Mounting DS-500 Taillight

[SpinningSprockets]

I'm considering purchasing the DesignShine DS-500 taillight but I'm concerned about the mounting brackets so I'm looking for some feedback from someone who owns one. It appears that the bracket sticks out relatively far from the edge of the seat post (3/4" or more?). Is there any issue with hitting the bracket with your leg as you pedal? If so, is it better to mount on the seat stay instead of the seat post?
Has anyone ever mounted it to the back of a rear rack and if so, how?

Thanks!

[Stephen]

Hey SpinningSprockets,
I can tell you that I've never heard anyone comment that there was ever an issue with leg strike. When I run on the seatpost, I can't even touch it with my leg if I try. That's not to say that there might not be some geometries out there that might have a bit less clearance, but in general, you should have not problem with a seat post mount. The light essentially "drafts" behind the seatpost, being almost directly on the center line. It's only the small thickness of the mount itself that sticks out, like you say, somewhere that 3/4 to 1" range (haven't really measured).

Lots of options for mounting on the racks, such as this... which maintains the quick-release function. I've had some customers make some pretty cool custom brackets as well. The seat rail mount, although pricey, is also very cool.

[SpinningSprockets]

Thanks for the response Stephen. It's the 3/4" thickness to the side of the seat post that concerns me. I've had issues w/ leg strike with other things mounted to my seat post (such as the Topeak MTX rack). I think it's because I'm short and have a fairly small frame; there's only 4" between the top of my seat post clamp to the bottom of my saddle rails which means the light would be mounted relatively close to the seat and subsequently, my thighs. The seat stay mounting would probably work for me but since the bikes I'd be using it on all have different angles on the seat stays I assume I'd have to change the angle of the bracket each time? Any concerns w/ longevity if I'm adjusting the angle of the arm that attaches to the light every time I switch between bikes?

The seat rail mount you mentioned looks slick but that'd be pretty pricey to put it on multiple bikes.

Have you tried mounting the light w/ the Cateye H34 mount? I assume that would work the same as the H31 or 32 but it looks like it may have a slightly lower profile.

Thanks!

[Stephen]

Hey SS,
Your bike geometry is very similar to my wife's bike... so just out of curiosity, I installed an H32 at the bottom of the seat post and measured and it sticks out just under 3/4". Visually it looks to have about the same horizontal spacing as do the seat stays, although they are about 2 inches below the top tube. I can sit on the bike and force my leg to just touch it, but while doing a normal spin on the bike, I never touch it. Normally, I mount hers on the seat stay because the 4" or so of seat post is largely taken up by the saddle bag. It looks completely doable to me, but you'd have to be the final judge. Of course you can always just try one out if you like and see how it goes. I pretty much sell every light as a no obligation 30-day demo, so if it just doesn't fit the the bill, you simply send it back for a full refund. I'll try to post a picture here when I get a chance.
Cheers!

P.S. Forgot to mention about the adjustability/longevity issue. Pretty much there is nothing to wear out. You just have to loosen and tighten one set screw which bottoms out on solid (and anodized) aluminum. It takes very little torque on the set screw to lock everything in place. You just have to keep that 2mm (5/64") Allen wrench handy. You may find that if the angle change is not too severe you may be able to make up the difference just in the normal vertical adjustability of the mount itself.

[SpinningSprockets]

Hi,
I thought I'd supply a follow up post on the light mounting now that I've had it for over a year. I found on several of my bikes that if I mounted the light on my seat post my leg would rub the mounting bracket every pedal stroke. This only happens on bikes where the seat post isn't extended out from the frame more than 4" inches. Even so, I found that the seat stay mounting worked out great on those bikes. On bikes w/ more seat post sticking out (like a mountain bike) I had no problem w/ the seat post mount.

I've been super happy with the light. Great design!