Twofish: A bit slippy?

[Buck91]

Sorry to break out the Bear Grylls lingo, but I just got done watching him do potentially lethal things for a few hours.

Anyhow, has anybody else had issues with twofish blocks rotating around the handlebars on rigid fork bikes? I'm not talking free-swinging but the point of aim does tend to change fairly often for me... At first I though it was just because I wipe my stuff down with Bike Lust every now and again, but after degreasing my bars the block still behaves the same; even when I through a rubber bushing between it and the bar!


Any thoughts?

 

[Gimpy00Wang]

I used one once on my road bike for about 20mi to hold my M375 w/2x123 body to my bars. It held pretty well, but it did wiggle a little -- and it was cinched down very tight. I wouldn't expect it to hold up too well offroad -- especially if you're riding a rigid. If the durometer of the rubber was a little higher it wouldn't deform as easily...but maybe we'd have other problems. So they work, but I guess they are not hardcore approved.

- Chris

 

[Gunnerboy]

The Cyclopblock I use does rotate some no matter how hard I tighten the Velcro. Seems my problem is only with lights at round the weight of a 2x123 light or heavier. I'm thinking its the length of the host as well..

 

[Buck91]

I betcha a pair of zip ties would keep it on the bars nicely. Of course, I don't much care for that because I only have one right now which sees helmet duty for trails and goes back on teh bars for commuting (really not a fan of that cateye for commuting, its just overkill).

 

[turbodog]

There are 2 grades of lockblocks. The rubber's about the same, but the strap is industrial velco on one set. It's MUCH tougher and will not move at all. I've gone 15+ miles mountain biking on ROUGH terrain and it didn't move a bit.

 

[turbodog]

Look at the cyclopblock....

 

[eelnoraa]

It may have something to do with the texture of the bar. If the bar is matte finish, with dust, it doesn't hold too tight. With a clean, glossy finish bar, it holds like glue.

 

[Buck91]

There are 2 grades of lockblocks. The rubber's about the same, but the strap is industrial velco on one set. It's MUCH tougher and will not move at all. I've gone 15+ miles mountain biking on ROUGH terrain and it didn't move a bit.

Well there's the bike block, which has opposing concaves, and the lockblock which has parallel concaves, right? I'm not aware of any other options.

 

[LED_Thrift]

You might try rebalancing the light in the block. If you get it centered on the exact balance point of the light it will tend to stay put better. Obviously, a lighter weight light will not rotate as much either. Which light are you using?

Another possible fix I've thought about is using "friction tape" [looks similar to black electrical tape, but is a bit sticky on the top side also] on the bar under the lockblock, but I haven't had the rotational problem. Ive used the lockblock with a Fenix L1D and L2D mountain biking.

 

[DUQ]

My 2fish didn't slip all season and I ride a rigid. I did find my light bouncing on hard hits. Re balancing helped a bit.

 

[turbodog]

Well there's the bike block, which has opposing concaves, and the lockblock which has parallel concaves, right? I'm not aware of any other options.

Go look at the website. The cyclopblock is reinforced with webbing. It also uses different velcro. I should know.... I've got some of both. Call the company.

 

[RGB_LED]

Look at the cyclopblock....

Wow, the Cyclopblock definitely looks beefier but at $10 a pop... Then again, combined with a cheap DX P7 light, that's not bad for the price.

As for the regular Twofish blocks, I've had similar issues with the blocks slipping... I have a carbon low-rise bar that's 31.8" at the stem but it tapers so I try to tighten it up on the tapered end and then push it towards the stem. Even doing that, I found that the blocks slipped during more aggressive single-track riding. Very frustrating since you can't exactly stop when you're going down switch-backs at speed.

I also went riding two nights ago on my road bike with a Huntlight attached to my bars with a Twofish block... it too slipped a little when I went over some bumps but there isn't a lot of real estate on my bars with two lights, and an HRM so that may be the problem.

I'm going to try the Cyclopblocks...

 

[varuscelli]

Well there's the bike block, which has opposing concaves, and the lockblock which has parallel concaves, right?

If I'm reading your description correctly, I think you've got it backwards.

Bikeblock to left, Lockblock to right (in photo).

 

[varuscelli]

Besides rebalancing the lights in the blocks, you could also try a bit of handlebar tape. If you don't want anything sticky on your handlebar (like electrical tape), you could tightly wrap a short length of handlebar tape where you keep your lockblock(s) and wrap around that with electrical tape or the like. You'd need to wrap only about one inch or so width of your handlebar with the tape; just enough to accommodate the width of the lockblock. If you attach the lockblock over something like that, I don't think it will slip.

Why it was slipping when you had a rubber piece between the lockblock and the bar seems pretty mysterious.

As asked earlier, what kind of light are you trying to hold in place? Is it something too large and heavy for a lockblock, perhaps?

 

[turbodog]

Wow, the Cyclopblock definitely looks beefier but at $10 a pop... ...

Big deal. I've had mine for close to 10 years now. That's $1/year. I spend a lot more than that on toilet paper.

:toilet:

 

[carrot]

I've gone mountain biking, etc etc, with Lockblocks on my handlebars. No slippage, unless I'm using a heavier light. I have had slippage under wet conditions, but that's about it.

 

[Buck91]

Just an L1T... Maybe I'm too picky and should just leave it alone on my helmet!

 

[varuscelli]

Just an L1T... Maybe I'm too picky and should just leave it alone on my helmet!

Even stranger still. I wouldn't think that an L1T would move around at all when attached by a lockblock.

Are you certain that you're wrapping the Velcro strap correctly for solid tightening? The only reason I ask that is that I can't see how something as short as an L1T would be able to cause a lockblock to slip out of place...unless perhaps the lockblock was not cinching down tightly enough for some reason.

 

[Buck91]

The 'cro is a bit long, but I never had a problem until somewhat recently. I'm thinking about picking up a few more and just zip tieing to the commuter handlebars and my helmet (run the big'n on the mtn bike bars). Have to check out fenix-store see if their still 3 for $15.