Addding lights

stevew755

New Member
I am new to this topic, and I am interested in a setup that:

1. has bike lights wired up to a push button control on the handle bar
2. requires that I only need to recharge the bike & lights by attaching one-cable

A horn or brake light would be nice, but optional.

The idea is to minimize the number of steps in dealing with the bike.

I first tried to run USB cords from by front and rear USB lights to a solar powered portable battery pack, but it did not end up producing enough energy from solar to eliminate the need for AC charging.

I now have my bike charger's AC adapter and USB 5V adapters for the lights plugged into a 3-way electrical tap mounted on the bike. So I basically attach a power cord to the bike to charge everything. This is an improvement, but I have to find a good way to protect them from the weather.

While this makes charging easy, I still find it awkward to power on and off the USB lights (The head light (Cygolite) requires holding for two seconds to power off, the rear light uses a toggling method).

It would be great to hear about some suggestions about how to get started with wired lights and a handle bar mounted switch .

BTW, i have a small bike (Swagtron EB5) with 14" wheels and an enclosed battery, so I will have to add another battery for the lights.
 
I'm looking at the Grin lights as an upgrade option for both the handlebar switch, as well as the high/low beam. Seems like they have a proper cutoff optic too.

 
I'm looking at the Grin lights as an upgrade option for both the handlebar switch, as well as the high/low beam. Seems like they have a proper cutoff optic too.

Thanks, they look great!
 
I have the SPL-01 light from Grin and it's a fantastic light. I especially like the 40 LED's as a daytime running light. When I ordered mine, Grin was out of stock, so I got it from Hilleater.ca. It was a bit more $, but now it's in hand and installed. They have a nice mounting system that uses two of the handlebar bolts on the head piece on the stem or whatever it's called. I didn't have nice black 6mm bolts, so I had to use silver hex bolts that will probably turn a nice rusty brown colour over time. The on/off button is just held on with a velcro strap, but a little bit of Magic Wrap makes it a permanent fixture.
 

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