You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
I have a saddle bag for bike-packing/touring which, unfortunately, obscures my rear lights when the bag is full. All the rear lights I have (including a Garmin Varia) need strapping to the seatpost and I can't see to find any rear lights with alternative mounting methods.
As I have a Garmin Varia radar (brilliant idea, btw), ideally I want to be able to mount it ON the back of the saddle bag, which has some vertical daisy chain webbing for strapping gear externally.
Plan B is just to buy a light which (somehow) clips to the vertical daisy chain webbing.
Anyone else have this problem or know of a solution ??
Higher end Moon come with a clip for exactly this job. They even have a hole in so you can tie a wee safety string.
HtH
Edit: I've also got 6 of the clips if you want one posted.
https://www.aldi.co.uk/bikemate-rear-bike-light/p/086077226435900
I have one of these Aldi rechargeable back lights. It came with 3 fixings - one for the saddle rail, one for the seat post and one with a clip to attach to webbing. I use the webbing one with the light either on the small saddle bag or in my camelbak.
Whilst not currently available at Aldi there's the same from other makes like moonshine or similar
This isn't
Or, chop a section of old handlebar and thread it through the daisy chain and strap to that.
https://www.blackburndesign.com/p/dayblazer-125-rear-bike-light/350140000400000027.html
I also used to have a Blackburn Mars 4.0 which had a clip built in. Those are ancient, but the current equivalent is their dayblazer and it also has a sprung wire clip on the rear that can be used to clip to webbing
Or put the mount on the back of your helmet?
Or put the mount on the back of your helmet?
Id love to be able to, somehow, attach a Garmin mount on the back of my helmet so I could use the Varia. Anyone aware of such a solution???
EDIT: ah, that eBay link that @scotroutes posted didn't load initially for me but that sorta accomplishes what I'm after!
When I have a seatbag on I use one of the Moon Cerberus lights,it mounts really well on the seatstays,has a super bright pulse and a long run time.
Even when the usual post mount light goes back on I leave the Cerberus in place as a reserve.
Seems "Moon lights" are exactly the same as some Magicshine lights and I can get hold of the clip @matt_outandabout mentioned very cheaply under the Magicshine brand ?
They may well be the same fitting.
I've had a couple of magicshine lights, but the Moon lights are a significant step up on quality, run time etc. We've four sets of Moon lights in the household, from rear 'dots' to honking sun-on-your-handlebars and they are all universally good and lasted a good few years. One set has been deliveroo ridden 3x a week for two years without issue...
Some form of accessory mount like PDW?
Or this Problem Solvers one:
I don't know about the Garmin, but rear lights are often quite directional. i.e. the brightest bit is quite a narrow cone of light. With mounting to a seat bag, I think it'd be quite hard to get them to stay at the right angle.
My usual answer to light mounting problems is a sugru shim. I've used it to mount an exposure tracer on a seat stay. The shape of the Garmin might make that a bit harder, though.
I've also managed to clear a big saddle bag by mounting the light further down the seat tube, between the seat stays.
This is basically what KOM specialises in: https://komcycling.com/en-gb/products/garmin-varia-clip-mount-for-saddle-bags
I find that the Smart clip-on/fabric thing bounces around all over the place. You might need to stiffen the bag up
I prefer a seat stay mount, which sometimes means joining different brackety parts together
I looked at the KOM mount but wanted something more secure (bolt together) for a £130 device. I also wasn't sure how well it would work with a vertical ladder strap (as in the OPs example).