Fenix handlebar flashlight mount

[TomBrown]

I ordered a couple of Fenix handlebar flashlight mounts for a pair of TrustFire T1 lights. The mounts looked great online and a couple of forum members spoke highly of them.

I'll be brief. The mounts are garbage.

They don't hold the bar firmly enough. Even with the rather small and light T1 lights, they would point up or down after every bump. I used a plier to tighten the plastic tightening knobs but couldn't get them stationary. I also balanced the lights as perfectly as I could.

If you had a front or rear heavy light, I doubt these holders would hold them horizontal, even while stationary.

I tried hockey tape under the mount, as that stuff is pretty grippy and has a pretty course surface, but that wouldn't let them stay in place, either.

The only thing that worked was wrapping the bar, holder, and light, in several rounds of hockey tape. That got me through a ride with no bouncing but I immediately removed the mounts.

I'm gong to stick with my $3 Chinese mounts I got from Emillion's Workshop three years ago. At least they hold the light in place properly.

I would rate these 0 out of 5. These two mounts were a waste of over $50 with shipping.

Perhaps they would hold a single AAA powered light like the L0D it's shown mounting in the illustration but I wouldn't even be sure of that. The pics make it look like they have soft rubber gripping surface but that surface is either really hard rubber or plastic. They are neither soft or grippy.

Stay away.

 

[Jarl]

Thanks for the warning! Glad I got some lockblocks.

You might be able to return them to the dealer you bought them from?

 

[jirik_cz]

Yes, it is junk. There is a lot of room between upper and lower part and the light rattles on every bump. I have also twofish lockblocks and cheap 1,9$ DX holder and they are much better.

 

[TomBrown]

Yes, it is junk. There is a lot of room between upper and lower part and the light rattles on every bump. I have also twofish lockblocks and cheap 1,9$ DX holder and they are much better.

Thanks. I forgot to mention the rattling.

How good is the twofish block? Is there anything available that will hold a Romisen RC-T5?

The RC-T5 is an outstanding bike light but I suspect I will have to build a custom holder for it as it's pretty heavy. It probably weighs as much as a 2C Mag.

 

[Calina]

Kai from Kaidomain is coming out with a good bike light (likely a triple Cree) in about a month.

 

[RGB_LED]

...How good is the twofish block?

TomBrown, I have several twofish blocks which I used during the entire fall 07 season for single-track riding... I also gave a set to some friends of mine to check out as a mount for primary as well as secondary lighting.

I have mounted 1xFenix P3D/1xHuntlight FT01XSE or 2xFenix P3D's or 2xFenix P3D's/helmet-mt PT Apex Pro. I thought that, instead of having a dedicated bike light, I could use these mounts with my existing lights for my night rides. If you don't have a dedicated bike light, they're pretty good and even some of my friends were impressed as a couple of them included a P3D handlebar-mounted light to compliment a halogen helmet light.

But, I've had some problems as my handlebars change diameter from the middle - where they are 31.8" - to the bar-ends where they become a bit more narrow. What happens is that during aggressive single-track descents or riding on rocky terrain, the mounts slip and the lights end up pointing downwards . - that happens even when I crank on the velcro. Not good.

For single-track mountain-biking, I give them a 7.5/10. I plan on doing some 8- and 24-hour races so I've decided that I need a dedicated bike light with a proper handlebar or helmet mount. That said, they are still a good back-up or to compliment a dedicated bike light or to introduce friends to night-riding.

For road-riding, I give it a 9/10. They are a cheap alternative which you can use with existing lights, unobtrusive, easily mount on my bars, don't move (much) and are great overall... I have run into some potholes but they haven't shaken lose... guess a pothole or two is not the same as rocky, twisty switchbacks. I'm not going to give them a 10 I have two minor quibbles: I switch light levels during my road-riding (side streets vs. main roads) and when I hit the clicky switch on the back of my light, the light does move around a bit even though I've cranked down on the velcro. Also, the velcro will eventually wear out.

...Is there anything available that will hold a Romisen RC-T5? The RC-T5 is an outstanding bike light but I suspect I will have to build a custom holder for it as it's pretty heavy. It probably weighs as much as a 2C Mag.

My Huntlight is probably the biggest light that I would use with the Twofish blocks, anything bigger would probably move a bit too much - you might be ok with road-riding but definitely not off-road. Hope that helps.

 

[Jarl]

But, I've had some problems as my handlebars change diameter from the middle - where they are 31.8" - to the bar-ends where they become a bit more narrow. What happens is that during aggressive single-track descents or riding on rocky terrain, the mounts slip and the lights end up pointing downwards . - that happens even when I crank on the velcro. Not good.

