Fork mounted lights

Does anyone use or know of any lights made to be mounted on the forks? im not sure how it would be for offroad but for the road it might be a good idea so you wouldnt be blinding car drivers. post thooughts comments and ideas here!

You might want to check out this thread. I used this DX mount, but I didn't like the beam it produced.

find_bruce said:

Nice pretty, shiny, anodised aluminium, only 27g. 45 mm long x 24 mm diameter. Can screw onto a mounting lug as shown in the paulcomp.com pic above, but can also screw directly onto your quick release.

Is there a downside? For me, I really don't like the beam pattern it produces at that angle. Oh well, looks like I will have to consider pushy's set up instead.

Click to expand...

henry9419 said:

.... im not sure how it would be for offroad but for the road it might be a good idea so you wouldnt be blinding car drivers. post thooughts comments and ideas here!

Click to expand...

To light up a patch of road in front of you, raising the headlight means you aim the light further down. Lowering the headlight means you have to aim it higher. As such, lowering the headlight means you are more likely to blind oncoming traffic than if the light was mounted high.

This only matters if the light is designed along the lines of German standards, where the light pattern is strictly controlled to keep the light projected onto the roadway and not in the eyes of oncoming traffic. If you use a symmetric reflector or optic, where light is radiated equally up and down, then it is already thowing light at oncoming traffic and the mounting position has less of an effect.

I don't think I've seen any lights specifically designed for mounting on forks, although dynamo lights are often mounted at the fork crown. I'm kinda fond of this position myself.

regards,
Steve K.

I found a bikelight 82138 from DX that look like it has its beam shaped like the German standard.

It has full plastic housing with an aluminium heatsink inside. The LED is mounted under the heatsink and shines down on the reflector.
I have not tried it on my bike yet as I want to seal it better before mounting it, and maybe try one lithium cell instead of the four AA-cells.

That looks perfect for a dynamo mod, the battery box would hold the capacitors and bridge with plenty space to spare.

The lower a light is mounted, the more likely it gets to blind oncoming traffic. But it's also much better to judge road/trail conditions because of the longer shadows casted.
The higher a light is mounted the less likely it's to blind, but it also gets harder to judge road/trail conditions because of shorter shadows casted.

DX now have a cheaper version of XC-997A http://www.dealextreme.com/p/xc-997a-3w-3-mode-1200-lumen-white-led-bike-light-4-x-aa-82138
it is called XC-997B http://www.dealextreme.com/p/xc-997b-cree-3w-200lm-3-mode-white-led-bicycle-bike-light-4-x-aa-108640
The only difference is that the charger is not included (and maybe the batteries).

Pöbel said:

The lower a light is mounted, the more likely it gets to blind oncoming traffic. But it's also much better to judge road/trail conditions because of the longer shadows casted.
The higher a light is mounted the less likely it's to blind, but it also gets harder to judge road/trail conditions because of shorter shadows casted.

Click to expand...

True for circular hotspot and spill beams. Like the Magicshine or most flashlights. For lights with a sharp upper cutoff, aiming them up a bit from a low position still can keep the beam on the road and not in drivers eyes. Also enough power the road is lit well and you don't need the shadows as much.

BrianMc

BrianMc

The XC-997A from DX is 1W at full power, and ½W at low power.
Current consumption is steady for battery voltages between 4.8V and 3.6V due to linear driver circuit.
Beam is shaped like a low trapezoid with wide bottom.

Frobe22 said:

The XC-997A from DX is 1W at full power, and ½W at low power.
Current consumption is steady for battery voltages between 4.8V and 3.6V due to linear driver circuit.
Beam is shaped like a low trapezoid with wide bottom.

Click to expand...

There has been conjecture on that reflector and the resultant beam in the Let's design a front road light thread. If you could, would you be so kind as to get beam shots from your bars? If you can't do the ISO 100 F4 at 6 second exposures, if you had another light for comparison, that would work. Thanks.

BrianMc