In the past several months, interest in the cycling community over the use of LED flashlights has risen. Not the specialized LED lights designed for cyclists but the everyday utility style flashlight you commonly carry in your hand. That interest got my attention through a mention on bicyclecommuters.com about the Fenix L2D. Cyclists found the L2D gave sufficient light for night commuting, water resistance for exposure to rain, and ran on 2 AA batteries. Because of the multiple uses for the L2D other than as a bike light, and my dissatisfaction with cheap bike lights, I bought one to use on my recumbent. Like many folks, the flashlights I typically used were plastic tubes with a tear drop shaped bulb that ran on D cells. Big, bulky and dim. The L2D made me see the light (pun intended). And while I appreciated all the praise being heaped on this little gem, I still felt the beam was a little weak for bike commuting. Much better than the lower end bike lights sold at the local bike shops, but still not enough throw to light the road far enough ahead to avoid hazards when riding at speeds above 12 to 14 mph.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a Fenix TA30 in the mail from Fenix Outfitters. I had volunteered to review this new light with hopes that the higher output would address the one concern I had with my L2D. WOW, did it ever!! There was no way I could outride the light on this bad boy. Better run times on the highest setting, water resistance for use in stormy weather, impact resistant for jarring rides, and best of all, a wonderful throw to light the road. What follows is my comparison of the L2D with the TA30 for bike commuters.
DESCRIPTION
The TA30 is a medium sized aluminum flashlight with an LED emitter that has a tail button to turn the light on and off and a rotating ring near the front of the light to select output power. The power options are low (9 lumens), medium (60 lumens), high (225 lumens) and flashing (225 lumens). The light is a white light that is very useful for showing road irregularities. Run times from the manufacturers specs are 115 hours at low, 25 hours on medium and 3.5 hours on high. Although not specified, these figures were probably obtained using primary (single use) batteries. The TA30 weighs 200 grams without batteries. As delivered, the light comes with a spare rubber switch boot, lanyard, and two spare O-rings. As part of this test I also used a Fenix flashlight mount to lock the light into position on the frame (three feet above the road) or light bracket (2 feet above the road).
RUN TIME
Using 2700 mAh AA's, my L2D would last 1.75 hours on the turbo setting (180 lumens). I commute to work in Florida by bike year round, so in the summers, I ride with the light on high rather than in turbo mode due to concerns about heat damage to the emitter. With the light on high, I could see the road better than with the low end lights often used by cyclists but still not great. Riding in the winter, when it's cool enough to ride with the light on turbo, the L2D gave more light, but still not enough, so I added a 10 watt, helmet mounted, halogen lamp. The halogen with a 30 degree reflector had no throw but a nice wide beam that filled the ground near the front tire with a soft yellow glow, and I could use the L2D on turbo to get some distance lighting. But still, I found myself unsuccessfully trying to dodge the occasional lug nut or piece of tire that came out of the night too fast.
The TA30 uses CR123's and for a flashlight novice, I was concerned that this "odd" size would be an issue. However, my concerns were short lived after purchasing three 3V 900 mAh rechargeable CR123's and a charger. With a full charge, I get 2.25 hours of run time on high. This amounts to a half hour more runtime than the L2D with 25% more light. And when I used primary lithium's from Panasonic, I got a little more than three hours and 10 minutes on High. Since my rides during the summer start at 6:00 am, I'm riding in the dark for the first half hour to 45 minutes. With the TA30 I could easily get three rides before recharging. Using primaries, I could go a whole week. Very impressive.
THE BEAM
Obviously, this is an important consideration when we go out to buy lights for our rides. And this will be one of those things that results in a compromise when using a flashlight for cycling. Flashlights are not designed to provide lighting that is optimized for a cyclist. The configuration of the reflector and lens are not as efficient as you might see on high end cycling lights that have been designed to cast a narrow beam close to the front tire and become wider further down the road. This results in a pyramid shaped beam. Flashlights however, cast a round beam which becomes oval shaped when mounted on a bike. With the power of the TA30, I'm not sure this results in much of a compromise.
