Bike light security
As someone who rides (and drives) frequently at night, I'm always amazed by the number of bikers who have no lights. In fact, in certain areas -- Logan Square and Wicker Park, I'm looking at you -- the bikers seem to take a perverse pride in not having any lights or reflectors AND dressing in all-black or dark-colored outfits. I note from photos that the vast majority of bikers in accidents at night do not appear to have had proper illumination, if indeed any. I really believe that the amount of casualties and fatalities could be decreased substantially if everyone followed the requirement of the Chicago bike ordinance: "Every bicycle when in use at nighttime shall be equipped with a head lamp which shall emit a white light visible from a minimum distance of 500 feet from the front and with a rear red reflector capable of reflecting the head lamp beams of an approaching motor vehicle back to the operator of such vehicle at distances up to 200 feet or a rear lamp emitting a red light visible from a distance of at least 200 feet from the rear."
An excuse I hear from the lightless is that someone might steal their lights or have stolen their lights before. Now, on its face that is a feeble reason to not have lights. If someone broke my car headlight, I wouldn't just give up. I'd replace it, because safety is at issue. Nonetheless, I have learned over the years (and yes, after having many lights stolen) that there are reasonably effective ways to secure one's light in the big city.
A very cost-efficient way to have a decent headlight is to simply mount a small, powerful LED flashlight (or two) to your handlebars. There are zillions of them available on ebay, Deal Extreme, etc., in the $20.00 range or even lower. Look for Cree emitters -- those are the good ones. The brand of flashlight isn't so important, although of course more money buys a better light. A Cree-based flashlight with a single rechargeable 18650 battery is light in weight, bright, and way better than nothing. I like the ones with the adjustable zoom feature, which enables you to control the size of your headlight beam. They are only a few dollars more.
The security angle is this: You install them using hose clamps from AutoZone, or wherever this particular type is available:
They come in packages of two. Buy a size that will fit both your handlebar and around the barrel of your flashlight. Then mount the light like this:
Use an old piece of inner tube or any piece of rubber under the bottom clamp to protect your handlebars and enable adjustability. Tighten that lower clamp so it won't slip, but not so tight that you can't move the flashlight up and down by hand. You will find that this system is more secure than any flashlight mount you can buy, and surprisingly flexible.
The reason that you use the Koehler clamps, not the kind shown in the picture, is that you can pull the plastic key off the Koehlers, leaving a little square piece of metal with no screwdriver groove that would be cramped and difficult to turn even with pliers, and which will not fit a conventional socket or wrench. In other words, without that plastic key it's damn tough to loosen those clamps. If you can't loosen the clamps, you can't steal the flashlight.
I'm not saying this system is foolproof, but, knock on wood, I've never had a light that was installed this way stolen, and I've had my bike locked up for hours, even at night, in some fairly gritty places. It is doubtful that someone is going to try and unscrew the end cap just to steal that or your battery. At least, I've never had that happen. And, it's the best and tightest mount you'll ever have. Finally, this way you don't have to remember to take your light off the bike or put it back on.
I take no credit for this general idea -- I found it on the web. However, using the special keyed clamps is my own concept, and it's important. Anyone with a screwdriver can remove a standard clamp rather quickly. Not so the ones I recommend.
As far as rear lights are concerned, a blinky is worth a thousand reflectors to me, although some might disagree. Forget about the easy-off mount that comes with them. With those, the blinkies just fly off when you hit a bump. If you have a rack, open the light up, take the circuit board out, and drill a small hole in the back. Bolt it to the back of your rack, which usually has a provision for just that. Then, put a cable tie around the entire blinky assembly each time you change the batteries (or slide the old and reuse it) and tighten the heck out of it. Again, while not perfect, this is reasonably effective. A thief would have to break off most of the light to remove it, and the cable tie would have to be cut or pried off. Also, the cable tie keeps the front of the blinky from popping off when you hit a bad bump. If you have to use the quick-release mount, try two cable ties as well. I haven't had a rear light stolen yet with this arrangement and a rack.
I hope this benefits someone, especially with regard to the too-often-missing front light. It has worked for me for many years. Also, with the key it only takes a minute to remove the flashlight and use it for general purposes. Cheers!
