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"Thinking Outside the Four-Wheeled Box" ebikes.ca |
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"Thinking Outside the Four-Wheeled Box" ebikes.ca |
Electric bikes have large batteries that can in principle power lighting systems and accessories with energy to spare. But these ebike batteries range in voltage from 24V up to 72V, while most bike lights and accessories are made to run off 6V or 12V. At GRIN we've addressed this by producing our own line of lighting components to run off a super wide input voltage for direct connection to any ebike battery pack, no separate voltage converter required. We also make small and rugged stand alone DC-DC converters with 5, 6, and 12V outputs for running 3rd party accessories.
The Cycle Lumenator is our brightest light by far. With four Cree XP-G LEDs driven at 750mA, this device puts out a stunning 1000 lumens of illumination. We designed it for people who want to ride at night on the same footing as cars, motorbikes, and other vehicles on the road. The beam angle is wider than most bike lights which tend to have a sharp focus to a single spot, so the Lumenator will brighten the entire terrain ahead of you, not just a small circle on the pavement.
We have two models of Lumenator light, a standard version with an ON/OFF push button on the back of the light housing, and a multibrightness version with a remote handlebar button that can be used to set 3 different brightess modes. Be aware that the Cycle Lumenator at full brightness can be overwhelming to oncoming traffic on dimly lit separated paths. Care should be taken to either reduce the brightness via the remote button or angle the light sharply down when riding in friendly situations to not offend approaching cyclists and pedestrians. The smaller (1 watt range) LED light is a good alternative for being seen on bike paths, parks, and other places where people rather than vehicles are present and more subtlety is required.
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Cycle Lumenator Features
Cycle Lumenator Specifications
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Mounting Bracket The Cycle Lumenator comes with a handlebar clamp and mounting bracket for easy attachment to any bike with lateral and up/down directional alignment. No tools are required for installation, although the clamp and included rubber shim can be a bit loose on 7/8" tubing, so if possible mount the bracket near the stem where the handlebar tube is thicker or add some extra shimming material if you have thin bars. |
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Dual Lumenator The included mounting bracket can also be used to install two Lumenator lights side by side in order to achieve 2000 lumens, in case 1000 isn't quite enough. We offer the 'Dual Lumenator' with a Y splitter cable that allows both lights to be run from a single tap into the power bus. |
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Power from Cycle Analyst The included 5.5x2.1mm DC Power cable can be wired directly from the Cycle Analyst by opening the CA and soldering the red and black wires to the CA's V+ and Ground pads. Since the CA and Lumenator are usually both located on the front handlebars, this saves running the cable down to the battery pack. If you don't have a Cycle Analyst, you can make an Anderson Powerpole tap for use with Powerpole systems, or wire in to whatever connectors or terminals you have available on your battery. |
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Input Power The internal DC-DC converter of the Cycle Lumenator efficiently steps down any input voltage in the range 15-100V into a constant 750mA current source driving the four Cree XP-G LEDs in series at about 12.8V. Click on the graph to the left to see the input current requirements of the light over its full input voltage range. |
FAQ:
The light housing gets pretty hot, is this normal?
It is normal that the Cycle Lumenator housing will get pretty warm when the light is on. Even though these Cree LEDs are remarkably efficient, there is still several watts of heat to dissipate through the housing of the light. In flowing air, the casing temperature will rise about 25°C above ambient, while if the light is left on when the bike is still the casing can get 50°C warmer than ambient. That will feel hot to the touch, but all of the components inside are rated to take these temperatures and more so there is no worry. For best practice, turn the light off when the bike is sitting still, especially indoors.
Can I run it from the hub without a battery or with a dead battery?
Yes, if you have a direct drive hub motor (Nine Continent, Crystalyte, Wilderness Energy etc). The Cycle Lumenator can even be powered by a standard unregulated bicycle generator/dyno-hub. Due to the significant power requirements, the light will flicker while the bike is getting up to speed, especially with a regular 3W dyno-hub. Let us know if you are interested in using our lights with bicycle dyno-hubs.
Can I run the Cycle Lumenator from a 12V source?
12V is enough to power up the light, but the full power of the Cycle Lumenator is only attained at 14V and above.
Is there any way to dim the brightness level?
Yes, the new Multi-Mode lumenator has a remote handlebar button that lets you cycle through three different power modes and turn the light off without moving your hand from the grip. The lowest mode draws only 100mW and provides for a good 'be seen' light, the middle mode draws 2 Watts and provides decent illumenation without being excessively bright to oncoming traffic, and the high mode unleashes the full 1000 lumens.
Our series of ruggedized LED ebike lights stemmed in part from frustration with all the inexpensive flashing bike lights out there. You know, the $10 plastic lights with two AAA batteries that shatter all over the ground when you crash, that corrode at the battery contacts when you take them in the rain, that unclip and fall from their mounting bracket, or that simply get lost? In 2007, after growing tired of going through 2-3 cheap LED bike lights every riding season, we set out to make a single light you can strap on your ebike that will last forever, never requiring a battery replacement or suffering from exposure.
