lets see those led light conversions...Updated 1/5/10

Strings_and_steam · Sep 24, 2010

I'll post some better pics of it later, but here's an old oil bicycle light I converted to LED for my Brit Phillips bike.
I was careful to do so in such a way that the LED parts can all be fairly easily removed, and the origonal wick can be re-installed.
I also set it up so the LEDs light up the red and green side glass pannels to indicate port and starboard :wink:

This is my 'campus racer', and daily ride to college. Walden has graciously agreed to make me a custom laid back seatpost that he tells me will give the Brit some attitude 8)

sauce · Nov 1, 2010

Not my own, but I found this tutorial to be a pretty great one for all who own bullet lights and want more oomph out of it.

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=452945

scrumblero · Nov 1, 2010

FunkyStickman · Nov 2, 2010

Seeing some good old-fashioned ingenuity!! I love it!

Here's the setup I made for my commuter. Bought some $20 auto fog lights, they use standard 50W halogen MR16-sized bulbs.

I bought some 4W LED bulbs from dealextreme.com, and they are a little bigger than standard MR16 size, so I had to mod the light housings. I use a small lead battery, but with two headlights and an LED trailer light, I get 4+ hours of runtime.

outback97 · Jan 16, 2011

Here's my version... I wanted to use a 3AAA LED flashlight and keep it intact so it can be used as a flashlight during the winter when we're not riding our cruisers.

Quick comparison of original light with LED flashlight:

Black one was from Costco, gray from Sam's Club, either will work in this:

Remove the lamp:

Remove the switch:

I used foam flooring underlayment to wrap the flashlight:

And a large cable tie to actuate the tailcap switch:

I could pretty the front up with some more time, but this doesn't look too bad:

To make the cover easy to remove, I am using a computer case thumbscrew and motherboard standoff:

This way, you can remove the flashlight quickly and easily for battery charging or using it for what it's originally made for, a flashlight.

I don't have any good images of the light in use, but it does work well, much better than the original. You can actually see the road with it, as well as others seeing you. One of these also has a flashing function that works good during the day to increase your visibility to others.

schertztx · Jan 20, 2011

Mine may be a little more gheto than some of the others but it was quick and easy :mrgreen:

Buy this AAA powered light at your local home depot or wherever, they were on clearance at the one near me. They are made by Hampton Bay. They also make a 5 LED version but it is a larger diameter and wouldn't work.

Just so happens it fits nicely inside the cheapo bullet lights they sell everywhere, just remove the plastic lens and the reflector, unscrew the lens on the new led light and glue it in. I used gorilla glue but it can get a little messy, next time i am going to use a clear silicone adhesive.

Profile shot

sauce · Jan 20, 2011

^ That's really cool. I have a headlight similar to that, except it has an on/off switch on top of the body casing along with a beam switch. Yours doesn't seem to have any power controls...is that black button in the middle of the LED light the electric power switch?

schertztx · Jan 21, 2011

sauce said:
^ That's really cool. I have a headlight similar to that, except it has an on/off switch on top of the body casing along with a beam switch. Yours doesn't seem to have any power controls...is that black button in the middle of the LED light the electric power switch?

The one in the pic HAD a switch on top that really sucked and i took it off completely when i did this light. I have another one that has a switch for on or off and a beam switch. I left those alone. Yes the black button in the center is the on off for this light. :mrgreen:

sauce · Jan 22, 2011

nice schertztx. got any pics of it in action? also, does it have a hole on the top now since you removed the switch?

scrumblero · Feb 27, 2011

flashlight guts for the old Sanyo I got from pick,...

and a trailer side marker turned tail light for the loadmaster..

aka_locojoe · Nov 3, 2011

Re: lets see those led light conversions, fronts & rears

another re-purposing...

The tail light is a cheap LED flashlight that I painted black and covered the clear lens with red tail light repair tape. It's mounted to the coaster brake arm with a seat post clamp.

Jgoodwill · Nov 4, 2011

Here's one I did on my lil cousins trike...

g-ratter · Nov 4, 2011

Do not have build pics of this I am afraid. But it is just a led head lamp placed inside a soup can and decorated. I ran a line back to a battery pack in a vintage leather tool kit hooked under the seat area.