Bargain Ebay bike lights

[Scougar]

One thing to look out for is that some models appear to offer a 'flashing' mode, whislt other's make no mention of it. If you look for the 7w models or the 17w models, then these seem to mention the flashing option, but don't come with a rear light.

I wish I had these light's already so I could tell you if they would be good for you! I mainly got two, so I could mount one on my helmet.

 

[hesdownagain]

ok cheer's i have found some a little cheaper, the flashing mode does not bother me as i will not be on the road with them. wy use will be off road. i'm also thinking about two..

 

[Scougar]

Good for the money I say

Bear in mind (sorry about this lol), that you can get a cree R2 torch with bike mount for a tiny bit more as two of these.

But you'd have to be able to charge 18650 batteries of course....

UPDATE: Still waiting for lights/parts to arrive, but I forgot a colleague was lending me an magicshine P7 to try out, so I will be able to make a comparison IF the lights turn up today lol.

 

[hesdownagain]

hi. oh well i've done it now ordered two. for the price it's not the end of the world if they don't work out. i will look at the batts you mentioned it seems like a good idea to be able to re-charge . they are going to be good enough for what i will want, i did look at those lights your going to borrow but i won't use them enough to warrent the out lay. good luck with yours let me know what you think,.

 

[Scougar]

Well, tried out the P7 last night. Whilst it was good (and much smaller than I imagined (a good thing, means it's light)), I think you would in a trail situation want a helmet light as well. In some ways I expected it too be brighter.. but that's because I'm not into torches/bike lights lol.

Anyway.. still waiting for my lights *sigh*, and just found this today for APG/XR-E lights: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110632352901&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

It's an Efficient Synchronous Buck - Boost Led Driver TPS63000 apparently. OK, it's probably a bit much to be paying out to try and upgrade a single light (£14), but I thinking it might allow me to drive the LED's at 1A (1000ma ?). Does anyone know what ampage they are as standard?

Not sure what the driver does really (can anyone explain it, and what it does to battery life?).. but a bonus is that is allows you to run a lot of other brightness mode's and flashing modes with it. Once again.. I suppose I could just have paid out for a better light to start with!

Made a £10 offer for the part (I know.. madness when I need to buy gloves for my bike d'oh).

 

[hesdownagain]

hi scougar. mine arrived today. talk about service, ordered sunday night got email to say they had sent them yesterday and here they are. all i can say is they are small, light, and the fitting to handle bar is ok. as i said i'm not bothered about the rear one's may just take them along for some light in the tent. cant say about the brightness till it gets dark and that will have to wait untill the week end as i'm working nights. i know that may sound strange but i'm there before it gets dark and my breaks are to short to go out side to play with a torch, any way i want to fit them to the bike and see how they do. good luck with yours..

 

[Scougar]

Thanks! Went home to pick the wife up for lunch, and they still hadn't arrived. (Neither had my helmet or sanyo eneloop AA's grr).

Lol, accidently offered £10.48 for the buck-boost led driver and they accepted. I should have gone for one that was tuneable, but at least this takes upto 5.5v and can provide 1000ma to the led, plus lots of modes, and battery protection LOL. Now all I need is an uprated LED XR-E R2 and I will be sorted with that being overdriven (I hope) - Getting pricey now though ROFL.

Maybe someone with a Cree XR-E or XPG would appreciate the 1a ability with their torch? d'oh.

Considering this for my connectors: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130449837520&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT


Couple of questions for those that own these lights though:

1) Can someone take FULLY take apart there torch and get some pictures up please?
2) Does anyone know the ampage of the original LED in these?
3) Does anyone know exactly what LED model these are?


EDIT: Slight change of plan. Noticed when I tested the voltage of the eneloop's today that they are 1.33v straight out the packet. I've now seen mention on the web of people saying they go to 1.44v when fully charged! So unless I can regulate the voltage digitally, I will HAVE to use only 3X AA rechargeables instead of the 4 I wanted to for capacity. Sucks a little I suppose. Maybe I can wire 2 sets of 3 in parallel instead? Anyway.. either I hope that the battery holder is useable with only 3 batteries, or I have to order a 3 cell battery holder.

Additionally.. I keep racking my brains trying to get a cheaper cable, and found a good one with a lock for £3.02, but I'm thinking the cable is too short. I now very tempted to raid my extensive cable selection of PC bits and see If I can reuse anything as a power lead and forget for the moment about disconnecting the pack from the light (to keep costs down, and waterproofing)

EDIT 2: Was rummaging through cables last night, and I found a USB extension cable I doubt I'll use again.. so I'll try and use that temporarily (Cutting it in half as such).

EDIT 3: I just ordered an XR-E R2 from deal extreme rather than having to get two from LEDRise. The PCB is slightly different but hopefully still the same chip. Also noticed the corners are rounded so hopefully it will fit better than the LEDRise version, whilst being slightly cheaper http://www.dealextreme.com/p/cree-xr-e-r2-wg-emitter-on-premium-star-15943

Of course, it will likely take about 72 years to get here from DX lol.

 

[Scougar]

Also, I kinda picked up 3 4000mah 5v li-poly packs and 1 2000mah 5v li-poly pack for stupid cheap..... Now I'm just hoping I can use them lol. (Will prob only keep 1 or 2 4000's but tempted to keep a 2000 as well for the really small size).

Anyway.. can anyone please tell me the current of the original LED/driver in these lights please, how many milli amps? Would be really useful to know

 

[dyna-ti]

This 'bargain ebay light' thread has sparked quite an interest.Nice thread to follow
Though i think the bargain lights themselves are proving to be quite user intensive

 

[hesdownagain]

hi scouger. can't be of any help. the lights when they arrive are not in any kind of box with instructions or any info on and to be honest i have'nt a clue what your asking i'm a turn them on and if they work, great person. so i can't be of ny help. my lad ordered two when he saw mine working, his had the same speed delivery as mine did.