Mounting Exposure Lights - any improvements out there?

Bike Forum

[closed]

Mounting Exposure Lights - any improvements out there?

24 posts & 14 voices | Started 1 year ago by namastebuzz | Latest reply from Anthony

Tags:

No tags yet.

namastebuzz - Member

THe mounting bracket for Exposure lights really sucks.

THe lights are great don't get me wrong. I ride with 4 other people who have Exposure lights and we all have the same problems.

If you come off, the lights can ping out of the mount. Troublesome if it's not turned on and you land in the heather.

THe mounting ring itself will not stay in position or on properly. LOts of bars are either tapered or bendy so you can't always get it on very securely. If your stem is square you can't stem mount either.

I'm sure plenty of people have had no problems but on my poll of 5 users I recorded a 0% satisfaction rate.

Anyone had any bright ideas?

Posted 1 year ago #
EuroClive - Member

The bracket and mounting system is perfectly fine, our race team has used Exposure lights since day one and we have never had any issues with lights in any way shape or form, the slim line bar clamp comes with fitting strips to clamp on either the thinner or fatter 31.8 section of your bar and can be torqued up to grip sufficiently, in all the 24h race events and epic long distance rides our riders have competed in we have not had a single failure, even on Rob Lee's WHW double attempt where the bike was carried and dropped often the light remained in the mount. What make of bar are you using? Most riser bars have a section that will offer enough purchase, try a slim piece of inner tube if you have lost your original mounts, make sure the cleat is tight on the light unit, if the cleat is not a super tight fit in the bar mount use a little strip of electricians tape on the cleat to remove the play (I had one set that were loose, did this and hey presto). Now when it comes to falling off you have to re assess your skill base and where/how your riding, falls should be infrequent and if your crashing often I suggest you slow it up a bit, after all you want to ride your bike again the next day and the day after that. Keep me posted as were only to happy to help. A big thank you to Rory and the guys at Exposure from all of us at Syncros-Endurance.

Posted 1 year ago #
carbon - Member

Fantastically patronising reply - well done!

Posted 1 year ago #
KINGTUT - Member

Patronising yet helpful, what's not to like?

Posted 1 year ago #
EuroClive - Member

Fantastically pointless comment carbon - congratulations! Were just here to help and without an in-depth conversation it's hard to get to the bottom of the chaps issue, as noted we as a team have never had such issues and owe a lot to Exposure, if we can give a little more than podium positions back by doing a bit of customer support then as I say, were only to happy to help. Either you are part of the solution or part of the problem, what;s your contribution to life? I don't normally post on here due to the lame sarcasm and you've proved my point in sub ten seconds. I'm off to ride my bike
Have a nice day folks...

Posted 1 year ago #
EuroClive - Member

Cheers Kingnut, the balance and faith in humanity is restored...

Posted 1 year ago #
thomthumb - Member

the clamp does twist round the bar on one of my bikes but that is because the inner tube shim i made isn't quite thick enough (needs a wrap or two of insulation tape) but the light has never fallen off in a crash - and i crash a bit.

however

if the cleat is not a super tight fit in the bar mount use a little strip of electricians tape on the cleat to remove the play

is an awesome fix - i wish i had thought of this!!

Posted 1 year ago #
EuroClive - Member

Ah the things you find out at 4am in a field while doing rider support for your team mates!! I will confess it is a bit of a fiddle and requires some patience, I used a scalpel to trim the tape to get a perfect fit that did not peel or ripple the tape when the cleat is inserted. You will find tape down one edge is more that enough and needs trimming for a super snug fit. Right that's me out for a bit the hills are calling. keep it rubber side down folks

Posted 1 year ago #
STATO - Member

I cant understand how your having so many problems? What model lights are you using and which mounts?

I run a maxxD and a joystick and have the QR bar-mount on 4 bikes, so both lights get swapped onto different bikes for different uses pretty much every week and ive NEVER had a problem. The lights have never pop out (even the joystick in the plastic clip) and i run the maxxD under the bar on my cross bike so its subject to a fair bit of abuse. Also, ive not had a bar mount move once fitted properly, unless i crash of course, then it slips round on the bar, rather that than breaking (like every other light ive used).

There were lots of Exposure users at the EXP24hr race (it was sponsored by them so not unsupprising) and i didnt hear one report of a unit falling off.

Can you post a pic of some of your setups, perhaps we can identify the problem?

If your stem is square you can't stem mount either.
I dont think you could mount them on a stem anyway?

Dont be put off by some of the attitudes on hear, some of us like to help, some like to criticise.
Rich.

