Bike BrightZ - Rebel with a Zip Tie

As a hacker, you can imagine the delight I felt when I was told by the folks at Bike BrightZ that I had installed the light in a place they had not seen before.  What a compliment!

You might remember from this picture that I chose to mount the light on my rear rack so that light splashes on the ground behind me.  I chose this location because the other recommended locations on my whip are filled with cables. 

Concern was expressed by those at Bike BrightZ that installing the light on my rack did not allow the light to serve its intended purpose.  The light was designed to point at the ground.  They asked that I post a picture from their Web site to show it off so here you go.  There are two lights installed in this example.

However, I also wanted to highlight that I think my hack location works quite well.  To test out the effect I took pictures of the light in two different locations.  And by the way, I did forget to mention that the folks at Bike BrightZ also sent along cool releasable zip ties.  I had heard of these before, but I had not seen one.  They are pretty cool, especially for a zip tie freak like me. 

First there is the location on my rack.  I think it actually works very well because as you can see, it lights up very large space behind my bike. If someone was approaching me from the rear on a dark road, I think this would definitely catch their attention.  It is pointed at a angle, but not much different than the angle on a down tube if the light were installed per instructions. 

Then there is the standard installation on the lower stay.  You could say that the light is more concentrated, but I do not think it lights up as much of the ground as the rack install allows for.

I don't think there is a "wrong" way to install this thing, it is going to light up whatever you point it at.  You just might not want to point it at someone's eyes for fear of blinding them.  Also, I have already been contemplating how I might install one of these on my front fork so that it illuminates the ground in front of me. 

The issue is the the angle of the fork as it is would point the light up at about at 45 degree angle.  Thus I am thinking about using a wedge shaped object, like a door stop in shape, perhaps made of packing foam or something.  I am keeping my eye out for possible solutions in the garbage piles on NYC sidewalks. 

Comments

[Brendan]

How about mounting it under your handle bar stem? Depending on room and rise or fall of the stem it may work ok...

[Nate J.]

Could someone mount the light to the wheel hub? And do it such a way as the light always hangs down as you ride (rather than flip around all over the place)?

I'm going to have to buy one of these and try it!

[alston]

To Nat J there is no way these lights can be applied to any wheel hub if your looking for something of that fashion please look in to Honkey spokes, Spokelite, or Anvil lights. I presently have all three. Anvil and Honkey spokes are a little expensive but totally worth it. There is one more called Monkey spokes but I don't care for the design that they give off.

[rod]

are there any retailers currently selling these as they look pretty cool and i would like a play with them to see where i could get them attached to my bikes?

[Aziza]

Hello, I just purchased a 1989 Trek 330 on ebay that I plan on refrubising and making into a single speed. Can you give me any details on yours? What wheels did you replace. A friend tells me that the 330 came with great steels wheels that should be kept. I am planning on converting this to a single speed. Any ifo you can give is appreciated. Thanks,Mike