Help! - Mounting Headlight on Ergo Bars

Steve Sr. said:

It looks like my only option left would be to clamp something around
the stem spacers (35.1mm) or replace the stem spacers with something
like this:

http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11041.htm
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11040.htm

Anyone have any idea of who would have these in the States? They look
like a good idea.

I think that you'll be much better off changing your stem and your
handlebars. The accessory bar is an interesting idea, but it's rather
ridiculous to have to resort to something like this.

That's a huge spacer too, if you look at how short many bikes cut the
steer tube, you'd also have to replace the fork and steer tube to use
the Thorn Accessory bar.

You can order the Thorn from the U.K.. This is one of many accessories
that are not available in the U.S..

Steve Sr. said:

Bike Gurus,

You know ergo bars, the ones with the flat section near the stem that
looks cool.

I _think_ I know, but I'm not sure. You are talking about drop bars,
aren't you?

Quoted message said:

The coolness fades fast when you try to mount something
like a computer or headlamp only to find that there isn't a round
section of bar available.
...

It looks like my only option left would be to clamp something around
the stem spacers (35.1mm) or replace the stem spacers with something
like this:

http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11041.htm
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11040.htm

....

Quoted message said:

I have also looked at the Minoura stuff but their web site shows a
small picture and no specs which isn't much help.

http://www.minoura.jp/index-et.html

Any reason not to mount the headlight off the left side of the left
forward bend? You could use the Minoura HL-50 mount (under
"accessories" at their site). Alternately, there are (or used to be)
round knobs that acted as fake brake "hoods" for the stoker position on
a tandem. They look very similar.

I mounted a headlight in that position for a while (although I used a
different method). It seemed to work reasonably well, since with that
bike I never made much use of that hand position.

- Frank Krygowski

Paul Hobson said:

Try mounting the light on your fork. I know several folks who do that.

That can be a good idea too. But be dead certain it's absolutely
solid! You don't want it to slip into the spokes. I have a friend who
thought it would be fine to clamp a flashlight to a fork. After about
100 feet of riding, it vibrated into the spokes and caused a broken
rib.

But IMO mounting at about the height of the top of the wheel works best
for headlights. It's high enough for good conspicuity, and just right
for lighting the road well while showing up the potholes and bumps in
clear relief.

I recall once fabricating a fork crown headlight mount for another
cyclist. The business end was almost exactly like the FSA Control
Center http://www.glorycycles.com/fsacoce.html

but the mount end was flat and vertical with a hole for the sidepull
brake mounting bolt. This went just behind the front brake. At last
report, it was still working well.

- Frank Krygowski

Steve Sr. said:

Bike Gurus,

You know ergo bars, the ones with the flat section near the stem that
looks cool. The coolness fades fast when you try to mount something
like a computer or headlamp only to find that there isn't a round
section of bar available.

I have a new bike that came with ITM Mantis bars and ITM stem (31.8mm
clamp dia). I have about exhausted all of the options I know about.
The bar starts to flare immediately after leaving the stem which
leaves zero room for any kind of clamp next to the stem.

My LBS recommended the FSA mount:

http://www.glorycycles.com/fsacoce.html

However the stem flares out pushing this clamp even further into the
taper. This might work if I offset the bar in the stem clamp but this
may cause a problem properly clamping to the bar itself. I would
rather not try this.

It looks like my only option left would be to clamp something around
the stem spacers (35.1mm) or replace the stem spacers with something
like this:

http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11041.htm
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11040.htm

Anyone have any idea of who would have these in the States? They look
like a good idea.

I have also looked at the Minoura stuff but their web site shows a
small picture and no specs which isn't much help.

http://www.minoura.jp/index-et.html

These can be had through Hawley or QBP. Does anyone know if they would
fit around 35mm stem spacers or a stem that is contoured like the ITM?
Anyone know where I can find dimensions of these. I would hate to
order one sight unseen.

Can anyone else offer any other suggestions? The light is going to be
a 4-AA Cateye LD-500 so the mount needs to be pretty sturdy.

