How-To:

Make your bicycle in to a Glow Bike

cycEL // A DIY EL-wire bicycle kit

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

1 of 9

cycEL // A DIY EL-wire bicycle kit

This kit includes:

EL wire
EL wire Driver
Connectors
Battery Pack*
Copper Foil Tape
Heat Shrink

Basic Idea:
1. Prepare your EL for soldering

4. Attach the switch to the battery pack

2. Solder your EL wire to your

connector

5. Attach it to your bike

3. Test your work

6. Look cool & tell your friends.

Tools Needed:

(Available at your local hackerspace)

Wire Strippers
Heat Gun
Soldering Iron
Workshop Space
Extra help

If at any time you need help putting together your kit, please email us at cycel@hackspace.ca
or, drop in at your local hackerspace. See hackerspaces.org for a complete list of hackerspaces
and find one near you!

Important Warnings:
Never kink or bend your EL, // Do not put your EL somewhere that it will bend repeatedly - this will break it. // Never turn on your driver when
its not connected to EL, and // Never, ever feed your EL wire after midnight
* Please see Appendix I for overly detailed directions on which batteries work best.
cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

2 of 9

cycEL // Background Information

Anatomy of EL wire:

What is EL Wire?

core wire
inner coating
phosphorus >>

angel wires (2)

coppor foil >>

EL wire consists of a thin copper wire coated in a

phosphor (a luminescent substance similar to whats
used in glow-in-the-dark toys), which glows when
an alternating current is applied to it.

What is Soldering?
Soldering involves fusing 2 or more metal items
together by melting and flowing a filler metal with a
relatively low melting point between the two things
to be fused.

vinyl cover

Soldering is a bit like using a hot glue gun, but it

differs from gluing in that the filler metals join metal
in a molecular bond that has electrical conductivity - and is water and gas-tight. There is evidence
that soldering was employed up to 5 000 years ago in
Mesopotamia.

Connector:

What is Pre-Tinning?
heat shrink

exposed ends

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

Pre-tinning involves coating metal with solder by

heating the wire first and melting the solder over
top before fusing the 2 metal objects together. This
makes for a stronger joint. Its strongly (hehe) recommended. If you dont know how to do this, ask a
buddy, or contact your local hackerspace.

3 of 9

cycEL // How To: Put Connector(s) on your EL

Step 1: Put a connector on your EL
i.) Using wire strippers or a knife, strip the
vinyl off the last 2 cm or so of the EL wire (a
thumbs width). Do not cut through the core
wire at this step. If you do, no worries, you
can always try again!

ii.) Place the heatshrink over the EL wire.

This step is easy to forget and very important! (Youll see later).

around the core wire (see anatomy of EL

wire diagram if youre unsure). Separate
them from the core wire, and wrap them
backwards, on to the copper foil. Be careful,
theyre fragile! Again, if youve accidently cut
your angel hair wires, you can start again at
step i).

angel hair
wires >>>

iii.) Wrap the top of your EL wire with coppor

foil tape (provided).
v) iI you have a third hand, this will make the
process much easier. If you dont, feel free to
stop by your local hackerspace to use one,
any other equipment needed. Or, ask a friend
to lend a hand! Now, solder angel hair wires
to the copper foil.

Third
Hand >>>

iv.) Note the angel hairs that are wrapped

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

4 of 9

cycEL // How To: Put Connector(s) on your EL

vi) Now find your connector, and hold both
wires up to your EL. Youll have to attach
each wire to a different place: one to the
copper foil over top of the EL, and the other
to the core wire. Before soldering, Measure
the wires and cut to fit so that you dont have
an awkward bind.

Step 2: Solder your EL wire to your

connector.
i) Pre-tin core wire. (Hold the exposed core
wire in one hand and touch the tip of the iron
with the soldering iron. Hold a short lenth of
solder in your other hand and touch it to the
wire, NOT the iron). When the core wire has
heated up, melt solder around the wire so
that it covers the wire.

ii) Apply heat to the heat shrink. You can

use your soldering iron or a heat gun if it
is available. The heat shrink protects the
connection. Watch the tube shrink once heat
is applied!

iv) Solder the longer connector wire to the

copper foil, thereby connecting it to the angel
hairs (through the copper)

vii.) Put another tube of heat shrink over the

shorter of the two connector wires:

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

ii) Slide heat shrink over top of the join,

5 of 9

cycEL // How To: Put Connector(s) on your EL

v.) Attach your connector to your power
supply to test your work.

>> Note: The wires coming off the battery

and drivers are very small and will eventually
wear out. Consider the strength of what you
buy for your personal uses, and be prepared to fix it as it wears.
ii) Tape the switch on to the battery pack with
hockey tape. Solder connections in place.
vi.) Apply heat to heat shrink.

When testing your driver, it should be ~ 12

V DC coming in to the driver from the power
supply:

Step 3: Attach switch to battery pack

This step is optional - but suggested. Its up to
you to figure out where you want the battery
pack, driver, & switch.

iii) Use shoe goo to reinforce the connection.

i.) Line up wires from the battery pack to

h to the centre post and then either of the
other outside posts.
vi) Once you know your soldering worked
out, first apply shoe goo for an extra hold,
and then slide heat shrink over everything
you just soldered. >>>

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

<< outer post

<< centre post
<< outer post

6 of 9

cycEL // Attaching the EL to your bike

Now that youve attached your battery pack, its time to start thinking
about how youd like to attach your EL to your bicycle.
Here are some tips:
Use clear hockey tape (from Canadian Tire, say), zap straps, or
glue it on with Shoe Goo
Clean straight lines and smooth curves look great!
Consider putting the EL on the top/bottom of your tubes rather than
on the sides - top/bottom will be visible from both sides, making
your bike brighter!
Dont put the EL in places where it will flex and move a lot while
riding or storage. This can break the EL.
Use regular wire in places you need flex, then connect it to your EL
with another connection. This is useful to put EL on your front forks
- use regular wire to go from your frame to your forks.
Figure out what design you are going for and make it happen! You
can always re-do it (unless you glued it on)

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

7 of 9

cycEL // Appendix I: Notes on Batteries

(TL;DR - 8 AA alkaline batteries are great, Ikea AAs are great and cheap)
You have several battery options depending on your skill level and requirements.

The drivers expect 9v to 12v, but will be much brighter with 12v.
Ikea AA batteries are very cheap and super fresh, so they last a long time! (Vincents lasted all winter!)
Alkaline batteries are 1.5v (8 of them yields 12v)
Rechargeable NiMH batteries are 1.2v or 1.3v, so they will work but wont be as bright.
Rechargeable Alkaline batteries (Pure Energy brand has some) are 1.5v, are lighter than NiMH and have no heavy
metals.

Other Battery Options:

Lead Acid 12v batteries - heavy, but a huge capacity and very rechargeable
LiPO - RC helicopter batteries - very light, but expensive. Get a 14.4v LiPO pack + a voltage regulator down to 12v.
1.2v NiMH rechargeables - If you use 10 batteries you could get 12v.

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

8 of 9

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Photos for this project taken by bluemollusc.com & flyingoctopus.net

cycEL Glow Bike Instruction Manual

Vancouver Hack Space Production

9 of 9