Headlamp for the Viva
 

Okay, so this is the front of my bike:

http://rideblog.files.wordpress.com/...2011ride13.jpg

Clearly it needs a great big ole' shiny retro headlamp. Not for light, per se, just to be seen and to be awesome.

Thoughts? Viva sells one that goes on the headtube, but I have no idea if I could get one to this country. Other ideas?

And then there's the need for a rear blinky of some sort. The rear rack, as seen here, has nowhere to attach a blinky. Thoughts on this? Ideas?

http://rideblog.files.wordpress.com/...42011ride1.jpg

I think that tubus light mounting kits for their fly racks are some kind of clip with a hole in it. It would likely work for rear light/blinky attachment to this rack. I check into this since i am *this* close to getting a fly for my mixte, and I want/need a rack mounted light.

SP, what do you think? You would need to rig a few clamps to hold it to the rack.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Retro-Vintage-Ev...item5ae07c0f0f
http://i489.photobucket.com/albums/r...h/IMG_1693.jpg

SP, you can use Adel Clamps, Scroll down this page a bit and you'll see white ones that would go very well with your lighting project.

http://flyingbreadbin.com/twiki/bin/...rd_Loop_Clamps

Something like this? Probably could be repainted to match your bike or left in black. It's bascially the same thing as the Nirve light with LED lamps installed. Screw-in LED lamps for that light run $10 each (there are two of them) so the price from jbikes is pretty darn nice, IMHO, even though they only have it in black.

Okay, but I'm not quite sure where you mean to put the light. The classic location for a classic chrome bullet mounted under the stem, in front of the headset, kinda like on a motorcyclle; but this is going to interfere with your cables, isn't it? Not to mention stuff you put on the front rack. So bikes with a utilitarian front rack often have the light mounted under the rack; but that's a utilitarian solution and might not fit your desire for something that looks awesome. I, personally, would go with a pair of small lights mounted under the rack; but I feel strongly about good lighting on a bike.

In Europe they sell very nice fender mounted tail lights. They come in a variety of styles, but typically they include a reflector as big or bigger than what you have, and include a light as well. It would replace your existing tail light and, IMHO, look better.

Here's a picture of a Busch & Muller tail light I found on the internet... another brand that makes them is Spanninga. Where to find one... I'm not sure. Google will help!
http://home.earthlink.net/~van1214/pbl-019.jpg

For the rear, I suggest this. Can be mounted on rack or fender mounts. I have one on my beach cruiser and it looks great! http://www.somafab.com/bulletlight.html
Not sure what you should do for the front. Soma also makes this: http://www.somafab.com/light_torpedo.html It's not quite as nice-looking though. It's chrome colored plastic. The rear light has an aluminum casing.

For the rear blinky I'd just remove the OEM rear reflector and replace with a blinky if it were me. I like the Mars 1.0 LED blinky since it is a bit older and very cheap these days. IT comes with lots of different mounting hardware, one of which is a bracket that mounts to a standard reflector mount. Done.

For the front, I think that a stem-mounted arm would work well with that cabling as-is and would be high enough to shine over the front rack when loaded reasonably. How much stuff is one going to PUT on a front rack? Sooner or later it becomes a hazard in itself not just due to the bulk but to the handling of the bike with that much weight bolted to the front end.

Mounting a light lower is going to reduce its efficacy with regard to visibility to drivers. A light intended for illuminating the road should be mounted low on the forks but one intended to increase visibility to other road users should be high enough to meet other road users at eye level so they take notice of it as a "threat" and not just some road marking.

I would suggest that Snarky get a bullet headlight for visibility purposes (this is what she is asking for in the OP) and put it up high and make sure it is not obstructed in those rare occasions when there is a load when there is a darkness. If further illumination is required then a good LED headlamp can be purchased and installed to the fork leg where it won't be too much of an eyesore and might even be able to be removable. There is a good mounting spot for such a light at the rack mounting lug which can easily be piggy-backed for a light bracket too.

But Snarkypup isn't asking for such a light probably because her biking needs/habits don't require it. If she just wants a stylish light that matches the character of her bike and satisfies her basic night-time safety/visibility issues then a stem mounted vintage-look bullet light would be more than sufficient. I'd suggest an LED just because it will require fewer battery changes and actually shed some useful light rather than merely being a marker light for other road users to spot.

