dwainedibbly

Anyone mount a Dinotte tail light on your helmet? I recently bought an Ultra 3, the Dinotte with the headlight and 2 small red blinkies on the back. I'm thinking of getting a Dinotte tail light, moving the Ultra 3 somewhere else, and mounting the tail light on my helmet using the mount from the Ultra 3. A seat post mount won't work because I commute using a rack bag. I'd like to get the tail light up high, too.

Sound like a good plan?

tsl

The great benefit of the DiNotte taillight is that its brightness is focused in the lane behind you. Mounted on the top of a helmet, that benefit is lost since your head moves left/right and up/down. The light is then pointed everywhere but the lane behind you. If you're looking to your left, the light is pointing right, and those behind you see only the side view of it. Not much light comes out the side of a DiNotte.

Plus, you run the risk of pointing its 160 lumens right into someone's eyes. I understand many here think that's a good strategy and the entire reason to have a helmet-mounted headlight. Personally, I disagree and think it's discourteous.

If you're going to helmet-mount a taillight, use something more omnidirectional, then mount the DiNotte on the bike aimed back down the lane. My DiNotte is mounted on the rack (all it takes is a couple of extra wraps of the O-ring) and I have a Cat-Eye TL-LD600 mounted on the back of my helmet.

I chose the TL-600 specifically because if I mount it vertically, it covers well over 180°, making it a good side-marker light too. I mounted it using the belt-clip from a TL-LD1000 and a velcro strap from a DiNotte.

kster

I second what tsl is saying. The light is too bright and might blind drivers as they go by if you do the helmet mount. I keep mine intentionally pointed downwards to avoid this (it is frame mounted just below the seatpost).

If you need more mouning optons, this is the bracket that I use:
https://www.terracycle.com/Merchant2/...uct_Code=accmt

dwainedibbly

Point taken, thanks for the feedback. I'll leave the Ultra 3 on the helmet (it *is* nice having the headlight aim where I'm looking). I'm off to the hardware store for some conduit & small parts to make a tail light mount. I'm thinking of a piece of conduit mounted under my rear rack sticking out to the left with the tail light mounted out there. I'll try to get the light maybe 8-12" off my centerline. A couple of wingnuts and it'll be easily removable. A visit from Mr Krylon and a plastic plug on the end and it'll be presentable, too.

I also have an LD1000 mounted to the back of my rack bag.

mulchie

Hey, TSL:
Could you post a pic of how you mounted your DiNotte to your rack with a double loop of the O ring?
thanks

tsl

With pleasure.



With the O-ring in the slot at the the switch end, wrap it around the rack leg the same as you would on a seatpost, but continue past the lens end and pass it around the switch end again (pulling the power cord through) and around the rack leg again. Then stretch around the lens end and secure in the slot as usual.

dwainedibbly

Nice! Now I need to return some stuff to Lowes.....