Again – the Lowe’s Flashlight (with pictures)

I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot: http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot: http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. 5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Dan

On Oct 20, 9:55*am, " wrote:
I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?

bfd wrote:

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?


See "http://nordicgroup.us/s78/flashlights.html". It's the Task Force
LED 2C light from Lowe's for $30.

It's what I term an "accidental" product. A 3W Cree LED flashlight for
$30 that happens to have a beam that is nearly ideal for bicycling.

There are a couple of issues with it that require some work-arounds,
such as using it with NiMH batteries. It's all on the web site.

On Oct 20, 3:39*pm, bfd wrote:
On Oct 20, 9:55*am, " wrote:



I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

SMS is correct, it's the Task Force 2C. It is a Cree LED, which is
better than standard LEDs. I have the "white star" version, though I
understand there is also a "black star" version. I'm very happy with
what I've got.

There are different versions of the Task Force 2C out there, you want
the one with "60x brighter" on the package. That indicates the Cree
LED. Here's a picture of the packaging, and the light:
http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0839ps5.jpg

My pictures really don't do it justice - this is by far the best light
I've seen with a double-digit price tag.

Regarding "issues" with the light, the only one that bothered me was a
slight rattling of the batteries in the light when off-roading.
Wrapping the C cells in normal printer/copier paper took care of that
in a jiffy, and I'm quite happy with it.

I like the mount I'm using on the MTB, as it's very lightweight, easy
to remove and I already had everything I needed. That said, I think
I’ll borrow SMS's electrical conduit clamp idea from the link he just
gave for the road bike, since my oversized bars don't work with the
standard size handlebar clamps. I'll have to see if the local
hardware store sells them tomorrow at lunch. I've got a good stash of
hardware and heat shrink tubing, so all I should need is 2 conduit
clamps, and perhaps 2 wing nuts if I decide to go quick release. This
is a tough call. I don't think I'll be removing the light anywhere I
don't have tools, and I think it would look cleaner with normal nuts.
That said, there's something to be said for the quickness of the wing
nut idea.

Since the bars on my road bike taper in diameter away from the stem,
I'll probably just ride that bike to work tomorrow and bring it and
the light into the store. That way I will know I'm getting the
correct size. The downside of this is that if I can't find what I
need, I'll be riding home in the dark using only the 5 beamer. Oh
well, I've done it in the past, I suppose the only reason it seems so
suddenly inadequate is that I now have and have used something so much
better.

On Oct 20, 4:16*pm, " wrote:
On Oct 20, 3:39*pm, bfd wrote:





On Oct 20, 9:55*am, " wrote:

I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards..

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

SMS is correct, it's the Task Force 2C. *It is a Cree LED, which is
better than standard LEDs. *I have the "white star" version, though I
understand there is also a "black star" version. *I'm very happy with
what I've got.

There are different versions of the Task Force 2C out there, you want
the one with "60x brighter" on the package. *That indicates the Cree
LED. *Here's a picture of the packaging, and the light:http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0839ps5.jpg

My pictures really don't do it justice - this is by far the best light
I've seen with a double-digit price tag.

Regarding "issues" with the light, the only one that bothered me was a
slight rattling of the batteries in the light when off-roading.
Wrapping the C cells in normal printer/copier paper took care of that
in a jiffy, and I'm quite happy with it.

I like the mount I'm using on the MTB, as it's very lightweight, easy
to remove and I already had everything I needed. *That said, I think
I’ll borrow SMS's electrical conduit clamp idea from the link he just
gave for the road bike, since my oversized bars don't work with the
standard size handlebar clamps. *I'll have to see if the local
hardware store sells them tomorrow at lunch. *I've got a good stash of
hardware and heat shrink tubing, so all I should need is 2 conduit
clamps, and perhaps 2 wing nuts if I decide to go quick release. *This
is a tough call. *I don't think I'll be removing the light anywhere I
don't have tools, and I think it would look cleaner with normal nuts.
That said, there's something to be said for the quickness of the wing
nut idea.