Another consideration for cyclists is that not only do people on the road see your tail lights, but the more observant drivers will also look at the bike's head lights as they light the road, and while approaching from behind, they can get a good visual cue on the path of the cyclist if the beam is powerful enough to be seen. As previously mentioned, I found the L2D to have a somewhat shorter throw than I need. This meant that overtaking traffic would/could only focus on my tail lights (and if I'm really lucky, they're not focused on sending a text message while they drive). The TA30 places most of the light well out front and still gives adequate spill to allow overtaking traffic to watch your direction.
However, this next photo of the TA30 shows the beam reaches well out to 40 meters even when backlit by a summer Florida thunderstorm out over the Gulf of Mexico.
WEIGHT
Weight is a big deal for some cyclists. They're the riders we affectionately call weight weenies. These are the folks that take off as many spokes as possible to save a few grams. They have a need for speed and the TA30 is not going to show up on their Christmas Wish List. If there is an area where the TA30 meets its match with the L2D, this is it. While I can't deny the obvious weight advantage of the L2D over the TA30, (56 grams vs. 200 grams) in my mind, the enhanced safety afforded the TA30 through greater visibility for the rider and other traffic, greatly offsets the differences in weight. And for the off road crowd where traffic and speed isn't as much of a factor, the powerful beam still tips the balance in favor of the TA30.
BATTERIES
As discussed above, the TA30 uses an unusual battery form factor for the casual flashlight user. It is also a pricey battery compared to the L2D fodder. For example, a set of three primaries from Radio Shack will set you back about $40. A little shopping on the internet will get you a set of three for $5 plus shipping. But the ability of the TA30 to take rechargeable batteries (@ $14 for three from the internet) makes this a moot point in my mind. Buy one set of primaries to use as backup or load up on the rechargeables and call it good. But for the randonneurs, this could be a deal breaker. Those folks will be hard pressed to carry a flashlight whose batteries can't be found at the local convenience store at 3:30am. And just as weight is an important factor for the weight weenies, and batteries for the randonneurs, the safety factor provided by the TA30 makes those non issues in my mind.
RECOMMENDATION
The TA30 provides a significant value when compared with lights specifically designed for the cycling market such as those from Marwi, Dinotte, Cateye, et al. In addition, it can still provide for all the other uses for which flashlights are designed such as camping, hiking, emergency services, etc. For me, the L2D has been a great introduction to LED flashlights. However, all things considered, the TA30 is a superior light for cycling commuters. With a TA30 to use up front, perhaps I should look into getting a red lens for the L2D and seeing how it compares to my planet bike blinky on the backside. Having seen how far flashlights have developed with LED emitters, I can't wait to see what the future holds.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a Fenix TA30 in the mail from Fenix Outfitters. I had volunteered to review this new light with hopes that the higher output would address the one concern I had with my L2D. WOW, did it ever!! There was no way I could outride the light on this bad boy. Better run times on the highest setting, water resistance for use in stormy weather, impact resistant for jarring rides, and best of all, a wonderful throw to light the road. What follows is my comparison of the L2D with the TA30 for bike commuters.
DESCRIPTION
The TA30 is a medium sized aluminum flashlight with an LED emitter that has a tail button to turn the light on and off and a rotating ring near the front of the light to select output power. The power options are low (9 lumens), medium (60 lumens), high (225 lumens) and flashing (225 lumens). The light is a white light that is very useful for showing road irregularities. Run times from the manufacturers specs are 115 hours at low, 25 hours on medium and 3.5 hours on high. Although not specified, these figures were probably obtained using primary (single use) batteries. The TA30 weighs 200 grams without batteries. As delivered, the light comes with a spare rubber switch boot, lanyard, and two spare O-rings. As part of this test I also used a Fenix flashlight mount to lock the light into position on the frame (three feet above the road) or light bracket (2 feet above the road).
RUN TIME
Using 2700 mAh AA's, my L2D would last 1.75 hours on the turbo setting (180 lumens). I commute to work in Florida by bike year round, so in the summers, I ride with the light on high rather than in turbo mode due to concerns about heat damage to the emitter. With the light on high, I could see the road better than with the low end lights often used by cyclists but still not great. Riding in the winter, when it's cool enough to ride with the light on turbo, the L2D gave more light, but still not enough, so I added a 10 watt, helmet mounted, halogen lamp. The halogen with a 30 degree reflector had no throw but a nice wide beam that filled the ground near the front tire with a soft yellow glow, and I could use the L2D on turbo to get some distance lighting. But still, I found myself unsuccessfully trying to dodge the occasional lug nut or piece of tire that came out of the night too fast.
