Fenix BC30 LED Bike Light Review

"One light to rule them all... And in the darkness, pwn them."

Good evening folks! A couple of days after I crashed, I decided to invest in a good and powerful bike light to be better able to see bumps and road undulations at night, which should hopefully lead to me crashing less, or not at all! *crosses fingers*

The new BC30!

I've had, and still have, the BT20, but decided to get the new Fenix BC30 since it does not use an external battery pack. Granted that this makes the light around the same size as a phone, but I prefer to have less things (and wires) exposed and dangling around for stuff to snag onto.

My bike with the BC30 resting atop the 'bars.

Dwarfing the Garmin Edge 510 somewhat...

Pretty good looking light, I must say!

What I've found with most other bike lights is that, even if they claim to have 1xxx lumens, they are of not much use if all that light is going to just one spot, rather than illuminating the sides where our peripheral vision also sees. Cycling requires us to change direction quickly sometimes, and it would be great if we could see what we are about to run over when we change our line.

Fenix's promotional image showing their beam cast distance.

This is where Fenix, if you'll pardon the pun, shines! My take on the pros and cons about the Fenix BC30:

Pros:

• Very powerful. I usually use the Mid (200 lumens) or High (500 lumens) setting, unless I really need to light up an area, then I'll switch to Turbo's 1200 lumens output.
• Good optics means that the beam is spread very, very well, even upwards to tree tops or those faraway reflective road signs.
• Uses two size 18650 or four CR123A batteries. No proprietary stuff here, which is superb! 
• Runtime at 5 hours for 500 lumens is pretty ok for me since I don't ride more than a 4 hour stretch at night.
• Includes a remote switch which you can use to activate an instant burst of 1800 lumens.
• Handlebar mount has changed from the BT20's rubber strap design to a screw-in type. Not a bad change as I'll worry about the rubber strap deteriorating and breaking over time from UV exposure.
• It does not seem to disrupt my Garmin Edge 510 from receiving speed-cadence data. This can be a problem with some powerful lights that aren't shielded well.

  

Cons:

• Very powerful + good optics = Squint-inducing. No kidding here, you'd have your friends squinting at you even at 200 lumens. Good problem to have, though!
• Large size. Guess there has to be a trade-off here since I don't want a light that uses a separate battery pack but still have enough juice to last the night.
• Doesn't have batteries and charger included. I'm guessing this is because most Fenix fans already have their own batteries and chargers, or already have their own preferred favourites. But cycling folks are used to having stuff like those included so that they can buy it, charge it and go off riding. 

Would I recommend it? The answer is a resounding YES. This will be a long-term review, so I'll also post more pros and cons as I go along.

I'll also include my own photos of the BC30 lighting up the night with my bike soon. Will do so once I've spare time to go take some photos after seeing to the baby!

Suggestions to Fenix:

• Make a handlebar mount that can be used with flat-top aerobars like the 3T Aeronova or Zipp 'bars. You'll probably capture a larger market share for people who use bars like those.

The 3T Aeronova Team handlebar

• Maybe have a bundle package price that includes your >3000mAh 18650 batteries and a charger.
• Keep up the good work!

Where to buy in Singapore? Check out T K Foto Technic at Funan Centre. They are on the second floor. Retails at SG$130 for the BC30 alone.

Fenix promotional pictures from www.fenix-store.com