[OrRando] Ixon Headlight bracket failure

[Lynne Fitzsimmons]

You might look here for various headlight mounting solutions.  My current s=
olution was incredibly inexpensive (free bracket pieces from the bike store=
, some hacksaw and grinder work; purchasing a couple of p-clamps and nylok =
nuts and bolts from the local Ace Hardware), and that light isn't going any=
where.  It is essentially the Terracycles mount, only not costing $35.00.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/554659@N24/

Not going to stop me from buying the Velo Orange front rack w/integral deca=
leur when it comes available, though :-)

Lynne F

ps.  I see Peter has the B&M Topfire helmet flashing rear light system.  It=
 weighs *nothing*.  If only there was also a headlight that weighed nothing=
...
  ----- Original Message ----- =

  From: Andrew P. Black =

  To: Oregon area Randonneurs =

  Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2008 11:57 PM
  Subject: [OrRando] Ixon Headlight bracket failure


  Folks,


  I've previously written here enthusiastically about the Busch & M=FCller =
Ixon headlight, which I bought from Peter White last spring.   (http://www.=
peterwhitecycles.com/b&m.asp) I'm still enthusiastic about the light, but l=
ess so about the special-purpose fork mount bracket that I bought at the sa=
me time.


  In case anyone else has bought this bracket, I'm appending a copy of an e=
mail that I just sent to Peter White.  I think that it's self-explanatory.


  Andrew





    Dear Peter,


    You may remember that last April I bought an Ixon light from you, toget=
her with two fork crown brackets.  I subsequently returned one of the brack=
ets, since it wouldn't fit my touring bike (which has caliper brakes).  I s=
ent you photos of the other bracket mounted to the fork crown of my (disk b=
rake equipped) commuter bike (which has 32mm tires and a carbon fiber cyclo=
cross fork).


    I used the light commuting last spring and have been using it this fall=
 and winter.  The light is very good in the dry, even on the unlighted part=
s of my commute.  It's inadequate in the wet, but that probably true of any=
thing, including my car headlights.


    Tonight, about half way home, the bracket failed.  The metal reinforcem=
ent seems to show the characteristic signs of metal fatigue.  I thought tha=
t you would want to hear about this, but looking at your web page tonight, =
it seems that you already know about it.  In fact, since I bought my light,=
 you have added an annotation saying that you don't advise use of this brac=
ket with high pressure tires, because of the vibration.


    In many ways I was lucky.  I was commuting, and not riding a Brevet. I =
wasn't going very fast, the light did not get caught up in my wheels, and I=
 had a Dinotte light on my helmet that enabled me to pick up the pieces and=
 ride home.  Traffic was light.  No one was hurt.  The pieces of the light =
exploded all over the road, but most bounced into the other lane, which was=
 empty.  I was able to retrieve all the bits.  =



    In other ways I was unlucky.  The light is busted, and one of my 2700 N=
iMH cells was run over by a car before I found it.  So, while I'm OK, I'm o=
ut not just a $5 bracket but also a $90 light and a set of cells.


    I suggest that you contact everyone who has purchased this bracket and =
tell them about the failures.  If I had known about them, I would have stop=
ped using it.  I recommend the Terracycle accessory mount instead; because =
it's triangulated, it's a lot less troubled by vibration.


    I'm attaching a photograph of the failure.  I'm sorry that the focus is=
 a bit off; this was the best of about 15 photos.  My auto-focus camera did=
n't want to focus on the part of interest.


    Andrew



  ___________________________________________
  Andrew P. Black
  17788 NW Gilbert Lane
  Portland, OR 97229, USA


  Telephone 503 803 1669




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