Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => Topic started by: zigzag on 17 October, 2016, 02:08:51 pm
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in my opinion the best place for a front light is right above the axle, where the mudguard ends. this way i could carry a front bar bag without obstructing the light, plus the light is at the right height and in central place ( = zen). my question is - are there any brackets on the market, that place the light ~12cm forward from the fork crown, just above the mudguard?
alternatively, i have an idea to obtain/make a steel bracket (~2mm thick, it needs to be v.sturdy and not vibrate) to reinforce the mudguard from the inside and fasten it with the brake pivot bolt. ideally, i would not want any visible brackets or anything looking as a bodge. another challenge would be to attach the light mount to a steel plate, perhaps 3d print the mount if they are not readily available?
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Carbon fibre reinforcement for the mudguard?
Depending on the weight of the light, I think it is asking quite a lot but might be possible.
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Front mini-rack and a P-clip?
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Front mini-rack and a P-clip?
that's a very easy solution, even a pair of sturdier mudguard stays would do the trick, but i want the invisible support (as much as possible)
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Constructeur-style front rack that supports the mudguard? Without some kind of triangulated support I'd have thought the light would vibrate and/or the mudguard would fail in fatigue in fairly short order.
If doing this with a metal mudguard I guess I'd try and fit another set of stays to the point where I wanted the lamp mounted and see if that provided enough support.
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SS mudguards? Then mount directly on the guard?
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Whatever you might use to reinforce the mudguard the light will be wobbly. If you have canti bosses on the fork use the RH to mount the light. Alternatively mount it above the barbag.
If you must have it out front to clear the bag then fashion a 3mm steel bracket off the fork crown and ignore the mudguard.
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I did this years ago with the stainless bridge cut from an old mudguard which I fitted to the front of the front mudguard (ESGE). This was supported by short reshaped mudguard stays to low rider fittings on the fork. It worked well and was pretty neat. I do not think an invisible solution will work because it will cause the front of the mudguard to bounce up and down.
From experience I would say that this is not the best place to fit a lamp because it very very quickly gets covered in crud splashed back from the front wheel
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Whatever you might use to reinforce the mudguard the light will be wobbly.
Indeed. That would be undesirable if the light has a shaped beam.
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Whatever you might use to reinforce the mudguard the light will be wobbly. If you have canti bosses on the fork use the RH to mount the light. Alternatively mount it above the barbag.
If you must have it out front to clear the bag then fashion a 3mm steel bracket off the fork crown and ignore the mudguard.
i think with the material thick enough it should not be wobbly. i've got a 2mm steel (only not the right shape) bracket and it feels very solid, so 3mm would be extremely sturdy. mounting the light above the bar bag is a no go because of tri-bars. no canti/vbrake bosses on the fork, plus it would not by symmetric..
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From experience I would say that this is not the best place to fit a lamp because it very very quickly gets covered in crud splashed back from the front wheel
Yup, centerline headlights get covered in crap unless the front mudguard is very, very long in front. Then it needs another support, either to a front rack or additional stays.
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...mounting the light above the bar bag is a no go because of tri-bars. ...
How about mounting on either of the tri bars? Not sure which bars you have? There are individual (which I have) and singular, in which case you could mount right at the front? On the Highlands Audax, where I first met you, I had on RSP bars and a plastic tube with curving inwards cut outs to fit in between the two bar ends. I put black gaffer tap to hold it together, and you could mount a light off that.
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From experience I would say that this is not the best place to fit a lamp because it very very quickly gets covered in crud splashed back from the front wheel
Yup, centerline headlights get covered in crap unless the front mudguard is very, very long in front. Then it needs another support, either to a front rack or additional stays.
in my experience front lights (and the whole bike+rider) get covered in muck only when following other cyclists in wet. shining the light clearly shows that front spray goes forward about 1m, then, as it loses momentum, sideways, depending on the wind direction. if there is a direct headwind, droplets come back and hit the front wheel/forks/legs, but below the mudguard, so the light stays mostly clean.
anyway, i rarely ride at night in the rain and headwind, so this is not a concern.
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...mounting the light above the bar bag is a no go because of tri-bars. ...
How about mounting on either of the tri bars? Not sure which bars you have? There are individual (which I have) and singular, in which case you could mount right at the front? On the Highlands Audax, where I first met you, I had on RSP bars and a plastic tube with curving inwards cut outs to fit in between the two bar ends. I put black gaffer tap to hold it together, and you could mount a light off that.
thank you for the suggestion, i've made a similar bodge for my tt bike and hung the battery light (exposure toro) - no problem. sometimes i would ride without the tri bars, so would need to rethink where to put the dynamo light. plus the dynamo light needs to be "hangable", otherwise it would be obstructed by my hands.
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I made a mount for dual torches to go below a bar bag - used a bit of old straight handlebar, bolted to the drilled brake bridge (canti brakes on that bike so the hole was free).
The bar bag blocked all upward glare from the lights, which was very nice when riding at night.
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if i had a magic wand, there would be forks with two long vertical lights inside each fork leg, front of the forks would be made from transparent tinted scratch proof surface, everything waterproof and well made. the lights would be very strong and efficient, with soft cut-off beam so that the tall road signs would still reflect back, only not at full intensity. the lights would be invisible when not in use.
one can only dream.. O:-)
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I've used these (https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/busch-muller-light-bracket-for-lumotec-oval-iq-fly-long/)and bent them down over caliper brakes.
