Brainstorm light mounting with me?

Hey everyone,
I've been pushing a dynamo hub since last summer, with all the best intentions of getting a headlight mounted. Now it's nearly the darkest time of the year and still no dynamo headlight. I'm having a hard time deciding how to get something on there. All these photos should click through to enormous ones if that's at all helpful...

I have a vintage Blackburn front rack, which I love for the consistent aesthetics to my frame and it's match to my rear rack. Also my 1977 frame just doesn't have mounting points for a Nitto rack (or a headlight!).

The rack has stays at two different positions, narrower in front and wider at the middle. I'm not committed to using a particular stay for the mounting point, but I would love to nestle the light as best as possible inside the protection of the rack's platform, just for help preserving the light while parked next to bikes who might be careless, etc. This is a city bike and I'll still be parking it and leaving it for a bit.

I have the headlight my husband took off his Brompton, upside of using it is that it's currently just taking up space, downside is that it's unclear how to mount it on my bike. I'd prefer to mount my eventual headlight to the front rack and not the fork, to keep my fork as blemish-free as possible. I'm open to the idea of buying a different headlight, but I'm wondering if you folks have any ideas for getting this (or any other one) mounted on my somewhat narrow-gauge Blackburn front rack?

This light's mounting bracket can easily be removed, leaving us with a plastic housing with a bolt going through it. I can certainly get a longer bolt and any number of washers.

What I can't do is invert the light, as there are wires on the underside that must rely on the top of the light for some added rain protection.

Here is where I imagine mounting the light, allowing it to be easily seen by other road users, and allowing my rack to continue to be functional. The mounting needs to be secure enough that it stays pointed forward and doesn't slide down the rack's stay.

Edited to Add:

Here are my clamps from Harris, as well as some spacers which had come from the mounting bracket on my second tail light set. If I go the p-clamp route it would be ideal to find one smaller than this one, I'd be wrapping a whole lot of padding to get it to a good clamp on the thin tubing. I went to the hardware store hoping to find something like that and they guy there suggested hose clamps, which I understand can be smaller and certainly very adjustable. He also suggested this pre-drilled metal tape stuff, the idea being that one band of it would go around the stay, and a vertical band would go up and over the rack platform for vertical stability. That sounded like it would rattle, and I could probably do something similar with zip ties (and less rattle). I'm liking the VO bracket suggested below for stability reasons, but I think it would also have a challenge in getting it on to my rack (maybe someone could solder it on?)

Vu à Amsterdam

My French friend J was just at a conference in Amsterdam and sent this photo for our enjoyment. This is certainly a decked-out and cheerful bike!

Carra-more!

Sometimes it's the simple things, isn't it?

The addition of a simple carabiner clip has made my Carradice Bike Bureau bike bag much easier to use. It lives on the carry handle and holds my shoulder strap out of my wheel or off the ground when the strap is not on my shoulder:


It also is pressed into service carrying my cable lock. This has been invaluable whenever my bag has been over-filled (which happens more often than I should admit!)



The best part is that it's designed for easy clipping and un-clipping so I don't mind it at all. Digging my lock out had been a drag. No more!


UPDATE: Looking at this post I was struck by how aged my bag looks. Here's how it looked in a photo from 2005.

Long Distance New Bicycle Excitement

I have a new bicycle! It's not exclusively mine, but that's a mere detail. I know my dad loves me because he's slammed at work and still he took the time to answer the Craigslist ad I found for this lovely 1994 Bridgestone RB-T and bring it home for me.

The Grant Peterson Bridgestones have a cult following I'm only beginning to understand. I look forward to riding this bike and learning more. I have many plans for this bike!

Googling around various groups I found a discussion which included:

Technically, it was never marketed as a dedicated touring model, but as a versatile hilly road/light trail/cyclocross-ish bike. It was equipped with a triple, but a tall road triple, not a touring triple. It has shortish chainstays (but supposedly long enough for panniers - and I think they went longer in 1994), a relatively tight fork offset, two sets of water bottle braze-ons rather than three, and only one set of eyelets front and rear (though I think this varied by year, but there were no front fork low-rider braze-ons). It does have cantilevers and enough room for wide tires.

All of this is ideal for the sort of fire road-style riding my dad does, with a little commuting thrown in. This bike will be mine when I'm home, and available to Dad's lady-friend all the time. I personally like the drop handlebars, but for other people using the bike I'm contemplating changing to moustache bars. Thoughts appreciated!

