I was also going to link to the MTB forum, they have some really good inventions going on 
On my bike I use a Thorfire BL02, a know extinct model which I modified with new emitters (Lumileds V2 WW).
Just add “.html” to the link.
Binford and Tally-ho. Thanks for the suggestion. I have looked at some of the ideas on MTB however most do not appear to deal with shaping the beam of light so that it isn’t directed into other road user’s eyes. Also the availability of reasonably priced commercial light seems to have reduced the amount of diy efforts.
I am currently looking into the convoy s2+ as noted above. A couple of questions:
- it appears the 2700k version of the SST-20 is preferred over the 4000K - the reasons for this?
- will the strip lens shown above work with the convoy S2 or just with the S2+ with the sst-20?
- will the remote switch for the S2+ work with the S2?
Thanks for the information,
John.
On the street you need a StVZO light, not a flashlight. You will be blinding oncoming street users.
Personally I use XANES SFL-01 on the street and BT40S offroad.
Mike
sp5it - thanks for the input. I’m really trying to stay away from lights that cannot have the batteries exchanged (not sure yours are like that). Unfortunately most of the local offerings have relatively permanent batteries and once they wear out the remainder is junk.
I just ordered the convoy S2+ with the SST-20 4000k led with 6 of the 7135/s. Also ordered some strip lenses and a remote switch. I believe it will do most of what I want and I really like the idea of the remote switch - no headers trying to reach the light to change modes or shut it down.
Will advise how this works out and also if the lenses and remote are compatible (may need spacers) with the S2. The other thing about this setup is that it is easily modified as I have built a few lights from hosts in the past, including my S2. So if there are more suitable led’s/lense/driver combinations in future I can exchange them.
Thanks for the assistance and ideas.
John.
The Lumintop is a good light. Better thermally, comes with a mount, bigger battery capacity and a buck converter. A bit of unevenness at the edges of the beam but overall pretty good.
It maintains full output on high down to 3.3 volts. Battery tube and driver are glued to the head, got the battery tube off but no go on pulling the driver so no changing the sense resistor. Getting the reflector out was a bit of a pain but swapping in a warmer led was pretty easy.
I bought mine from Banggood with a code from Fin17, the code is still active but getting Banggood to actually ship something right now might be a bit of a lottery.
No problem to replace battery in Xanes.
Mike
Mike - I didn’t realize that, regarding the xanes replacement battery.
A heads up for anyone who has solarforce l2 lights. They seem to be closing down and have remote switches and bike mounts on sale right now for a good price. I have a couple of their p60 lights so made a small order today.
John.
wtf - thanks for the info about the lumintop light. I was really tempted except for the colder white light. Wasn’t sure how difficult it would be to exchange the led.
I received the convoy S2+, remote switch and 5 of the elliptical lenses today. It was easy to switch the reflector for the lens and it does give a nice flat bottom and top cutoff beam. It has been mentioned before but just in case, the elliptical lens fits in place of the reflector - leave the o-ring and glass lens in place. Will need to try it in the dark but so far I am very pleased with the setup.
As an aside I put an elliptical lens in my convoy s2 (no plus) and had to use two o-rings ahead of it (between the glass and the elliptical lens). The o-rings were ones I had on hand and are apparently 9/16”x3/4”. It also gives a good flat beam and I will be trying it later tonight.
The remote switch fits and works on the convoy S2+, S2 and S6. I will have to arrange a method of securing it near a hand.
Thanks again for the suggestions.
John.
Does anyone know if there is a similar remote switch for the astrolux S1?
you can get decent 4x18650 bike lights for $30, i can;t believe you want to horse around with this for 3 months!
i would rather ride
wle
Don’t be afraid, I’ve been using these striped TIR optics for long. IMHO no better way to light up road (including corners) without blinding people around. Just pay attention to not to buy the cheapest $1 easily available. I recommend especially Carclo (gained 29% of light output when I switched from noname optics to Carclo).
If you want more budget option, you can trust Yajiamei optics - huge variety, easy accessible from Ali but usually lenghty delivery.
For Convoy S2+ you need 20mm diameter optics, you may also choose the sides of beam pattern ratio to your liking: 30x60, 15x45, 10x45 etc.
Just pay attention to the size of your led. There are ones dedicated for 3535 pattern, some for 5050.
If you need a hand in choosing - just PM me.
WLE - three months??
1stein - thank you for the information. I have had very little experience with optics other than reflectors and will pm you if I need more info. Thanks for the link to yajimei optics as I was unaware of them.
Any suggestions for a carlco eliptical (or other suitable biking optic) for a p60 setup? One of my p60’s has an xml led as I recall.
John.
yes 3 months, tell me when you are satisfied with the project…
also count this week of asking questions and designing the thing
i find the $30 ones entirely good enough
wle
Lightbringer - thanks. Will look into this.
John.
No worries.
You might need a spacer to make up for and difference in height between reflector vs lens, but I have no idea how much that’d be.
I saw this new lamp that looks like it is interesting for headlamp or bicycle: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000118308868.html?spm=2114.12010611.8148356.1.391b5c6f6dX7Z4
Lightbringer - I got thinking about the p60 setup and realised that I pack aluminium foil between the reflector and the body of the light to transfer heat. Not sure how that would workout with an optic instead of the reflector. I am running a fairly hot setup. Have you had any experience with that?
clientequator - looks like a decent light and the specs don’t seem to be too exaggerated. The problem I see (if the photo is accurate) is that it will likely give a round beam and thus not be the best for staying out of other road user’s eyes. I don’t know if an optic could be used to modify the beam.
Thank you,
John.