Fenix BC30R Bike Light

Discussion in 'Functional Gear & Equipment' started by Hanzo, Oct 12, 2015.


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  1. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++

    I guess you could say I am a lightoholic, knifeoholic, gearoholic, etc. If you want to be nasty, I guess you could say I am a light whore, knife whore, gear whore, etc... Just not a man whore. (Deuce Bigalow is super funny)

    Actually, I have a lot of different brands of lights. Fenix is one of them. I find Fenix to be reliable and reasonably priced. So even though my fatbike came with a headlight, I got a better one. The stock one is a piddling 200-300 lumens, which is ok if that is all you have. But it does not light up as far or as wide. My plan is to leave it on and aim it down maybe 30 - 45 degrees.

    The Fenix light is much brighter, and has a dual beam technology. Two bulbs and reflectors. One aimed for throw and the other for a smooth wide angle beam. Here is my fatbike parked in its locked garage. Turned the light on for the picture. Light on turbo at 800 lumens. It has a max of 1600 lumens. I traded a little brightness for a display that shows remaining runtime.

    [​IMG]

    Light aimed at a tree about 60 feet away on the 800 lumen mode. Didn't take a base line shot. The tree was totally dark. It is lit up pretty nicely.

    [​IMG]

    So the headlight makes it easy to see and be seen. Halo belt on the back for night rides.
     
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  2. sec_monkey

    sec_monkey SM Security Administrator

    [chopper]
     
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  3. kellory

    kellory An unemployed Jester, is nobody's fool. Banned

    Perhaps we should call you "Glow-in-the-Dark Monkey"?;)
     
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  4. chimo

    chimo the few, the proud, the jarhead monkey crowd

    Death Star Monkey
     
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  5. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Cherenkov monkey.
     
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  6. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++

    Those are all pretty deep, guys. Especially Cherenkov... Of those, I like Death Star Monkey best. What else you guys got. Of course, wifee already dubbed me monkey king (from Journey to the West for those who like Chinese classical literature).
     
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  7. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++


    Good man, @stg58. Welcome to the dark side.
     
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  8. Hanzo

    Hanzo Monkey+++

    So took a short night ride tonight, only about 45 minutes. Purpose was to test the bike light at night. I tested it both on and off road. And mainly ran it at 800 lumens and did the occasional 1600 lumen burst. In the pictures, 800 lumen is on top and 1600 lumens is on the bottom.

    My tai chi tree. Even though both pictures were taken from the same spot at a stand still, the 1600 lumens makes the tree appear closer, mainly because more is lit up and visible. Range to tree, right about 100'.

    [​IMG]

    Just an open expanse. And the light getting into the picture.

    [​IMG]

    On a quiet street. A little ambient light from street lights. Range to hydrant about 70'.

    [​IMG]

    So my thoughts. The light is a great light, like what I would expect from Fenix. Plenty bright. And I kept it aimed a respectable slight downcast so as not to blind anyone. Oh, Fenix has a kind of visor on the light too, to help keep the light from shining up face height. But if I could do it over again, I would have opted for the BC30, which was my original plan. Same light, but no run time indicator. I found that when riding, I actually didn't care to look at that. And if my night ride is long, it will just downshift to a lower brightness level. Or I could swap out the batteries. Also, the BC30 is 1200 lumens at the level I would ride at. So about 50% more and the burst mode is 1800. I second guessed myself on the runtime indicator and wish I didn’t. I think the BC30 would have been a better buy than the BC30R.

    When I was riding, especially where there was no light, I couldn't see the time on my watch. But after a quick pass in front of the bike light, bright and clear, unlike my picture.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2015
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