Since the bars on my road bike taper in diameter away from the stem,
I'll probably just ride that bike to work tomorrow and bring it and
the light into the store. *That way I will know I'm getting the
correct size. *The downside of this is that if I can't find what I
need, I'll be riding home in the dark using only the 5 beamer. *Oh
well, I've done it in the past, I suppose the only reason it seems so
suddenly inadequate is that I now have and have used something so much
better.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I added some pics of the light on the bike, using my old Bell
headlight clamp. You can see clearly where I dremeled out a slot for
the zip-tie in these pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36378068828786
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36389597612962

Here are a few pics of the general setup:
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36351432382290
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36359865563474
http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36410324096050

I may need to angle the TF light down a bit, but I’m not sure yet.
The ride home will tell for sure, and I’ve got a multi-tool to loosen
the screw and rotate the clamp if need be. The Beamer 5 is angled
lower out of necessity, due to the lesser beam. I also may be losing
the Beamer 5 altogether, as I don’t think it will add anything in the
presence of the brighter TF light. It didn’t seem to on my trail
around the house. That will also be tested tonight. The muddy,
rocky, rooty, leafy truck & ATV trails toward the end of my commute
will be the real test.

Oh, and as secure as everything feels with that one zip-tie (I bashed
it around a bit off-road at lunch) I’ll be carrying a couple spare zip-
ties, just in case. I was very tempted to add a second tie toward the
rear of the clamp, but am worried about making the clamp itself weaker
in the process. Trial and error I guess. Anyone want to take bets if
this will hold up for the ride home?

wrote:

Oh, and as secure as everything feels with that one zip-tie (I bashed
it around a bit off-road at lunch) I’ll be carrying a couple spare zip-
ties, just in case. I was very tempted to add a second tie toward the
rear of the clamp, but am worried about making the clamp itself weaker
in the process. Trial and error I guess. Anyone want to take bets if
this will hold up for the ride home?

Build one of the holders I show on my web site.

"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_2322.JPG"
"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_0303.JPG"
"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/homemadebracket.jpg"

On Oct 20, 1:49*pm, " wrote:
On Oct 20, 4:16*pm, " wrote:



On Oct 20, 3:39*pm, bfd wrote:

On Oct 20, 9:55*am, " wrote:

I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google..com/DanKMTB...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

SMS is correct, it's the Task Force 2C. *It is a Cree LED, which is
better than standard LEDs. *I have the "white star" version, though I
understand there is also a "black star" version. *I'm very happy with
what I've got.

There are different versions of the Task Force 2C out there, you want
the one with "60x brighter" on the package. *That indicates the Cree
LED. *Here's a picture of the packaging, and the light:http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0839ps5.jpg

My pictures really don't do it justice - this is by far the best light
I've seen with a double-digit price tag.

Regarding "issues" with the light, the only one that bothered me was a
slight rattling of the batteries in the light when off-roading.
Wrapping the C cells in normal printer/copier paper took care of that
in a jiffy, and I'm quite happy with it.

I like the mount I'm using on the MTB, as it's very lightweight, easy
to remove and I already had everything I needed. *That said, I think
I’ll borrow SMS's electrical conduit clamp idea from the link he just
gave for the road bike, since my oversized bars don't work with the
standard size handlebar clamps. *I'll have to see if the local
hardware store sells them tomorrow at lunch. *I've got a good stash of
hardware and heat shrink tubing, so all I should need is 2 conduit
clamps, and perhaps 2 wing nuts if I decide to go quick release. *This
is a tough call. *I don't think I'll be removing the light anywhere I
don't have tools, and I think it would look cleaner with normal nuts.
That said, there's something to be said for the quickness of the wing
nut idea.

