Can anyone recommend a LED front light for Brompton (S Type) that can remain attached when the bike is folded and works well for commuting in town?
The folding causes problems in that anything protruding more than a couple of centimeters forwards of the stem and bars hits the spokes of the front wheel when the handlebars are folded down.
There is the official Brompton light set, but I wondering about other options.
The Brompton-listed set use a Busch & Muller lights - the IQ Cyo with the SON and one of the halogen lights with the Shimano. All of the B&M lights use the same front mounting bracket to the top of the fork crown, so it looks like any of them would work.
Those brackets are also fairly easy to come by, and you could pretty easily modify any handlebar light to mount there as well - a piece of tubing and a bolt would be all it takes. Or you can buy the official B&M one.
As far as recommendations, it really depends on your price sensitivity and how much lighting you need. I really like the IQ Cyo, but at over $100USD it's pricy. Of course, compared to the $200 EDelux, that's a bargain.
Light & Motion makes a headlight, side markers and tail light that straps to your helmet called the Vis 360. That might be a better option so you don't have to worry about the lights getting into the way of the folding.
Looking at the pictures, it appears that just about any brake bolt mounted light should be adaptable, though you might have to craft your own bracket. But note that even the illustrated lights look like they'd interfere with mounting a front bag on that bracket above the lights.
This is the main conflict you run into with lights -- they interfere with mounting handlebar bags and the like, and even if there's no mechanical interference a bag is apt to block the light.
If all you want is to be visible to others at night you can get one of these: http://www.mec.ca/AST/ShopMEC/Cycling/Lights/PRD~5021-941/nite-ize-bikelit-led-bicycle-light.jsp
I have one hanging on the front cable of my Brompton M6R. Another alternative is to get a "headlamp". These are LED lights that strap to your head and are very popular with hikers, campers, and cavers. They range in output from a few lumens to hundreds of lumens.
I have a SON Edelux (first generation) on my Brompton (which has a SON hub dynamo), because the original halogen head light was not bright enough for my tastes.
Since the SON Edelux is more compact than the original halogen head light, there is no issue at all with folding.
But initially I mounted the Edelux with the Brompton's original head light mount and that one was too weak. The one which came with the Edelux was way more stable, but less easier to mount to the Brompton as it was made out of much thicker material. Worked nevertheless.
I don't want to miss my Edelux, but maybe I'll switch to it's successor, the even more bright SON Edelux II, in the future. :-)
The B&M fork mount adapter not only fits B&M battery lights, but also works with Planet Bike Blaze and a few other inexpensive lights. This fork-crown mount is the same location that Brompton provides lights for, so it shouldn't interfere with folding.
