thirdin77

I guess that most people mount the light head to the seat post with the supplied mount and then mount the battery to the frame.

I'm having problems for a few reasons, though, one being that I don't have much seatpost showing, maybe 4.5" which is enough to mount the light head or the lithium ion battery (in a saddle bag) to my seatpost, but not both. So I tried putting the battery in the saddle bag and mounting the light head to the tops of my chain stays. It would've been fine on an aluminum or steel bike but my bike is all carbon and the rubber band that mounts the light head actually left indentations in my seat stays! I knew that carbon doesn't tolerate clamping forces but I didn't think the rubber band concentrated that much pressure. Now I know

I would mount the battery to the top tube but my rear brake cable is mounted in the 7 o'clock position, occupying the space where the battery would be. That and my bike's black-tinted clear coat seems easily scratched so I would like to not mount anything on the frame.

Again, my bike is carbon so I don't have braze on's, a rack or anywhere to mount the light head or battery off the frame.

I guess I'll either have to get a frame bag or a bento box for the battery, though I really didn't want stuff bouncing around when I hop or jump a pavement defect.

Mounting this light is such a hassle that I'm starting to not want to even use it and I wonder if I even need a 140 lumen tail light at all. I don't do that much night riding along expressways or highways with 50mph traffic, which was where I originally assumed it would be beneficial. I've been using a Mars 3.0 since last summer with few close calls.

Do I even need this damn thing? Is it worth the hassle? Any thoughts are welcome.

specq

I love mine.

Try doing a search for Dinotte Taillight mounting.

Believe it or not, when this thing first came out they didn't supply anything but the O-rings and the velcro helmet mount strap, and so people came up with all sorts of DIY mounts (one of which ended up being the inspiration for the now "official" dinotte version that ships with every unit).

But just because they ship it doesn't mean you have to use it.

Take a look at this one, for example.

That's what I ended up going with. I like it because I can put my bike in my workstand without having to take off the light. But it sounds like it would work for your problem too.

More detail and pictures available in this thread.

SSP

I cut an old water bottle in half, and mounted it on the seat tube water bottle holder. Then, I just drop the 140L battery pack into the bottle.

With a bit of folded cloth in the bottom of the half bottle, the battery pack sits nicely in the bottle and doesn't rattle or make noise.

thirdin77

Thanks, SSP. I had seen one of these but I've stubbornly wanted to keep both bottles. Maybe I'll have to give one of them up and compensate by using a one 28oz bottle instead of two 24oz's.

When I was looking at the water bottle selection at REI I saw this and this. I kinda want to just take one of the mounts off one of them and cobble some adaptor to my battery and light head. I'll look at one or both of them when I go to REI tomorrow.

Specq, I was checking out the photo you showed but I really want to be able to aim the light to my preference- not too far up or downward. I've considered putting the battery in a saddle back, strapping a piece of plastic pipe to the bag and the light head to the pipe. Then, I could aim the light slightly downward but then I don't know if it'll stay aimed correctly after I jump a few pavement overlaps.

Anyway, thanks to you both for the feedback.

BarracksSi

Yeah, you need it, and it's worth the hassle.

Have you tried mounting the light itself underneath the mount?

I only have a few inches of seatpost myself, so I put the light upside-down (as compared to their pic) and mounted the battery pack between the saddle rails.

I have a headlight, too, and mounted its battery on the underside of the stem.

thirdin77

Yeah, but that puts the power switch about 2-3mm opposite of my seatpost collar. Might have to live with that.


My saddle rails are pretty far apart and won't really allow me strap the battery between them.

Among other options, I need to look for a saddle pack (to put the battery in) that's small enough to mount on the upward-angled portion of the saddle rails so it's located high enough that I can maybe mount the light head below it..

fish_h20

I ran out of room with a seat wedge so I followed PdxGecko's advice
https://www.bikeforums.net/electronics-lighting-gadgets/369903-alternative-dinotte-mount.html


The hurricane pump mount is a perfect fit for the dinotte tail light and i think it looks better than the standard mount.

derath

Here's mine

fish_h20

derath - how is the light secured to the bag? I have a similar Topeak bag but can't figure out how to attach the light.

PdxGecko

Here's a picture of one of my mounts. The attachment of the Hurricane clip to the bike will vary depending on the seat stay design.

derath

Here is another view. On mine there are 2 elastic traps on the bottom of the bag. I loop the wire around the second one as shown for safety. So far I have never had the light bounch out even when hitting a pothole.

Scootcore

i was strapping mine to the bottom of my seatbag and then putting the battery between the seatbag and the saddle, works great, looks clean! you can use anything to do it.....toe straps, velcro pump straps....whatever.

DScott

I used the strap on my seatbag to secure a short piece of PVC conduit horizontally across the bottom of bag. Then, the Dinotte mounts directly to the conduit using the very solid O-rings. Battery hold straps to the back of the saddle bag, in this case. Works great, hardly moves, and easy to get at the batteries to charge them. It's easy to adjust, and gets lots of nice comments from other cyclists.

Pics:






Good luck!

njs05

maybe check out the akrapack, it doesnt interfere with mounting, check it out at www.akrapack.com

kleng

Specq, I was checking out the photo you showed but I really want to be able to aim the light to my preference- not too far up or downward. I've considered putting the battery in a saddle back, strapping a piece of plastic pipe to the bag and the light head to the pipe. Then, I could aim the light slightly downward but then I don't know if it'll stay aimed correctly after I jump a few pavement overlaps.

Anyway, thanks to you both for the feedback.[/QUOTE]

You can actually aim the light easily with the under seat mounting by sliding is up and down the seat rails and then securing the velcro strap, initially when you set it up, it points downwards slightly given the angle of the seat post.

10 Wheels

You don't need it. PM me, mail it to me.
Thanks