DIY Glow: Ground Effects Lights for Your Bike!

Intro: DIY Glow: Ground Effects Lights for Your Bike!

An easy DIY project to add ground effects lights to your bicycle or other means of conveyance, utilizing inexpensive and commonly available cold-cathode lights. They look cool, and really do increase your visibility at night. Since putting them on my tallbike everone is asking to take my picture.

STEP 1: Prototype

I tried this first on my tall bike, I just bought some CCFL's at Fry's and zip-tied them on, powered by a lead acid battery i had laying around. It was pretty cool, but i broke a tube a few days later, Simply zip-tying the tubes on caused them to flex, and any further pressure would cause the glass inide to flex, not something glass should do!

I decided to add a strip of polished aluminum behind the tubes to act as a reflector, directing more light downward, and to help reinforce the acrylic tubes. In addition it would mean the straps would not go over the tubes but under, alleviating the source of bending, and not obscuring the light.I'd also want a better battery pack, as six pounds of lead is hardly noticed on already heavy tallbike, but not really welcome on nice lightweight bikes.

STEP 2: Materials

1. A dual tube Cold Cathode Flourescent Light kit, commonly available at computer stores, cheaper on the internet, i got mine at Fry's for $15.

2. 12v Battery, i improvised a AA holder out of sprinkler pipe, and used NiMH cells. Any old 12 or 14 volt battery pack will do, the tubes draw about 0.6 amps, so 2 amp-hour should be plenty. you should be able to put something together for $20

3. Aluminum bar, 5/8"x1/8"x2', To reflect more light downward, as well as reinforce the tubes, i had this already, but it's only about $3 at home depot

4. Foam, to pad the back of the tubes

5. Velcro straps, I used RipWrap cable straps i found at Fry's

I utilized some things i had laying around, and spent about $20 but even if you bought everything in the store, it should be about $45. It's not as slick and bombproof As the Fossil Fool'sDown Low Glow, but it's cheap and effective.

STEP 3: Reflectors

First I cut the aluminum bar into two 12" lengths. Then I sanded one side fairly smooth with some 400 grit emery paper, and buffed it to a mirror polish with some tripoli compound. Next i sanded the last inch on each end to a rough finish, as well as a spot in the center, to give a good bond for epoxy.

On the tubes, which have square end caps, i touched one face of each end with a drum sander, leaving the acrylic very rough, and taking the material down almost flush with the tube.

Then I just glued the tubes to the reflectors with some thirty minute epoxy, putting a dab in the center to back up the tube.

STEP 4: Padding

While the epoxy set, i cut some small blocks of minicell foam to glue to the backs, and attached it with contact cement.

STEP 5: Velcro

After wiring my battery up to a molex connector, the epoxy was kicked, so time to velcro everything on.
I used thins RipWrap stuff i found at Fry's, $6 for 45 straps, comes on a roll, just tear them off as needed. any old velcro straps will do, or zip ties.

STEP 6: More Velcro

I decided to try it on my track bike, as it's tight clearances are unforgiving. If it fit on the fixie, it'll fit any bike. I know for sure that while more durable, the tubes of the Down Low Glow, that Paul Freedman sells are too fat for this bike. One small reason i went the DIY route.

Took about five minutes to velcro everything on, now to test it.

STEP 7: Galvanick Lucipher

Let there be light! The pictures really don't do it justice, it is a ridiculously bright thing to be putting on a bicycle, but won't blind anyone.

I think the blue is the coolest color, but i think green is the brightest cold cathode. White may be bighter, but wouldn't be as eye-catching. Whatever color you use it looks awesome. Combined with a mutant bicycle it makes for a street level UFO.

I took the fixie for a ride, and while the reaction wasn't as strong as with the tallbike, it definitely turns heads. The feeling of ridng on a carpet of light is pretty cool too.

STEP 8: Further Thoughts

So, after breaking one of the unreinforced blue lights, and tearing a cable off one of the green lights, I've got some ideas for the next one.

1) put the CCFL tubes in bigger acrylic tubes like these

2) resolder up the tubes to some wire

3) put the battery and inverter in the peanut butter jar bottle pack like fungus amungus did.

I'm ordering the acrylic tubing, when i rebuild it, i'll post up a new instructable.

Comments

[dremeldude]

Is that a fixie bike?

[canucksgirl]

I'm sure you already know, but this is just sic!

"Crazy Kid from the beach, I seek to advance the level of freakbike technology..." - Hilarious, and makes perfect sense. 

Keep up the awesomeness. ;)

[unaffiliatedperson]

i want these

[Doodls-Stuff]

Hey, I really like this idea as i was going to buy some Fibre Flare lights. From looking at photos and what I've heard these lights appear too bright too function as a rear light. Is it possible to run it at 9V using a 9V battery? Thanks for this instructable.

[pixil]

sorry if this is a stupid question, but i'm not sure what sort of inverter i need to connect the molex connecter to the battery? where could i find something like this?

[charlieb000]

i am guessing you mean computer molex, yellow wire is 12v, red is 5v, it is most likely to run on only 12v

[xana]

yes and agreed in most of my experiments Ive only run the 12 volt side, but you still need a 5 volt source to get the device to run. but in this case you only need the 12 volt source.

[zachht111]

Yeah, I would recommend 12v.

[xana]

you don't need one because the current in side of you computer (that is where the mole x connector comes from) is dc not ac. batteries are also dc so an inverter would be useless.

[santoolangeles]

I am unclear about the battery situation. I love this mod. But when I looked up what a 12v battery was, it looks like a car battery. What exactly do I need to power these things? Thanks.

[xana]

8 times 1.5 = you need 8 1.5 volt batteries non chargeable batteries like AAA, AA, D, and C cell batteries are all 1.5 volts. there many other batteries types out there other than car batteries that will work. i use this one http://www.headsuprc.com/servlet/the-1456/Lipo-Battery-11.1v-/Detail its a hobby one like you would put in your rc car.

[UgniusR]

I think it would be easier to use two 9V batteries and hook up a 12V Regulator...

[grayseep189]

What if you made it so it didn't take batteries and instead was powered by you peddling?

[nikhil_karkhanis]

The bike looks awesome

[its2l8men]

that bike looks dangerous

[jokerlz]

Great instructable. I combined some of your ideas (velcro) with some from another instructable which is similar (position of tubes) to come up with mine (one tube is UV)

[jokerlz]

(I love brackets) ("()")

[zachht111]

Me too! ( . )( . ) lol bewbs

[QuackMasterDan]

Hi there, your instructable was one of the first I ever followed about two and a half years ago. Thank you for your guide that helped get me started on my passion for lights and electricity. I've been riding my mountain bike around town like this for nearly two years now, and have received everything from shock, to dumbfounded onlookers, and even an offer to buy my bike while in the street riding it. Originally I modified upon your design for riding actual mountain-bike trails up in the Sierra Nevada mounta range, and figured you might enjoy seeing how I've expanded a bit on your design, with a custom-made four 5 Watt Luxeon LED headlamp, dual green EL wire accent lighting, and boosted capacity easy-connect rechargable kits (no removing batteries, ever, and it's all waterproof). Through some knowledge on bikes and lights, I've also expanded into lighting wheel hubs. Thanks for your efforts, for it helped me to develop immensely, and in turn has helped many others.

[diode_tensegrity]

As a way to protect the tubes, you can mount the tubes inside square acrylic tube. I did this once with square tube I got from Tap Plastics. I think it was 1" stock. The square bits on the ends of the cold cathode tube fit almost perfectly into the ends of the stock. Just seal it up and you have a fairly rigid protective clear case.