Technical > Lighting and Electronics
Where do you mount front lamp
martinf:
Depends on the bike.
Fork crown on my Thorn Raven Tour and several other bikes. This is my default option.
Front of front platform rack on my old utility bike, because the lamp might otherwise be obscured by luggage.
Handlebar on my 1977 lightweight and the three family Bromptons, on the latter because fork-crown mounting with the small wheels is IMO too low and liable to be obscured by front luggage when viewed from some angles. If you want a switch on the handlebar, mounting the front lamp there is the easiest option.
Downside of a handlebar mounted lamp for me is that it makes using a cycle rain cape more awkward.
Prince of Darkness:
Fork crown is my preferred position, though I used to have an old Raleigh which had a brazed boss midway down the right hand fork for attaching a light bracket. I have also mounted battery lights on the handlebar.
steve216c:
The German STVZO requires a front light to be mounted between 40-120cm high. The current rules do not specify that this needs to be crown mounted, and since 2017 the required dynamo lights on all except racing bikes has been dropped to allow for battery lights as alternative or as supplementary. Bike lights are to be mounted at an angle that does not dazzle other road users.
The crown is the most common location for mounting lights in Germany for sure. Probably because, until 2017, all except racing bikes required a dynamo light set to be street legal, and the German love of standardization of everything meant that all manufactures could rely on common fittings and sizes for this preferred mounting point. There are exceptions where bikes would have alternate mounting points (e.g. postal service delivery bikes due to front carrier) but these are still the exception to what you would see on most bikes. Dutch bikes (Gazelle & co) are also popular in Germany and the typical mounting point of these bike has been and continues to be above the crown, and mounted to the stem. These are still sold as STVZO compliant.
I personally find the crown mounting a bit too low on 26/28" bikes it tends to lose some light directly in front of the wheel due to shadow cast even though it is very practical if you have a bar-bag. As my old commute used to involve some unlit uneven forest paths, that shadow first saw me riding with a supplementary battery light to help me navigate the pot holes and kill that wheel shadow.
Then I had a brainwave. I had some Ikea Billy L shaped wall securing mounts. Bending one of these, I was able to fit the bracket to the crown, and use the bracket to make an extension of the crown mounting point as well as bringing it slightly further forward on the bike. This minor adjustment solved the shadow problem, and with bright LED front dynamo light, I was able to ride the forest paths without the need for an supplemental lamp.
My most recent bike with suspension front fork and Magura rim brakes was not conducive to the Ikea bracket hack. But the Magura's had a brake booster fitted. So I drilled a hole in the center of the brake booster, and mounted my dynamo light to this as a crown mount alternative. And this solution works even better than the Ikea brackets I have on my other bikes.
Crown mounting is good but let down with loss of light caused by wheel shadow. Raising the crown mount or mounting to a brake booster gives a good central light without so much shadow cast- and that should still allow you to use bar-bags without comprising how well you illuminate the road/path ahead.
JohnR:
--- Quote from: steve216c on February 14, 2022, 09:54:00 am ---Then I had a brainwave. I had some Ikea Billy L shaped wall securing mounts. Bending one of these, I was able to fit the bracket to the crown, and use the bracket to make an extension of the crown mounting point as well as bringing it slightly further forward on the bike. This minor adjustment solved the shadow problem, and with bright LED front dynamo light, I was able to ride the forest paths without the need for an supplemental lamp.
--- End quote ---
A few years ago I bought a piece of 1mm thick aluminium sheet for a project and have found this to be useful material for improvising brackets. It's easy to cut with some metal shears, easy to drill holes in, easy to bend to the required shape and stiff enough to keep the shape if the load is modest.
If sonething stronger is needed then a pack of these https://www.aldi.co.uk/38-piece-angle-bracket-set/p/097027247652200 or similar provides plenty of options for bending into other shapes.
Danneaux:
Busch und Muller (B&M) offer a wide variety of ready-made light mounts that vary in both height and forward reach. I solved the "tire shadow" problem by swapping in a different, longer-reach bracket for my IQ Cyo lamps.
For some illustrations of what's available, see...
https://www-bumm-de.translate.goog/en/products/mehr/gruppe/Mounting%20brackets.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc
Some recent designs can even be mounted atop a sturdy front mudguard/fender for greater effective reach.
SJS Cycles has a wide selection in stock...
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/search/?term=light%20bracket&geoc=US
Best,
Dan.
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