The TA30 uses CR123's and for a flashlight novice, I was concerned that this "odd" size would be an issue. However, my concerns were short lived after purchasing three 3V 900 mAh rechargeable CR123's and a charger. With a full charge, I get 2.25 hours of run time on high. This amounts to a half hour more runtime than the L2D with 25% more light. And when I used primary lithium's from Panasonic, I got a little more than three hours and 10 minutes on High. Since my rides during the summer start at 6:00 am, I'm riding in the dark for the first half hour to 45 minutes. With the TA30 I could easily get three rides before recharging. Using primaries, I could go a whole week. Very impressive.
THE BEAM
Obviously, this is an important consideration when we go out to buy lights for our rides. And this will be one of those things that results in a compromise when using a flashlight for cycling. Flashlights are not designed to provide lighting that is optimized for a cyclist. The configuration of the reflector and lens are not as efficient as you might see on high end cycling lights that have been designed to cast a narrow beam close to the front tire and become wider further down the road. This results in a pyramid shaped beam. Flashlights however, cast a round beam which becomes oval shaped when mounted on a bike. With the power of the TA30, I'm not sure this results in much of a compromise.
Another consideration for cyclists is that not only do people on the road see your tail lights, but the more observant drivers will also look at the bike's head lights as they light the road, and while approaching from behind, they can get a good visual cue on the path of the cyclist if the beam is powerful enough to be seen. As previously mentioned, I found the L2D to have a somewhat shorter throw than I need. This meant that overtaking traffic would/could only focus on my tail lights (and if I'm really lucky, they're not focused on sending a text message while they drive). The TA30 places most of the light well out front and still gives adequate spill to allow overtaking traffic to watch your direction.
Below are the comparisons of the L2D and the TA30. In the photo below you can see the L2D barely reaches 20 meters when mounted on the fork.
However, this next photo of the TA30 shows the beam reaches well out to 40 meters even when backlit by a summer Florida thunderstorm out over the Gulf of Mexico.
WEIGHT
Weight is a big deal for some cyclists. They're the riders we affectionately call weight weenies. These are the folks that take off as many spokes as possible to save a few grams. They have a need for speed and the TA30 is not going to show up on their Christmas Wish List. If there is an area where the TA30 meets its match with the L2D, this is it. While I can't deny the obvious weight advantage of the L2D over the TA30, (56 grams vs. 200 grams) in my mind, the enhanced safety afforded the TA30 through greater visibility for the rider and other traffic, greatly offsets the differences in weight. And for the off road crowd where traffic and speed isn't as much of a factor, the powerful beam still tips the balance in favor of the TA30.
BATTERIES
As discussed above, the TA30 uses an unusual battery form factor for the casual flashlight user. It is also a pricey battery compared to the L2D fodder. For example, a set of three primaries from Radio Shack will set you back about $40. A little shopping on the internet will get you a set of three for $5 plus shipping. But the ability of the TA30 to take rechargeable batteries (@ $14 for three from the internet) makes this a moot point in my mind. Buy one set of primaries to use as backup or load up on the rechargeables and call it good. But for the randonneurs, this could be a deal breaker. Those folks will be hard pressed to carry a flashlight whose batteries can't be found at the local convenience store at 3:30am. And just as weight is an important factor for the weight weenies, and batteries for the randonneurs, the safety factor provided by the TA30 makes those non issues in my mind.
RECOMMENDATION
The TA30 provides a significant value when compared with lights specifically designed for the cycling market such as those from Marwi, Dinotte, Cateye, et al. In addition, it can still provide for all the other uses for which flashlights are designed such as camping, hiking, emergency services, etc. For me, the L2D has been a great introduction to LED flashlights. However, all things considered, the TA30 is a superior light for cycling commuters. With a TA30 to use up front, perhaps I should look into getting a red lens for the L2D and seeing how it compares to my planet bike blinky on the backside. Having seen how far flashlights have developed with LED emitters, I can't wait to see what the future holds.