I'm so excited! On to "wayward adventures"!

Stylish Safe Simplicity

After I posted South End Simplicity, a reader submitted a beautiful bike that is clearly a friend to that one, also with cloth-taped handlebars, but this one features a brake lever (and brake!):


I love the cloth tape on my handlebars. The natural feel in my hand is particularly nice for a city commuter on which I do not generally wear gloves (weather permitting). With my inverse levers I never had to wrap around a brake lever, however this bike looks great! I particularly like how the curve of the cable housing is integrated with that of the handlebar. It all looks so graceful.


The final classy touch is, of course, the wooden end caps. They make me think of a wine bottle stopper, or a child's toy, both much nicer than the plastic-y things that come in the box with handlebar tape. C - did you make these? Is there any place a person can buy a set?



A beautiful, simple, bike.

Friendly Fender

A happy surprise was parked on Newbury Street. I've never before seen such a friendly fender, this bike is clearly the kind of bike all the other bikes want to be friends with, just a based on its reflective stickers.

Hello!

South End Simplicity

This is perhaps the most elegant stripped-down beautiful basic bike I've seen. While I personally like my bikes with brakes, this isn't my bike, and the aesthetic is just wonderful from the cream tires to the black frame to the custom leather accents.


This custom leather-accented U-lock is perfectly matched to the saddle.


My husband thinks the saddle came this way, I think that the owner carved off the skirt his/herself. The hammered rivets look lovely on this bike.


The inherent classiness of this bike is eye-catching from behind...


... and from the front.


Bravo to the person who put this bike together, it's beautiful!

This little light of mine

I think of cute determination on the rare occasions when I see a Brompton. With Harris Cyclery and Broadway Bicycles now selling them it's become a lot easier to welcome a Brompton into one's tiny Boston apartment.

So while today is (so far) merely a two Brompton day, on Monday I saw a record-shattering four Bromptons around town, meaning three that weren't my husbands!!! (for the record, I didn't see Sexy Brompton or Elton from Harris, so that means there are at least 6 Bromptons in Boston!)

Last spring I saw a wonderful Brompton tail light modification. We have now implemented a version of this ourselves. Here you can see the new Planet Bike blinkie mounted to his rear rack:

Those two brass pieces are corner braces from the hardware store. I think a pack of four of them cost $2.50 but I could be off by as much as 50%. I just don't remember. They hold a Planet Bike Taillight Rack Bracket - you will need a set of screws and bolts (we conveniently had some, if you don't have some plan to buy these too).

The bracket is compatible with Blinky 3,5,7 and Superflash - had I known this I would have bought the Superflash, which is by far the best tail light ever.

Yes, the light is off-center. The holes were drilled into the rack slightly off-center. Don't know why.


Here you can see how the corner brackets and the rack bracket still keep the profile of the light within the Brompton's carrier wheels. This means that the light does not strike anything when the bike is folding and unfolding.

Here the light is safely folded under. You can also see another light dangling from the seat. I cannot find this light anywhere on the web, but I know it's out there. We bought it at Harris but they don't list it. It's great for a Brompton because it is so flexible and not impeding the seat post.


In one weekend we went from one tail light to three. Three tail lights are probably overkill, but given the dangers of cycling Boston it makes me feel better to know that he's visible. The helmet-mounted light moves with his movements (including checking traffic where it can't be seen anymore), the seat-mounted light swings wildly with all movements, and the rack-mounted light is low, but constant, and that's good.

Finally, apropos these darling Bromptons, you must remember:
Ce n'est pas un petit vélo, c'est un vélo qui sait se faire petit.

Whimsical Reflective Stars

Love these little reflective stars stuck on the rear fender for a little smile, and a little safety. Safe riding to everyone!

Start of my Ladies Coat Project

I've been envious enough of my husband's cycling jacket to be on the hunt for one of my own. I finally found what I was looking for in the after Christmas sales. Oh the irony that the perfect cycling coat is currently being called a "car coat"!

The coat is:

1. wool (blend)
   
2. light camel colored to contrast with asphalt
   
3. Thinsulate lined
4. possessing seam details I can highlight in 3M reflective tape
5. shorter in length, as my current coat occludes my seatpost tail light
   
6. otherwise unremarkable, and thus unlikely to draw attention to itself
   
7. inexpensive (yes, that factory outlet clearance sticker says $36.98)

I've been wearing the coat since the New Year and it feels strangely warmer than my JCrew Thinsulate coat. It may be because the LL Bean version is much lighter, so the same warmth seems remarkable.

