Fenix BC22R At a Glace

A bright, high-quality, compact front bike light with innovative mounting options, charging port, along with an included removable and replaceable high-capacity 18650 battery. Read on why I think it’s definitely worth you picking up, complete with lab and hands-on testing:

• Purchase at: FenixLighting.com

Stand Out Benefits of the Fenix BC22R

Bright, Powerful Light – “turbo” mode outputs @ 1400 lumens, with lower intensities available for longer runtimes.

Anti-Glare Cut-Off – run this light on a bright setting to illuminate the road ahead of you without blinding fellow cyclists, motorists, or other road users. 

Quick Release Mount System – light easily locks into place and stays there. Light can just as easily be removed to take with you so that it does not get stolen. 

Two Included Mounting Options – standard mounting and GoPro-compatible mounting to work best with your handlebar setup. 

Reversible Mounting – Light can be mounted upside-down allowing it to be situated at the correct orientation underneath a cycling computer so that the light works the best however you mount it. 

Quality Battery – included battery is a high quality, high capacity 18650 battery with safety features built-in for safe, long-lasting use. 

Battery Removable/Replaceable – Easily swap out additional 18650 batteries to run the light on extra long rides or multi-day trips. Battery is non-proprietary and can be used in other bike lights, head lamps.

Features of the Fenix BC22R

• Lighting Settings: 
  • Low: 50 lumens, 41 hr runtime
  • Medium: 200 lumens, 11 hr runtime
  • High: 600 lumens, 5:30 hr runtime
  • Turbo: 1400 lumens, 2:20 hr runtime
  • Flash: 200/50 lumens
• LED Battery Indicator
  • Green: 100-85%
  • Blinking Green: 85-50%
  • Red: 50-25%
  • Blinking Red: 25-1%
• Mounting Options:
  • Standard Handlebar Mount
  • GoPro-Compatible Mount
• Weight:
  • Light: 106 grams
  • Battery: 50 grams 
  • Standard Mount: 30 grams
  • GoPro-compatible Mount: 9 grams 
• Battery
  • 3400mAh 18650 removable/replaceable with any other 18650 battery
  • USB-C charging port
  • Included USB-C to USB-A cable
• IP66 Water Resistance Rating: dust proof, protected against torrential rain, but not complete water immersion

What’s in the Box?

I came out of the gym one late night to find my handlebar mounted bike light was missing. The only thing left was a broken mount. The mounting hardware was somewhat fragile, so it was easy to just rip it off. I should have removed the bike light before heading in, but in the 10 years I’ve been a member of this gym, I’ve never had a problem. So I was happy to see that FenixLighting.com had a new light available for me to demo: the Fenix BC22R. What do I think of my new light?

Fenix BC22R Mounting 

Funny as it sounds, one of the standout features of the Fenix BC22R is its mounting hardware options. High powered lights like the BC22R tend to be somewhat heavier than their lower quality, dimmer brethren, so you need an excellent mounting system to keep the light held firmly in place and not fly off when you hit a bump. I’ve owned some stinkers and I’ve had to fetch lights from the middle of a darkened road, or fish them out of a storm drain more than a few times. Thankfully the light — or me — haven’t gotten run over in this pursuit.

Brighter lights, with longer runtimes sometimes separate the light and the battery pack so that you only mount the relatively lighter battery to the handlebar, stowing the heavier battery pack somewhere else. This has many downsides, not the least of which being the cable that connects the two elements together oftentimes gets damaged from the constant vibration of cycling and other everyday forces.  So what’s a better solution?

The Fenix BC22R’s solution is by having the mounting hardware cradle the light itself by the sides rather than just the bottom, eliminating the chance that the light will simply vibrate off the mount. The light is locked into place by a small tab in the back. A very simple solution – and strong!

Removing the light is also very simple: bend the back flap to disengage the tab and pull the light back. Now I try to be in the habit of always taking off my light when I lock up my bike, then putting the light in my pocket. The light itself is pocket-sized at 4½”  1¼” x 1¼” , making this quite easy to do. 

Perhaps in the future, other lights from Fenix Lighting will follow suit in adoption this newer mounting system.  And there’s more than one way to mount the light to work with your handlebar setup:

Mounting Options

The Fenix BC22R doesn’t come with just one mounting option, but two. The first is the standard handlebar mount, the second is a GoPro-compatible mount. If your separate cycling computer mount also supports a GoPro mount then you’re then in luck, since now this light is compatible with your system. I definitely prefer this option, as it centers the light on my handlebars and frees up a bit of handlebar space for my giant hands. 

The BC22R can itself be mounted with the mount upside down, which preserves its “anti-glare, facula cut-off line”. What’s that?

Anti-Glare Facula Cut-Off Line

The beam of the Fenix BC22R is thrown out slightly cut off at the top, so you can run the light at a bright intensity without shining such a bright light into other people’s eyes. Your car head lights – if set up correctly – probably also has a similar feature. It’s easily illustrated if you shine the light onto a board or even parallel to it, like the below photos show:

And, when you have an upside down mount, you can attach the Fenix BC22R light rightside up, preserving that important cut-off line. Clever!

Let’s dive into the lighting settings:

Lighting Settings

Fenix keeps it simple with the BC22R light: there are essentially three intensity levels, a short-run turbo mode, and a flashing light mode.

The lowest mode is good for long rides where you want to preserve the battery charge – I use this on slow uphills.

The other two run modes — medium and high — are what you’ll most likely be on depending on ambient lighting conditions.

The turbo mode comes in handy if you are riding in a busy part of town – like during rush hour – and just want a little more throw so that other road users know you’re around. It can also be useful if you’re off pavement and need a little more clarity navigating some technical gnar. 

Finally, the flashing mode is a good choice for daytime running, or at night, where you want additional attention given to yourself. This may also be a good runtime mode for busy roads.

Light Runtime – Is it Accurate?

To test the validity of the manufacture’s advertised runtime claims of this light, I conducted a simple burn test while the Fenix BC22R was on its “high” setting. Looking at the manufacturer-provided runtime graph:

“high” (in blue) should give a little less than 40% of the total output for 1hr, then step down to < 20% afterwards, then stay that way for 5 hours 30 minutes before exhausting the battery. What did I find?

The burn test did show a step down after (almost exactly) 1hr closely matching what the manufacturer specs, with the rest of the runtime at that intensity lasting until hour number 5.

But, then the light continued to illuminate at another step down for an additional hour fifteen minutes, beating out the manufacturer’s own claims. 

How do you operate this light?

Lighting Operation 

The Fenix BC22R has only one button: press and hold turn it on. Press it again to cycle through the different lighting mode intensities. Press and hold to turn it off. Funnily, to put this light in flashing mode, first press and hold to turn it on, then press and hold it for even longer than normal. 

I usually prefer very simple button interfaces, and this light is no exception. On longer rides, I do like to play with the lighting intensity to maximize runtime. Usually that means, long and slow uphills are run at the light on “low”, while quick descents are on a higher level.  

Lighting Color Temperature

Fenix advertises this light as having a color temperature of around 6000K-6500K, a slightly cooler tone than daylight that’s often used in headlights. A cooler temperature is said to allow you to see my details, as well as allow you to make out features farther in distance. 

Included 3400mAh Battery: A Big Advantage

Much of what makes the Fenix BC22R great is the top quality 3400mAh 18650 battery that comes standard with it easily inspect the battery itself to gauge its quality and the battery that comes with the BC22R bike light is excellent. Its 34000 mAh capacity is coming up near the limit of what’s possible in this battery size. 

