A powerful beam of light, switchable battery, multiple mount options, and great warranty make the BC26R one of the best mountain bike lights you can buy right now. Nothing’s perfect in this world though, and the Fenix just misses out on top marks because I found the beam just a touch too tightly focussed in twisty tech.

Fenix BC26R need to know

• 1600 lumen head torch, with bar mount options too
• Tested run time of 1 hour 40 minutes in max-power mode
• Replaceable 5000 mAh battery
• Limited lifetime warranty, and bombproof build

The Fenix is neat and compact, the alloy body is tough enough for crashing, and the light proved powerful and clear

Design and specifications

The BC26R uses a slim but sturdy alloy body with a single ‘Luminus’ SST40 LED giving a claimed 1600 lumen output. The reflector has a radial design with tiny cut outs in the side as a token effort in sideways visibility. There’s a bronze, anodised button to scroll through the four different solid modes, with an additional powerful flash setting via a sub menu. And there’s a small traffic light indicator LED in the centre to communicate how much charge is left in the battery.

The Fenix battery is a rechargeable lithium ion battery you can swap in on the trail in less than a minute

But the real epic ride or race win is that the screw cap at the far end lets you remove the 5000mah cylinder battery and swap in a fresh one if needed. With spare batteries at just £28.95 or £29.95 with a USB-C port for stand alone recharging, that’s a run time-extending bargain.

The Fenix light comes with a flexible thumbwheel-secured universal round bar mount with reasonable angle adjustment. The unit clicks into place with a very firm, metal spring loaded action, and I release it with a broad lever at the back. I can also get GoPro style and helmet mounts too, and bump up the potential mounting options.

The Fenix beam is powerful but just a touch too focussed

Performance

Unsurprisingly for a company best known for making torches, the Fenix has a tightly focused beam that gives very impressive reach. The simple reflector and clear lens means no distortion either so what you see is very crisp. That makes it great as a helmet light where you can direct the beam accurately, or for bar use on simpler, straighter, and faster XC trails.

Fenix claims the run times are double my actual findings in real world testing, and they would be even worse but for the light’s thermal throttling. This automatically powers it down when in Turbo mode if the temperature reaches 60°C, and stretches out how long you’ll have light for.

A green flash on top lets you know you’re half way through the battery reserves

The less than expected run time isn’t a massive issue though as the BC26R lasts a reasonable time for its size anyway. The small, two colour LED run time indicator gives basic battery info once you realise the green light starts flashing very early on, then lasts till half power. There’s not long left after it starts blinking red either, so keep checking regularly. The switchable battery is also a huge advantage when it comes to lighting up longer rides in the most weight and cost efficient way.

The Fenix BC26R proves a decent bike light doesn’t have to be complicated… or pricey

The light is very tough and waterproof with a five-year free repair period and limited lifetime warranty. The mounts are super secure too, so you’re very unlikely to lose the light even in a crash. I know that first hand, after going into the first tight and twisty section too hot with the very focused Fenix on the bars. With no peripheral coverage and a very sharp light/no light cut off it can get very ‘Blair Witch Project’ compared to a broader beamed light. The secondary power setting is also lower than ideal too and the power button is easy to trigger accidentally in a bag or pocket.