Thanks,

Steve

As already mentioned, mounting this light to the fork will work.
Minoura Besso from Nashbar will grab onto about any spot on the fork
blade. Its a metal clamp so its solid. You can then put the CatEye
light on it. I suspect you could also mount the Besso to the stem
spacers except sticking out to the side of the bike and put the light
on pointing forward, of course. Should work. The Besso clamp is
adjustable over a large range. Cheap to try, only $9 from Nashbar next
time you order stuff from them. Or a riding buddy orders stuff, just
add it to the total.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=1184&sku=13291&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

I have a bike where everything is nonstandard. Most of the tubes are
eliptical, there's a spacer on the handlebars that makes all of my
mounting clamps no longer fit without some work, and so on. I have
improvised using zip ties instead of screws, made shims out of
innertubes, etc. I love the bike, but would have been better off
without the aerodynamic features.

Quoted message said:

Steve Sr. said:

Bike Gurus,

You know ergo bars, the ones with the flat section near the stem that
looks cool. The coolness fades fast when you try to mount something
like a computer or headlamp only to find that there isn't a round
section of bar available.

As already mentioned, mounting this light to the fork will work.
Minoura Besso from Nashbar will grab onto about any spot on the fork
blade. Its a metal clamp so its solid. You can then put the CatEye
light on it. I suspect you could also mount the Besso to the stem
spacers except sticking out to the side of the bike and put the light
on pointing forward, of course. Should work. The Besso clamp is
adjustable over a large range. Cheap to try, only $9 from Nashbar next
time you order stuff from them. Or a riding buddy orders stuff, just
add it to the total.

I second the Minoura Besso suggestion. I have one on each fork blade
with a light mounted on each one. They are solid and simple, and hold
my light (a 4 AA battery 2.4W halogen) securely. I prefer having my
lights lower than my handlebars - they light the road better down
there. I also don't really have a lot of handlebar room, what with
cables going everywhere and a shifter mounted on the bars near the
stem...

There is also the "nob" - similar idea, probably a bit lighter and
smaller. Take a look at:

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/accessories.asp#nob

Later,
Mark Muller

In rec.bicycles.misc said:

As already mentioned, mounting this light to the fork will work.
Minoura Besso from Nashbar will grab onto about any spot on the fork
blade. Its a metal clamp so its solid. You can then put the CatEye
light on it. I suspect you could also mount the Besso to the stem
spacers except sticking out to the side of the bike and put the light
on pointing forward, of course. Should work. The Besso clamp is
adjustable over a large range. Cheap to try, only $9 from Nashbar next
time you order stuff from them. Or a riding buddy orders stuff, just
add it to the total.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?category=&subcategory=&brand=1184&sku=13291&storetype=&estoreid=&pagename=

I'll third this one. It's a nice way to add a light mount and get
things off your bars. I also use one to mount a blinky on the rear
since my Carradice bag blocks my seatpost and most lights don't mount
well on the seatstays.

--
Dane Buson - [email hidden]
"Communism is like one big phone company." -Lenny Bruce

On Wed, 08 Feb 2006 21:25:38 -0500, Steve Sr. <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Bike Gurus,

You know ergo bars, the ones with the flat section near the stem that
looks cool. The coolness fades fast when you try to mount something
like a computer or headlamp only to find that there isn't a round
section of bar available.

I have a new bike that came with ITM Mantis bars and ITM stem (31.8mm
clamp dia). I have about exhausted all of the options I know about.
The bar starts to flare immediately after leaving the stem which
leaves zero room for any kind of clamp next to the stem.

My LBS recommended the FSA mount:

http://www.glorycycles.com/fsacoce.html

However the stem flares out pushing this clamp even further into the
taper. This might work if I offset the bar in the stem clamp but this
may cause a problem properly clamping to the bar itself. I would
rather not try this.

It looks like my only option left would be to clamp something around
the stem spacers (35.1mm) or replace the stem spacers with something
like this:

http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11041.htm
http://www.sjscycles.com/store/vIndex.htm?item11040.htm

Anyone have any idea of who would have these in the States? They look
like a good idea.

I have also looked at the Minoura stuff but their web site shows a
small picture and no specs which isn't much help.

http://www.minoura.jp/index-et.html

These can be had through Hawley or QBP. Does anyone know if they would
fit around 35mm stem spacers or a stem that is contoured like the ITM?
Anyone know where I can find dimensions of these. I would hate to
order one sight unseen.

Can anyone else offer any other suggestions? The light is going to be
a 4-AA Cateye LD-500 so the mount needs to be pretty sturdy.

Thanks,

Steve

Thanks for everyones suggestions. The fork option, as many suggested,
is a good idea. however, in my case the forks are carbon fiber with a
weird cross section. even if the cross section was round I would still
hesitate clamping anything onto a carbon fork.

