Friday, June 21, 2013

Brompton Accessories #7 - Akslen Headlights

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Bikes & Accessories / Brompton Accessories #7 - Akslen 10-Lux Headlights
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BROMPTON ACCESSORIES #7 - AKSLEN HEADLIGHTS
(This blog is not a review, it's more on my foray in purchasing accessories for my 3rd Foldie - a Raw Lacquer Brompton P6R)
I had asked my friend, TH Tan, in Bangkok to get me one of those brass bells made for the Brompton. He posted the bells photos to me and also added another photo that got my attention.


A headlight that fits just under the bag-block. Looks good and fits nicely with the Brompton concept of fold-ability, nothing sticking out. So I asked him to get one for me, together with the brass bell.


When the parcel came, I was anxious to see the bells and also the lights..


Yes, they were all there. The lights and the bells (... see blog on bells).


The front of the package is the light, it's the Akslen HB-112 headlights with 10 lux brightness. Made by Taiwan HAOLI company, it's the two bulb model. Cost is 950 Bahts per unit.


The back of the package were the mounting brackets. Great! They included two AA Panasonic batteries too.


The cardboard piece that came with the packaging showed mounting instructions on one side...


... and batteries installation instructions on the other.


Impatiently, just like a kid unwrapping his Christmas present, I took the lights out from it's package.
Swell! It looks like the head of Wall-E the robot - just what I wanted for Christmas!


At the top is a red press-down button switch (water-proofed) and a flip bracket to lock in the unit after battery installation.
From this angle it looks even more like Wall-E, add a body and it will probably walk around.


The mounting assembly that came is not suitable for the Brompton  or more precisely not suitable for where it should be mounted. Thankfully, Tan had sent over a mounting bracket (also made by Akslen) that will do the trick. This cost me an additional 220 Bahts.


Another round of eager un-wrapping.
The above photo shows the bracket bottom view actually, for mounting it should be turn up-side down from what the photo shows.
To the left is the oval slot for screwing onto the Brompton handle shaft, (it's the same bolt that holds the front brakes. Ensure that when installing, push the bracket as far out of this oval so that it does not interfere with the handle turning). The front is the slot for the light and behind it, a turn screw for tightening after getting the shine angle correct.


The unit, opened up. The flip lever is on the left and the batteries goes on top of the green colored PCBs. On the right, a white gasket can be seen going round the cover, these ensure water tightness.


The light installed onto my Brompton.


The light below the mini-Ortlieb Bag, with still good clearance so that it does not interfere with the bike's turning.


But when Tan saw the photo I posted to him, he said that I have installed it wrong. The red switch should be on top.



A bit of fiddling with the brackets and the "Akslen" headlight in now mounted the right way up on my bike. The red switch is on top.
The switching mode is Off>1 bulb on>2 bulb on>2 bulb alternating blinking>Off.



Only thing is, installed this way, the flip locking-lever has to be flip upwards to be able to slot the light in & out the holding bracket.


Overall, I am satisfied as the light subscribes well to Brompton's concept of fold-ability - fitting snugly without protruding out even when the bike is folded.


The shine with one bulb switched on, i.e. at 5 lux.


The shine with two bulbs switched on, i.e. at 10 lux.

Christmas came early for me, it will definitely be a brighter one!



You may also like :

Brompton Accessories #6 :
Brass Bells
A cute looking polished brass bell, and it sounds great too.

Brompton Accessories #5 :
Leather Pouch
A nice, rich-looking leather pouch that fits well onto my Brompton handle bar.





You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Bikes & Accessories / Brompton Accessories #7 - Akslen 10-Lux Headlights
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9 comments:

  1. Could someone please let me know if the 3 Led front light version still fits on the Brompton Bike.
    AKSLEN 3 LED Bicycle Front Light Bike Flashlight with Bicycle Clamp
    My e-mail ian_g_hall@yahoo.co.uk

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dear Ian,
      The 3-bulb Akslen Light can fit the Brompton. Look at the second photo from the top.

      Delete
    2. Many Thanks Jotaro. I will now investigate ordering a 3 lamp light and a bracket. I think i can do this online at e-bay and amazon respectively

      Thanks again for your help
      Ian

      Delete
  2. Hi, I want to ask you what inconvenience with this setup light?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Virgiliu,
      Firstly I must apologise for the late reply. We have been away on a cycling trip in South Island, New Zealand.

      Physically there is no inconvenience. As mentioned the Akslen lights fit nicely onto the Brompton and does not affect the folding in any way.

      It is however not as bright as many of those high wattage lights, but these have rechargeable batteries that last at most four hours and needs to be recharged frequently.
      In comparison, the Akslen two batteries last for months.

      Regards,
      The AhPek Biker

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello Jotaro,

    Would you share where in Thailand one can get these? My wife is visiting now and would like to pick one up. Thank you so much!

    PV

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi PV,
      Unfortunately, I myself don't really know where to get them. My friend stationed in Bangkok got it and couriered over to me. He did mention that he got it from a bike shop that sells Bromptons in Bangkok.

      Delete