In social lighting the coat does not read as anything remarkable:



Here the coat is flashed, you can see the one band of reflective tape and see all those seams where I can add more!



I look forward to getting everywhere bike and still quickly looking almost "normal" (whatever that really is).

Christmas Singlespeed

Spotted on Newbury Street, this subtle but festive bike made me smile:

Tinsel Time

I snapped the photo because I loved the lady's snowy tinsel on her basket, a classy festive accent.

It was only later that I realized how chaotic the rest of the scene had been!



I also see now that she has snowy tinsel all over her bike!

Getting There!

What a treat to look back at my post from March 4, 2008. As of this weekend I have accomplished all the goals listed there and more.

On the list for upgrading I had:

• a front rack
• a wine box from a good vineyard for carrying groceries (we'll have to buy the wine too, this is an expensive upgrade)
• better tires
• chainguard
• maybe go singlespeed

Well, as to this last goal, I decided that an internal hub might be better for my needs while still accomplishing the winter protection I was looking for. My husband built the wheel and we got it installed yesterday. The only challenge was that my handlebars are not round, and not standard, so getting the shifter on was a big deal. Everything else went smoothly. I chose a new Sturmey-Archer three speed mostly because it was already sized for my very narrow dropouts and I didn't want to have to spread the rear triangle. We laced it to a Salsa Delgado rim. My only complaint thus far is that I didn't realize the hub would click whether I was pedaling or coasting. I used to be much more stealthy! But that's not much of a complaint and I'm thrilled with how the bike now just smoooothly glides. I had no idea how much resistance had built up in the old wheel and derailleur. I know the derailleur was contributing because now when I backpedal I marvel at the lack of friction.

In the photo below you can see the results of my fender painting. After all these years of full-time commuting my Honjos are not looking as shiny as they did. I'm liking the pinstripe that now picks up my frame color on the fenders.


I still have more upgrades planned. I have a tire and new brake pads waiting for a new front wheel, I'd like it to match the rear. Hmmm. Is that it? Might I be getting close to the end of upgrades for the bike? Is that possible?



I might have saved some money (maybe) if I'd just bought a new bike and was done with it. Especially now that there are some cute, affordable city bikes (though probably made in Taiwan).

I am perhaps more proud of this old bike. I created this. It's my bike, there's not another one like it in the world, and I have learned so much in doing this. My husband has also learned a lot, I have him to thank for taking the wheel-building class. We've both grown in bike knowledge (and if we can, anyone can).

There's a wealth of old 10-speeds out there, and many are great bikes. Please don't send them to the dump! There's an adventure, sometimes frustrating, always informative, to be had in recycling them into lightweight beautiful city bikes.

Happy Halloween!

This photo is from last year's Critical Mass. Anyone out there with plans to costume your bicycle? I'd love to hear what you're up to!

My Trinket

Inspired by Dottie's post, and in agreement with her Emily citation:

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry’s cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.
Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.

-Emily Dickinson

I have switched out my pink flower, and am now wearing a spray of mums and leaves.

Carved Brooks Saddles

Photo by karagleather

I first came across these saddles on the to be, inspired blog, but the entire Flickr set is worth checking out. Kara does absolutely gorgeous work. I'd love to see a Western styled custom Brooks saddle.

Cloud Bike

On a grey rainy day I thought of this "Cloud Bike" I spotted on Newbury Street last week. I thought the color scheme was distinctive, when I got closer I noticed many personalized details.


What do you all think of this custom headbadge? I'm intrigued with custom headbadges at the moment.


I was also interested in the chainguard, as I was working out how to mount mine. My setup looks nothing like this one, both are good.


A simple clamp works if you have the arm that comes off the chainguard. I wonder if that could be fabricated? Their chainring is a better size, aesthetically, than mine, it tucks in nicely to the guard while mine is a little small. I like the look of this one.


This clamp is obviously made for the job, and does it well.

Accessorize!

Since returning from my vacation I've noticed more and more bikes decked out with accessories. Take this bike, for instance, which appears to be wearing its own scarf:



This bike has a head tube wrapped in ferns:


The chainstays are sporting their own teddy bear (or perhaps that's a little dog?):


And for those who just don't do fake flowers, this bike on Newbury Street has flower pots and real flowers: