New Fenix BC30 Bike Light Review - Dual distance beam -Twin XM-L2 T6

[RCS1300]

I ordered one of these BC30 lights today.

Going to put it through its paces as I ride 45 miles/day four days a week pre dawn, as fast as I can. Have a road and mountain bike. All rides will be on the paved hilly back roads of Connecticut. For the last 6 years I have been using a Fenix TK 15 with a two fish type mount on my helmet and it has worked great. The TK15 gives me good light to 200 feet out. My issues are spotting deer to avoid hitting them and I have had several close calls. Want to add the BC30 to better illuminate the first 100 feet in front of me.

I am a little concerned about the weight and its impact on the mount in that it may move the mounting position due to vibration. That has happened with the two fish handlebar mount I used this morning with my 18650 HDS light. So, a two fish type set-up is a no go for me. The HDS light was okay with spill, but not great at illuminating 100 feet out. Also purchased an extra Fenix handlebar mount to test a Fenix TK15 on the handlebars too. We will see how that goes. But, I do prefer a neutral white beam for near distance.

 

[lumen aeternum]

??? fish type mount ???

I got the BC30R. The burst mode does not do much for illumination, it is concentrated "close." I want a "far spot." What would be better is to have the button trigger a burst of strobe, say 1/2 sec duration, to get attention. I run on High all the time at night. Seems to have a bit too much "close" lumens. Should have a lens focused a bit further away.

 

[RCS1300]

I want a "far spot."

Get a Malkoff Hound Dog and attach it to your handlebars with a fenix mount.

While I am waiting a few days for my BC30 to arrive I decided to test a Fenix TK15 on my helmet and a Fenix TK15 on my handlebars in a Fenix handlebar mount. The Fenix TK15 on the handlebar was positioned for closer distance and the helmet mounted TK15 was positioned for distance. The Fenix TK15 has a very focused hot spot with some good but not great spill.

The good is that when both hot spots aligned it seemed to double the lumen output. The bad is that the hot spot created from the Fenix TK15 on the handlebar mount was distracting. The hot spot positioned at a close distance was so much more intense than the light that spilled out from that TK15 that it was marginally beneficial to have that light.

Looking forward to the BC30 on the handlebar mount for two reasons. First, based on the shape and size of the reflectors it looks like it will not have a distracting hot spot and, second, I prefer the neutral white light at the close distance as it is more relaxing at 5am in the morning.

(The reason I wear a Fenix TK15 on my helmet is that it allows me approximately 3 seconds of time to react when traveling downhill at 45 mph. The Fenix TK15 illuminates well out to 200 feet and at 45mph I cover 66 feet/second.)

 

[RCS1300]

Used the Fenix BC30 and completed a 50 mile pre-dawn ride on the paved back roads this morning. The light worked as expected. I am very happy with it.

I used the 500 lumen setting because my ride was 3 hours long. The light beam had no hot spot so it worked exceptionally well as I find a hot spot distracting at near distance. It provided useful vision for me out to 120 feet. Reflective objects much further out could be seen but I would not be able to identify an animal (deer, skunk, fox, coyote, black bear, etc.) more than 120 feet away. The light beam seemed about 4000K so it was definitely a neutral white if sunlight is 5700K and cool white is 6000K+. I could see this light working very well at 500 lumens as long as your riding speed stayed under 20mph - which is 95 percent of all cyclists. Going faster than that I recommend an additional spot light on your helmet. I use a Fenix TK15 which complements the BC30 really well.

A couple other items. The weight was fine, the size was not as large as I had thought and it was fine also. The mount was very secure. On the battery compartment I put a good amount of Nyogel lubricant on the O ring and inner plastic that the O ring slides into. That should keep things operating well. Do not lock the battery compartment without the batteries in place as it will be difficult to open. There are springs in the unit that actually eject the battery compartment when the batteries are in the cradle. It works really well. The battery with the positive pointing towards the front of the light is the most difficult to get out. The batteries I used were Fenix 2600 button top. I used the plastic end of a pen to push the positive terminal in slightly while pushing the battery up. Take your time and it will come out with just a little effort. In hindsight, I probably should have purchased flat top batteries - I still might as I will use this unit 4x/week.

Overall, I would say this light is a winner for a serious road cyclist that uses an additional light on the helmet. As a stand alone light it is excellent for the average cyclist that travels at speeds less than 20 mph.

 

[RCS1300]

After 250 miles bicycling with the Fenix BC30, I like it so much that I ordered a second one for my other bike and as a backup.

 

[Nichia!]

After 250 miles bicycling with the Fenix BC30, I like it so much that I ordered a second one for my other bike and as a backup.

250 miles in one day??

 

[RCS1300]

No, 50 miles/ride with 4 rides/week. Most I have done in one day was 145 miles.

 

[PhotonPhil]

Re: New Fenix BC30 Bike Light Review (your review)

"The light beam had no hot spot so it worked exceptionally well as I find a hot spot distracting at near distance."

That is so good to know. For me, that is half the battle as it is obviously quite bright enough for the city road and sidewalk riding that is 99% of my trips.

 

[harro]

Re: New Fenix BC30 Bike Light Review (your review)

"The light beam had no hot spot so it worked exceptionally well as I find a hot spot distracting at near distance."

That is so good to know. For me, that is half the battle as it is obviously quite bright enough for the city road and sidewalk riding that is 99% of my trips.

It certainly has a brighter area, but yeah, no hot spot per see. Its a great light for me and is plenty bright enough round town, and works well out of town, without built up lighting. Runtimes are good with a decent set of cells in it, I use Samsung INR18650-25R flat tops in mine, and they give a pretty good account of themselves.

Welcome to CPF also :welcome: