Quick IQ-X Review
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Jake Kassen
Mar 20, 2016, 11:02:27 PM3/20/16
to randon
The topic of the B&M IQ-X headlight came up a few weeks ago. I needed a new headlight so I took the plunge and ordered one from Europe. It took exactly a week to arrive. Here is a quick review for those interested. I haven’t used the light much (only a few miles at night) so take that as you will. I’m comparing the light against the B&M Eyc, Emily’s Edelux, an older Supernova, plus a whole bunch of homemade lights.
Summery: The IQ-X is pretty good with a few notable downsides.
Construction: Physically the IQ-X is large. Longer but slightly less tall than the Edulux. Larger in both dimensions to the Supernova and dwarfs the Eyc. If you have limited space between the wheel and a bag it might not fit. (It just barely clears my barcon cables.) The lens of the IQ-X is thin plastic which feels cheap. I don’t think it will fall apart but I can see it getting scratch by road debris. (Or rather, by trying to brush off sand which got flung onto the light.) Unlike the Edlux there isn’t a wide ring around the lens to protect it should something hit the front of the light. With the exception of the lens the light feels solid and well constructed.
The blue indicator ring light is a nice touch. I didn’t find it distracting but I can’t see it while riding in a normal position. The button is easy to press with gloves. The IQ-X has small slits for side illumination — these work well and do make the bike more visible from the side. I was able to see these slits lit during daytime use so they are clearly bright. The “daytime running light” mode is still fairly bright.
Mount: The IQ-X comes with a bracket which can adjust in two places which is helpful. Why they use a torx head on these adjustment screws and not a normal hex is beyond me. Given how large the light is I had to adjust the bracket such that it is parallel to the road so that the light is as low as possible and far away from the headtube. The downside is that it will pick up more crud thrown from the wheel that makes it past the fender. The part of the mount which accepts the fork crown bolt is tall and won’t fit on most forks without spacers to hold it away from the fork. This part of the mount is also plastic and will deform slightly when the brake/bolt is tightened. They should have made it from metal. On the plus side the mount has a compartment which holds the taillight wiring — a nice feature as it keeps the light wiring looking clean and neat.
Light output: The light is certainly bright but it isn’t a magnitude brighter than the Eyc. This is the first B&M beam which I find wide enough for my tastes — car lane width, not bike path width. The biggest flaw, however, is the pattern suffers from not being an even throw. There is a narrow bright band on the furthest throw, then a slightly darker patch, then another bright section close to the wheel. Given how close the light is to the wheel there is a notably large wheel shadow.
I played with the angle of the light trying to optimize the beam but with limited success. Angled up slightly and much of a light is lost to the horizon but the beam is even on the ground. (Evenly dim, I should add.) Angled down slightly and there is far more light on the road but with worse bright/dark bands. I wasn’t able to find a sweet spot. In my tests I was in places with street lighting — if it was pitch black I’d be happier with the pattern. This said, the deficiencies in the beam are minor. This is still a good beam for randonneuring and pretty good for commuting. The IQ-X will be my primary randonneuring light for 2016 and replaces the Eyc which is going to another bike.
Overall I’m happy with the light. It’s the best B&M light to date and I’d prefer it to the Edulux or the Supernova. But that said, the best lights I’ve used are still the homebuilt dual-LED lights* I made many years ago which use a symmetrical pattern. I’m not convinced that asymmetric beams are preferable in any way.
Jake
*I stopped using my homemade lights on my randonneuring bike when I started using a handlebar bag which required an alternate light mounting position.
Summery: The IQ-X is pretty good with a few notable downsides.
Construction: Physically the IQ-X is large. Longer but slightly less tall than the Edulux. Larger in both dimensions to the Supernova and dwarfs the Eyc. If you have limited space between the wheel and a bag it might not fit. (It just barely clears my barcon cables.) The lens of the IQ-X is thin plastic which feels cheap. I don’t think it will fall apart but I can see it getting scratch by road debris. (Or rather, by trying to brush off sand which got flung onto the light.) Unlike the Edlux there isn’t a wide ring around the lens to protect it should something hit the front of the light. With the exception of the lens the light feels solid and well constructed.
The blue indicator ring light is a nice touch. I didn’t find it distracting but I can’t see it while riding in a normal position. The button is easy to press with gloves. The IQ-X has small slits for side illumination — these work well and do make the bike more visible from the side. I was able to see these slits lit during daytime use so they are clearly bright. The “daytime running light” mode is still fairly bright.
