 Watt Maglite	3 AA 3 Watt Maglite

Flashlight Holders

Flashlight in a TwoFish Cyclopblock. Don't go more than a 3 C flashlight. About $10.

Wald D cell Flashlight Holder (do not use greater than a 2 D flashlight).

A more elegant MagLite mount is available from dkg bicycle products. Available for AA and C size flashlights, for 1" handlebars. Shims are available for 7/8" handlebars. $19, $25. and $4 respectively

Nite Ize Lite Ride. Holds an AA Maglight. Looks kind of funky to me.

Japanese Cycle Commuter using a Maglite type flashlight on her bicycle. She appears to be using a different type of mount, probably a Japanese product.

The Wald Flashlight holder is available at http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_info.php?products_id=5780 (chrome). Other colors may be available, according to Amazon. According to the Wald catalog, the part number for the chrome plated holder is 40, for the black the part number is 40GB, and for the white it is 40409. You can't get more retro than this!