Since the bars on my road bike taper in diameter away from the stem,
I'll probably just ride that bike to work tomorrow and bring it and
the light into the store. *That way I will know I'm getting the
correct size. *The downside of this is that if I can't find what I
need, I'll be riding home in the dark using only the 5 beamer. *Oh
well, I've done it in the past, I suppose the only reason it seems so
suddenly inadequate is that I now have and have used something so much
better.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I added some pics of the light on the bike, using my old Bell
headlight clamp. You can see clearly where I dremeled out a slot for
the zip-tie in these pics:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36389597612962

Here are a few pics of the general setup:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...36410324096050

I may need to angle the TF light down a bit, but I’m not sure yet.
The ride home will tell for sure, and I’ve got a multi-tool to loosen
the screw and rotate the clamp if need be. *The Beamer 5 is angled
lower out of necessity, due to the lesser beam. *I also may be losing
the Beamer 5 altogether, as I don’t think it will add anything in the
presence of the brighter TF light. *It didn’t seem to on my trail
around the house. *That will also be tested tonight. *The muddy,
rocky, rooty, leafy truck & ATV trails toward the end of my commute
will be the real test.

Oh, and as secure as everything feels with that one zip-tie (I bashed
it around a bit off-road at lunch) I’ll be carrying a couple spare zip-
ties, just in case. *I was very tempted to add a second tie toward the
rear of the clamp, but am worried about making the clamp itself weaker
in the process. *Trial and error I guess. *Anyone want to take bets if
this will hold up for the ride home?

I made a holder almost identical to your dremel job, made from the
bracket from one of the planet-bike lights. I used two zip ties
though. That setup has held up pretty well for a couple of months now.
The PB bracket as a quick-release which makes it easier to adjust the
angle and take it off the bike (though it appears to have very low
theft attractiveness as is.)

I'm less enthusiastic about the task force light than some, but it's
the brightest thing I've got right now. Next project is to try and run
it off a sidewall dynamo.

-pm

On Oct 20, 11:55*am, " wrote:
I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Dan

Thanks for your informative post here, Dan.

I use that same model of Planet Bike light, not to light up the road
but in the flashing mode, to supplement my generator light and I find
that it does get 'noticed' by other road users.

Lewis.

*****

On Oct 20, 9:02*pm, SMS wrote:
wrote:
Oh, and as secure as everything feels with that one zip-tie (I bashed
it around a bit off-road at lunch) I’ll be carrying a couple spare zip-
ties, just in case. *I was very tempted to add a second tie toward the
rear of the clamp, but am worried about making the clamp itself weaker
in the process. *Trial and error I guess. *Anyone want to take bets if
this will hold up for the ride home?

Build one of the holders I show on my web site.

"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_2322.JPG"
"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/IMG_0303.JPG"
"http://nordicgroup.us/s78/images/homemadebracket.jpg"

If you see the post right above the one you quoted, you'll see I
already plan to do this. I'm going to use the conduit version, the
last of the three you linked pictures to. It's a good idea. Simple,
strong, inexpensive, easy. Kudos for coming up with the idea, and
thanks as well. I'm actually going to hit the local hardware shop
today @ lunch to see if they carry that style clamp.

On a separate note, the single zip clamp worked out great on the way
home. Even through the rough off-road stuff, it never budged. When I
got home I cut off the tie to inspect it, no signs of stretching, or
any sort of wear that indicated it was getting ready to break.

Here's my night ride tested, on and off road review of the light:

On the road, it's great. Definitely all I need for as fast as I can
spin that SS 29er, which is probably in the 20MPH area. I'll test it
in the 30ish zone on the road bike when I get a chance, but overall
I'm quite happy with that single light as an on road light.