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on
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Great idea, Jim! Totally agree on being well-lit and wearing light colored/reflective clothing at night. Those keyed clamps are really interesting. I wonder if you could develop a tamper-resistant saddle leash with those as well, to keep your saddle, or other parts like a rack or pannier, from being stolen.
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Permalink Reply by Michelle Milham on
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I... don't get why it's so hard to have lights you take off of your bike?
I have these:
https://www.serfas.com/products/view/668/ -- one white in front, one red in back
They are REALLY bright (actually, I only EVER use them on the lower setting) and they are REALLY easy to take off, they are REALLY light and take up no room at all in my cycling bag.
Like... yeah lights can get stolen. Dont let them get stolen by leaving them there?
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Permalink Reply by Lisa Curcio on
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Because some of us are not smart enough to remember to take the things with us, especially during the day. (Looking in the mirror here.) I like the set up!
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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on
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Yeah I'd love not have to remove my lights every single time I lock up....
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I am USUALLY terrible about this sort of thing (I think my motto might be "where are my keys, I lost my phone" from "Just Dance" by lady gaga...) but I am SUPER paranoid about getting shit stolen from me because I bought nice stuff for my bike and can't afford to replace it. Or my bike really...
I swear I check on my bike 100x a day at work, and each time I check to see if I forgot anything attached to it.
Lisa Curcio 4.1 mi said:Because some of us are not smart enough to remember to take the things with us, especially during the day. (Looking in the mirror here.) I like the set up!
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Permalink Reply by Rich S on
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I think most ninja riders just don't realize how invisible they are to traffic. I also think most of them are summer type riders that don't put much thought into their bikes or riding.
I can't think of a single experienced biker that I know personally that doesn't use lights at night.
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I've seen people break a chain, loop it around the saddle rails and then down through the rear triangle and reattach the link.
Unless someone has a chain tool, the seat's not going anywhere.
I suppose you could do the same with your rack, but go around the seat stays instead.
Thunder Snow said:Great idea, Jim! Totally agree on being well-lit and wearing light colored/reflective clothing at night. Those keyed clamps are really interesting. I wonder if you could develop a tamper-resistant saddle leash with those as well, to keep your saddle, or other parts like a rack or pannier, from being stolen.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on
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You're right -- but people, including myself, might forget to take the light off the bike. And then it's gone. Also, I don't like the rattliness of a lot of light mounts. Thirdly, my method is really inexpensive. But, your point is well-taken. I'm taking a shot with one of those easily-removable, rubber-strap held lights right now. We'll see how like I manage to keep it!
rwein5 said:Virtually 100% of bike lights sold today are designed to be removed easily from the bike. Installation is a breeze on just about all of these as well.
Why not just get one designed for the job and take it with you after you lock up?
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That a great idea, especially for items like saddles or racks that ordinarily don't have to be removed.that don't. You could simply put the end loop around the body of the clamp and tighten it. It would be just as hard to loosen that as to cut the cable on a typical leash, I think.
Thunder Snow said:Great idea, Jim! Totally agree on being well-lit and wearing light colored/reflective clothing at night. Those keyed clamps are really interesting. I wonder if you could develop a tamper-resistant saddle leash with those as well, to keep your saddle, or other parts like a rack or pannier, from being stolen.
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Those are nice lights, but they're about a third as bright as the system I described, have no zoom function, and cost twice as much. Also, people like me forget to remove their lights despite their best intentions, and then they're gone. In a perfect world, or if I were perfect and always acted perfectly, I would agree with you. For you, your lights are great. I'm just suggesting another way.
Michelle Milham said:I... don't get why it's so hard to have lights you take off of your bike?
I have these:
https://www.serfas.com/products/view/668/ -- one white in front, one red in back
They are REALLY bright (actually, I only EVER use them on the lower setting) and they are REALLY easy to take off, they are REALLY light and take up no room at all in my cycling bag.
Like... yeah lights can get stolen. Dont let them get stolen by leaving them there?
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Permalink Reply by Josh L. on
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There is a very nice front LED bike light that doubles as a flashlight. It comes with a very nice front mount. Powerful Front LIght. This thing is incredibly powerful and comes right off.
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Permalink Reply by We all have an inner Beast... on
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I ride with some Axiom rechargeable lights (got them on sale during 2 Christmases ago). They are easy to install (a rubber strap, and are easy to take off (red rear has a small lever to release it, the from one is on a piece of velcro attached to my helmet or just use the rubber strap).
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