No room on bars for headlight
 

Hello,

I recently acquired a Raleigh Furley to be my do-all bike, and on weekdays it's going to be a fair-weather commuter.

Anyways, I have a Cateye light/computer kit that I put on the bike, which has a Velo 7 and a head/tail light in it. I have my computer on the stem (where I like it) and my tail light just clipped on to my rack. But I'm running into issues finding room for my head light.

I have crosstop levers mounted, and not much room for anything else. The crosstops are not going anywhere, so I'm looking for an alternative.

I'm thinking about one of those Nob things that you see on Peter White Cycles, but I'm not sure about how durable they'd be.

Are there any other alternatives out there?

Thanks.

This might work.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/313ekvMIHXL.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Bicycle-Handle...ef=pd_sbs_sg_5

Or maybe a fork mount will do?

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...-L._SX425_.jpg

http://www.amazon.com/Origin8-Light-...ght+mount+fork


You can rig up something like this if you have enough space too.

http://i784.photobucket.com/albums/y...t_lights_3.jpg

Yes it would if the clamp is narrow enough. Gonna look into it.

Thanks!

If you have room on your headset stack you could install a second stem with an auxiliary bar or something like a Thorn accessory bar. Another option is something like a Topeak BarXtender or Minoura Accessory holder.

I use one of these.

I have a CatEye and the bracket on a 90mm stem, it just fits but there's no problem.

Side showing stem:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...1fe8acb7a5.jpg

Front with cross levers:
http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s...be3da6848f.jpg

The bar is skinny. I used some of the silicone stretch tape to fatten it up for a more secure mount. No problems.

Perfect guys! Lots and lots of ideas I see. I really like the fork mount adapter idea, as well as mounting a bracket on the stem. I'll be making a trip to the bike shop tomorrow.

Thanks guys!

gregjones, I like what you did. The fork crown on a 26" or 700c wheel bike is an excellent height for a light. It's also out of the way.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=364326http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=364327I have a Minora mount that mounts to the stem and hangs down which works well for me.

erm.... h-h-helmet mount? <running, ducking...>

Up a little higher than the front axle end..

http://problemsolversbike.com/produc...d_light_mounts


.02 ... living in a rainy place ..
just critiquing greg-jones mount, upside down.. water goes in around the wiring hole in the light's shell .

they designed that hole to be in the bottom, where water wont flow .. uphill ..

Bene Sugg .. I'd come up from the fork crown, instead of down from the handlebar. .

Google I BoB forum was asking about other than special limited edition inverse reengineered
EDelux LED lights what can be mounted upside down ,if youve used that thru a couple rainy seasons
(snow really is not so penetrating as riding in a a good long downpour.. )
then maybe that will satisfy them ..

Thanks.

I figured that millions of motorcycles can't be all wrong.:thumb:

I like the location a whole lot better than above the bars. I was thinking of the axle or brake boss mounts but went with the motorcycle point. Problem Solvers makes a handlebar mount that would do the same thing, I went with the Minora so that I could mount it on the stem and not get in the mess of cables and the cross levers. It's been trouble free. Sixty-fiver has a real cool bar that he made to bolt at the hole in the fork crown. I would have had to change brake styles due to the central brake/straddle cable location.

Another $20 solution from Problemsolvers. Probably wouldn't work that great because it would cast a big shadow from the wheel. Could make something from PVC for $1, or get rid of the extra levers.

B-Dop Cycling has a few options, and the necessary adapters for different size bars. I have the Super Deluxe, and it is superb! In fact, that Amazon one looks like it could be Bobs..

this takes up less steerer tube length than a 2nd stem, with a stub of tubing in it ...
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/thorn-acc...11040/?geoc=us

I agree. Nice job.

I got one of these

http://www.amazon.com/NIBCO-Series-P.../dp/B007Q2GN4W

drilled a hole in the end of it and then put it in the threaded hole on my front rack. You can also put it in the fender mount on the fork.

actually, I have a foot long pvc pipe that I have pipe clamped to my stem and it holds my handlebar bag and my 2 lights (one on each end...). I painted the pvc black to fit with the bike...

I've added this feature to several bikes. A piece of scrap thinwall steel tube attached to the rear of the fork with the brake bolt, and a piece of scrap rubber hose to approximate handlebar diameter. No cost for the materials.

https://aonbbq.dm1.livefilestore.com...99%20front.jpg

i made one this one
 

I made this from pvc pipe, pvc elbows, pvc t-piece and pvc end caps and a torch mount.
I used it for my point &shoot camera that does video.
I recorded the local mups.

You guys are great! Thanks for all of the answers.

I didn't want to lose the extra levers, so I got one of the fork mounts. Seems to work fantastic.

Thanks again!

Fork crown bracket: http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/busch-and...unt-prod22455/

I use this on my commuter, Paul Components - works like a charm, I like that it's centered. http://www.paulcomp.com/stemcaplightmount.html

I've found that lowering the light too much below the handlebars casts odd shadows. Mounting it on the fork tip like the Problem Solver does makes shadows very long and distorted. Mounting the light at the handlebar level is just about optimal.

Some of the other ideas mount the lights in places where you could catch them or hit them in a crash. You don't need to increase the level of possible injury if you crash. The best light mount that I've found that doesn't take up any handlebar space and puts the light in a good position is the Dijia Cycleworks mount from Velo Orange. It takes the place of 2 of the mounting bolts on the handlebar front face clamp. The only caveat is that you have to have a 4 bolt face plate.

skycomag, you're using a gun flashlight mount, right? I got one of those on the suggestion of someone here. Haven't used it yet, and now I see how to use it best. Very nice.

Minoura has a light mount that replaces one of the spacers on your stem. Seems to put the light in a useful position.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=364478

Thanks for bringing that up because it had totally escaped me. :thumb: You make a valid point that fortunately has a simple solution, seal the entry hole with RTV. I had a fog light on my old Suzuki mounted upside down on the case guard, since I often rode in the rain I sealed the wire harness entry hole with RTV. I'm going to do it to my bike headlight even though it is mounted right side up. We don't get rain like the Pacific NW but we get some pretty powerful thunderstorms, sometimes they're real frog stranglers with very high winds and water gets in everywhere. If you get caught in one of those, which I have, water could still follow the cable or run down the sides of the housing and creep through the grommet due to capillary action. It probably wouldn't be enough to short out the light but continual exposure to that little bit of moisture over time would cause corrosion.