Off road, it's fine for the easier stuff - normal power line trails,
biking and hiking trails, etc. In the real rough stuff, like the
truck & ATV trails with very uneven ground, it's passable but not
ideal. There is one section of that trail where I'm riding through
the mud, with a few inches of water on top just to make sure I can't
actually see what I'm riding on. In that section I'm riding around
trees that hang into the trail, over falled trees and branches,
avoiding rocks and navigating the ruts from the truck tires. In that
stuff, I'd have liked a second light pointed almost directly in front
of the bike. I'm not sure if another of these would do the trick, or
if the beam would be too concentrated at such close range. The 5
beamer may have done the job, but I wanted to do that section with
just the TF to test it out, and there's no stopping and putting a foot
down once you're into that stuff to fiddle with lights. I'm thinking
my AA LED Minimag may be the perfect light to throw a wide beam
directly in front of the bike. More testing to come soon.

On Oct 20, 9:31*pm, pm wrote:
On Oct 20, 1:49*pm, " wrote:





On Oct 20, 4:16*pm, " wrote:

On Oct 20, 3:39*pm, bfd wrote:

On Oct 20, 9:55*am, " wrote:

I finally broke down and bought the Lowe’s flashlight everyone has
been raving about. *I figured even if it wasn’t quite as good as the
hype, it’d still be good, and if not I could simply return it.

Until now my headlight has been a Planet Bike 5 Beamer. *OK little
light, but certainly nothing to write home about. *I found it passable
for 15MPH or so on the road, and near useless off-road.

I got the Task Force light Saturday. *Sunday, I rigged up a mounting
bracket using an old headlight bracket from a worthless Bell light
that I no longer have. *Some dremeling, a zip-tie and it’s pretty
secure. *I won’t be surprised if it requires a second zip-tie in the
future, but it seems plenty secure with just the one. *Since I didn’t
have any reusable ties around I’ll be cutting this thing every time I
want to use the light off the bike, I figured I’d give it a go with
just one.

Anyway, the light is amazing. *The throw for the primary spot is as
far as I could ever need it for a bike light, and damn impressive for
a flashlight as well. *Short of breaking out high-power spotlights, I
can’t imagine doing much better. *It’s also got a good amount of
(spill?) off to the sides, letting me see right in front of the tire
as well as off to the side. *I tested it out with a quick trail ride
on the dirt bike trail around the property, and was very impressed.
That same trail is simply unrideable with the 5 beamer (I tried, just
to compare).

I took some snapshots of the difference in the lights, but my sub-par
photo shooting combined with my lack of tripod and the long shutter
time didn’t give the best results. *Still, I think it’s good enough to
get the point across, even if they won’t win any photography awards.

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining on the Quonset hut from ~25’.http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77423360592370

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77420229972498

Here’s the 5 Beamer shining into the yard:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77427121521618

Here’s the TF doing the same shot:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...77437472723890

The pics really don’t do it justice, although the reflect each light
poorly, to be fair. *In that last shot the fire pit on the left was
perfectly clear, the side of the hut was visible, and the trail (leafy
section in front of the ramp) was light up enough to feel comfortable
riding into it at full speed from that distance. *The ground was also
plenty lit right to my front tire. *My poor camera skills are not
doing this thing justice.

The best way I can think of to relate the difference is this: *If I
had the PB light on and turned on the TF in addition, it completely
overrode the PB, to the point where I could hardly notice if I turned
it off. *If I had the TF light on and then turned on the PB, there was
no noteworthy difference. *For now I’ve got both on there, but I
expect the PB light may be deemed pointless next to this beast and
removed. *That would allow me to use the bracket from that light to
make a road bike TF holder. *Otherwise I’m off shopping for Ruland
collars. *Or off to ebay to find some cheap bike light holder saved
from a dead light. *I’d just buy another of these cheesy Bell lights
for the holder for the road bike, but it doesn’t fit on the oversized
bar.

Tonight’s commute home will be ~10 miles, 7 or 8 of which will be
offroad. *5 miles of the off-road will be powerlines, with a couple
miles of dark, fully tree-covered, very rough and sometimes muddy 4x4
truck & dirt bike trails thrown in. *That will be the real test, of
both the bracket (will 1 zip tie suffice?) and the light. *Based on
what I saw on my own trails last night, I’m optimistic.

