HNot sure if this has been asked before, but I ran a search and couldn't find anything...

My girlfriend commutes to school on her bike, and will be needing to start spending a lot more time in the lab in the evenings soon. She's never really ridden at night, and doesn't have a headlight for her bike. The bike is an old cruiser, and has a large front basket (nashbar toto (http://www.nashbar.com/nashbar_photos/medium/NA-TFB.gif)), which doesn't allow for handlebar-mounted lights. We have been asking around at bike shops, but can't find any front lights that would be able to mount to the basket in some way. She's just looking for a BE SEEN light, since the streets are well-lit enough to see pretty well. Any suggestions?

Someone sells a mount that lifts the light over the basket/handlebar bag.
Or you could do what i do. I ahve a front rack with a loop over the wheel. Headlight's mounted right there. Lowever mounting possition also improves the riders ability to see hazards in the road. You may have to shim, but it works perfect.
Or there's always the helmet mount route.
Also: Make sure she has a rear light, high vis clothing, and some wheel reflectors (bikes are hardest to see from the side). Overkill when it comes to nightime visiblity is a good thing.

I put two Minoura fork mounts (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=1184&sku=13291&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=) on the fork of my bike, and attached the headlights to them. It has the added advantage of placing the lights lower, if you use lights to see the road and not just to be seen. You can also attach a small light (I have a flashing Cateye EL400 (http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=0307&sku=9978&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=)) to the helmet. Or you could just get one of the EL400 and attach it directly to the left side of the fork.

If you don't mind what it looks like, then try this:

1) get a tubular object that's about 1 inch in diameter, such as a piece of PVC pipe

2) get a couple of hose clamps, and use them to firmly clamp the tubular object to the metal crossbar at the front of the basket

3) mount the light on the tubular object


Any good? :)

I've experimented with mounting a red blinky to the back of my helmet (tres chic, yes). Perhaps the same could be done for a white blinky to the front of the helmet? My hypothesis: the higher the light, the better it's seen. We're talking very lightweight cheapo blinkies and heavy-duty double-sided tape in my case. Of course, your girlfriend may object to looking like a dork.

Also, may I state that epoxy is a wonderful thing.

A small bright LED is sufficient for being seen. Im sure you could rig a mount on the basket. You can put a couple of thin bolts through the weave with some bent steel each side. Or some zip ties.

I have a large Arkel Handlebar bag, which similarly obstructs the front.
I use a LT134 Lumotec Oval Plus Senso with Standlight as seen on http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/lighting/shimano.html
It is powered by a generator hub, and mounts to the top of the front fork, where the front brake is. The hub also powers a rear light which is mounted on my rear fender.

The only issue is that it is hard to reach the switch to turn it on and off when the handlebar bag is on the bike - but that is not a major problem

Thanks for the help. I think we'll head over to the LBS and see if they have the EL400 to try to mount to the fork for a first try. She already has the rear light, wheel reflectors, and some reflective armbands, but we had a hard time finding a light that would work with the basket. The other thing that I think should work is using a white flasher with some zip-ties to hold it to the basket. Thanks!

i've used P-clips to mount blinkies on metal baskets but zip ties should work pret darn good too.

mounting the lights inverted under the bottom deck of the basket and sticking out underneath would also be good placement. you could zip tie/mount an appropriatly sized handlebar type bar (broomstick, section of old handlebar) undeneath a basket, and run an entire panoply of lights.....or just rig sans bar

duct tape is also always a ghetto solution but very feasible for blinkies, clear packing tape sometimes even more so.