Tesco 3w cree

RSV_Ecosse

Ahhhh......right. So its the clear plastic cone within the white plastic cone holder thing that needs removed, rather than the entire white part?.

BoardinBob

RSV_Ecosse wrote:

Ahhhh......right. So its the clear plastic cone within the white plastic cone holder thing that needs removed, rather than the entire white part?.

Correct-a-mundo but you need to remove the whole thing, then the clear plastic bit from the white bit, then re-insert the white bit

BoardinBob

littleandy0410 wrote:

Thought that was probably the case, but thought that could be irreversible, so didn't want to try it and wreck the torch. Have you found the brightness is still ok? I suppose the white cone will aid the reflection of light a bit.

It's reversible.

Brightness wasn't impaired at all. I stuck a couple of indoor shots on STW. You can see the pics here

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/r ... ly_3783200

Dazzza

FSR_XC wrote:

Interstingly they fitted ok, but the torch was always on. No need for the on / off button!

Which is fine until the batteries blow up as you are shorting them on the torch housing.

BoardinBob

Took a detour through the woods on the way home. I reckon they're definitely better with the collimator inserted as they lit up the path ahead much better with it in and there was still a decent spill of light to the side.

S_J_P

For info, whilst the collimator can be simply removed from the AA cell torch by pushing or pulling it fromthe white housing leaving the white reflector and front lens in place, giving a very broad flood beam, on the C cell torch there's no "reflector" and the front lens and collimator appear to be glued together. Removal requires unscrewing a threaded white collet and then the whole lens and collimator drops out leaving a rubber sealing ring behind.

In either case the light output is severely diminished and reduces the effectiveness of the torch significantly.

grahawk

There is something else you do with the collimator (gosh all these fancy terms I learn on this site!) After poking it out from the bottom put it back loosely from the top and screwed the torch back together. This holds it in place. You then get more spill than normal but a brighter central spot although there is also a small central dim spot. Not sure if the small dim spot would be a problem.......just tried it outside and I think it might but it's fun experimenting.

I have 2 AAs and one with collimator and one without seems like a good idea.

stumpyjon

I've just removed the collimator from one AA and compared it with another. Definitely reduces the beam strength but does give a much better up close spill. Going to go out over the next couple of nights and try one with and one without a collimator on the bars and one with on the helmet.

Might even try wapping the two C ones under the bars as well (although this may cause the bike to tip forward due to excess bar weight :oops: ).

littleandy0410

stumpyjon: You've got 3 AA's and 2 C's!? Bloody hell, that's 4-500 lumens of tesco goodness! Surely the amount you've spent on torches, mounts, batteries, etc, you could have bought a lupine betty! (well, nearly!)

milkywhite

littleandy0410 wrote:

stumpyjon: You've got 3 AA's and 2 C's!? Bloody hell, that's 4-500 lumens of tesco goodness! Surely the amount you've spent on torches, mounts, batteries, etc, you could have bought a lupine betty! (well, nearly!)

Get to bed you. You're meant to be ill.

littleandy0410

Get back to work you. You're meant to be working.

milkywhite

littleandy0410 wrote:

Get back to work you. You're meant to be working.

I'm overseeing proceedings.

I don't know why you need lights anyway. You hardly ever go out after dark.

Did you get those torches mounted properly that you bought from Tesco?

juankerr

Not sure I need to buy one of these as I've got 2 x Fenix and don't actually ride at night but the lure of ghetto-tech is strong....

moggy82

How about taking the clear beam concentrator (collimator) and using some silver nail varnish to concentrate the beam a bit more, if it dont work nail polish remover is your friend! And ideas on how to get the c cell a bit more floody, if you screw the lense off and only screw it on half a turn it produced a nice wide spot which would be perfect for riding!

stumpyjon

You've got 3 AA's and 2 C's!?

Yeah I got a bit carried away. I really wanted 3 AAs, 2 for the bars and one for the helmet, but they only had on AA when I first went in so I got 2 Cs for the bars. Next time I went into Tescos to do the shopping they'd had some more AAs in but again only had one left so I got that. Same thing happened next time I went shopping :roll: .

The 2 C torches have now been relagated as emergency torches for the cars (but they might sneak out for some off road fun). Off to Tescos later on to do the weekly shop, no knowing what I may buy .