Mount: The IQ-X comes with a bracket which can adjust in two places which is helpful. Why they use a torx head on these adjustment screws and not a normal hex is beyond me. Given how large the light is I had to adjust the bracket such that it is parallel to the road so that the light is as low as possible and far away from the headtube. The downside is that it will pick up more crud thrown from the wheel that makes it past the fender. The part of the mount which accepts the fork crown bolt is tall and won’t fit on most forks without spacers to hold it away from the fork. This part of the mount is also plastic and will deform slightly when the brake/bolt is tightened. They should have made it from metal. On the plus side the mount has a compartment which holds the taillight wiring — a nice feature as it keeps the light wiring looking clean and neat.
Light output: The light is certainly bright but it isn’t a magnitude brighter than the Eyc. This is the first B&M beam which I find wide enough for my tastes — car lane width, not bike path width. The biggest flaw, however, is the pattern suffers from not being an even throw. There is a narrow bright band on the furthest throw, then a slightly darker patch, then another bright section close to the wheel. Given how close the light is to the wheel there is a notably large wheel shadow.
I played with the angle of the light trying to optimize the beam but with limited success. Angled up slightly and much of a light is lost to the horizon but the beam is even on the ground. (Evenly dim, I should add.) Angled down slightly and there is far more light on the road but with worse bright/dark bands. I wasn’t able to find a sweet spot. In my tests I was in places with street lighting — if it was pitch black I’d be happier with the pattern. This said, the deficiencies in the beam are minor. This is still a good beam for randonneuring and pretty good for commuting. The IQ-X will be my primary randonneuring light for 2016 and replaces the Eyc which is going to another bike.
Overall I’m happy with the light. It’s the best B&M light to date and I’d prefer it to the Edulux or the Supernova. But that said, the best lights I’ve used are still the homebuilt dual-LED lights* I made many years ago which use a symmetrical pattern. I’m not convinced that asymmetric beams are preferable in any way.
Jake
*I stopped using my homemade lights on my randonneuring bike when I started using a handlebar bag which required an alternate light mounting position.
Eric Norris
Mar 21, 2016, 10:56:57 AM3/21/16
to Jake Kassen, randon
Jake:
Nice review. I agree with you about the mount--too tall for most forks (except perhaps unicrowns). I bolted my IQ-X directly to the headlight mount on my Singer's rack, so I didn't use it.
I agree that the light has "bands" in the pattern. I didn't have as much of an issue as you did. Here's my photo of the beam, taken with the light adjusted to throw about as far as possible:
https://flic.kr/p/ESj1Dr
I'm looking forward to getting some good nighttime miles in with this on an upcoming 400K in a few weeks!
--Eric N
www.CampyOnly.com
CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com
Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy
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Nice review. I agree with you about the mount--too tall for most forks (except perhaps unicrowns). I bolted my IQ-X directly to the headlight mount on my Singer's rack, so I didn't use it.
I agree that the light has "bands" in the pattern. I didn't have as much of an issue as you did. Here's my photo of the beam, taken with the light adjusted to throw about as far as possible:
https://flic.kr/p/ESj1Dr
I'm looking forward to getting some good nighttime miles in with this on an upcoming 400K in a few weeks!
--Eric N
www.CampyOnly.com
CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com
Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "randon" group.
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Rich Mulvey
Mar 21, 2016, 8:53:24 PM3/21/16
to Eric Norris, Jake Kassen, randon
And as it happens, I just got mine in today and popped it on the bike. :-)
It's replacing a first generation Luxos U, which has started to succumb to the usual problems of its generation where water gets in via the remote button and it starts to fail.
As for the IQ-X: I'm mounting it on the side of a front rack, using a caliper brake arm as the mount. Two negatives come to mind right away; First, I'm not at all impressed with the plastic mounting tabs--I'm a little dubious about how they'll hold up in the long term. Second, I really wish they had made the tail light pigtail longer, and I hope there's some strain relief for them inside the light enclosure--I had to do quite a bit of fiddling around to get the tail wires attached, since the pigtails are so short.
On the positive side, I'm impressed with the brightness of the beam. It's noticeably brighter than the Luxos. I see some of the banding mentioned in the first review, but it's not enough to annoy me. I have mine aimed so that there's usable light for perhaps 80-100 feet in front of me, and it's reasonably evenly illuminated. I've had the Luxos long enough that I've gotten used to being able to have full brightness because of the cache battery as soon as I start, so the flickering from the IQ-X before I get up to speed and get the standlight charged will likely take a while to get used to again, but it's no different than 99% of the other dynamo lights out there in that regard, anyhow.
All in all, the additional brightness outweighs the potential negatives I've noticed. We'll see how it stands up to a couple of seasons of summer and snow riding. :-)
- Rich
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