And not only that, this battery has a protection circuit built-in to prevent short circuits, over charging, and overheating, as well as features to even prevent the rare explosion. There are far cheaper batteries out there but it’s not always that easy to tell what you may be getting battery-wise in a cheaper bike light that advertises similar specs to this light without disassembling the light itself. And if this battery does conk out, replacing just the battery is far cheaper than replacing the whole light. 

Removable and Replaceable Battery

I am not a fan of cycling front lights with proprietary, embedded, non-replaceable batteries. My own bike rides are often the long distance variety, so the chance I’ll need more capacity than what’s available in one charge at a brightness I prefer is likely. 

Thankfully, the Fenix BC22R‘s easily swappable internal 3400 mAh 18650 battery can be accessed by simply unscrewing the body of the light itself, allowing you to take out the battery to replace. I now have a small collection of 18650 batteries, so on a long ride where I know I’ll be riding in the dark for more than 4 hours, I’ll bring along a spare battery. Even when just commuting, I may stow an older spare battery in my bag so I have a “just in case” option. 

This also opens up this battery to be used on multi-day trips, where you can bring this light, and a couple of extra batteries, and know you’ll be covered over multiple late night riding sessions. 

Since the light has its own charging port, you can use the light itself to recharge off your own battery pack or off a wall socket and a USB wall charger. The less than 3 hour recharge time lets you accomplish this even during an extended stop, like for lunch.  

At home, I also have a 18650 charger that accepts multiple batteries to be charged at once. 

Battery Capacity: Is it Accurate?

As noted, the 18650 battery that comes with the BC22R is labeled as having 3400mAh/12.2Wh capacity, with a nominal voltage of 3.6V. Can we verify this?

Yes! I set up a simple discharge test rig (simple being the operative word: I am NOT an electrical engineer!), with an inline USB power meter to measure the draw of a dummy load tester. The fairly fresh and fully charged battery drew 5V at 1 Amp (5 Watts) for almost an two hours (1hr 57min), resulting in a recorded discharge of 1935 mAh/9.739 Wh. This would seem far lower than the advertised capacity of 3400mAh, but actual capacities of batteries are always lower than what’s listed on the batteries themselves, not to mention any shortcomings of my very simple test rig, coupled with the loss of efficiency converting 3.7W of my battery to the 5W drawn. But, is this actual capacity inline with other batteries? 

To answer that question, I repeated the discharge test with 18650 batteries I have on hand that are labeled as being 3000mAh and 2600mAh. If the “3400 mAh” label was realistic, the numbers after discharging the battery should be higher than the 3000 and 26000 mAh batteries. Here are the results:

Battery	Advertised Capacity	Computed Capacity After Voltage Augmentation (labeled-mAh x ~3.7 x5)	Recorded Discharge	Efficiency
Fenix ARB-L18-3400	3400 mAh / 12.24 Wh	2516 mAh	1935 mAh / 9.739 Wh	77%
3000 mAh	3000 mAh / ???	2220 mAh	1714 mAh/ 8.587 Wh	77%
2600 mAh	2600 mAh / 9 Wh	1924 mAh	1363 mAh / 6.844 Wh	71%

Sure enough, those other batteries showed recorded discharges that were less than Fenix’s 18650 3400mAh battery. This gives me confidence that the higher advertised capacity is also valid. Let’s quickly touch upon how you know how much juice is left in the battery when you’re using it:

Battery Indicator

There is a small battery indicator on the power button itself, stylized as what looks like a flame. Green means lots of juice left, blinking green less so, red means half or less, and a blinking red means you should probably think about recharging ASAP. And charging the battery is really simple:

Battery Charging 

A USB-C port is found on the button of the Fenix BC22R along with a rubber plug to help with its water resistance. Fenix specs that the battery can be recharged in about 3 hours. In my own charging test, it took only 2 hours and 18 minutes for the battery level indicator to report a fully charged battery, drawing 3300mAh/16.44 Wh — again beating out the manufacture’s own specs. Aside: Although 3300 mAh is very close to the 3400 mAh of its capacity, remember from above that an accurate capacity of a battery is not found when charging, but discharging. 