On a side note I compared one of the AA torches with my huge (and very expensive) 3 x D cell maglite I bought a few years ago and my god the AA blew it way.

littleandy0410

Yeah, I know what you mean, I've got 2 AA's, and every time I'm in Tescos the torches are sat there taunting me! I'm amazed I haven't bought a couple of C cell ones yet! Only things putting me off is the weight and the cost of C cell batteries/charger.

I've also got the 3 D cell maglite, and a 2 AA one, and a 2 AAA one! (got them cheap from a Yank base when on detatchment with work) they kind of feel a bit defunct and outdated now, don't they!?

cannondaledude

Hmm i cant find the 3W AA torch on the tesco website. Will they have it in? I can only find the 2C one.

http://direct.tesco.com/q/R.203-8191.aspx

stumpyjon

Cannondaledude

Only seem to do the AA one in store unfortunately.

littleandy0410

yeah the C ones are a bit heavy, causes them to bounce alot over rough ground unless you really have them locked to the bars.

cannondaledude

Ah thats ok then as i was going to store anyways. Sweet! ive ordered my torch mounts from fenix!

Dazzza

For all of you maglight nuts how about one of these.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %26ps%3D42

Northwind

littleandy0410 wrote:

I've also got the 3 D cell maglite, and a 2 AA one, and a 2 AAA one! (got them cheap from a Yank base when on detatchment with work) they kind of feel a bit defunct and outdated now, don't they!?

Big maglites aren't for making light, they're for whacking people with at music festivals

Nick Dastardly

Just got back from my first ever night ride. Was just a short one to check how powerful the lights are, so I gaffer taped a pair of Cs to the bars and headed up tot the local woods. Could do with a bit more spread as it feels like I'm riding in a tunnel and you can't see what's round the corners until you turn in, but I guess that adds to the fun!
Tomorrow I'll hopefully find something a bit more permanent and adjustable than the gaffer tape!

On a side note, I just use a couple of little flashing LEDs when I'm on the road, but part of my journey home involves a bit of unlit path away from the road. Switched the torches back on so I could see where I was going and when I got back near the road a couple of cars actually pulled over to see what could possibly be that bright!

sicknote

Hi all

i ride a road bike but have got some of these lights and there are still some in the Lee valley Tesco,. if some of you are still after them

stumpyjon

Possibly overkill but this is what 2 AAs and 2 Cs look like together on the bike :roll:



I need to play around with the mountings and angles (used 2 lockblocks and a load of cable ties tonight) so that the 2 C torches don't overlap (giving one very bright spot). Also had a 3rd AA on my helmet.

Actually found the 2 Cs sometimes drowned out the others as they were so concentrated, may be better if I can spread them out a bit. Took the collimator out of one of the AAs, seems to complement the other one OK, may leave it out for the time being.,

BoardinBob

ANy chance you could post up some beam shots? Should be impressive

redvee

Just got another AA from Tesco in Cribbs Causeway and ordered a Lockblock from the Fenix strore for £4.79 as the Photonshop have upped their prices to nearly £9 :shock:

Innes

I just bought a AA lamp from Tesco, and used an old lamp mount to fix it to the bars. Any chance of a link to that Lockblock from Fenix Store Redvee?

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lesz42

Just got a 2AA cree from tesco, made up an mount, modded from the cateye one, that i got with the EL530



it is much brighter then the EL530, slighty less spread on a whole, and a larger middle spot, if that makes any sense.


going to run both, will take some pics in the week,

btw, i am running on both the Energizer Ultimate Lithium batterys, lighter and much longer run time i have been told

Shaky

Innes wrote:

I just bought a AA lamp from Tesco, and used an old lamp mount to fix it to the bars. Any chance of a link to that Lockblock from Fenix Store Redvee?

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I've read that the LockBlock can sometimes be a little loose. As an alternative, I've used two jubilee clips and some old inner tube cut to size (just wrapped round the torch and the handlebar to protect them). It's solid as anything, tidy and 1/3rd the price of the LockBlock.

BoardinBob

Went out for a proper night ride up to Carron Valley tonight. 2 torches on the bar and one on my helmet.Some shots

Control Shot


1 x bar mount


2 x bar mount


2 x bar mount + 1 x helmet mount