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Mounting Headlights
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Be aware that no bracket is included with the standard Lumotec or E6. The Lumotec Oval Plus does come with two brackets; one for fork crown mounting with caliper brakes, and one for fork crown mounting with either cantilever or V brakes.
Some folks choose to make their own brackets for mounting the headlight. I have several different brackets available for either fork crown mounting, or handlebar mounting. The Lumotec is shorter than the Lumotec Oval Plus, so I have taller brackets for the Lumotec than for the Lumotec Oval Plus. The E6 works best if mounted on one of my handlebar brackets, either directly on the handlebar, or on the side of the fork.
Mounting the Lumotec or Oval Plus headlight at the fork crown has several benefits. It leaves your handlebar clear for cyclecomputers, altimeters, heart rate monitors and hot&cold running beer dispensers. Also, the lower the light is mounted, the more effective the beam pattern is, and the more easily you can see road surface irregularities.
On our tandem, using a standard Lumotec, I use a B&M cantilever style fork crown mount (pictured above) to leave space for a handlebar bag, and for the better beam pattern that results from the lower mounting point. The fork crown mount brackets are all metal construction, and in theory can fatigue from vibration and break. Earlier brackets that I've sold with the Lumotecs have had some failures. I've been selling the current fork crown brackets for about three years now with very few reported failures when used with a Busch&Muller headlight. The Schmidt E6 headlight is a bit heavier than the Lumotecs, and I have gotten a few reports of fork crown bracket failures, so I'm now only recommending mounting them with the nylon brackets, which will never break from metal fatigue. The handlebar mount is not metal and won't fatigue from vibration. For the most secure mounting, I recommend the handlebar mount for any headlight.
The handlebar mount can be used to place the light low on the side of your fork. Just add the Cronometro Nob. The Nob is intended for mounting computers on aero bars so that the computer is aligned correctly, rather than turned 90 degrees to the side. But the Nob can be mounted to your fork blade, and then my handlebar mount can be mounted on the Nob. My handlebar bracket (a slightly modified Shimano Flight Deck computer bracket) holding a Lumotec, attached to a Cronometro NOB. The NOB can be mounted on an aero bar, or on a fork blade, or just about any tube of your bike.
Front view of a Lumotec, mounted on my handlebar bracket, mounted on the NOB, held by fingers. I stock everything but the fingers. I have a new handlebar mount, the R&M. It weighs a few grams more than my other bracket, but it places the light further from the handlebar so you can position the lights lower without interference.
You can put two R&M handlebar brackets, one on each side of the stem and mount both the Primary and the Secondary headlight side by side. The bracket on the left just goes upside down. You still have space on the handlebar for mounting a computer, make-up mirror, or hot & cold running beer dispenser. If you use the dual headlight system by adding the Secondary Lumotec or E6 Secondary, it's helpful but not essential that the Secondary be easily reached while you're riding, since at low speeds (under 8 - 10mph or so) you'll get more light output by having the Secondary switched off. So, if you want the primary headlight mounted on the side of the fork, you may want the Secondary mounted on the handlebar, or at the fork crown. You could have the primary headlight mounted at the fork crown, and the Secondary mounted on the handlebar. You can have both headlights mounted on the handlebar, or both on an Excess Access bar. Some people simply put both headlights on the fork blades; one on each side, using two Cronometro Nobs and two handlebar mounts. With all the stuff people have on their handlebars, it can be nice to mount the headlights down on the fork blades, out of the way of cables, odometers, heart rate monitors, etc. By using the Cronometro Nob and my handlebar bracket, you can place one or two headlights on your forks. This page shows you how to do it. The bike is a Rambouillet. The lights shown here are the Schmidt E6 Primary and E6 Secondary. But this installation will work with the Lumotec and Lumotec Oval Plus headlights also. And remember, both headlights can be the Schmidt E6 models, or both Lumotec models, or a mix. Mix an E6 Primary and Lumotec Secondary or have a Lumotec Primary with an E6 Secondary. It doesn't effect the wiring or mounting.
Start by mounting a Nob on the left fork blade. This will be for your Primary headlight, assuming you live where it's customary to ride on the right side of the road. If you use just one light, or if you have a Secondary but only use it for fast downhills, this keeps the light that's on all the time positioned on the left, where it will be more visible to oncoming traffic. The Nob works just like a hose clamp. Wrap it around the fork blade, preferably where the blade is not tapered. If you put it on the tapered part of the blade, it can slide down. On steel forks this means placing the Nob up on the oval section of the blade near the top.
Next, trim the excess from the Nob's band with a sharp blade. Don't scratch the paint! ;-)
Now, mount a handlebar bracket onto the Nob. My handlebar bracket is made from a Shimano Flight Deck computer mount with some added hardware. Place the handlebar bracket with the nut for the light away from the wheel, giving maximum clearance between the light and the wheel.
Now, mount the light onto the handlebar bracket. The wire from the Primary light needs to wrap over the back of the fork and down the right fork blade, since the hub's connectors must be on the right side of the bike, unless you have an older SON hub with the black center section between the spoke flanges. With the older hub, the connectors can be on either side. And remember, always mount the headlight right side up. The hole for the mounting bolt is on the bottom. If you mount the headlight upside down, you ruin the superb beam that justifies the cost of these headlights. The light will be very bright close to you and extremely dim further away. Keeping the headlight mounted right side up gives you the most even illumination of the road in front of you.