The result after a lot of tinkering is a 100% epoxy encapsulated lighting system that can be run for days under water, driven over with a car, smashed with a hammer, and will still keep running. Our manufacturing techniques allow us to include a waterproof on/off/flash button and have the LEDs exposed but recessed to prevent damage. Did we mention that they run off your ebike battery? We currently have both front and rear options in production:
To buy any of these lights please visit our online store. | |
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New! Front 12 LED with Bracket: The latest version of our 12 LED ElectroLight is cast in a more stylised front light housing and uses an adjustable mounting bracket rather than zip ties for securing to handlebars or other tubes from 22 to 35mm diameter, so that it is easier to aim exactly where you want it. |
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Front 12 LED with Button: The front light encases a dozen ultra-bright white LEDs in epoxy with a total LED power consumption of about 1 Watt. It will shine with equal intensity from 15V up to 100V, with some brightness from 11 - 15V. The 12 LED array is bright enough to light up a wide swath of the road in front. Because of the efficient DC-DC input stage, the current draw from your battery pack depends on the voltage. Click here for a graph showing the input current over the full input voltage range. The waterproof push button cycles through on/flash/off modes and the previous mode is maintained after power cycle. Front 12 LED light dimensions are 41x41x21mm (1.6x1.6x0.83"). |
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Rear 8 LED with Button: The rear LED light includes 8 red LEDs and a waterproof on/flash/off button. While only drawing about 1/2 Watt of power, the LEDs are visible from quite a distance behind and the translucent red epoxy provides a nice glow in all directions. As with the Front 12 LED light, the Rear 8 LED light has built in memory, and will remember its On/Off/Flash state when power is turned off and then reapplied. Click here for a graph showing the input current over the full input voltage range. Rear 8 LED dimensions are 58x24x27mm (2.3x0.94x1.1"). |
Additional Details
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Mounting The LED lights are designed with a pair of holes going through the housing so that they can be readily secured to the bike tubing with a pair of zip ties. The front light has a machined groove on the bottom and sits on top of the handlebar. The rear light is secured with zip ties in a similar manner either to the seat post or rear rack. |
Wiring the Power
These bike lights need to tap into your electric bicycle battery pack for power. They are supplied by default with bare stranded wires (no connector) but can be upgraded with an Anderson Power Pole Tap (pictured) at the time of purchase, or by choosing the LED Light Kit. Since most ebike systems don't have a convenient access point for running auxiliary devices from the main battery, a small amount of custom wiring is required for some systems. We suggest any one of the following techniques:
 Anderson Powerpole Tap
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There are certainly other possible ways of accessing the battery voltage, such as a tap inside the motor controller, wiring an additional auxiliary power line directly to the terminals of the battery pack, or partially stripping the insulation off the battery leads and splicing in this way. Just note that by default, the lights are supplied with bare wires on the end, and you'll need to do a bit of work to hook it up.
Remote Flash Control
While the front and rear LED lights do have a built in on/flash/off control button, it is also possible to either flash a 'steady on' light or 'steady on' a flashing light remotely by hooking up the white wire to an external switch. A third white wire can be found by stripping back the insulation of the light cable. Shorting the white wire to ground (black wire) results in an 'on' light flashing or a flashing light becoming steadily on. To return the light to normal operation, simply disconnect the white wire (open circuit). DO NOT ever connect the white wire to the red wire (V+) as this can lead to a non functioning light. This extra remote control can be useful for those wanting to use two rear lights to signal turning left or right, or those with an ebrake lever who want to draw extra attention when slowing down. Note that when the light is in the off mode, nothing will change by shorting the white wire to ground.
Power from the Wheel
If you have a direct drive hub motor (Nine Continent, Crystalyte, Wilderness Energy etc.) the hub motor itself can act as a generator and power the lights up so that you aren't riding in the dark, even if your main battery pack is toast or not connected. So long as the motor controller remains connected to the hub, it will rectify the AC voltage produced by the spinning wheel and convert this to a DC voltage which will supply power to the light. Most hub motors will produce enough voltage at about 6-8 mph to cause the lights to turn on.
For those who already have their own lighting system, or maybe who want to bring along a portable radio, i-this, or e-that, we manufacture stand alone DC-DC converters with 5,6 and 12V outputs. Our DC-DCs are rugged and compact, completely potted in thermal epoxy leaving no concern of water, dust or snow damage, or of exposed metal pins shorting out against the bike frame. They have a sturdy 18 AWG power cable at the input through to a straight 5.5x2.1mm DC plug on the output, along with the mating DC plug jack for you to wire in to your own system.
If you've got another connector you'd rather use, or want to wire it up permanently, chop off the connector and go for it, just be sure to check the polarity before hooking it up to your valuable devices. Also note that all of the DC-DCs we currently offer are NOT isolated, meaning that the output ground is always the same as the rest of your system and that they cannot be doubled up to run in series.
All devices come in the same slim 42x23x12mm (1.7x0.91x0.47") package with about 60cm (24") of 18 AWG cable on the input side, 90cm (36") at the output plus another 30cm (12") attached to the included mating plug. They can be upgraded with an Anderson Powerpole Tap at the time of purchase or with bare stranded 18AWG wires.
When drawing close to the maximum load, the DC-DC converters will get quite hot so it is best to keep them exposed to air flow under high load situations rather than tucked into a padded bag. They have an internal temperature shutdown to protect the internal circuit but by that point the block of cheese sitting next to them stuffed inside your pannier could be a little melted.
We also accept custom orders for other output voltages in the 5-20V range (maximum power output of 2 amps x Vout). If you already have a high power LED system, halogen or HID light with a limited input voltage range and are tired of worrying about a separate battery pack, let us know. A small fee applies to small quantity custom orders and a couple of weeks lead time should be expected.
Last Updated: December 15th, 2010
Photo credit: Mick
