 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
As the evenings grow darker, I've dug my lights out and realised that there's nowhere to stick my wee blinky rear light on my new bike!
My usual night rides involve a mile or so along a busy, unlit A road then onto about 6 miles of unlit farm roads before I get into Stirling to meet up with the gang, so I need a good bright rear light. The one that I currently use and love because its blown me away for brightness and accessibility is the Metro Flash Danger Zone....although looking at it on Amazon now, it seems to have quadrupled in price since I got it in 2012!!! 😯
Anyway, my point being, I can't fit my wee Metro Flash to my shiny new dropper seatpost, and the humungous 27.5 wheels on my new Orange Four would obscure the light even if I could find a big enough clamp to go around the seat tube. What do you folks do? I was wondering if there are any generic saddle rail clamps that'll take a rear lamp? The Metro Flash has a clip for going onto a strap on a bag, but my camelback doesn't have anything handy for that.
Failing that, can anyone recommend a nice bright rear light that'll securely fit to the underside of my saddle?
Cheers for any help!
Exposure do lights that go under the saddle.
How about something like an Exposure Link on your helmet?
Bottom/back of your seatpack?
They usually have a strap you can stick a light on.
Or your lid?
Have similar dilemma.
Under your seat it might get shat up.
Bought a little Lezyne Femto to go on back of helmet - getting in to stay securely in position is proving problematic!
Length of speed fit pipe horizontal my and some zip ties to hold it on to saddle rails?
Small Seat bag under saddle? Most have a light clip.
Camelbaks mostly have little straps on the back for lights.
I use a seatpack instead of a rucksack in the winter, so I put my rear light on my helmet (it attaches with those rubber straps).
What kind of mount does it have? tend to put mine on the seat stay for the same reasons.
Have had a few v.cheap on-one rear lights that come with both seat post and seat stay clamps and re-use those with a better light.
Seatpacks often have the straps too.
I use a bit of velcro and secure the light around the exposed length of the reverb post.
Checked my Camelback Blowfish for little light straps....noop. As I ride from home and don't have a nice car to retreat to if things turn poop, I carry everything in my backpack, so have never used a seat bag. Can't see one surviving the winter slop anyway!
However, problem sorted thanks! I remembered that I had an old Karrimor Hydro 15 (yep, really old), backpack up the loft. It has the wee tab on the bottom for clipping the rear light on. That'll do me until I can find a reasonable replacement that'll clip to the saddle rails.
Anyone had any experience of the 'Moon Comet' tail light? It seems to have a pretty sturdy looking saddle rail mount.
🙂
Aldi and On-One/Planet X were doing copies of the Moon Comet a while back. I've got one from Aldi on the front and it generally lasts a couple of hours. The Aldi one didn't come with a seat rail mount, not sure if the Planet X one does. Edit: it does http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/LIJOCANO/jobsworth-canopus-usb-rechargeable-light. Double edit: Although reviews seem to indicate that it can be hit or miss if it fits your saddle.
Alpkit do something similar but again no seat rail mount ( https://www.alpkit.com/products/tau). Some pictures of it on their website on the seat stay which may be a goer.
I run a Moon Shield 60 rear light which I really rate, but again don't think it came with a seat rail mount.
Cateye RM1 bracket attaches to saddle rails and takes any standard cateye light.
Back of your helmet? I've got a moon shield 60 Strapped to the back of my road helmet
Does your dropper not have any of the non-dropping body poking out of the seat tube?
I put mine there. Rubber straps though, so ymmv.
[url= http://www.wiggle.co.uk/exposure-saddle-rail-mounting-bracket/ ]Clicky link to Exposure Saddle Rail Mount[/url]
How about an Evoc back pack rain cover?
There is a small tab to attach a light to and it'll keep all the crap weather off your Camelbak.
Carlos
EDIT - http://www.wiggle.co.uk/evoc-raincover-sleeve-medium/ and they also come in black
Here's a serious under saddle light. UK made too.
http://four4th.co.uk/products/lights/scorpion/
Loving the saddle rail mount for my new Moon Nebula.
Rear triangle with a bit of Gaffa tape either end of light on chain side is my solution .(light is 5" long)
From having seen mates lights, I'd never rely on a singl elight on your backpack - they might avoid the worst of the mud but that can be left resting at funny angles showing almost no light. They're also quite liable to be pulled off from vegetation.
Does your dropper not have any of the non-dropping body poking out of the seat tube?
Which normally leaves the light obscured by the tyre (depending on seat tube vs tyre height).
Loving the saddle rail mount for my new Moon Nebula
I shall look in to on of these for myself. I normally clip a small one with elastic straps round the top of my dropper for road sections (at the beginning/end of the ride) and/or an old light on my bag.
Cat eye do lots of different mounts (pannier etc.) for their standard clip styles, might be worth checking as well.
Yep, the last couple of evenings I've been out, I've been riding with my light clipped onto one of the zipper tags on my old Camelback Blowfish, hardly ideal at all. That's why I was wondering about alternatives. I'm riding an Orange Four, and can't see how I'd be able to either fit the light to a chainstay without clipping it constantly with my heels or fitting it to the seat tube where it wouldn't be obscured by the rear wheel.
When I saw the Moon Comet / Nebula lights that fit to the saddle rails I thought 'job's a good un', but quite a few of the amazon reviews I looked at seem to take issue with their poor water resistance, and where I ride, there's a lot of water generally either falling from the sky or splooshing up from the ground!
C.