A general technique I've found for mounting stuff on bars which change diameter is to do it up fairly tight where the bars are a little smaller diamter, then slide it to the larger diameter section. This gets it tighter than if you tightened it on the larger diameter part (i'm using the lockblock on my helmet, so I haven't tried it with that)

Incidently, I broke the strap on one of my lockblocks by tightening it too much, so be careful. It came apart where the male/female parts of the velcro join.

 

[TONY M]

For some time I have considered making a bikelight out of a RC-T5.

A mount would be great but it is a long flashlight and so even with it in "short" 3x CR123 mode the rear of it would still protrude quite a bit.
I do not have a RC-T5 BTW but I had taken measurements for it on my MTB to see if it would fit nicely just in stock form.

It may make a good mod though with its 4x cree head and floody beam! A 12V lithium battery may do the job well!

I have a cheapie DX mount and it works OK but a bit of DIY may be needed to make it perfect for most lights.

 

[RGB_LED]

A general technique I've found for mounting stuff on bars which change diameter is to do it up fairly tight where the bars are a little smaller diamter, then slide it to the larger diameter section. This gets it tighter than if you tightened it on the larger diameter part (i'm using the lockblock on my helmet, so I haven't tried it with that)

Incidently, I broke the strap on one of my lockblocks by tightening it too much, so be careful. It came apart where the male/female parts of the velcro join.

Thanks Jarl, I tried that last year and it was working quite well... until that one night when I went down a steep slope, disc brakes clamped on full, front shock alternating between fully open to fully compressed, my rear over the back of my seat and my teeth chattering... the velcro on my handlebars became loose and my light pointed downwards in the middle of my descent , if it weren't for my helmet-mounted light, (w/ twofish blocks, which work great in that capacity), I would have been toast. After that close call, I cranked on the velcro and mounted the light under my bars (instead of on top of my bars) but it still let go three times that night...

btw, thanks for the tip about the velcro and potential breakage...

 

[TONY M]

Thanks Jarl, I tried that last year and it was working quite well... until that one night when I went down a steep slope, disc brakes clamped on full, front shock alternating between fully open to fully compressed, my rear over the back of my seat and my teeth chattering... the velcro on my handlebars became loose and my light pointed downwards in the middle of my descent , if it weren't for my helmet-mounted light, (w/ twofish blocks, which work great in that capacity), I would have been toast. After that close call, I cranked on the velcro and mounted the light under my bars (instead of on top of my bars) but it still let go three times that night...

Hehe close call RGB. 2 years ago I was riding behind a friend when going about 25 mph down a fast and very rooty descent. His old Cayeye Stadium's mount was loose and twisted upwards - the beam pointing straight into his face! He made it safely but only after going over the bars and straight into a muddy puddle! :laughing: He was just relieved not to hit a tree at that speed but boy was he covered in mud!

 

[Art Vandelay]

With a P2D, it works for me. My handlebar may be thicker than the people who have had trouble with this. What I don't like about the handlebar mount is the orange color of the screws. I also would prefer metal, or another plastic that feels more substantial.

 

[kaichu dento]

Well this is kind of a bummer since I was planning on getting one of these, but then I'm lucky to find out about its lack of performance before buying.

Thanks for the review

 

[RGB_LED]

Hehe close call RGB. 2 years ago I was riding behind a friend when going about 25 mph down a fast and very rooty descent. His old Cayeye Stadium's mount was loose and twisted upwards - the beam pointing straight into his face! He made it safely but only after going over the bars and straight into a muddy puddle! :laughing: He was just relieved not to hit a tree at that speed but boy was he covered in mud!

:huh:OMG. Well, at least he had a good story for the pub afterwards...

I had a spill sort of like that last year during one of my night rides but it wasn't due to malfunctioning lights... I was trying to catch my buddy who raced ahead so I was screaming down a loose gravel double-track, turned a corner wide, saw a dark patch in front of me and a log in the middle of the 'road'... It dawned on me that the 'road' was a bit too dark but I was going fast - next thing I realize, I'm in mud up to my spokes and the dark 'road' was a bog about 3 feet deep either side of the log. I did one of those slow-motion side-ways spills where you get stuck, can't move and slowly topple over... right into the bog. Completely underwater up to my chest.

 

[Vancouverite]

Well this is kind of a bummer since I was planning on getting one of these, but then I'm lucky to find out about its lack of performance before buying.

Thanks for the review

+1

 

[TONY M]

:huh:OMG. Well, at least he had a good story for the pub afterwards...

