Mounting a flashlight to a bicycle...bike mounts ??

This morning, I had a little slippage from the two fish knock off. It was raining, and I had a big light in there too. On the other hand, the M10 right beside the big light, didn't budge.. When I state slippage, I mean the mount is tilting forward, as in rolling on the bar.

Recently I have received the second (by reading some E's posts giving positive feedback :) ), now I have to wait until I go out at night and try them.

My experience with the "TwoFish", is that is really versatile, but it shakes a lot, and more with heavier flashlights. Sometimes oncoming drivers flash long lights and I think it's because the shaking of my flashlights points to them while shaking.

They are my choice too for the 18650 lights. However, when we move up to the 26650 lights, the open thingee is straining. That is why I go with the two fish for the bigger dia lights.

See....and i thought this was gonna be an easy one .

I got my 2fish the other day and when I pulled back on the Velcro i realized it was really grabbing onto the light and there was no way it would spin in the mount ,,,the light does have extra groves but No knurling ...I was really impressed ....

maybe we could get this down to only 3 or 4 mounts to recommend

can we agree on the ones that are truly foul. ( ones to avoid ) ??

This is the non-swivel version: http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1109

The weakness in this one is at the bottom. The rubber is too flexible and is not strong enough to allow you to tighten up the screw sufficiently.

This is the swivel version: http://www.cnqualitygoods.com/goods.php?id=1116

The plastic used on this mount is heavier grade, which allow you to torque the screw down.

Both of these mounts work, but the second one just worked better in my experience. They are both very cheap and I don't expect they will last that long if used repeatedly, so if you are going to use them, buy several. As cehoward mentions, they don't work with larger diameter (26650) lights. And as I mentioned, they don't attach well to large diameter bars.

Hope that helps.

This being a forum, I don't think we'll ever truly agree on anything...Laughing

I did a mini review on this subject a while ago - https://budgetlightforum.com/t/-/7696#comment-151701

Well, I really don't see what can break on the non-swivel version.... the rubber is too soft to break... for me is more likely that the screw rusts through than the plastic failing on me. A friend of mine also uses these and he does 6000 KM on bikes almost every year. The only downside I can think of is the restricted diameter of the flashlights that it can be used with. I do trust the clamps a lot more than the velcro of the 2fish. I will try to post some pics of really heavy duty used clamps on the weekend.

I was looking at my two fish and they have a name in small writing on the side and a patent pending number .. the name is Huntlight .i wonder if mine are better than the average or clone two fish ..???

I think I have the same and I remember finding a Czech company with that name...

Aha, got an answer, I think!! Laughing

IMO, the real two fish is better than the clone, no question. But to what degree or how much better?

Example of clones. I have the clone of the Shadow JM05 and JM07. It is known fact that the the originals are better, but are they TWICE as much better as the price dictates?

I just ordered about 5 more two fish clones. The cost me $1.77 each. Whereas, the real two fish cost something like $7 each. The clone is 1/4th the price. Is the real two fish 4 times better?

Dam, I found myself rambling on and on.. Laughing Forgive me.. Wink

Hi, I have written something on this subject sometime ago, since I was interested in lights for MTB. It is in French, but pictures and links can be of some utility for the interested readers

http://sn.im/23eoj0l

http://sn.im/23eojwb

Tested in MTB conditions without problem.

Welcome to BLF, gt13013! Where would one buy the little blue plastic strap mount? Looks perfect for a helmet mounting application.

Edit: Nevermind, found it skiming through your review:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/convenient-tie-on-silicone-band-for-bike-light-assorted-color-24369

Thanks for that!

Welcome to BLF.. Wink

The mounts you are showing in those links, I am using the exact same mounts!!! Wink

http://www.cehoward.net/helmetj56.jpg

http://www.cehoward.net/mounthel36.jpg

@ BetweenRides : Yes, and if you can't wait for the shipping from China, you can start with an old tire tube, as described in this video. I started this way, and it works fine also. But the silicone bands look more smart!

Thank you, gt. I have seen the inner tube method on MTB Forums - a true Budget mount! I will have to give it a try. Smile

Isn't it a little bit heavy? As I am concerned, I found that my mount http://sn.im/23epgrx was a little bit too heavy for MTB. The TrustFire TR-801 http://www.dealextreme.com/p/trustfire-tr-801-cree-q5-wc-230-lumen-led-flashlight-1-18650-13095 weights 115g (with its 18650 battery), and the silicone band weights 7g.

If you care about safety, that extra weight doesn’t make ANY difference. I like light bikes and I was a weight weenie, but you can’t have a 0g light…

I checked all of my various rubber/velcro mounts and here's the scoop:

TwoFish - Lock Block stamped on one side, pat. no. D357171 5.395.018 stamped on the other. The TwoFish Cycloblock uses the same identical block, but has heavy duty velcro. This is the lightest and has the most malleable (soft) rubber.

DX TwoFake - Huntlight.CZ and Patent: 455304CZ-EU stamped on one side. This is heavier and beafier than the TwoFish and as i mentioned, the rubber is harder and slightly slippery. It actually vibrates less than the real thing and a little sandpaper to the surface cures the slick contact surface.

CQG TwoFake - SPARKTM Stamped on one side, no patent or other markings. The shape is identical to the Huntlight, but it feels a little heavier and not quite as slippery. These are the cheapest of the three.

Welcome to the club, gt13013!

The problem I have found with these mounts is they " shake " and vibrate causing the light beam to bounce and flicker around on the road as well as being annoying to oncoming drivers. So, to me, the most important factor is ROCK SOLID mounting on the handlebar and TIGHT retention of the flashlight.

I never had any good luck with these cheap mounts because they all vibrate and the only one that was more stable seemed to be the FENIX AF02.

It is still not perfect because these ADJUSTABLE units have looseness by design but this one was tighter than anything else.

I intend to modify this by permanently fixing it to the 90 degree angle by gluing, screwing, or inserting a bolt in the center pivot to TIGHTEN it together.

Fits flashlights with diameter of 18MM-28mm by adapting with two rubber mats.

Paid $15 Canadian for it locally, but it is $8.84 USD at Manafont.

I am still open to any suggestions for mounts if they are Rock Solid and don't vibrate.