Mounting a dynamo light when there's no brake mount and carbon forks.

Just got a Lumotec IQ light with the stainless bracket that is clearly meant to be bolted onto the fork crown where the brake pivot goes. My bike has discs and carbon forks (like a Pickenflick fork). I’ve a few ideas about how to mount this but wondered how everyone else has solved this problem. I’d like to keep it lowish because I think that’s where it’s supposed to be but also because I may want to hang a bag from the bars and hope the light would be below it.

Cheers.

In terms of mounting it low, I can’t help. If you’re prepared to mount it on the bars, special mounts have been available from time to time, but the best solution I’ve found is a seat post clamp of appropriate diameter for your bars with pannier rack bosses on.

You can remove one of the bosses if you can be bothered, and file off the lip, and hey presto a fairly neat looking mount. Might even be able to use some seatpost clamps without the pannier rack tabs, if you can see one that the light fitting would be able to mount to with the bolt (you’ll need a longer bolt)

A neat solution would be a custom crown race that raises the lower bearing a couple of mms and also integrates a light mount tab.

ProblemSolvers do a mount that replaces the QR nut.

Yes that would do it. Is it a problem to have the light mounted on the head tube. Obviously it won’t point where you’re steering but is that bad or just odd?

I was hoping for some pics of nifty solutions to the problem…. maybe now it’s evening. 🙂

Sugru.

Drill the crown

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/front-light-brackets/

Thanks fourbanger. No idea why I didn’t look there first. This one[/url] or a modification should do it.

Does the fork have a hole in the center of the steerer underneath for a mudguard? Could you just flatten out the normal crown mount?

If not, pack out the steerer (assuming hollow) with sugary or epoxy putty and drill/tap a hole.

If it’s solid in all directions with no threaded holes then maybe just epoxy the bracket to the underside of the crown?

The schmidtt one you linked is what I have on an old Marzocchi fork for the same light, heavy but works fine. I’m not sure if you’re supposed to use a star nut in a carbon steerer though, if that is what you have (mixed opinions but most fork manufacturers seem to strongly warn against).So you might have to get a second compression plug thing to replace the star nut with…

I’ve used a B&M handlebar mount for my IQ-X lamp. Seems to work fine, and with the beam shape you can target the area you want lit up pretty well.

Yes, I realise I would need a carbon bung rather than a star nut but having looked again there is no hole anywhere in the crown of the fork. Epoxy is a possibility but I would prefer something I can remove. Maybe just use a bar mount after all.

I’ve been out tonight with it attached to a P clip zip tied to the top of the fork leg. Not pretty and a bit too wobbly on rough stuff. The light is ok though and my phone was running low so I enjoyed switching between charging the phone with the standlight on and having full beam. New toys are great eh?

Thanks for the advice so far.

I use the Schmidt handlebar bracket from SJS, which works well, but won’t solve your bar bag problem

Something like this ??

Im on the hunt also for something like this,whether its a shand custom bracket I dont know.

Im on the hunt also for something like this,whether its a shand custom bracket I dont know.

It’s a Supernova light mount but you do need an eyelet on the underside of the crown for that specific one.

I’m in a similar situation. Solved it with a Topeak BarXtender (£13.50) and a SJS Cycles bracket (https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/lighting-spares/converter-to-make-bplusm-caliper-brake-brackets-fit-onto-handlebar/)

I slung the BarXtender under the stem with the extension angled 45 degrees forward. This is long enough to clear brake cable housings, even with crosstops. The SJS clamp is then clamped on to the BarXtender and there is sufficient freedom of movement to angle the standard B&M light bracket and light housing (I’ve got a IQ Cyo Plus).

This gets the light almost as low as a standard fork crown mount and quite some way forward. I’ve been able to get everything tightened up enough to hold the light securely without it bouncing around too much on rural roads.

Similar situation on a carbon mtb fork I’m thinking of putting a dynamo light on.

Thought of a plastic seatpost light mount on one fork leg, not tried it yet.

kiloran that sounds interesting but your piccies don’t work! Is it just my laptop? 🙂

3d printed bracket? Might take some design work 😀

Or steerer mounted, possibly the easiest to get a good position.