Light up your ride with some LED handlebars! You will need:

• Cool white LED strip (1m or 2m - available as a project pack in the Adafruit store)
  
• Waterproof DC Power Cable Set
• 8 x AA battery holder
• Heatshrink tubing
• Clear handlebar tape
• Scrap fabric
• Tablecloth vinyl or other waterproof fabric
• Velcro closure tape
• Electrical tape
• Zipties
  

Tools:

• Soldering iron and solder
  
• Wire strippers
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine (optional)
• Measuring tape
• Multimeter
• Lighter (or heat gun-- for shrinking heatshrink tubing)
• Utility or craft knife
  

This project was inspired by Mitchell Silva, who created GLOBARS with LEDs inside the handlebars.

Scrape away the plastic coating over two solder pads at the center of your LED strip.

Grab the jack side of the waterproof power connector and solder the red wire to the positive (+) pad on the LED strip, and the black wire to the negative (-) pad. Slide a large piece of heatshrink tubing over the LED strip and the newly formed junctions.

Add a ziptie, some epoxy, or both to provide strain relief and added waterproofing at this delicate spot.

Secure the center of the LED tape to the center of your handlebars, positioned around your stem. If your handlebars aren't attached to a stem when you do this project, add something to occupy its place, like rolled up cardboard and a velcro tie.

Cut the backing strip near the stem to expose the LED strip's adhesive. Peel away the backing as you affix the strip in position on the handlebars.

1m of LED tape covers these drop bars nicely.

Clip off any extra LED strip with your snippers.

Repeat with the other side.

Wrap handlebars with clear grip tape. I found it on Amazon in two colors (neither of which gave the LEDs any discernible tint).

Test out the LEDs with a reliable 12V power source. These drop bars were adorned with 1m of LED strip, while the bullhorns below have 2m spiraled around them.

Sew a pouch to house your batteries. I made mine from two rectangles of fabric stitched together along their centers, creating flaps that will wrap around each the battery holder and the bike's top tube. Use vinyl to line the battery compartment for added water resistance. Watch the video above-- it's set to start at the battery pouch segment.

Take your bike out for a nighttime ride!