So i already have some Spoke POV thingies from last year that my fiance' made for me....i'd love to have a little more light-
some of my fav. stuff were bikes that had something sticking out from the back like a kids bike flag- but cooler...
what kind of things do you folks do to keep you bike nice and bright?
some of my fav. stuff were bikes that had something sticking out from the back like a kids bike flag- but cooler...
what kind of things do you folks do to keep you bike nice and bright?
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Denver
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/20I'm a big fan of EL wire. I had about 12 feet on my bike last year. This year it's about 50 with a four channel sequencer.
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/21If you aren't adverse to buying (rather than building) something, then check out HokeySpokes. They're sequenced LED strips that attach to your spokes and use persistence-of-vision to create images on your wheels. (Sounds similar to what you already have, though)
Identi-Tape (www.identi-tape.com) has asstons of ScotchLite and SOLAS reflective tapes, as well as some high-lumens phosphorescent (glow in the dark) tapes.
Rock The Bike makes neon "undercarriage" kits for bicycles. (Down-Low-Glow)
TireFlys are LED valve-stem caps (available in the bling section of most auto parts stores)
I'm a bike commuter, so I have lots of lights:
Light & Motion Solo NiMH 13W headlight
Planet Bike Superflash rear blinkie
Cateye L500 rear blinkie
3M ScotchLite reflective tape on fenders, panniers, bags and frame
3M ScotchLite ribbon tape on helmet
TireFlys valve caps -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/21How are the TireFlys? I was considering buying some. Have you had yours long? -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/21I bought mine back in the fall and rode them all through the PacNW winter (lots of rain, some ice and snow) and have had no problems with them.
They're bright enough for when it's dark out, but not really much of a help when it's getting light, so that's when the reflective tapes help out more.
For $17, I'm not going to complain about them. I've wasted bigger $$ on things that didn't work at all.
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/21Oooh. Just make sure you have Schrader valves, not Presta.
Schrader valves are the fat ones, like a car tire. Presta are the skinny metal ones. -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22You can also convert a Presta valve into a Schrader valve with a little doo-hicky screw on thingie. Most bike shops carry them.
I ♥ google:
Brass Presta Valve Adapter www.icyclesusa.com/catalog/...apter.htm
.99¢
:)
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22well actually i already have some spoke thingies- -right now animated penguin is the theme...may change it up. My fiance spent hours building the kit- and its awesome....
i was thinking maybe some more EL wire- which brings me to another question- how do you know what kind of power source to get for any given length of EL? -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22EL wire requires an inverter (aka driver) that is powered by DC. The inverter puts out AC to the wire, and any given inverter will drive a particular range of EL wire lengths efficiently. Outside that range the efficiency drops and the inverter potentially wears out faster. The DC voltage is specified for the inverter, although most inverters are somewhat forgiving if the voltage is not exactly right.
In short, visit sites that sell inverters and check out the specs and the pricing.
For a simple bike design I'd probably use about 10 feet of EL-wire and a battery powered inverter, total cost under $20. To make it easy on yourself, look at some of the "Plug & Play" options available through www.CoolNeon.com (no commercial affiliation with myself). With these units you need no electrical expertise and hassles should be minimal.
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/21If you're a bit handy, you can put PC cold cathode tubes (lots 'o colors available) on your bike;
they take 12 V but only a bit (tenth of an amp), so they'll run for many hours on 8 AA batteries.
Very bright, two tubes 12" long, about $6 online from svc.com.
- Bart -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22I would be afraid of smashing the glass tubes to bits on the playa. ....messy moop.
Um...does it have a glass tube? -
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22I put some blue lighting tubes on a bike once.I had found some large clear heat shrink tubing and encapsulated the glass tubes with that. After it was shrunk I put silicon caulk into the ends to seal it all up. it lasted for years. (until I "lost" it) It may still be working somewhere...
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Re: Bike Light ideas?
06/22There's an inner glass tube about 3/16" in diameter. There's also an outer tube of what seems to be acrylic plastic which is quite tough.
I put these inside lexan tube for really brutal service. The acrylic plastic ones lasted for 2 years on my rough and ready art car; the only reason they has problems was either gross mechanical damage (tube bent so far that glass tube inside broke) or physical damage to wiring.
I toughened up the tubes this year by making some holes in the acrylic plastic tubes and squirting in silicone seal. No vibration now... and the ones that are where people can tweak 'em are inside 1" diameter lexan tube - almost bullet proof.
- Bart
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