Long Distance Competition/Ultracycling, Randonneuring and Endurance Cycling - Wire path for generator hub-powered tail light

I'm going to set up a bike with a front generator hub connected to a headlight connected to a front rack. The incremental cost of running a tail light off the generator is miniscule and I like the thought of not having to worry about batteries at all (except for the back-up lights), but I cannot figure out how to run the wire unobtrusively from the head tube to the back light. I'm planning to mount the tail light to the left cantilever stud using a bracket that Peter White sells for this purpose, so the wire would have to run from the head tube to the rear brake. I know I could use zip ties to hold things in place, but I'd like the wire and its associated hardware to less obtrusive than that, if possible.

Have any of you figured out a way to do this? I've looked for an answer to this dilemma online but with no luck. Thanks.

I always though if I had the time, because it involves R&R of the cable... buy some different size heat shrink and run the brake cable or the housing through it. It would take some thought to give slack in the right places but it would work if you planned it. do the front with the speedometer.

This should work for a neat and clean application. Find the best route for your wire. Hold it in place with strategically placed thin strips of tape --electrical tape works well. Then apply clear silicone seal along the wire, wiping off the excess. When the seal sets, remove the tape.

I use packing tape instead of zip ties. Secure, easily removable, cheap and fairly long lasting. Just check on the pieces when you wash your bike to make sure they're not falling off.

The underside of tubes tend to be the most unobtrusive. You're shortest option is underneath the top tube, but for extra stealth you could route it under the downtube, underneath the rear fender and up through a hole near the light.

If you've got a steel frame and a drill motor...

http://www.reneherse.com/images/DSC_002000202.JPG

The wire is then run down the downtube and up the seat tube, exiting wherever you want it to. Can't think how to do it for a brake mounted to the seatstay, though.

Find the best route for your wire. Hold it in place with strategically placed thin strips of tape --electrical tape works well. Then apply clear silicone seal along the wire, wiping off the excess. When the seal sets, remove the tape.

This sounds like a pretty clean solution. Will the silicone seal compromise the integrity of the paint over time?


I use packing tape instead of zip ties. Secure, easily removable, cheap and fairly long lasting. Just check on the pieces when you wash your bike to make sure they're not falling off.

I'm more familiar with packing tape than silicone seal, and I know packing tape (and simple Scotch tape, too) will rip the finish off of furniture and paint off of spray painted items. Have you never had a problem with flecks of paint sticking to the tape instead of remaining on the bike?


If you've got a steel frame and a drill motor...

http://www.reneherse.com/images/DSC_002000202.JPG

The wire is then run down the downtube and up the seat tube, exiting wherever you want it to. Can't think how to do it for a brake mounted to the seatstay, though.

Six jours, this is a great idea but I'm just not that handy. If I tried to drill a tube I'd end up with a crude hole in the tube (maybe), 5 deep paint scrapes emanating from the hole from when the drill bit slipped as I was trying to start that hole, and a hole in my hand at least 1/4 inch deep, which have been the terminal point of the drill bit's path along one of those scrapes. I know my limitations.

I have front and rear lights running off a Schmidt generator and ran the wire from front to back under the top tube, held in place with zip ties -- front, middle and back. It's not elegant, but quite effective.

What was not effective was my first try at making the wire running up the fork unobtrusive -- I used black electrical tape, which when removed stripped chunks of clearcoat from my pretty fork making a mess. After that I went to zip ties. My frame is shiny titanium, which is indestructible -- I could have used clear tape under the top tube.

I have front and rear lights running off a Schmidt generator and ran the wire from front to back under the top tube, held in place with zip ties -- front, middle and back. It's not elegant, but quite effective.

yup that's what i do on the pacer.

yup that's what i do on the pacer.

+1. I do the same on my Cross Check. Black frame, black wire, black zip ties, runs back to an E3 taillight mounted on p-clips between the seatstays above the brake bridge. Barely noticeable during the day, amazingly bright at night.

+1. I do the same on my Cross Check. Black frame, black wire, black zip ties, runs back to an E3 taillight mounted on p-clips between the seatstays above the brake bridge. Barely noticeable during the day, amazingly bright at night.

see i need to do some color-coordination, because currently i'm using small-gauge speaker wire for the rear light, and it doesn't match a damn thing on the pacer! black wire would look much better.

see i need to do some color-coordination, because currently i'm using small-gauge speaker wire for the rear light, and it doesn't match a damn thing on the pacer! black wire would look much better.

Lucky for me, the E3 lights come pre-wired and the only ones that look funky are the red/blue leads from the headlight for the taillight.
Even Radio Shack might still carry small gauge wire, buried in amongst the stacks of cell phones and remote control monster trucks.

Lucky for me, the E3 lights come pre-wired and the only ones that look funky are the red/blue leads from the headlight for the taillight.
Even Radio Shack might still carry small gauge wire, buried in amongst the stacks of cell phones and remote control monster trucks.

An alternative to Radio Shack is the mail order/Internet company DigiKey (use google, it'll be easy to find them). For the electronics designers at my former employer they were the first choice for quick purchase of small numbers of electronics parts and supplies. Not cheap, but good, new stuff in a huge variety.