Posted 1 year ago #
Earl_Grey - Member

Never had a massive problem with mine and using an inner tube shim - this seems to work better than the supplied adhesive backed rubber.

My Toro has pinged off the mount once as I rode down some steps but I'm fairly sure this was because I hadn't attached it well - I double check it every time I go out and no problems. I have broken a mount in a crash, it snapped at the hinge. If only the mounts weren't so expensive

Posted 1 year ago #
Earl_Grey - Member

One thing I did notice at a race was that if something fouled the release button underneath the clip it wouldn't engage properly (in this case it was my race number). No cables getting in the way of your mounts and fouling them I suppose?

Posted 1 year ago #
namastebuzz - Member

Thanks EuroClive I'll try all those things - makes sense.

They are on a variety of different bars so can't really be specific.

Well I don't fall off a lot TBH but if you lend your spare bike to a beginner who falls off the lights still fall off don't they? Also, riding in the North of Scotland all winter in the snow and ice you're gonna fall off aren't you? It's all right saying if you never fall off the lights will be ok but on a MTB most people will come off sometime.

I'll try the tape trick but should you have to resort to that on £300 lights?

Posted 1 year ago #
RealMan - Member

Just fit a lanyard? I think the exposure mounts are really good. They're made to pop out rather then break, and they do exactly that.

Posted 1 year ago #
STATO - Member

you only need to use the tape bodge if your light cleat has become very worn through use, TBH if that is the case then id have a word with Exposure. They are very helpful (met them at the Exp24hr race and spoke to them on the phone as i was hiring supplent lights).

Posted 1 year ago #
namastebuzz - Member

id have a word with Exposure

Fair point - they've always been helpful and I've sent two lights back for warranty work.

I guess one cleat is well worn through use too.

Posted 1 year ago #
TooTall - Member

I can imagine EuroClive racing:

"ELITE RIDER COMING THROUGH - try keeping your weight over the bars a bit more - that should help with the corners"

As Al said.....

Posted 1 year ago #
trail_rat - Member

neither my maxx D nor my joystick have ever come off.

worked fine - infact the whole our team to my knowledge also use exposure lights (and we pay for them out of our own pocket) and have no issues !

Posted 1 year ago #
FuzzyWuzzy - Member

I've always liked the QR mounts (have 3 on different bikes), a strip of old inner tube underneath is enough to hold it rock solid IME. Only slight niggle I'd say is (at least on my 09 Maxx) the wedge on the light body can move as you tighten it up so trying to get the right angle can be a pain and can also need adjusting when swapping the lights between bikes but it's a minor point and might have been redesigned now anyway).

Posted 1 year ago #
EuroClive - Member

Some good honest advice on there, particularly regarding the cleat retention clip. i appreciate the comment re precision fit for the money and the tape fix was purely a "quick 24h pit fix" on a very early model. As folk have mentioned on here they are very helpful at Exposure and it may be worth trying a new cleat. I like the suggestion of a lanyard and will put the idea forward when I see the guys next, a short specific lead would resolve the issue of having to ratch around in the dark trying to find the detached unit. keep um coming.

Posted 1 year ago #
woffle - Member

regarding the worn cleat 'fix' - what also works well is a rubber band - for whatever reason the cleat on my Enduro seems to wear fast and I've had one free replacement from exposure already so I just use a band that our postie thoughtfully dropped. Gets clamped between the cleat and mount and hey-presto - no movement. When I take the light off to be charged just wrap the band around the light itself.

Posted 1 year ago #
jimr80 - Member

regards the qr bracket , is there a quick fix to stop the lamp rattling around in the holder. Lamp and holder 1 year old. Other than this little niggle i love exposure lamps + excellent customer service.

Posted 1 year ago #
woffle - Member

there a quick fix to stop the lamp rattling around in the holder. Lamp and holder 1 year old.

1. Ask Exposure nicely and they 'may' give you a new shoe. Already done this once.
2. Use a rubber band - just stick it across the mount and then pop the light in, clamping it between cleat and mount.

Posted 1 year ago #
jimr80 - Member

Cheers Woffle i shall try both methods.

Posted 1 year ago #
Anthony - Member

Plumbers PTFE tape works great for the rattly cleat. 5 second simple job and a roll is about 20p

Posted 1 year ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Topic Closed

This topic has been closed to new replies.

Singletrack Mountain Bike Magazine

Bike Forum

Mounting Exposure Lights - any improvements out there?

Topic Closed

Don't miss…

Singletrack

Website & Forums

Exits