Any lights available with metal bracket/body

[The Maestro]

I've gone through about 4 different lights recently all due to the plastic bracket breaking or the light's plastic body cracking. Are there any available made out of something more durable, ideally metal? In the meantime I'm resorting to sticking my lights to the handlebars with duck tape.

 

[torrent99]

I've gone through about 4 different lights recently all due to the plastic bracket breaking or the light's plastic body cracking. Are there any available made out of something more durable, ideally metal? In the meantime I'm resorting to sticking my lights to the handlebars with duck tape.

I remember my dad had some antique everready bike lights once, they were made of metal. Might be a basis for a build your own?

 

[Mussels]

Are you looking for a metal housing to fit your own light or a complete unit?
Decent housings weren't cheap when I was looking for one but most of the high power LED lights are metal as the case doubles up as a heatsink.

 

[The Maestro]

Are you looking for a metal housing to fit your own light or a complete unit?
Decent housings weren't cheap when I was looking for one but most of the high power LED lights are metal as the case doubles up as a heatsink.

Its more the bracket than the housing that tends to break with me although the housing around the slot that goes onto the bracket has broken on one or two. Do the LED ones have a metal bracket? If so got any links ?

 

[Cyclezee]

LUMOTEC IQ Cyo R senso plus

I recently bought one of these from Germany to replace the standard B&M fitted light to my Agattu. Quite expensive, but the best and brightest cycle light I have ever used. Busch & Müller KG

J hn

 

[The Maestro]

I recently bought one of these from Germany to replace the standard B&M fitted light to my Agattu. Quite expensive, but the best and brightest cycle light I have ever used. Busch & Müller KG

J hn

Some of those look like they might be alright but some of them have flimsy looking plastic straps. Some of the ones that look a bit study say 'fits to any standard bracket'. I've no idea what a standard bracket is, all the plastic ones I've had have been different sizes.

 

[Mussels]

I have lost a few lights as the weak brackets have broken, seems that they just aren't built for our quality British roads. The answer for me was to get a light that is attached to a seperate battery box by an umbilical cord. The light unit on the bar is fairly lightweight and the heavy batteries are tied onto the stem with a strong elastic strap, any heavy shock is absorbed by the elastic strap rather than the light mounting.
Something like below (I'm not recommending that one, it's just an example)

 

[WALKERMAN]

I remember my dad had some antique everready bike lights once, they were made of metal. Might be a basis for a build your own?

I used to have one of these about 50 years ago. They were originally metal bodied (later plastic) and pushed on to a metal bracket on one side of the front fork or on a similar bracket on the handlebar stem. They were much more durable than modern lights.

Last week I hit a slight bump in the road and the Halfords Bikehut front light jumped out of its mounting and smashed in to 6 pieces. It cost about £35 and hadn't been used much. Got in touch with Halfords to be informed they don't supply replacement clear lens. Really annoyed

I am now using Cateye lights which seem to be of better quality and a bit stronger.

 

[The Maestro]

I used to have one of these about 50 years ago. They were originally metal bodied (later plastic) and pushed on to a metal bracket on one side of the front fork or on a similar bracket on the handlebar stem. They were much more durable than modern lights.

Last week I hit a slight bump in the road and the Halfords Bikehut front light jumped out of its mounting and smashed in to 6 pieces. It cost about £35 and hadn't been used much. Got in touch with Halfords to be informed they don't supply replacement clear lens. Really annoyed

I am now using Cateye lights which seem to be of better quality and a bit stronger.

Yes I remember metal lights and brackets on the front stem vaguely too. Some of the lights from that German company look like they are designed to fit onto a similar metal bracket to the ones I remember from years ago. I suspect the Germans never moved away from them since they probably know how to spot cheap plastic junk that may be twice as cheap but you'll go through 5 times as many of them so the plastic ones end up costing more.

I'm very surprised there isn't a metal bracket and light available in the UK, I'm sure it must be a fairly common problem.

 

[Mussels]

Yes I remember metal lights and brackets on the front stem vaguely too. Some of the lights from that German company look like they are designed to fit onto a similar metal bracket to the ones I remember from years ago. I suspect the Germans never moved away from them since they probably know how to spot cheap plastic junk that may be twice as cheap but you'll go through 5 times as many of them so the plastic ones end up costing more.

I'm very surprised there isn't a metal bracket and light available in the UK, I'm sure it must be a fairly common problem.

Metal brackets may be better than cheap plastic junk but are they better than well designed plastic brackets? If not that would explain why you can't find them for sale, maybe you need to spend a bit more money.

 

[Alex728]

I used to have one of these about 50 years ago. They were originally metal bodied (later plastic) and pushed on to a metal bracket on one side of the front fork or on a similar bracket on the handlebar stem. They were much more durable than modern lights.

I remember seeing these on bicycles as made as late as the 1980s - Also 3 volt batteries for these lamps, both of which are no longer made these days (I think the bike manufacturers stopped supplying bikes with these brackets).

That said, I've never had a Cateye lamp come adrift and thats even when riding a 700c x 28 wheeled tourer on the Ridgeway in darkness and somewhat less than sober back when I lived in Reading...

 

[flecc]

I used to have one of these about 50 years ago. They were originally metal bodied (later plastic) and pushed on to a metal bracket on one side of the front fork or on a similar bracket on the handlebar stem.

 

[rog_london]

About as irrelevant and off-topic as you could imagine.....

When I was a kid (around the age of five) my Dad used to work for the electricity board as a meter reader. One of the 'perks' of the job was an unlimited supply of torch bulbs and three-volt cycle lamp batteries. Money was tight, and so come Christmas we had quite a good set of Christmas tree lights - hand painted torch bulbs soldered in series by hand, and a stack of three-volt batteries, also wired in series.....

I suppose if electric bikes had been around then my Dad would have had some home made contraption, probably involving a sewing machine motor and a dirty great rheostat. I shudder to think what he might have come up with for a battery, though.

 

[The Maestro]

Metal brackets may be better than cheap plastic junk but are they better than well designed plastic brackets? If not that would explain why you can't find them for sale, maybe you need to spend a bit more money.

Maybe but they weren't that cheap, well 2 of them weren't. Infact the only one I've got left is one I bought from Aldi for about £3 which is ok but its not very bright and eats batteries!

Anyway metal > plastic

 

[The Maestro]

Where does the candle go?

 

[flecc]

Where does the candle go?

 

[Bigbee]

fork handles?