Front Lights on Drop Bars – Ideas?

I'm getting tired of my smart front light coming lose on the cross bike when I'm off road. It's an all purpose bike and does daily commutes and tackels trail centres and double track. The problem is space around the top of the stem. I want a computer mounted and a light but what with the o/s bars, tight cable routing and all, it's a bit of a faff. Any ideas for alternate light mounts (stem front like the Hope ones perhaps?). I wear a one-of-a-kind helmet light hand built by DStar for lighting my way so I'm after more of an attractor and occasional get-me-home light.

I used an Exposure maxx D on my CX bike.

Have you considered the bar extensions you can get? A thin clamp round the bar, and a few inches of horiz bar held onto the end of it to mount bar junk on.

Exposure might be worth a look actually. Their Spark is more what I'm after I think

http://www.exposurelights.com/product/000022/spark/

is there a hole in your fork crown for mudguard mounting? yo can mount a light there, it's solid and right out of the way ('s what I do but mine runs off a hub dynamo)

I use a Hope mtb light but just put it under the bars. Even if a cable goes in front of the light it doesn't have any impact on illumination.

Never had a problem with this. Computer is stem mounted, use a troutlight with the clamp butted against the stem and a set of niterider minwets with a lamp either side of the stem.

I have an Artlight SL-1 on my drop-barred commuter. As long as the clamp is done up securely, it's fine. From your description, you also have room (i.e. you currently use the Smart there), but it's getting loose because you're just not tightening it up enough.

I use a torch from DX (Q5LED, 2xAA) and a twofish lockblock, pushed up against the stem and a few turns of electrical tape on the bars and torch to give the rubber something to grip against.

As suggested above, a stem mounted computer is really useful.

Failing that, one of those extensions that allow you to bolt more stuff to the front of your bike 🙂

The problem with the cables is the brake cable which routes under the bartape, making a solid circular clamp around the bars problematic. The smart I have has a crappy plastic cam type lock which bends out of shape with too much pressure.

Just clamp on bare bar between bar tape and stem? I've got computer clamp one side and light clamp the other.

Surfr – Member
The problem with the cables is the brake cable which routes under the bartape, making a solid circular clamp around the bars problematic. The smart I have has a crappy plastic cam type lock which bends out of shape with too much pressure.

Remove some of the bar tape so that the cable exits earlier. Your clamp will then fit betwixt bar and cable.

i've seen some bikes with another stem below the main one with a stubby peice of handlebar on.

For a "be seen" light I have a Knog Gecko wrapped round the headtube on my commuter.

Obviously it doesn't take up space on the bars and is much more visible from the side (what with hoods and arms and everything getting in the way of a bar-mounted light).

Stem-mount computer helps too.