I’ll keep you posted on how it fares tonight.

Thanks. Which Task Force light did you get? Was it an LED?- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

SMS is correct, it's the Task Force 2C. *It is a Cree LED, which is
better than standard LEDs. *I have the "white star" version, though I
understand there is also a "black star" version. *I'm very happy with
what I've got.

There are different versions of the Task Force 2C out there, you want
the one with "60x brighter" on the package. *That indicates the Cree
LED. *Here's a picture of the packaging, and the light:http://img353.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0839ps5.jpg

My pictures really don't do it justice - this is by far the best light
I've seen with a double-digit price tag.

Regarding "issues" with the light, the only one that bothered me was a
slight rattling of the batteries in the light when off-roading.
Wrapping the C cells in normal printer/copier paper took care of that
in a jiffy, and I'm quite happy with it.

I like the mount I'm using on the MTB, as it's very lightweight, easy
to remove and I already had everything I needed. *That said, I think
I’ll borrow SMS's electrical conduit clamp idea from the link he just
gave for the road bike, since my oversized bars don't work with the
standard size handlebar clamps. *I'll have to see if the local
hardware store sells them tomorrow at lunch. *I've got a good stash of
hardware and heat shrink tubing, so all I should need is 2 conduit
clamps, and perhaps 2 wing nuts if I decide to go quick release. *This
is a tough call. *I don't think I'll be removing the light anywhere I
don't have tools, and I think it would look cleaner with normal nuts.
That said, there's something to be said for the quickness of the wing
nut idea.

Since the bars on my road bike taper in diameter away from the stem,
I'll probably just ride that bike to work tomorrow and bring it and
the light into the store. *That way I will know I'm getting the
correct size. *The downside of this is that if I can't find what I
need, I'll be riding home in the dark using only the 5 beamer. *Oh
well, I've done it in the past, I suppose the only reason it seems so
suddenly inadequate is that I now have and have used something so much
better.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I added some pics of the light on the bike, using my old Bell
headlight clamp. You can see clearly where I dremeled out a slot for
the zip-tie in these pics:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...78068828786htt...

Here are a few pics of the general setup:http://picasaweb.google.com/DanKMTB/...51432382290htt...

I may need to angle the TF light down a bit, but I’m not sure yet.
The ride home will tell for sure, and I’ve got a multi-tool to loosen
the screw and rotate the clamp if need be. *The Beamer 5 is angled
lower out of necessity, due to the lesser beam. *I also may be losing
the Beamer 5 altogether, as I don’t think it will add anything in the
presence of the brighter TF light. *It didn’t seem to on my trail
around the house. *That will also be tested tonight. *The muddy,
rocky, rooty, leafy truck & ATV trails toward the end of my commute
will be the real test.

Oh, and as secure as everything feels with that one zip-tie (I bashed
it around a bit off-road at lunch) I’ll be carrying a couple spare zip-
ties, just in case. *I was very tempted to add a second tie toward the
rear of the clamp, but am worried about making the clamp itself weaker
in the process. *Trial and error I guess. *Anyone want to take bets if
this will hold up for the ride home?

I made a holder almost identical to your dremel job, made from the
bracket from one of the planet-bike lights. I used two zip ties
though. That setup has held up pretty well for a couple of months now.
The PB bracket as a quick-release which makes it easier to adjust the
angle and take it off the bike (though it appears to have very low
theft attractiveness as is.)

I'm less enthusiastic about the task force light than some, but it's
the brightest thing I've got right now. Next project is to try and run
it off a sidewall dynamo.

-pm- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Cool. Let me know how that dynamo project works out. I doubt I'd go
for it as I'm constantaly wanting to switch the light from bike to
bike, as well as use it as a hand-held flashlight, but I'd be curious
to follow your progress all the same.