Trust issues with carbon fiber headlight brackets

[Rudemouthsky]

Seemed like a great idea at the time but now I'm not so sure. If one of these snapped I'd lose about a $600 investment between my carbon bucket, billet adapter ring, and Truck-Lite. Not to mention the obvious safety hazard. The coated metal brackets on the other hand ain't going anywhere. Would you trust em? They feel so brittle and light. And I doubt there's a measurable way of figuring their actual tensile strength and how much force in psi is being applied. I'd guess the forks would absorb most of that force. Something to be paranoid about or no?

[stopintime]

You already know the answer 

Put them on, see what happens.

I would check around the bolt holes for cracks as time goes, but it's not like they're going to snap suddenly...
You're still using the rubber, right?

[Rudemouthsky]

You're still using the rubber, right?

Oh fer sure. I'm even looking for ways to add more rubber grommets plus those sleeve bearings. I love the U bracket,  never understood why so many ppl don't.

[Spdu4ia]

I wouldn't worry , f1 and nasa use carbon for that very reason of strength.

[Howie]

Are these brackets a brand that has been in production for a while?  Reputable source?  Many sold?  How the brackets will hold up in service has to do with manufacturing process, something we cannot tell from the photo.  Important is to touch up any scratches that are deep enough to expose the fiber.  If you want to use them just follow stopintime's advice.  Long trip?  Pack the metal ones in your luggage.

[Rudemouthsky]

Are these brackets a brand that has been in production for a while?  Reputable source?  Many sold?  How the brackets will hold up in service has to do with manufacturing process, something we cannot tell from the photo.  Important is to touch up any scratches that are deep enough to expose the fiber.  If you want to use them just follow stopintime's advice.  Long trip?  Pack the metal ones in your luggage.

Nope, far from it, just some guy in Italy that makes em by hand!

Pics were just to show how purdy they are which explains the risk taking.

[Two dogs]

I made a set myself cause Im cheap  using the OEM brackets as a template , just wet lay up of
four sheets of CF with a layer of 4oz cloth on the outside using PU resin, they are really really thin and light
and have been on for two years without an issue.

[Rudemouthsky]

I made a set myself cause I'm cheap

That's not the only reason you made em yourself or even the main one...you're one of those damn people with skills They look good, nice work!

I got a pretty good deal on these. $75 USD and they are extremely nice. One day I'll make an attempt at DIY'ing some carbon goodies. I'd love me a carbon air box! And brackets galore.

they are really really thin and light
and have been on for two years without an issue

That's the kind of feedback I wanted to hear, someone with FHE.

[Case S2R]

Like two dogs, I also made a set of carbon headlight brackets for myself.  First set were too thin and the headlight would shake, you could not see it during the day time but at night you could see it in the reflection on street signs.  I copied the thickness of the factory aluminum mounts on the first try.  I then laid up a few more layers and they are very solid.  I was surprised to see how many layers I had to use to make em stiff.

To answer your question,
A) You need to break both mounts at once to really cause damage, and they are tied together so the strength is doubled/triangulated
B) You will see the flex as your headlight hits street signs when you ride at night.  This will give you an indication how much they move with air pressure
C) If they were built with "good" carbon they will flex quite a bit before they break, more than you would give them credit for.

I think you are fine but test em out to see for sure, I think you are fairly safe,
Case

[Rudemouthsky]

Thanks for the additional feedback Case.

Some of you may think it's something of a silly question, and I probably wouldn't even be asking it if I was using the OE headlight. I have a Truck-Lite LED, which is absurdly heavy as you can see;





almost an extra 2 lbs.  Hence the rationale for the carbon bucket and brackets...to offset that weight somewhat. I guess I wasn't expecting them to feel so...brittle. I imagined there would be a bit of flex to them and there isn't, so the concern is that they would break before bending. But I don't think I'll lose any sleep over it.

[Bill in OKC]

I cannot see how thick the cf is on your brackets - I have a set that is thicker than I was expecting.  I cannot remember where they came from but I am sure they are as strong as the stock ones. no flex at all in them. 

[Rudemouthsky]

Someone skool me...wouldn't you *want* a bit of flex in a piece like this?  I don't know anything about carbon fiber

[stopintime]

Someone skool me...wouldn't you *want* a bit of flex in a piece like this?  I don't know anything about carbon fiber

Have you seen the video of the guy bouncing a BST? They sound almost like a crystal bowl when you tap them, but have just enough flex not to brake upon 'reasonable' impact.

[Two dogs]

Ah yes as Case S2r mentioned this refreshed my memory.
The first set I did were too thin and did flex and at night the light beam was shaky .
I wedged a piece of thick foam behind the light too stop this , but eventually made another set
which I have on now and are a few layers thicker .
I have never had a set of the ones you showed in your photo in my hands but if they are resonably stiff
you shouldn't have an issue.

[Bill in OKC]

I figured out that I bought my brackets from Chris at DesmoWorld, I think he was a sponsor at the time.  On the website it says they are 3.2mm thick and weigh 85 gm/pair.