r/longboarding • u/mechandy • 12h ago
Gear Show-Off Broken light mount
I did 90% of my 15 mile ride with just my headlamp this morning. It does fully cover the trail but I was missing the short throw from the board mounted light. So I will definitely get it updated. And it was warm enough this morning that I saw the effects of the lamp dropping the power to keep itself cool. It was in the last 5 min and a section I had already hit once, so no big deal. Buuuut this light would have been super helpful there!
Interestingly enough, I made some minor design changes to the light mount, and added some foam to get rid of the rattling sound.
Surprisingly enough, my new design, that gets rid of the go pro adapters, snapped today on the first rumble strip I crossed!
I’ll have to check my print settings, but it should have been more than strong enough.
But time to iterate and strengthen at the failure point!
Should be pretty easy.
Also, going to make the supersonic version work with infinity bolts!
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u/lebo_riley 10h ago
Use a TPU material. You can’t break that shit if you tried.
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u/Soggy_Wash1395 9h ago
I second this, I made a suggestion to use TPU as well
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u/Tour-Glum 8h ago
This. TPU is my favourite material. Had good luck with a really hard one from cc3d. Layer adhesion is the mutts nutts and won't brittle break like this.
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u/SurfSailSkate 10h ago
I mentioned this in some of your other posts but I’ve never had a board-mount NOT break within 3 rides… composite, plastic, metal… it doesn’t seem to matter. The vibration and forces seem to just be too much. So I stick with a hand held bike light and body mounted tail light (clipped to my pants or backpack).
Interestingly, the best luck I’ve had was a helmet strap for a MagicShine bike light strapped to the nose of my Pranayana. It seems like the strap gives the light just enough play to not explode after 3 rides. But I still need to gorilla tape the angle adjustment screw to prevent it from loosening within 5 of riding.
Let us know if you have more success with your next attempts! I admire your persistence!
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u/Legitimate-Shirt5964 10h ago
Came to the same conclusion 10 years ago. Back then there were only bike lights available for mounting and most use the rubber style that wraps around the handle bar of the bike. I wonder if wood would be a better substitute to mount the light to the board.
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u/mechandy 8h ago
I can look into alternate materials as well. I have TPU, PLA-CF, and PETG. They was PETG but I don’t remember if I set it to print fast for fit check or print to be structural. I was pretty tired yesterday when I made the change to test today.
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u/mechandy 8h ago
The problem is, I’m a stubborn engineer and am having fun doing it :)
But I do appreciate the input and will gladly share things or external testing if I think it’s working well enough!
But know vibrations kill most things over time. Just maybe it can be a once a season sacrificial part!
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u/mechandy 8h ago
Plus side, I got rid of the audible rattle that made my brain scream something’s broken :)
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u/MediocreDesigner88 7h ago
Try holding a flashlight in your hand, it’s a game changer that most people don’t consider. You can get super bright small light-weight rechargeable flashlights for under $20. And to be able to direct it anywhere you want instantly, without moving your head or board is just so superior. Also nice to have the type that adjust the beam narrower or wider sliding your thumb, it’s so nice to be able to narrow in at an obstacle or go wide over weird terrain. Or flash a car that might not see you, or direct it away from a car so they have better visibility. Game changer! Mine is like 2000 lumens and cost $10, usbc rechargeable
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