The issue with handlebar baggage is that they normally block the bike mild you may in any other case have mounted onto the entrance of your handlebars. So, how precisely do you mount a entrance bike mild for those who’re utilizing a handlebar bag in your cycle touring adventures? On this video, I offer you 4 entrance bike mild mounting methods.
I obtained an electronic mail the opposite day from a Bicycle Touring Professional reader named Kevin… and that is what it stated:
“Hello Darren. The place do you do about your entrance bike lights while you’re driving with a handlebar bag, as a result of my handlebar bag is kind of massive and blocks my entrance bike mild?” – Kevin L.
That’s a great query, as a result of Kevin in proper, while you’re driving with a handlebar bag, the bag itself will normally block the usual bike mild that you simply might need mount to the entrance of your handlebars.
Whereas some bicycles might be geared up with a center-mounted bike mild close to or on the top tube, most bicycles shouldn’t have a fast and straightforward option to connect a lightweight in that space. Which is why, for those who plan to make use of a handlebar bag to your bicycle touring adventures, you want to discover one other location to mount your entrance bike mild.
I exploit a pair of entrance and rear USB rechargeable bike lights. The rear mild is simple sufficient to determine. So long as your rear rack isn’t stacked too excessive with tenting tools, you possibly can merely mount that rear mild to the again of your seat publish… and if that received’t work, you possibly can mount it to the again of your rear rack.
For the entrance mild, nonetheless, I’ve 4 important solutions:
You probably have drop handlebars, mount the sunshine close to the underside of the drops, ensuring the sunshine is able that also shines ahead, however doesn’t block your brakes or shifters from functioning correctly.
If attainable, mount your mild to the facet of your entrance fork. I normally place the sunshine on the visitors facet of my bicycle, ensuring the wheel doesn’t hit or rub up in opposition to the sunshine as I experience.
For those who don’t thoughts the added weight, you may attempt utilizing a handlebar extension like this carbon fiber one from GearBest.com to elevate your entrance bicycle mild up excessive of your handlebar bag. This may work higher on some handlebar baggage than others. My handlebar bag, for instance, remains to be too massive and blocks most of my entrance bike mild – even with the handlebar extension in place.
Which is why, considered one of your greatest choices is perhaps to make use of a handlebar extension mounted to the facet of your handlebars, permitting you to position your entrance bike mild effectively into view of passing autos, cyclists and pedestrians in your neighborhood, however far sufficient away out of your brakes and shifters which you can function your bike usually.
Kevin, I hope that helps to reply your query about the place to mount your entrance bike mild when utilizing a handlebar bag.
You probably have a query you’d like me to reply about bike touring, world journey or something in between, go away a remark beneath and I would simply reply your query in a future Bicycle Touring Professional video.