Here's how it should look from the front. If the headlight is so close to the wheel that it touches the spokes, you've mounted the handlebar bracket backwards. Take the headlight off and reverse the handlebar bracket. If you'll just be using a single headlight, and lots of people do, you're almost done! But this is the Dual Headlight page, so we'll continue. ;-)
Now mount the second Nob on the left fork blade, opposite the Nob on the right. Trim the end and mount the other handlebar bracket. Then mount the headlight onto the handlebar bracket.
Use some cable ties or zip ties to hold the wiring in place. You can get zip ties at any hardware store. Loop any excess cable from the headlight around the Cronometro Nob.
You may still have some excess wire. Loop it together between the fender and the fork crown. Use zip ties to keep everything tidy. If you don't have fenders, try to wrap as much wire as you can around the Nobs.
Here are the wires as they attach at the hub. One wire from each headlight plugs into the hub. The two remaining connectors, one male, one female, connect to each other. (The black plastic block bolted to the dropout eyelet in the upper left corner of the photo is part of the front fender mount. It has nothing to do with the lights or wiring.)
Use zip ties to gather the loose ends together. Trim off the excess length from the zip ties.
Each light can be easily aimed right to left, and up or down.
Oh, ah, please excuse the mess.
And here's the finished product, all ready for Paris Brest Paris. You can also mount the headlight or headlights directly on the handlebar, if you have space, or off the handlebar with an accessory mount like the Minoura Space Grip. That would eliminate the need for the Cronometro Nobs. But with the lights on the fork, there's no interference with brake and derailleur cables, and your handlebar is free to mount whatever else you need. Don't mount the lights upside down. The Busch&Muller headlights can get water inside if they're upside down, and all of the headlights are designed to project brighter light at the top of the focused beam, to give more even road illumination. The top part of the beam is projected further down the road, therefore it needs to be brighter. I now carry a version of the E6 designed to be mounted upside down.
For those with limited space on the handlebar, I recommend the Minoura Space Grip. It's shaped like a "T" with the base of the "T" attached to your handlebar. The "Cross" of the "T" is available in two lengths; 100mm and 130mm. Both are long enough to mount two lights using my handlebar mount. The bar can be rotated 90 degrees to the clamp.
The Sidetrack Excess Access bar gives you lots of space to mount lights, computers, coffee mugs, beer kegs, and Uranium Q36 Explosive Space Modulators. Unlike the Minoura Space Grip, the Excess Access can't rotate down since the rear rests against the underside of your stem. Now available in silver anodized finish only. I get asked whether or not the Excess Access can be used to mount a handlebar bag. It can't. It's just not strong enough. But, strangely enough, a beer keg is no problem. Go figure! $ <% Call DisplayPrice("SIDEXAX") %>
Taillight Brackets
This is a rear view of the DToplight XS Plus upside down. It's upside down so you can more clearly see the wiring connections on the left side. This taillight is powered by a dynamo. We have similar taillights that are powered by AA batteries, and mount the same way. The light will have two bolts facing forward to attach to a rear rack on your bicycle. Some racks like most Tubus models have a bracket on the rear to mount these lights. But some racks don't. So we have adapters.
If your rear rack has a single hole in the rear that will take a bolt which faces in the direction of travel, you can mount this bracket into that hole and then you'll have the 50mm and 80mm mounting points for any of the Busch & Müller rack mount taillights such as the DToplight XS Plus above. Single Hole Bracket: $ <% Call DisplayPrice("B&MBKS") %>
If your rack has no hole in the rear but does have either a top plate or some cross braces, this T bracket can be clamped to the top of your rack and then the taillight can be bolted to it.
Here's a DToplight XS Plus mounted on a T bracket using the 80mm bolt positions. T bracket: $ <% Call DisplayPrice("B&MBKT") %>
If your bike has a seat post binder bolt that's big and not recessed into the seat cluster, you can probably use this bracket to mount a taillight on the seat post binder bolt. The hole on the left would be at the seat post binder. The hole is about 8.5mm in diameter. Seat Post Binder Bracket: $ <% Call DisplayPrice("B&MBKSP") %>
I sell Tubus racks which incorporate a mounting bracket which will fit many types of Busch & Müller tail lights including the DToplight Plus and 4DToplight Permanent. The Tubus Cargo is a heavy duty tubular cromoly steel rack for extended touring and heavy loads.
Check out the great variety of headlights for use with the SON. For a detailed description of compatible taillights, see my page on taillights. Almost everything you need to know about pricing and ordering a lighting system can be found here.
Back to Lighting Systems page Back to: Products page Back to: Peter White Cycles home page Mail to: The email link above uses javascript to hide the actual address from spambots. Your browser needs to be set to run javascript in order for you to use any of the email links on my website. If you can't see the links, you can call us or send a fax. You can also type the address into your email software. First, type the alias, "pjw". Then type the "@" sign. It's above the number 2 on your keyboard. Then type the domain, "peterwhitecycles.com". Don't put in the quotes! That should do it. We use the javascript so that the spammers can't see the actual email address. I hope it works. Sometimes the volume of email is so great we can't get to it all. For important communication, please phone, or phax. It's best to call before 4PM Eastern time since after that we're either running around like headless chickens or at home ready to jump into the pot. Under no circumstances should you place an order without first reading this. This page updated: Wednesday, September 26, 2007 Peter White Cycles
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