Frame mounted vs bar mounted headlights

[JohnnyB]

Hi guys, most of the lights I've seen are bar mounted but sometimes you see one that is frame mounted. I don't ride with a light (yet) but I was wondering what some of the pros and cons are?

Also, for the frame mount guys, how did you mount your light?

Thank you,
John

 

[Steve K]

There aren't many reasons to mount the light to the frame. I did mount a light to the frame of a recumbent bicycle, though, simply because there are a number of drawbacks to mounting it to the handlebars (too close to head height, and so far back that it shines a lot of light on the bike and feet).

 

[oKtosiTe]

A bar mounted light is much more likely to point in the direction you're driving (when cornering) than a frame mounted one, which will always lag behind.

 

[1nterceptor]

To the OP, my suggestion is to just try and see which position
works best for you. It helps if the light you have or getting can
be easily mounted to different places. This light I got for example
mounts using an o-ring. I've experimented using some big rubber
bands to mount it on the frame and fork, in addition to testing it
on the bars and helmet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLeZhBw3cjI

 

[adnj]

A bar mounted light is much more likely to point in the direction you're driving (when cornering) than a frame mounted one, which will always lag behind.

Agreed. The faster that you travel, the more important that the light point in the direction that you intend to travel. I always use bar mounted. I have noticed the difference on motorcycles, too.

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[FlightLight]

Crucial question. Road or Mountain? And what kind of road or trail? I ride road bikes in well populated areas, the light is more so cars see me and less so I see the road. I used frame mounts because handle mounts got In the way of the arrow. Found a light that attached to the fork. For mountain bikes I like helmet mounts. I'm never really looking where the bike is pointed. Plus with a light that low you can't see over obstacles like fell trees or boulders.

 

[find_bruce]

It's funny how many people think that you turn the bars in the direction you want to turn. Over about 10 km/h or so you turn them the opposite way. Next time you are in a nice wide open smooth area clear of traffic, ride up to 20km (12.5mph) & push forward with, say your left hand. The bike will turn left. The total amount of steering input is small & many people do it without knowing it. Google counter steering. While it possible that you get better lighting from the bars, it is not for the reason you think

 

[oKtosiTe]

It's funny how many people think that you turn the bars in the direction you want to turn. Over about 10 km/h or so you turn them the opposite way. Next time you are in a nice wide open smooth area clear of traffic, ride up to 20km (12.5mph) & push forward with, say your left hand. The bike will turn left. The total amount of steering input is small & many people do it without knowing it. Google counter steering. While it possible that you get better lighting from the bars, it is not for the reason you think

For a small duration the bar might be turned in the opposite direction, but over the whole it is more aimed at where you're going that the frame. The image on the Wikipedia countersteering article illustrates this quite well; after the initial outwards motion, the frame will then point more to the outside than the front wheel throughout the rest of the turn.

 

[pyro]

Get a helmet light to supplement whatever you choose...

 

[find_bruce]

I prefer this image. The way to have your light in the direction of travel is as pyro suggests, to have a helmet light

http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com//2013/08/03/1/um_img_4354_670.jpg

 

[N8N]

yes, at low speed having the light turn with the bars is helpful... that said, keeping the light low has advantages. You don't have to angle the light down as much to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, and the shallower angle does a better job of helping you differentiate between a pothole and a patch of tar for example. i have my light mounted on the fork crown with the same bolt that mounts my fenders (or where your brakes would mount if you were using sidepull road bike brakes) randonneurs might even mount the light down on one of the fork blades or somewhere on the front rack if they have one. Lower = better! Also some will disagree (there's a heated discussion on Usenet right now regarding this) but for on road riding I really prefer using a light with a shaped beam rather than e.g. a flashlight as it puts more of the light on the road where you want it. Seems like Philips Saferide is the current go to for a good shaped beam light although i've heard reports of poor reliability for the battery version which is a shame. I have a B&M IQ Cyo which was the shiznit 4 years or so when I got it (I have a dynohub) but it's a little behind the curve now. The new Luxos U kicks its butt from all I've seen but I am not tempted to upgrade yet, and they don't have a non-dynohub version of it (but they do have battery lights similar to the Cyo)

For really dark riding where there's no traffic (e.g. if I'm just riding for fun and take a local rail trail so as to stay off the roads) I'll strap a flashlight to my handlebars as an "auxiliary high beam." Twofish makes handy little rubber blocks for this purpose, they're not expensive.

 

[STiFTW]

I have my MTB light frame mounted low on the suspension fork. I did this to try and minimize the dazzling light since I have a Rigid Industries Dually Flood off-road light as my light source (single track trail riding in the pitch dark at high speeds). The disadvantage of this is there is a pretty noticeable shadow cast by the front tire, however, when riding you should be looking well off into the distance so it is more of an annoyance than anything else.

On my road bike I handle bar mount a Fenix BT20, and that has a really nice beam pattern and throw. Occasionally I will augment and wire up my Fenix HP20 on my helmet, but honestly the BT20 on High is plenty for any sort of trail riding.

Here is my MTB Setup with the Dually:

 

[grahamb]

On my road bike, I have a bar mounted light. It's not so bright that glare is an issue, since if I pointed it high it would never light the road. It's still good enough for up to around 35km/h on a pitch dark night in the hills.

I don't ride the mtb at night, but I can't imagine any reason not to have the light mounted as high as possible, to see over obstacles and be closer to my eye-line.
Oh, actually I can, yes, if you are out of the seat and have your head ahead of the bars cranking up a hill, you will get some glare... I wonder if some sort of hood wouldn't be a better solution than mounting the lamp low?