led front headlamp

[willcee]

In process if it ever arrives of a rebuild on a smart ladys Fifties art deco type city bike.. now there a bit of chrome to have done but the headlamp if my opinion is correct wouldn't stand a rechrome shell is just too thin and rust savaged.. now this is all driven power wise with a bottle dynamo...if someone who knows about these things could offer advice on my thoughts of an Led front light i 'm sure i have seen similar shaped offerings which mimic the older lamp shapes.. anyone.. will

[6.5_lives_left]

Looking on the Busch and Muller web site they have a "Classic" dynamo headlamp. I don't know where you would buy it in the UK though.

[EDDROBB]

There are veteran cycle clubs and for sure they would be able to help you. Look them up on the web. I guess you have tried ebay? You may be able to get a direct replacement and adapt to led.

[rotavator]

velovitality have several classic styled battery lamps.

[Brucey]

The B&M classic is the first port of call as suggested above.

If you find a vintage shell that you like, you can often install LED guts from a modern LED lamp inside it.

Ditto with rear lights.

Alternatively you can install reflectalite bulbs in old housings; this is rarely quite as good as a complete LED headlight but it isn't bad.

cheers

[willcee]

Guys, thx, appreciate the advice however its more to fulfill a lamps position and have it looking as close to pukka as I can manage within reason , I doubt if I will ever have it illuminating the road .. but would like it to work... I don't think I will ever cycle this machine in the dark.. will

[Carlton green]

Guys, thx, appreciate the advice however its more to fulfill a lamps position and have it looking as close to pukka as I can manage within reason , I doubt if I will ever have it illuminating the road .. but would like it to work... I don't think I will ever cycle this machine in the dark.. will

As I understand things you don’t expect to use this bike in the dark, you do want to have the facility to do so (working lights) and do want a light that’s near enough a copy of what you already have (only one in better condition). I think you’re wise in still wanting working lights available to you and suggest that you’re in with a good chance of finding something suitable enough. eBay is your friend but requires that you do a lot of searching work and maybe buy a group of items rather than just the one that you want.

I suggest that if it’s possible to do so then you avoid using LED’s, I love LED’s but aren’t a fan of the screw-in and drop-in bulb types. Halogen is quite effective and a halogen bulb might well drop into an existing light, but if one doesn’t then we did used to manage with lesser stuff (Edit. Tungsten as Bruce points out below, when I last looked such bulbs were still available as spares and as a young man I used to carry spares with me - occasionally bulbs blew on me. It might not be ideal but IIRC some spares were wrapped in something and ‘tucked’ inside of the lamp behind the reflector). If you have a halogen bulb then it would be wise to fit a voltage regulator too - a bulb and a regulator might be lifted from a old ‘scrap’ halogen type light.

It’s obviously up to you but I respectfully suggest that if it’s practical to do so then you ‘should’ use a halogen bulb and that you ‘should’ also make sure that your light’s reflector isn’t tarnished ... may your light guide you safely home.

[willcee]

Thanks for your illuminating reply,... as someone who in yesteryear restored machines including French stuff, I was 'edumacated' by no less a French afficanado than Norris Lockley, he had me directed onto French Ebay, even brought me a couple of machines back in his Citroen BX estate, the French having a absolute hatred of livrasion..[posting anything] ...so I am fervently aware of what French lamps ,dynamos of the Soubitez and other names, even harder to pronounce, of the breed fetch.. rest assured if I can find something handy that's what will be refitted, I am at heart a practical restorer, many of the classy restos you see at the top jumbles [not this year mind] never were such spendour when they were new..and many of those looking at and revelling over said machinery weren't even alive when they were around, yet they would tell you what this should be and what worked with what...piffle.. thx will

[Brucey]

In the absence of regular use down steep hills, a voltage regulator is not required if tungsten bulbs are the correct rating and the generator is well-regulated. A good generator will naturally 'current limit' and won't blow correctly rated bulbs. Not every generator is well-regulated of course.

FWIW some folk can take it too far but if 'old kit' were to be the sole province of 'old folk' then it too would die out, wouldn't it? For the most part younger folk taking an interest in old kit is something to be celebrated, I would have said.

cheers