Risk Racing Flexit - Tool Time

An ingenious tool that sheds a little (or a lot) of light on the problem.

Risk Racing Flexit - Tool Time

Let there be light! But that sometimes is easier said than done. There often isn’t an extension cord or a power outlet handy when you’re fumbling in the dark, and even trying to hold a flashlight in place so it illuminates your work area can be aggravating.

Risk Racing (www.riskracing.com) has a versatile solution with its Flexit (part # RISK00115; $29.99), an ingenious tool that can shed a little—or, if you wish, a lot of—light on the problem. Flexit incorporates 16 daylight-white LEDs built into an easily bendable, almost infinitely formable rubber housing molded around a soft metal wireframe that holds just about any reasonable shape you can conjure. The light is powered by 3 AA batteries and has 2 powerful neodymium (rare earth) magnets built into its base.

Flexit’s design allows it to work practically anywhere. The base is heavy enough and large enough to support the light on most flat, horizontal surfaces, and the magnets let it cling tenaciously to ferrous metals. You can drape the light around a handlebar, bend it over a fender, wrap it around a swingarm or attach it to any other bike part that might be available for the task at hand. The base even has a handle that provides additional possibilities for hanging the light. You also can shape the LED panel in a concave form to concentrate the light in a narrow area or bend it over backward to spread the brightness over a wide range. Depending upon your lighting needs, you can illuminate either two, four or all 16 of the LEDs just by pushing the On/Off switch sequentially through its four positions.

At 7 inches wide and 13 inches tall, Flexlite isn’t something you would likely tote along on a ride, even if your bike has saddlebags or a large tank bag; but you could take it, because when folded flat, Flexlite is just over 3/4-inch thick.

In the garage, at a campsite, in the pits or even around the house, there are countless jobs that can be quickly and easily illuminated with Flexlite. It’s one of those tools whose uses are limited mostly by your imagination.