riding with lights without despoiling bike
 

I have had 2 bad accidents in my riding career (ambulance and broken bones, insurance settlements). Although 25 years apart, both involved an incoming driver turning left directly in front of me (because they didn't see me). After the second (2012), I resolved to always ride with good flashing lights, even in the daytime. (BTW, I ride by myself almost exclusively.) I currently use the Bontrager Ion Pro front light and the Bontrager Flare rear. The rear light isn't too obvious, but the front light is.

I have a beautiful bike, a Mosaic RT-1. If possible, I'd prefer a smaller and less conspicuous front light. If I can't achieve this without sacrificing most of the Ion's effectiveness, I'll suffer through. (I also ride with a saddlebag, because my jersey pockets are already fairly full. So I don't sacrifice that much for pure beauty.)

Suggestions welcome.

I just went to these. Small and unobtrusive IMO.

https://www.blackburndesign.com/p/2f...ike-light-set/

Just mount the light upside down so it is mostly invisible from the sides or above.

The smaller lights I am thinking of are going to be much less effective. Think of it this way: Will your bike look better with a slightly bulky light, or will it look better under the wheels of a dump truck?

What I'm trying to say, and you alluded to, is that this is a very small compromise to make for your safety.

One other suggestion - find or make a light-mount that is fastened under the front brake caliper. A light down low by the front tire looks neater than a light on the handlebars... in my opinion, anyways, but I also think that bike would look better with full wrap fenders :)


Edit:
Here is an example of the type of thing I am suggesting. With this one, which I believe is made for a particular dynamo powered light, you could adapt for any bar-mounted light by cutting a narrow piece of wooden dowel and drilling a hole through it to act as a 'handlebar' on which you can mount your light. Making your own out of a bit of sheet metal or an old rack bracket would also not be too difficult.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/.../rp-prod202150

If you don't want to ruin the lines of your very nice Mosiac then how about a helmet light to compliment what you already have? The Light and Motion VIS 360 is one to consider. Another option would be the Lumos helmet with the built in lights. As said I would use these as an adjunct to what you already have. There is no such thing as being to lit up on the road (within reason). Multiple light sources always helps.

I feel your pain - I hate things sticking up on top of the bars. I did a couple of things - first I bought some Go-Pro coupler sets (I look on these as the industry standard) and attached a "male" coupler to the underside of my Garmin mount. I then epoxied some "female" couplers to some LED blinkers and to the top of an (I think) 600 lumen rechargeable light. Any of these lights with now attach pretty unobtrusively under the Garmin mount. I also bought what I think is a "handlebar accessory mount", attached a male Go-Pro coupler, so I can mount the big light slung under the handlebar, if I want to run both the blinker and main light. Everything cheapo from Amazon
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bfc1ab8409.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...e0dbc73f07.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...31918ba81a.jpg

I think that the best way to go about it is to go with a good out-front combo mount (assuming that you're also using a computer) that's stem mounted. They tuck the light under the computer, which makes it unobtrusive/invisible from the saddle and it keeps the front view clean and symmetrical. I have an inexpensive one bought on Amazon and my light is also a camera, so much larger than typical; something smaller would look more tidy.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3e017754d9.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...98f2c8a73d.jpg

I have this same setup with my Fly12. Very clean and unobtrusive.

Don't leave it all to lights alone. Make sure to wear colors that stand out. Make sure to be seen. Make sure you ride in a manner that makes your intentions known and doesn't leave others wondering what you might do.

For that last part, it's sort of hard to describe, but when ever I'm out on the road, whether as a motorist or cyclist, I'm assessing the way others are driving or cycling. The ones that throw me the most are those that are overly polite yielding their right-of-way or those that are so cautiously timid that you have no idea what they might do if you get near them.

It's certainly not a cure-all view. But it is one of many that I think help.

At night, reflectors and reflective clothing also go a long way too along with lights. There are times reflective strips on clothing or vehicle caught my attention more to identify what I was encountering than the lights on it.

Could you guys link me the gopro mount to slip on light adapter? I am having hard time finding something that will work with my Cygolite.

I've observed the same thing myself on group rides and events. Can't see yellow in the shade at all on a sunny day. I think part of it is that everyone, including me, is wearing sunglasses. I run a 300 lumen flashing rear light.in daytime. It really needs to be brighter than what one might find adequate at night. A very frustrating thing is that so many good rear lights are only available with seatpost mounts, and I use a saddle bag, no exposed post below it.

flashing light in daylight is useful to get attention but won't blind a driver. a flashing light in the dark, however, is just confusing. use a steady beam at night.

If you dont want to not spoil your bike's look, then get one of those magicshine things with an external battery pack that can apparently be seen from orbit. All the wires and whatnot will really muck up the look.
Now if you dont want to spoil your bike's look, just get an out front mount as has been shown and mentioned.

And if you dont want to mount a light with a firm mount, then buy one with a rubber clamp and just hook it on upside down so the light is under the bars instead of perched atop the bars.

I’d suggest a Specialized Flux 1250 as an option. You’ll get a styled, dual-lens, underbar unit that runs parallel to the handlebar (i.e it’s wider than longer), so better looking and more discreet, and at 1250 lumens, you’re not sacrificing but 50 lumens compared to the Ion Pro. The Fluz has a bar mount, but you can also get a GoPro mount if you want to mount it in a different way; you could get a slim aluminum mount to place it close and directly in front of the bar if you have the space, for example.

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/fl...ext=49121-1610

Personally, I love the styling of the Knog Blinder Road 600, but it’s a step down, in terms of max lumens, from the Ion Pro.

https://www.knog.com/product/blinder-road-600/

I use the Bontrager Ion 700, it has a flash option that can not be missed...it is almost blinding at times....but people see me. I used it as my commuter light, so I can also see

Specialized Stix does it for me, you can place it on the bars so the light goes in front of the stem faceplate which is rather aesthetically pleasing. The Elite 2 version of the light has a pretty decent runtime, too.

Busch and Muller makes many rechargeable headlights and offers a fork crown mount as suggested by ClydeClydeson in post #4.

Even though I have a very powerful light which mounts to the handlebar, I have thought about buying a B&M just to free up some handlebar space.

K Edge

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0cbd59f1c.jpeg
K Edge

I got one of these for my Cygolite Expilion:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon....e5-rL._AC_.jpg

https://www.amazon.com/Cygolite-Adap.../dp/B07TFL29D6

If you’re talking about a combo computer mount with GoPro fitting, KOM Cycling make an affordable alternative to the K-Edge:

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/20...g?v=1597261639

https://komcycling.com/collections/f...oo-gopro-mount

I love Stix! I have a front one affixed with velcro to the head tube on one of my bikes. Superstealth housing and mount forms with those Stix!

Not a great pic for illustrative purposes, but that you can hardly see it is kind of the point:


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f84dd082d.jpeg

80%+ of my riding (7,000+ miles last year) is midnight to 6AM up to 100 miles with 3 red lights flashing rear and 1 clear front flashing plus front solid for road illumination. Rear lights are mounted under seat, on handlebar end and on helmet. TRIANGULATION of rear lights seems to work wonderfully since cars move over even 1/2 mile before they come to passing me on longer straight roads.


side bar note -- drivers in Pick-Up Trucks hold a substantial lead in the comparison study of close passing instead of moving over for more side clearance. Side mirrors extending out from body of the vehicle are of greatest concern.

I have a Flare R in the rear and a Ion 100 in the front. The Ion 100 in not a headlight so it will not illuminate the road at night. But it is a strobe and will let drivers know you're there. Its very good this time of year when the sun is low in the sky and looking south has a lot of glare.

https://i.imgur.com/129jL1l.jpg

https://images.immediate.co.uk/produ...size=960%2C541

Seems like you have a lot of options but I’ll just throw in my setup which like you I wanted to keep clean. This was my old garmin and Bontrager light. Has since been replaced with a newer Bontrager Ion and Garmin. Mount is a K Spoon for one piece bar/stem combos with the holes on the underside. The adjustment knob that sticks out has also been removed and replaced with a nut so it’s cleaner along with color matched leather bar tape from Busyman Cycles.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...676849389.jpeg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b746cf026.jpeg

Before I got my Fly12, I did exactly like that:


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...81889655a.jpeg