Can you use standard Handlebar Mounts on the Frame of a Wheelchair
November 21, 2013 6:13 PM Subscribe
I'm looking into easy ways to mount lighting to the frame of my wheelchair. It's easy to purchase items designed to be mounted to the handlebars of a bicycle, but I'm wondering if anyone here has ever used those same mounts to secure something (like a safety light) to the frame of there chair.
Kind of pricey, but super cool: http://shop.glowcandybikelights.com/collections/all
EL Wire is also pretty awesome looking, and very adaptable http://www.elbestbuy.com/
posted by moonlight on vermont at 9:42 PM on November 21, 2013
EL Wire is also pretty awesome looking, and very adaptable http://www.elbestbuy.com/
posted by moonlight on vermont at 9:42 PM on November 21, 2013
I use a regular flashlight attached with a mini bungee cord. Easy to take on and off.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:43 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by a humble nudibranch at 9:43 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I have never ever seen a bike headlight, or even a tail light that didn't at the very least have a setup like (=) where the left bracket was just a curved piece of metal/plastic, the = was bolts, and the right piece was the bit the light was on. This obviously could just be clamped down on any size tube even if it didn't perfectly fit in the cups.
However, nearly all the lights i've seen had some variation of a cinching down strap design, or came with lots of rubber shims down to a very thin thickness so that they could fit any size bars. I've seen people jimmy these on to anything from the sides of forks to various bits of the frame, and even the center of hubs.
This is coming from someone who has always played fast and loose with the irritating minor size differences between handlebars, stems, and things that mount on them though. And i've found that most of the time, most things will fit on most things with some minor jimmy rigging.
Above all else though, i'd just go down to your local bike shop and explain your situation and plan to them. I bet they'd let you play around with a bunch of the shop demo models, and this time of year assuming you're in the northern hemisphere they're probably bored shitless behind the counter and would love something to do to kill the time.
posted by emptythought at 2:33 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
However, nearly all the lights i've seen had some variation of a cinching down strap design, or came with lots of rubber shims down to a very thin thickness so that they could fit any size bars. I've seen people jimmy these on to anything from the sides of forks to various bits of the frame, and even the center of hubs.
This is coming from someone who has always played fast and loose with the irritating minor size differences between handlebars, stems, and things that mount on them though. And i've found that most of the time, most things will fit on most things with some minor jimmy rigging.
Above all else though, i'd just go down to your local bike shop and explain your situation and plan to them. I bet they'd let you play around with a bunch of the shop demo models, and this time of year assuming you're in the northern hemisphere they're probably bored shitless behind the counter and would love something to do to kill the time.
posted by emptythought at 2:33 AM on November 22, 2013 [4 favorites]
We have done this with a number of different lights. Many lights these days are sold with stretchy rubber attachments instead of hard plastic. I really like the Serfas Thunderbolt. It's USB rechargeable, super bright and uses stretchy rubber to attach it. My wife has one attached to the much bigger tubing of her bike's head tube using a piece of elastic we had at home.
posted by advicepig at 8:46 AM on November 22, 2013
posted by advicepig at 8:46 AM on November 22, 2013
Much like the Serfas Thunderbolt, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the knog blinder. Mine is in my pocket right now to be recharged, but it's stretchy and I fit it around my fork and move it between several of my bikes. It's bright! They're pricey (but I own a bike shop so I bought myself one), but worth it. Try local bike shops, sometimes they can price match Amazon for lights and you can check it out right there!
posted by kpht at 1:09 PM on November 22, 2013
posted by kpht at 1:09 PM on November 22, 2013
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As a result, many modern LED lights designed for bicycles can handle various sized bars.
Examples:
- stretchy style
- adjusting mount (I own one of these, so I know it's adjustable)
I would guess that wheelchair pipes would be compatible with many of these.posted by sarah_pdx at 6:31 PM on November 21, 2013 [1 favorite]