Donnie Johnson

Good Morning,

My Audax bike has butterfly/trekking bars and an Ortleib handle bar bag. This does not leave me with much room to mount the head light. I would like to mount the headlight on the fork crown where the mudguards would generally be mounted. My previous attempt at making a fork crown mount was not the best as it fowled with the V-Brakes and would prevent the possibility of mounting mudguards as well.

If you mount your lights on the fork crown, How did you do it? Is there a bracket that I can purchase or a simple mount that I can make? Any design ideas are very welcome.

Donnie

znomit

B&M light holder might work:
B + M light holder offers at the cycling shop Rose Bikes UK

seajaye

peter white cycles carries a few different lights and a handy chart to show which mounts can support or should support which lights (down towards the middle of the page).


if you are running v-brakes, you might also be able to look at some problem solvers canti-stud mounts.

Rowan

If you are running V-brakes, I would opt for mounting on one of the fork stud braze-ons for the caliper.

The issue, as you have discovered, is the cable for the V-brakes and finding a mount that will clear that, mount the light, and avoid vibration is very difficult.

The brake braze-ons are in about the right location, are solid as a rock, and if you are careful, you won't interfere with the operation of the brake. In Australia, the technical rule states that a rider must have two lights with independent mounting points. The brake braze-ons work well for that.

B&M used to make a neat pressed steel mount (maybe they still do) which came as standard with its incandescent lights, and it provided enough height, angle and stability to do the job from the fork crown. But now they seem to only offer the curly mount made from rod (as in the Rosbike link) which for me raises issues with finding the right bolt and washer to secure it in place... and the ones I have -- long and short -- don't provide the length and angle to clear the V-brake. To me it was a clunky solution to what already was an elegant component.

Rowan

I like the way these look and work. Hmmm... a few bits of aluminium rod and a drill press...

bmike

i got one of the B+M mounts to work with my paul racers. i think peter white has a chart with what tends to work with what.
the pressed metal one i had previous did not work with the straddle cable interference.

EDeluxe (first gen) on a center mount. I was worried that the Paul Racer M and moon unit / straddle cable would interfere.m - but it all worked out. by mbeganyi, on Flickr

Untitled by mbeganyi, on Flickr

i also had the thought of using one with a paul rack adapter - but my racers are not compatible with the adapter bolts.
previous i mounted the light to the low rider position on my fork. worked great.


Untitled by mbeganyi, on Flickr

and, i have used the terra cycle mount on my pugsley to get a light off the bars due to clearance issues with luggage:

Dinotte AA on a Terracycle mount by mbeganyi, on Flickr

they make a little plate for mounting an edeluxe or similar light.

corwin1968

I recently bought the metal fork mount from Peter White and short of reshaping the bracket (I lack the tools and skill to do this) there was no way to install it without putting tension on the V-brake cable. Very disappointing.

aggiegrads

If you can't get over the brake wire on your V's, then go under it. I have one of the B&M brackets from Peter White (B&M475DUPB) and it works great. I have a lot going on near the fork crown (fenders, light, and Cantis), but everything works and nothing touches anything else, despite what the picture looks like. I also still have room for brake adjustment.



Another mount that may work is the Supernova Multi-mount. You can mount it at pretty much any angle that you like, and still get the light pointed in the right direction. It wouldn't work for my setup, but if your brake wire is in just the wrong position for other mounts to work, this may do the trick.


photo by Peter White

Rowan

Those aren't V-brakes, they are cantis. There are some interesting little quirks with V brakes, such as the calipers closing in on each other and the light mount, or even the light, interfering with that closure. I have used mounts for lights on cantilever brakes without much issue, but dealing with Vs, such as those on several of our bikes now, and especially those fitted with Travel Agents, present different challenges, both in fitting, and also for removing the front wheel.

Donnie Johnson

Thanks for all your suggestions, I think I will make a mount similar to the B+M mounts by bending a 150 mm stainless bolt at an angle that does not foul with the operation of the V-Brakes. Hopefully I will be able to secure the bent bolt onto the fork crown with two ny-lock nuts and then a mount poly t bar at the end where the light is to be mounted. Photos to come.

Thanks again

Donnie