I had a spill sort of like that last year during one of my night rides but it wasn't due to malfunctioning lights... I was trying to catch my buddy who raced ahead so I was screaming down a loose gravel double-track, turned a corner wide, saw a dark patch in front of me and a log in the middle of the 'road'... It dawned on me that the 'road' was a bit too dark but I was going fast - next thing I realize, I'm in mud up to my spokes and the dark 'road' was a bog about 3 feet deep either side of the log. I did one of those slow-motion side-ways spills where you get stuck, can't move and slowly topple over... right into the bog. Completely underwater up to my chest.

. Funny to look back on but not so funny at the time I'm sure! Unless it is happening to someone else! :laughing:

 

[wasBlinded]

For some time I have considered making a bikelight out of a RC-T5.

A mount would be great but it is a long flashlight and so even with it in "short" 3x CR123 mode the rear of it would still protrude quite a bit.
I do not have a RC-T5 BTW but I had taken measurements for it on my MTB to see if it would fit nicely just in stock form.

It may make a good mod though with its 4x cree head and floody beam! A 12V lithium battery may do the job well!

I have a cheapie DX mount and it works OK but a bit of DIY may be needed to make it perfect for most lights.

The Romisen RC-T5 will fit in the Twofish LockBlock (a bit bigger than the CyclopBlock) but it will not hold it well riding off-road. The light is just too long and heavy. For road riding, it would be OK if really cinched down. I rode with it just last night to see how it would work out. It definitely puts out a lot of light, especially with a different driver pushing the LEDs near 1 amp.

I agree that the Fenix mount is of little use. I couldn't get it to hold the lights I wanted to use either.

 

[orbital]

TomBrown, I have several twofish blocks which I used during the entire fall 07 season for single-track riding... I also gave a set to some friends of mine to check out as a mount for primary as well as secondary lighting.

I have mounted 1xFenix P3D/1xHuntlight FT01XSE or 2xFenix P3D's or 2xFenix P3D's/helmet-mt PT Apex Pro. I thought that, instead of having a dedicated bike light, I could use these mounts with my existing lights for my night rides. If you don't have a dedicated bike light, they're pretty good and even some of my friends were impressed as a couple of them included a P3D handlebar-mounted light to compliment a halogen helmet light.

But, I've had some problems as my handlebars change diameter from the middle - where they are 31.8" - to the bar-ends where they become a bit more narrow. What happens is that during aggressive single-track descents or riding on rocky terrain, the mounts slip and the lights end up pointing downwards . - that happens even when I crank on the velcro. Not good.

For single-track mountain-biking, I give them a 7.5/10. I plan on doing some 8- and 24-hour races so I've decided that I need a dedicated bike light with a proper handlebar or helmet mount. That said, they are still a good back-up or to compliment a dedicated bike light or to introduce friends to night-riding.

For road-riding, I give it a 9/10. They are a cheap alternative which you can use with existing lights, unobtrusive, easily mount on my bars, don't move (much) and are great overall... I have run into some potholes but they haven't shaken lose... guess a pothole or two is not the same as rocky, twisty switchbacks. I'm not going to give them a 10 I have two minor quibbles: I switch light levels during my road-riding (side streets vs. main roads) and when I hit the clicky switch on the back of my light, the light does move around a bit even though I've cranked down on the velcro. Also, the velcro will eventually wear out.

My Huntlight is probably the biggest light that I would use with the Twofish blocks, anything bigger would probably move a bit too much - you might be ok with road-riding but definitely not off-road. Hope that helps.

+

Thanks for the heads' up on the Twofish blocks....

I plan to use it mounted upside down with a L-Mini set to Med.
http://www.cpfmarketplace.com/mp/showthread.php?t=177921

Hopefully this works, being the smallest 18650 light available.

Also, I'v used Duck Brand 'Wrap-Fix' tape (super grippy stuff), that may help in limiting slip,
...you can get it at WalM..rt.

 

[ttoshi]

I have a Fenix L1D-CE and L2D-CE. The L1D works better with the lockblock for me than the L2D because the L2D can switch modes when the bike hits a bump.

Basically a small tap on the back of the flashlight for the L2D causes it to shift modes low-med-high-etc... The L2D is more problematic because it is longer and the bumps cause more jiggle. I've never had the L1D change modes, but the L2D seems to change modes about once every thirty to forty minutes of riding on the road. It's not that bad, but can get annoying. YMMV depending upon terrain. I would suspect it to be much worse when MTBing as mentioned in this thread.

Toshi

 

[jirik_cz]

I use two L2Ds on MTB (one in twofish and one in homemade holder) and I have no problems with self mode shifting. Maybe you have dirty contacts?

 

[denmikseb]

I am surprised that there are no suggestions to build up the tapered area with electrical tape, or the like. It takes a little time, but can be done to look nice and neat. It is the same plastic electrical tape used to secure bar wrap on road bikes.