Bike light for Thick handlebars?
 

Anybody have any ideas for jury rigging, or actually buying a light to fit aluminum wrapped handlebars, like Bontrager (Trek 2000 series)? So far, the LBS just shakes their head.

Diane

I am not quite clear what you mean. Are these road bars that are taped? Are you trying to clamp around the taped/padded part? Usually the tape ends a couple of inches from the stem leaving some bare bar to clamp to. Most light clamps come large enough to fit just about anything with a couple of rubber strips to use with smaller diameter bars.

Zip ties. Otherwise, the only explaination I can come up with too is that you're trying to mount it over the bar wrap.

Yes, they are wrapped. Do I have to remove the wrap to put a light on? They are also extra thick handlebars....

If there's no more exposed room at the center of the handle bar to put the light, remove enough that you can put the mount on then use electrical tape to close off the ends of the bar tape.

I have the same problem. We used zip ties and velcro wraps to attach the light mounts.

Koffee

niterider trailrat 2.0 whould fit about anyhting you want it to. you might have to jury-rig the stright mount though by reversing the light mount plate, and attatching the bracket upside down. PM me for info on how to do this if you need to.

Depending on how the mount is constructed, you could try replacing the existing clamp/strap with a hose clamp. This allows for repeated installations without having to cut/reinstall zip ties or the like. I've even used a hose clamp for no other reason than it can provide a much more secure mount.

$100 at Performance Bike? Is that the one? ouch.

Yeah, but the thing is very bright, gets about 2 hours of solid burn from a rather small battery, and well I havent charged mine for over 6 hours of short duty daily use.

Lets put it this way....drivers on the smaller side roads get pissed at me for having such a bright light....they often mistake me for a motor vehicle :)

Plus I jsut buy extra mounts and use that one light on all my bikes...far cheaper that way :)


oh, and the thing is super durable and takes little room on your bars. The light itself is very small. The mount for it is like a rock, literally...it's this chunky peice of tough plastic that jsut about laughs at whatever you do to it.

This is about the brightness of the trailrat 2.0

And this is the niterider flame thrower HID light.

And this is the turbocat S47...

Wow, they are all awesome, but is the last one niterider too? Can't find it at performancebike. I'm betting even bigger bucks....

The S47 is from a company called TurboCat. It's 47 watts of light and only runs for 50 minutes. But if you need to literally turn night into day, look no further.

Also check http://www.night-sun.com/htmldocs/civilian.html for excessively bright lights.

My old light is a Nashbar (basic) rechargeable. It doesn't even compete, does it?

I think I spent $25 or so, thinking that was a lot.

Okay so this morning this light broke into a million pieces on the ground. I want bright enough for pitch dark, 15 mile rt commute, is the trailrat 2.0 the thing I want? It's pricey at $99.

Diane

I'd do it. That light is bright enough to piss people off, so it's definately bright enough for that.

Just remember to keep it charged. When it runs low, it goes out fast, but so do the other lights with NiMH batteries.

Just never look into one...bright enough to cause pain.

It's definitely bright enough for your intended purposes.
If you're gonna spend $100, I suggest looking at this: http://www.rei.com/product/47842645....HP_CYCLING_TOC
http://a1072.g.akamai.net/f/1072/206...16088_9996.jpg
It runs 6 hours on the 6 watt beam, 4 hours on the 10 watt beam, and 2 hours for a total of 16 watts of light. It's $94, not that bad a deal and you get to customize your brightness for whatever speed you're going.

I ordered it. Thanks!

If it doesn't fit on the handlebars, you can get a "Space Bar" from Performance. It sticks out in front of the handlebar, and has a smaller diameter. It can mount on VERY large handlebars. I have one, and can tell you to tighten the mounting bolt VERY tight, otherwise it can slip a bit. I think it's about $15. A guy I ride with has a fairly new Trek 2100, and his handlebar is too big for the mounts that come with most lights also.

You can get them cheaper than $15 - here's a google search page. Use the grid view, sort by price lowest to highest, and show all products.

http://froogle.google.com/froogle?nu...Search+Froogle

talking about space bars...there is one specific one that mounts to double bolt type stems. I think nashbar sells them.

I have the trail rat mounted directly on the handle bar with one of the older niterider style mounts. I will show a pic when I get to the bike this morning...