Bike / Ebike handlebar cap blinker with mirror holder

prusaprinters

Ever since I saw handlebar caps with blinkers for bikes I wanted one on my ebike. But I already had these mirrors that mounted into the hadlebar ends: https://pl.aliexpress.com/item/2041222145.html I really like these mirrors, they are glass and convex (spherical) thus provide good field of view. So I assumed the handlebar blinkers are off the table for me. That was until I got a 3D printer!I designed the mirror mount to hold 3mm LEDs. With a several iterations I got finally a design that on outside is almost 1:1 in line with the original holder, but holds 8 LEDs on each side. LED tunnels are long on purpose - they serve as sort of “lightguides” to propagate the light along the lenght of the blinker. Some printing directions: -0.4mm nozzle, 0.2mm layer, 100% infill. You can use “clear printing” directions (1 perimeter and infill as parallel lines), but with just regular settings and 3-4 perimeters it looks OK too,-obviously transparent filament, so PETG is an obvious first choice. I printed the final version with PCTG, it should be more robust and is a bit more transparent. I printed in PCTG with 245C on the nozzle and 75C on the bed (with adhesive),-for the “pusher” you can use pretty much any material you like, since it's going to end up inside the handle bar. I used ASA. Assembly:-solder the LEDs in advance. I soldered them in series to power supply from ebike main battery. If you want to connect them parallel it's going to be a bit more challenging,-press the LEDs into the blinker. If it's a bit too tight you can open the holes with 3mm drill,-once the LEDs and connecting wire are in place secure them with silicone and let it dry,-once dry, solder a connector of your choice, and assemble the part in the handlebar replacing the original aluminum holder. -use the M6 bolt and the M12 pusher that came with the mirrors.-you're going to need to figure out the connections, wiring and blinker circuit on your own, depending on your bike spec and power supply source. You can buy a blinker circuit from aliexpress, but NE555 based one will do even a better job. In addition to using it as blinkers only you can also run a small current through the LEDs (i.e. 1mA) when you turn on your main light. It will serve as sort of a position light then.DISCLAIMER:-These are designated only to be used with those particular mirrors that I put a link to above,-These are not a certified blinkers, obviously, so I don't recommend to use it on a street-legal motorbike. When running 20mA through these LEDs they are pretty bright, but still hardly visible in a direct sunlight. My main intention was to use it when it's a bit darker outside and signaling a turn with your hand isn't so visible anyways. For such a purpose they do a really good job.