Snarky,

For a headlight, since you have that nice mounting point down low on the fork blade for the rack strut, I would get a mount from VO that will bolt right up to that, and would then accept a standard headlight with handlebar clamp. Or, save the $25 and make your own version of what VO sells, using a piece of handlebar stock, like I did for my wife's Soma (or simply ask me nicely to make you one :)). The Cateye that I'm using is on the expensive side (~$40), but you can mount any handlebar headlight to it, since it is made from, um, handlebar. I think it looks pretty classy and would look fabulously integrated if mounted to your Viva's fork mount:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5148/...8d2678e2_b.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5141/...c0d86ffa_b.jpg

[image via lovely_bicycle!]
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5141/...7f71e051_o.jpg


For a rear taillight, I would recommend going in one of two directions:

1) (preferred option) Buy a fender-mount taillight such as this Spanninga battery LED taillight, and mount it to the fender. It's fairly classic looking, and I think it looks great on my wife's Soma mixte. It can directly replace the rear reflector on the Viva, using the existing mounting hole. It's only $16 from Peter White Cycles, who seem to be the only ones in the US that sell this light:

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5308/...14fb3b9e_b.jpg

[image via lovely_bicycle!]
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5269/...c5fc96d0_o.jpg

[image via lovely_bicycle!]
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5228/...c2604794_o.jpg


2) make your own mount using two small nylon "R" clamps and a piece of inner tube, and mounting a standard taillight to the rack, as I did on my Bike Friday Tandem:

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1255/...758c6f11_b.jpg

+1 This is the route I'd go. Velo Orange also sells the Pixeo, but is currently out of stock.

That's an awesome front rack, but it sure would be awesomer with threaded light bosses.

As for the head lamp, I'd probably go with a Lumotec Retro and figure out the best way to mount it.

http://www.retrovelo.de/tl_files/bil...a_ansicht1.jpghttp://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/...25e5da00d5.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3514/...9e5d5f6b7f.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2303/...82868d9f12.jpg

Wow, it never occurred to me to replace my fender reflector. I think Dutch Bike sells the Pixeo, or a similar one from Spanninga, so I can ask them about that.

The Lumotec Retro looks great, and I can mount it up high above the rack, but it's a dynamo-driven light, and I don't have a dyno hub. I have disc brakes, but no dyno hub. Is there a battery version?

I have seen this in silver on Amazon, but the reviews were not happy :(.

There is a battery version. I'll ask my friend where she purchased hers.

Ah, and Southpaw, I have that Cateye already mounted on the handlebars :). I don't mind it, but I'd like a big ol' retro light on this bike, for fun. The Cateye works well on the Raleigh, but this bike demands a large light.

Like this version on the men's bike:
http://www.gentlemansgadgets.com/dan...o-man-bicycle/

Hmm... I'll ask at Dutch Bike, because I couldn't find one on anyone's site (just did a very quick search, admittedly) that wasn't dyno.

I have that exact Virge headlight. It is not a bad light. I don't know what the issue was with some people regarding the switch. It seemed like it was fine to me. I rode it around for a while and then tore some of the guts out of it to make it into a dynamo light. I rewired it so that one lamp is on the 9v battery and the other is directly wired to the dynamo. The selector switch on the top has been gutted and doesn't do anything now and the rear switch turns on and off the battery stand light. This way I have light when I need it through the dynamo and still can be seen with the battery circuit even though it is much dimmer.

But as it comes from Virge it is just fine IMHO for visibility. One isn't going to light up the road with it by any means. I haven't done a review of it there myself but I might eventually. The cost was a bit more than I think such a light is really worth or would cost to produce but that is probably because there really are no cheaper competing options. The chrome is pretty good, the lights are pretty dim (it's just a 9v battery and non-LED lamps so what can be expected?)

I can't find it online either, but my friend has one on her mixte so I know they exist.

Another fender-mounted, battery-operated rear light is the FenderBot from Portland Design Works:

http://www.ridepdw.com/goods/lights/fenderbot™

I just put one on my Ebisu.

Neal

Wow! I really like this tail light! I have a direct link to PeterWhiteCycles.com and that light HERE for anyone who wants to bookmark it or add it to their Amazon wish list like I did (Amazon lets you link to items off of their site which is REALLY handy and also tells sellers that they might want to list it there someday...)

This is a much better option with the cleaner fender mount and the auto on/off version than the Mars 1.0 light I linked above. From now on I'm going to recommend the Spanninga instead to those who buy my Raleigh Restorations (putting a set of lights on craigslist bikes just does not pay in resale).

Wow, I ogled this pic for 3 minutes before I even noticed the kid.

Yeah... I was thinking to myself, heals, dress and handlebar mounted child... I bet that makes cycling REALLY fun. Oh, I guess you meant that she is pretty.

Have you thought of getting a bottle generator? Just a thought, and then you would not have to fool around with batteries.

I pondered the bottle generator (not the baby, but the kind that go on your front wheel), but I already have a big heavy bike I need to get up a hill now and then. How would that affect my rolling resistance? If it wouldn't make much difference, I'd be all over that option.

I'm sold on the fender-mounted rear light. I'm sure my bike shop can do that. So it's just a front light I need...

Would a dynamo affect performance going uphill?

It would make a big difference. Lots of drag. I don't know how anyone can stand them. They ruin tires, too.

The generator only drags when engaged (like when you flip it down when you want the lights to turn on), and I have heard most people don't notice much difference. I have a AXA HR bottle generator in my possession and have the intention of putting it on one of my bikes... as for ruining tires, I think it depends on the tire and where you put it. Your fat franks have a generator strip-- it is thick rubber there with ridges to help grip on the little wheel. Might be worth considering...

One reason I have considered running one, is inspiration from one of Velouria's blog posts about the matter:

http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2010/...or-bottle.html