Rear light for Surly Nice Racks

[Bigwavedave]

I've outfitted my Specialized tricross with Surly Nice Racks, and the rear had a great braze on for a light, but every rear light I've seen is set up to be mounted on the seat post... Any ideas?

[MichaelTheWingN]

I have been looking at the same issue for a long while, with all the rear racks on the road, you would think there would be a plethora of rack lights. There is this item that may be of interest to you -- http://harriscyclery.net/page.cfm?PageID=49&action=details&sku=LT7309 -- It's a Planet Bike Rack mount, mounts most Planet Bike taillights onto a rear rack. I have no idea how universal it is, but it's a start. I have seen one other rack mounted light, but the manufacturer escapes me at the moment. If I remember the name I will edit this post!

Have a good ride!

Get a bicycle. You will not regret it. If you live. Mark Twain

[JayH]

I have a OMM red rocks rear and I mounted a basic Trek LED blinkie to it. I bet I could mount a bunch of different ones, you just need to find the right kind of light.  What I did with mine is simply buy an angle bracket, basically it's an "L" shaped piece of aluminum with two holes drilled out.   I used a nut and bolt to mount the L bracket to my rear rack's top shelf.  You have to mount it such that the the hole in the bracket is perpendicular to the bike's lengh....hmmmm...  basically the screw hole would face the side of the bike, not the front/back..  

Now, you will need to find any LED that mounts to the seatpost using a nut and bolt. Many of them will have a collar to go around the seatpost and then have a arm with a hole in it and a notched washer (for the angle) and then you use a nut and bolt to mount the LED to the collar, adjust the angle and tighten.   Do you see where I'm getting at?  

Now, if you have the right angle bracket and right kind of LED, you can simply replace the bolt and nut with one that is long enough to work with your L bracket. Thread the bolt through the LED, then through the L bracket and tighten the nut after you adjust the angle. Use threadlocker if you need to...

Best bet it to buy the L bracket at a hardware store and bring it with you to the bike store and kindly ask if you can try it out and see if it works. Worst case scenario... get a drill with a good metal drill bit and cut your own hole from a L bracket without holes or with one only.  

It works great for me.   On my red rocks rack, I have my Trek LED on top and then using the same bolt that I have for the L bracket, I used another L bracket below the top shelf and I mounted a basic passive red reflector below.  And then I have an LED on my seatpost as usual.  

Jay

This message was edited by JayH on 9-18-07 @ 11:07 AM

[ptaylor]

BigWave.

This is definitely a shortcoming in the US bike market.

My most recent solutions for my commuter bike:
1. cut/grind off the seat-post attachment stuff and epoxy on a hand-made bracket that will fit on my rack;
2. hand make a bracket that will attache to my rack, then attache that to a cut-off broomstick handle that is a proxy for a seat-post. As you said, most US lights are designed to attach to a seat-post.

Paul

[DaveB]

I haven't actually done this but this idea has occured to me.  I'll assume you have a rack with a L-bracket or similar mounting point intended to bolt on a rear light.  

Get a scrap seatpost, a super cheap seatpost or a cut-off section from a seatpost that someone has shortened.  

Cut about a 1" long piece of the seatpost and cross drill it so you can bolt it to the rack's mounting point.  Then mount your light on this short stub of seatpost using the supplied collar.

[JayH]

Another thing what I've done is simply wrap the collar of the LED around the bottom of my rear rack towards the road side, usually the arms of a rear rack will taper all the way to the bottom where it mounts to a lower eyelet or QR axle or whatever and since it tapers, you can simply mount the circular collar down there and fix it with a little tape or glue. Works in a pinch and doesn't need any special hardware. It'll have to clear any panniers though or could be in the way.

Jay

[ptaylor]

DaveB. I did almost exactly what you are suggesting, except that I used an inch or so of a broomstick handle. The wood is easy to cut and shape and drill, and it is plenty strong. Heck, I may even paint it some day.

Paul

[DaveB]

DaveB. I did almost exactly what you are suggesting, except that I used an inch or so of a broomstick handle. The wood is easy to cut and shape and drill, and it is plenty strong. Heck, I may even paint it some day.

Paul

Paul, right after I wrote the posting about using a piece of seatpost I realized anything cylindrical would also work.  Your broomhandle (or a 1" dowel) is certainly a more available than left-over seatposts.

Other suitable adapters could be made from a piece of metal or plastic pipe.

This message was edited by DaveB on 9-19-07 @ 7:46 PM