Best DIY Bike Lighting System Ever!

Good morning from the Under Town Coffee House in quiet downtown Port Townsend!

Since I'm still in the dark for my Winter morning commutes, up here in the dark Pacific North West, I figured I'd put up a post on the "BEST DIY Bike Light System EVER! that I came up with a number of years ago and have been using on my bikes ever since........

This system has the benefit of costing "hundreds of dollars" less than the "pro" rechargeable lighting systems and yet it still puts out the same amount of light (you can always use rechargeable batteries if you want)! It is quick and easy to install, can be removed in a snap, and takes standard AA batteries which are easy to replace when you're out on the road (if your rechargeable "pro" light goes dead, you're literally left "in the dark"). You can use one light for use on the bike and in camp for those of you who do bike trekking. If your light goes bad, you can adapt any type of flashlight at hand using the same method. I'm sure there are tons of other reasons to use this lighting system, but these reasons pop right out, ........

Here' s how it works.......... I take a Pelican Light flashlight and attach a length of mountain bike inner tube as a strap. I then strap the light around the steering tube-stem of the bike and away I go!

Here are the details:

1. Pelican Light flashlights work the very best. They are very bright, waterproof, dependable, take standard AA batteries and have a squared profile with flat sides on the body.

2. Use a couple of short "tube" pieces of inner tube to go around the flashlight body to give it grip and to protect the bike stem.

3. Cut your holes in the tube "strap" very cleanly so the tubing does not tear out when it is stretched. Be sure to make the strap tight enough so that it keeps the light snug when it's on the bike... this will allow you to adjust the beam direction and hold it there through the rough sections of the trail.

4. Leave a "tail" of tubing at the loose end of the tube "strap" so you have something to pull on when stretching the strap around the stem to attach the light.

You can run with a second light (that's what I do), by using a length of bungee cord to attach a second Pelican Light to the other side of the stem using the first light as the anchor point..... just look close at the double light photo and I think you'll get the idea.

Now get out there and RIDE!