A Better Way to Mount Lights
Small parts often get overlooked, but they can make a big difference in your cycling experience. Take light mounts, for example. Adjusting the angle of your headlight beam is useful: In town, you want to angle the headlight low so it doesn’t blind oncoming traffic. Out in the mountains, you need a higher beam. Otherwise, you ride into the dark when you descend at speed and go into a dip in the road.
Yet trying to adjust the headlight by hand usually results in one of two outcomes: Either the mounting bolt is really tight and doesn’t move at all. Or light moves to the desired position, but the bolt turns and loosens in the process, and soon the light rotates on its own.
Of course, your headlight should never come loose. In the real world, even if it’s tight to start with, vibrations tend to loosen many headlight mounts, no matter how much Loctite you use during assembly. And the faster you ride, the greater are the vibrations…
There had to be a better solution! Working as a team, Compass Cycles has developed new headlight mounts that finally meets our expectations.
It all started with my own bikes, where I’ve slotted the mounts of the Edelux headlights, so that the attachment of the rack goes in between. That way, the bolt clamps both sides of the light mount, and no matter how often I adjust the headlight’s angle, it won’t come loose. Unfortunately, slotting the headlight’s mount is difficult, especially on the latest headlights.
We figured out a way to use the same concept without modifying the light itself: Secure the light with a locknut. The bolt is tightened only so much that the light doesn’t rotate on its own. That way, you can adjust the light angle by hand. The locknut locks in this adjustment and prevents the bolt from coming loose. (It’s just like the adjustment of a cup-and-cone bearing in many hubs and classic bottom brackets.)
On one side, we use a Nylon washer that provides a little “give” and allows the adjustment. The washer between the light and the mount must be metal, otherwise, there is no good “ground” to the frame, which is a problem if you run a taillight or the “connector-less” SL system.
We now include this setup with all Compass racks that are equipped with a light mount. For those with older racks, we offer the bolts and washers as a retrofit. When you use B&M lights, the new Compass light mount has another advantage: The bolt isn’t so tight that it risks cracking the plastic mounting eyelet. Yet thanks to the locknut, it won’t come loose.
If your rack has only an eyelet for mounting lights, we designed a light mount that offers the same functionality. It incorporates Nitto’s proven stainless steel light mount, but with our own hardware. A toothed lockwasher prevents the mount from rotating (top bolt). The light itself attaches to the mount (bottom bolt) with a set of locknuts that allow the adjustment.
We also worked out a solution to another problem: With a light mount on the left side of the bike, the weight of the headlight tends to loosen the attachment bolt by turning it counter-clockwise.
Theo had the idea of mounting the light mount to the inside of the rack. That way, the weight of the headlight tightens, rather than loosens, the bolt. It’s a small detail, but it can make a big difference.
We also offer a version for racks that don’t have eyelets, but separate, adjustable struts (above). It incorporates all the neat details of the other mounts, making it a great solution for those racks.
We’ve tested all these mounts extensively before offering them to our customers. It’s not really rocket science, but once you have a headlight that you can adjust on the road, without tools, you won’t want to miss that feature. As to lights coming loose in mid-ride – that just shouldn’t happen. Because in the end, there was a better way – it just took commitment and teamwork to figure it out.
The new light mounts are one example of how at Compass, we design products that meet our own high expectations. When we are out on spirited, multi-day rides in the mountains, we want our bikes to fade into the background, so we can enjoy the amazing roads, the stunning scenery, and the wonderful company of our friends.
Click here for more information about the Compass lights and mounts.