It is too bad that the Thorn accessories aren't available in the
states. The seem like a sturdy way to mount lights and accessories
assuming that you have sufficient steerer tube spacers to replace with
the Thorn gadget.

Yes, the correct light is the Cateye EL-500. This will mostly be used
on dark rural roads with little traffic. Right now I am just looking
at 300K brevet where a little light is needed before dawn and after
sunset.

For those of you that mentioned the "Besso" I did a little internet
searching and found that it is the apparent marketing name for the
LH-50 from Minoura. The following page contains a PDF link to a spec
sheet. Unfortunately most of it is in Japanese.

http://www.minoura.jp/accessory/besso/besso.htm

Based on this it looks like the Besso will clamp to anything up to
about 40mm.

I was not able to find either one of these or the Swing Grip locally
to try out. So I ordered one each from Nashbar. Hopefully the Besso
will fit around the stem spacers and allow the light to be mounted
upside down under the bars.

Not having seen a Swing Grip I am a little leery of the arm pivot
joints ability to hold a relatively heavy light like the EL-500
against road bumps and vibrations. I guess I'll find out when it
arrives.

Thanks again for all of your suggestions.

Steve

Steve Sr. said:

Not having seen a Swing Grip I am a little leery of the arm pivot
joints ability to hold a relatively heavy light like the EL-500
against road bumps and vibrations. I guess I'll find out when it
arrives.

There is always the option of permanently fixing the pivot in place, but
I wouldn't worry about it. Minoura has a history of very good quality
products, and I would be willing to wager that it'll be just fine.

Minoura is one company that has really benefited by a lot of the
nonsense that's gone on in bicycle design, with products to get around
stupid design decisions. I wish that some other of their products were
available in the U.S., as it would have saved me a lot of time machining
aluminum to solve various issues with mounting accessories.

Steve Sr. said:

On Wed, 08 Feb 2006 21:25:38 -0500, Steve Sr. <[email hidden]>
wrote:

Thanks for everyones suggestions. The fork option, as many suggested,
is a good idea. however, in my case the forks are carbon fiber with a
weird cross section. even if the cross section was round I would still
hesitate clamping anything onto a carbon fork.

It is too bad that the Thorn accessories aren't available in the
states. The seem like a sturdy way to mount lights and accessories
assuming that you have sufficient steerer tube spacers to replace with
the Thorn gadget.

Yes, the correct light is the Cateye EL-500. This will mostly be used
on dark rural roads with little traffic. Right now I am just looking
at 300K brevet where a little light is needed before dawn and after
sunset.

The other option (over the swing grip) would be the original Minoura Space
Grip. This comes in two lengths, and the bar can be rotated 90 degrees
relative to the clamp. I think this would clamp round your stem OK, and
leave you with two rails sticking out parallel to the handlebars (either
above or below, at your choice). The quoted upper limit on the Space Grip
clamp is 35mm diameter, so it might just go around your spacers, however, it
is then horizontal rather than vertical (and I've heard tales of them
snapping when too much weight is added horizontally, I suspect the longer
version is more likely to snap in this arrangement).

I have a friend who has hung two of the Schmidt dynamo lamps off a Space
Grip suspended vertically below his handlebars. Effective, tidy and seem
sturdy.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Steve Sr. said:

Thanks for everyones suggestions. The fork option, as many suggested,
is a good idea. however, in my case the forks are carbon fiber with a
weird cross section. even if the cross section was round I would still
hesitate clamping anything onto a carbon fork.

If you're concerned about crushing the carbon fiber trying to make the
mount goof proof, why not just permanently epoxy a mounting stub to a
fork blade? If you were so inclined you could sculpt it into the fork
with fiberglass cloth and some filler putty or leave it as is since all
of your other options would have an "afterthought" kind of look anyway.

Regards,
Bob Hunt

In article <[email hidden]>, Steve Sr.

() said:

It is too bad that the Thorn accessories aren't available in the
states. The seem like a sturdy way to mount lights and accessories
assuming that you have sufficient steerer tube spacers to replace with
the Thorn gadget.

St John Street Cycles (Thorn) are happy to ship anywhere, though their
charges for postage and packing are not the cheapest. However, as an
non-EU resident, you wouldn't have to pay 17.5% VAT to that nice Mr.
Brown.

--
Dave Larrington - <http://www.legslarry.beerdrinkers.co.uk/>
The entire population of Uxbridge has no idea that it actually doesn't
exist.