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I've used these (https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/busch-muller-light-bracket-for-lumotec-oval-iq-fly-long/)and bent them down over caliper brakes.
has this bracket been sturdy? i'm wondering if i could use it upside down under the mudguard and bend the loops up to poke through the mudguard. it's a bit short though, another 3-4cm would be amazing (..she said).
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I've used these (https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/busch-muller-light-bracket-for-lumotec-oval-iq-fly-long/)and bent them down over caliper brakes.
have this bracket been sturdy? i'm wondering if i could use it upside down under the mudguard and bend the loops up to poke through the mudguard. it's a bit short though, another 3-4cm would be amazing (..she said).
Reliable on two bikes so far (nearly two years). I don't know of longer ones I think they might be SON's own, not B+M, and a little longer. I can't find my original order from (I think) Rose Bikes.
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Several French riders on PBP had a piece of handlebars sized tube "fixed" across the lower part of their drop bars with lights suspended below. this seemed to solve the bar bag problem and got the lights well forward.
dave
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there was a photo on here somewhere, of a bike with a rear mudguard fitted to the front, so that it was a bit longer over the front of the wheel, with an extra set of stays at the front end, Looked good, this should be quite sturdy with a wee ally plate topsy and bottomsy, :thumbsup:
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Several French riders on PBP had a piece of handlebars sized tube "fixed" across the lower part of their drop bars with lights suspended below. this seemed to solve the bar bag problem and got the lights well forward.
dave
i'd never dare doing this to my bike(s)! :) i'm after a solution that's both functional and good looking, or better - invisible.
there was a photo on here somewhere, of a bike with a rear mudguard fitted to the front, so that it was a bit longer over the front of the wheel, with an extra set of stays at the front end, Looked good, this should be quite sturdy with a wee ally plate topsy and bottomsy, :thumbsup:
it's the simplest/easiest way of doing it, but not very appealing
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A decade & a half ago I mounted a little Hella halogen (dynamo) light at the tip of my front mudguard. IIRC it was intended to be mounted thus. The mudguard cracked, so I moved it back & put a reinforcing strip of aluminium underneath i.e. inside the mudguard. That survived without cracking for about 7 000 miles, by which time I was using LED front lights. The Hella was lighter than the current Cyo, but it had a well-shaped shaped beam. It didn't wobble enough in the second location to be noticeable. The mudguard is still on the Galaxy with all four holes unblanked ::-) .
Crud on lights mounted there, or on the fork crown, is a nuisance, but is easily dealt with by wiping the dirty lens (or not in the case of the Hella & B&M optics) with a gloved finger. Saliva may occasionally be needed.
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A decade & a half ago I mounted a little Hella halogen (dynamo) light at the tip of my front mudguard. IIRC it was intended to be mounted thus. The mudguard cracked, so I moved it back & put a reinforcing strip of aluminium underneath i.e. inside the mudguard. That survived without cracking for about 7 000 miles, by which time I was using LED front lights. The Hella was lighter than the current Cyo, but it had a well-shaped shaped beam. It didn't wobble enough in the second location to be noticeable. The mudguard is still on the Galaxy with all four holes unblanked ::-) .
interesting, that's good to hear. has the aluminium strip been fixed to the brake pivot bolt. i would hope that a 2.5-3mm steel plate should be even stronger and be more than fit for purpose. aluminium might work as well, only i wouldn't be comfortable bending it 90 degrees.
Crud on lights mounted there, or on the fork crown, is a nuisance, but is easily dealt with by wiping the dirty lens (or not in the case of the Hella & B&M optics) with a gloved finger. Saliva may occasionally be needed.
i don't consider it a problem, mainly because a) it doesn't rain often b) mudguard directs most of the spray forward and down and c) it's easy to wipe even while riding.
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I find that front lights accumulate muck at about the same rate regardless of whether they're mounted at the fork crown above a mudguard or on the boom of a recumbent. I conclude that the majority is therefore kicked up by other vehicles, rather than your own wheel. The mudguard would appear to be doing its job.
Exactly how little mudguard you need forward of the light is left as an exercise for the reader, but a close pass by a lorry would quickly render it academic.
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Several French riders on PBP had a piece of handlebars sized tube "fixed" across the lower part of their drop bars with lights suspended below. this seemed to solve the bar bag problem and got the lights well forward.
there was a photo on here somewhere, of a bike with a rear mudguard fitted to the front, so that it was a bit longer over the front of the wheel, with an extra set of stays at the front end, Looked good, this should be quite sturdy with a wee ally plate topsy and bottomsy, :thumbsup:
it's the simplest/easiest way of doing it, but not very appealing
http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/billmcfadden76/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-06/20150615_081706_zpsd1frfrdv.jpg.html
Doesn't look to bad
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Exactly how little mudguard you need forward of the light is left as an exercise for the reader
I spent a while riding with a mudguard that had broken off at the fork crown, and my own front wheel spray got high enough to get on my glasses. To keep your own spray off a fork crown mounted light, you probably need a front mudguard that extends to about 3" or 4" in front of the wheel axle (depending on clearances).
I'd suggest that the long Berthoud mudguards are about right.
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Exactly how little mudguard you need forward of the light is left as an exercise for the reader
I spent a while riding with a mudguard that had broken off at the fork crown, and my own front wheel spray got high enough to get on my glasses.
This is, incidentally, exactly why I've fitted one of those fugly mountain bike mudguard things to my mountain bike. It doesn't do much for keeping the bike clean, but is well worth it for keeping the spray off your face.