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Every taillight I've owned has mounted to the seat post, but when I load my rear rack the seatpost light is no longer visible. Instead, I'd like to mount a light to the rear of my rack, which has a single centered screw hole for mounting a light. What kinds of lights can I mount with this kind of setup? Are there lights specifically designed to be mounted on the back of a rack with a single screw?

The best picture I can find is below:

Surly Rear Rack

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  • I think the mounting hole in your rack was intended for a red rear reflector.
    – Criggie ♦
    Oct 9, 2015 at 10:04
  • @Criggie No, it is pretty much tailor-made for a rear light. I'm currently running a Lumotech IQ front and rear light: peterwhitecycles.com/b&m-hl.asp
    – user229044
    Oct 9, 2015 at 10:06

4 Answers 4

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I recently bought a new rack specifically because my old rack had no good spot to attach a light to. Well, that, and it has a broken weld causing it to rattle. The rack I bought is this one. I got the Bontrager Flare 2, which easily attached to the rack with a single bolt. The light has 3 modes, which are steady, strobe, and random. Random works well if you're riding in a group as the light can be too bright otherwise with all the LEDs on at the same time. Also, check out this Tail Light Review on an amazing site. The chart shows which mounting options are included with the light.

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  • That's a great web page! I know when I was hunting for a headlight it was impossible to find decent comparisons -- too bad there's apparently not an companion headlight page.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Aug 29, 2012 at 1:19
  • Dang - was going to post a link to my own review, but you beat me to it! That's the easiest solution for sure.
    – nhinkle
    Aug 29, 2012 at 18:43
  • Oh, this is funny. I actually wound up buying this light prior to reading this answer. Unfortunately it failed, the screw ripped the metal mount out of the plastic backing on the light.
    – user229044
    Dec 6, 2012 at 15:28
  • I actually had a similar problem with the screw ripping out of the mount on my light I have since replaced it with the Blackburn Central 20 which has a clip which can also be used to mount it to the same rack. Have had this one for a couple years now with no problems.
    – Kibbee
    Oct 2, 2017 at 12:46
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Take the bike and your preferred light to a good hardware store. The guy there should find some sort of angle bracket/whatever that (perhaps with a bit of drilling) will hold the two together.

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  • Looks like the threaded hole is pass-though. If so, consider attaching things to the inner side, so the light won't be too easy to hit accidentally.
    – heltonbiker
    Aug 28, 2012 at 19:23
  • I was looking specifically for light suggestions. I'd rather find a light that fits the rack than try to graft something on after the fact.
    – user229044
    Aug 29, 2012 at 0:45
  • I've never had a rear rack light that didn't require some sort of adaptation to make it fit.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Aug 29, 2012 at 1:15
  • FWIW I recently attempted to attach a light to my rack with an extremely robust angle bracket. The one that came with the light was thin and would bend down after a few km. However, after ~100 km, the new bracket just snapped off, and I lost my light. I only ride roads, but I think the forces are so strong that you need a fairly flexible bracket.
    – Sparhawk
    Jun 11, 2016 at 1:38
  • @Sparhawk - The only time I've ever had a light snap off it was a headlight, on a relatively flimsy bracket. I was riding US 52 south from Fargo, ND into Minnesota and it snapped off, dangling on the power lead. (It was a generator-based unit.) When I got home I went to a bike shop and the guy dug around and found a better bracket, though it was 90 degrees off in it's orientation. I heated the piece with a torch to soften it, then twisted the arm 90 degrees. That unit lasted at least 5 years, until I got a different light.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Jun 11, 2016 at 2:34
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Find a bolt that fits the thread and diameter that is about 2" long, then some 1.25" washers, and a 1" diameter PVC x 2" long. Bolting the PVC to my rack gave me plenty of space to use any light I wanted with ease.

I don't have a photo of this, but I have this on two of my racks and love it. I break lights from time to time (mainly in storage or locking up), and the flexibility to use what ever light I need/want has been huge.

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Here's my suggestion: you'll need one piece of 1" PVC plumbing pipe, and two end caps to suit. Probably want some sealant too, or get threadded end caps.

I suggest a 1" tube because its a standard size, and many older seat posts are 1", so light clamps should work at this size. Its very commonly white too which helps visibility, but you could paint it once assembled.

The only gotcha is if the clamp of the light is angled to account for the seat post angle, then the light will end up pointing a little sideways. Answer, get two and point one on either side.

You could even store some small light things inside the tube - tyre lever perhaps ?

Does this make sense?

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