So, can this light take some abuse?

Water Resistance: IP66

The Fenix BC22R Bike Light is rated at IP66, so it’ll survive being in a hurricane, but don’t take it scuba diving. 

Who is the Fenix BC22R Best For?

The Fenix BC22R is an excellent, high-quality front bike light for any type of road or gravel bike riding, be it riding to the store, commuting to work, or riding for the fun of it. The lighting settings allow you to run this light long enough and bright enough for long distance rides that last a few days and which can be easily extended by bringing along a few extra 18650 batteries or charging the light during the ride (or both!). The mounting options help keep your cockpit looking nice and clean and make bringing along this light while your bike is locked up so simple even I can remember to do it.

Would You Change Anything About the Fenix BC22R?

There are many front bike lights that fit a similar form factor and to a lesser extent: light performance of the Fenix BC22R. But what you’re getting for the price of the BC22R is a much higher quality than I’ve seen from most any other similar bike light. The battery isn’t good, it’s great. The standard mount isn’t just serviceable, it’s a major step up from everything else I’ve used. You can either buy a cheaper, disposable light multiple times, or buy this light once and be much happier. Classic “Boots” theory at play.

Most changes that I would make would put this light into a different category altogether. I would love a longer runtime without having to swap out batteries, but plunking in another 18650 battery into the body of this light would change the mounting I’ve been gushing about, making the light — at the very least — 50 grams heavier in battery alone, and make the battery cost at minimum $25 to $30 more. Such lights already exist, and Fenix sells them. I have had a few and they’re also really great.

If there are any small change I’d make, it would be for the battery indicator. I’m not a fan of blinking lights, and a blinking light to get my attention for something not sensationally important — like telling me the battery capacity is at 75% — just isn’t needed (for < 25%, that’s useful). Luckily for me I can make a quick hack via a 1cm square piece of electrical tape if I wanted to. If I’m reaching, one other “nice to have” change would be some sort of rubberized grip on the light, if I decide to use it in my hands in a pinch: say I forgot my headlamp while running. The BC22R feels pretty good in hand already, but some rubber would make it a standout. Niche use, I understand.

What Other Fenix Products Should I Check Out?

If you’re looking for a headlamp that’s on the fringe of ultralight, but still has the convenience of a removable battery — a feature I find so important on multi-day outings — I love using my Fenix HM62-T. The headband is a standout with the ratcheting dial. It doesn’t have a charging port at all, but comes with a 18650 battery that itself has a charging port built right in it — Fenix’s own ARB-L18-3400U V2.0. This battery itself is excellent for backpackers who don’t want to lug around a charging station with them. When I’m doing a > 3 day trip that I need a lot of light for, I’ll bring a few regular 18650 batteries, and one a battery with a charging port to charge with a battery pack I also bring, so I know I have more than enough capacity for whatever I want to do. See my own review of the HM62-T.

If the Fenix BC22R sounds great, but you crave more runtime, the BC30R V2.0 is what you really want. It carries two, 18650 batteries but doesn’t have its own charging port, so you’ll have to charge the batteries separately. Batteries are also not included, which is why you find this light cheaper. Grab this battery charger/battery combo as well. For this reason, consider this a more expert setup. There’s a lot more going on. But for serious commuters and bikepackers, this is some sweet kit.

For a red rear bike light to complement your new front light swag, check out the Fenix BC06R. It also features its own unique quick release system to make it easy to bring the light with you and out of the hands of thieves. See my own review on the BC06R for more details.

What Do You Think?

Have you used the Fenix BC22R, or any other Fenix lights? What are your own impressions?

Thanks to Fenix Lighting for providing the BC06R Rechargeable Bike Tail Light for evaluation. If you would like to see your product showcased on this site and on my Youtube channel, please contact me.