danbjosephAug 19, 2025
Ryan

Last year, dissatisfied with the low quality of commercially available bike wheel lights, I set out to make my own.

Several kilograms of filament and several meters of LED strips later, I had a solution that worked. Bright, eye catching wheel lights that I only had to charge once a week.

I toyed with the idea of starting a small business to sell them online, but there were too many unknowns.

So I released them open source: https://www.instructables.com/DIY-3D-Printed-Rechargeable-Bike-Wheel-Lights/

Ride brightly, my friends.

#bikeTooter

Aug 18, 2025 at 10:08pmWeb
Show threadCycling_LizAug 18, 2025
@yantor3d They're beautiful! 😍
Show threadAndrewAug 18, 2025
@yantor3d I wonder how much power you could scavenge by adding a wire coil and a permanent magnet mounted to the frame
Show threadRyanAug 18, 2025
@cinebox Only one way to find out! Let me know what you learn :)
Show threadAndrewAug 18, 2025
@yantor3d yeah i’m trying to think of how I would even measure that…
Show threadSebastian Crane 🏳️‍⚧️Aug 18, 2025

@cinebox @yantor3d not exactly providing answers but still very entertaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTfZktPblF0

I watched this years ago and it's stuck with me 😀

Liz Bonnin presents Bang Goes the Theory - Powering a House with Pedal Power

YouTube
Show threadKen M SweeneyAug 23, 2025
@seabass @cinebox @yantor3d Liz Bonnin? There's a blast from the past. I knew her from her Chill days.
Show threadLovesTha🥧Aug 18, 2025

@yantor3d "The lights should be installed on the street side of your wheels for maximum visibility, and to avoid conflict with the chain."

But the street side is the chain side ;)

Show threadRyanAug 18, 2025
@LovesTha It isn't on my bike...
Show threadLovesTha🥧Aug 18, 2025
@yantor3d It isn't in your country
Show threadRyanAug 19, 2025
@LovesTha open the reality editor and scale your bike -1 in the X axis, then your chain will be on the curb side when you ride. 🙃
Show threadLovesTha🥧Aug 19, 2025
@yantor3d How about we remove cars from roads, that will make unifying the side everyone rides on much easier.
Show threadRyanAug 19, 2025
@LovesTha But without oversized trucks, how will insecure suburban men compensate for their deliberately compromised mental health? </sarcasm>
Show threadLovesTha🥧Aug 19, 2025
@yantor3d There are plenty of bike based penis proxies
Show threadLovesTha🥧Aug 18, 2025
@yantor3d It feels bad when the bulk of the mouser/digikey order is some dinky little cables.
Show threadRyanAug 18, 2025

@LovesTha Yeah... even if you buy all the parts for a full bike, that's still not a lot of parts.

Too bad their options for LED strips are limited and over priced; ditto for the 21700 cells that DigiKey sells. It would be amazing to be able to order everything but the screws in one place...

When I was exploring starting a business it was a pain in the next to minimize the list of suppliers against the per unit cost of various materials...

Show threadBen PfaffAug 18, 2025

@yantor3d They look great.

I hope that they are not so bright that they risk blinding other cyclists riding near you. I have experienced that problem first-hand.

Show threadRyanAug 18, 2025

@blp thanks!

I've done several night rides with a large group and nobody has complained. And if they are too strong, the RF LED remote has brightness controls and can dim down to 5%

Show threadThe Life of BrianAug 18, 2025
@yantor3d I thought of Men In Black when I saw the photo.
Show threadnickAug 18, 2025
@yantor3d Awesome project, these look great. I've been tempted to make something similar but just for front & rear mounting with a wire between so they can share one battery and one on/off switch. Good to hear that the PETG has held up well.
Show threadRyanAug 18, 2025
@nickzoic Front and rear *frame* mounting, right? Cuz if you manage to run a power cable between two wheels I want to see that!
Show threadnickAug 18, 2025

@yantor3d I mean they're both rotating, so ... plus that way you get 2WD for free 🙂

Yeah, I meant frame mounting :-)

Show threadnickAug 19, 2025
@yantor3d (I do really like the way your wheel mounted lights look though, they'd be very noticeable. Which reminds me I've got to clean the rims off so I can get these reflective stickers installed)
Show threadRyan The Red 🖥️🚲🍺🏳️‍🌈Aug 19, 2025
@yantor3d Literally brilliant!
Show threadpete rorabaughAug 19, 2025
@yantor3d super cool project, thank you for sharing .. shipping to my bike fam @krazylink .
Show threadLord egeltje 🦔 🇪🇺   Aug 19, 2025
@yantor3d about 15 years ago, there was RevoLights. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/revolightsinc/revolights-wheels
Very cool, worked really well, but they went out of business after a couple of years. 😢
Show threadAdrian MoralesAug 19, 2025
@yantor3d Looks cool, but has it made the bike heavier/unstable?
Show threadRyanAug 19, 2025
@adrianmorales not really; my e-bike is already close to 60 pounds, so the extra pound or two per wheel is hardly noticeable. The battery is around the hub so its weight doesn't affect the wheel, and having two lights in each wheel keeps them balanced.
Show threadArne BöttgerAug 19, 2025
@yantor3d that sounds interesting. But it seems like it only works up to a certain hub diameter, if you have a front hub dynamo it might not fit. But I will look into it when I am back at a proper sized screen ;-)
Show threadRyanAug 19, 2025

@arnotron correct - it requires a hub diameter of less than 40mm. Dynamos, internal gear hubs, or hub motors are all probably too large.

But it is a creative commons license so you could make a derivative suitable for those larger hubs...

Show threadAndrew WoodsAug 19, 2025
@yantor3d @SymfonyStation Can you make the whole bicycle frame glow? Because that would be cool.
Show threadRyanAug 19, 2025

@awoodsnet @SymfonyStation You could. The same principle applies; DIY battery pack and a lot of LED strips. Trouble would be the runtime - you'd end up with several meters of LED strip for the whole bike frame.

I went with wheel lights because I felt two rings of light would immediately read as a bicycle at night. And my e-bike has weird frame geometry so hubs and spokes were more predictable to work with.

Show threadTwoowls Elt 🦉 🦉Aug 19, 2025
@yantor3d these look amazing! Thanks for sharing.
Show threadTrickTimAug 23, 2025
@yantor3d
Thank you for putting in the work, and for sharing it!
Show threadAscendorAug 23, 2025
@yantor3d @fedibikes_de @mastobikes_de ⬆️
Show threadSmith SnapshotAug 23, 2025
@yantor3d fyi @nivaan
Show thread*_jߍyropeAug 31, 2025
@Ryan -> @Critical Mass @Critical Mass Berlin @Chicago, Bike Grid Now!
Show threadLAURENOct 18, 2025

@yantor3d

I am reminded of Men In Black. These are cool!

Show threadSterlingOct 18, 2025
@yantor3d
Very nice !
Beats the old headlight driven by the little generator that was turned by the wheel.
Show threadnanowizNov 22
@yantor3d
Well done, you!!
Show threadHenning Paul DC4HPNov 25
@yantor3d In what jurisdictions is this legal?
Show threadRyanNov 25
@hennichodernich I know they're legal in the US and Canada. Can't speak for the rest of the world. I've been told many times that these would be illegal in Germany.