Days have gotten shorter, and how should we pierce the inky blackness? With a headlight of course, which the Firefly's designers helpfully included. But the original location, so close to the ground was not ideal, and the battery above forced a near horizontal beam direction. The shallow angle illuminated the ground in front poorly, and rudely shone up into people's faces. For illumination and civility, it's better to place the light higher up and direct it downward.
Placing the Firefly's lamp higher, required disconnecting its
HIGO connector and unscrewing from the mount. Then I cut the cable halfway between connector and lamp, to splice in a few feet of extension (without crossing the wires). Finally, I took an attachment clamp from an old bike reflector, to mount the lamp higher on the steerer tube. Now the light is still weak and oddly blue, but it makes a useful bright spot, and shouldn't bother passersby. The old light location is a good spot for a front reflector.
Tools and supplies needed:
- Old bike reflector
- Old USB cable for extension
- Wire cutter / stripper
- Soldering iron
- Heat shrink
- Electrical tape
- Phillips #2 screwdriver
September, 2020 update: At some point, I removed the stock headlight and have been relying on a handlebar-mounted Cateye AMPP800. It is important to point the light downwards, to avoid blinding oncoming pedestrians.
