Alaric Darconville
Flashlight Enthusiast
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REVIEW: Busch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - Warning Photo Heavy
- Thread starter Derek Dean
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Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Howdy,
Well, I've been using the Ixon IQ Premium for my daily commute home from work for well over a year, and thought I'd report back on how it's going.
I must say, I still giggle EVERY single time I turn on the light and start riding home, because I absolutely LOVE this little light. It's just been SO perfect for my needs, and it's such a good feeling when I spend a lot of time researching a purchase, and then make leap of faith on a product like this, and then it turns out to be everything I had hoped for.
First and foremost, the beam profile is fantastic, FOR ME. It's WIDE. I love not feeling like I'm in a tunnel. And because it's reasonably even front to back, my eyes can focus down at the end of the beam and really see what's coming 60 feet away. And of course I enjoy knowing I'm not blinding oncoming bikers or pedestrians, even if some of the bikers are not so nice and use their blindingly bright lights coming at me. Luckily they are in the minority.
It's plenty bright. I've not once felt like I needed any more light to see where I'm going. It may not be bright enough for some folks, but for me it's perfect.
I usually recharge it once a week, and I've never had a lick of trouble with any part of it. Now, I don't ride in the rain, but there have been quite a few times when it was misting heavily, and there was no issue with the light in those conditions. I did end up taping over the recharge port, because I charge the batteries outside the light.
The one thing I was concerned about was the plastic latch on the battery compartment, but with careful handling I've had no issues with that either.
So, I give this little jewel a 100% thumbs up :twothumbs.
Well, I've been using the Ixon IQ Premium for my daily commute home from work for well over a year, and thought I'd report back on how it's going.
I must say, I still giggle EVERY single time I turn on the light and start riding home, because I absolutely LOVE this little light. It's just been SO perfect for my needs, and it's such a good feeling when I spend a lot of time researching a purchase, and then make leap of faith on a product like this, and then it turns out to be everything I had hoped for.
First and foremost, the beam profile is fantastic, FOR ME. It's WIDE. I love not feeling like I'm in a tunnel. And because it's reasonably even front to back, my eyes can focus down at the end of the beam and really see what's coming 60 feet away. And of course I enjoy knowing I'm not blinding oncoming bikers or pedestrians, even if some of the bikers are not so nice and use their blindingly bright lights coming at me. Luckily they are in the minority.
It's plenty bright. I've not once felt like I needed any more light to see where I'm going. It may not be bright enough for some folks, but for me it's perfect.
I usually recharge it once a week, and I've never had a lick of trouble with any part of it. Now, I don't ride in the rain, but there have been quite a few times when it was misting heavily, and there was no issue with the light in those conditions. I did end up taping over the recharge port, because I charge the batteries outside the light.
The one thing I was concerned about was the plastic latch on the battery compartment, but with careful handling I've had no issues with that either.
So, I give this little jewel a 100% thumbs up :twothumbs.
Steve K
Flashlight Enthusiast
nice to hear that it has been performing so well! Is this the last AA powered bike light with good optics? The Philips Saferide got good reviews, and then went out of production.
Looking at Peter White's page for the Ixon IQ, the price seems to be in the same ballpark as the Saferide (give or take).
Any idea how the light does when close to wireless bike computers? I've got a buddy who has trouble with his Saferide interfering with his computer.
Looking at Peter White's page for the Ixon IQ, the price seems to be in the same ballpark as the Saferide (give or take).
Any idea how the light does when close to wireless bike computers? I've got a buddy who has trouble with his Saferide interfering with his computer.
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hey Steve, no I don't have any of those types of electronic gadgets to test it with, and just to be clear about one point....... I LOVE the beam on this light, seriously, it's absolutely perfect for the way I ride and what I need. HOWEVER, there seem to be quite a few folks who really dislike it, for a variety of reasons, mainly that it's not bright enough, but some also find it's not evenly illuminated.
It just goes to show that we all have different needs and ideas of perfection.
It just goes to show that we all have different needs and ideas of perfection.
Steve K
Flashlight Enthusiast
I was kinda wondering about the brightness.... I think Peter's site said something about 80 lumens or a run time that was longer than 5 hours or something... I should go look...
I've done a conversion on an old Cateye micro II headlight that is powered by 4 AA's. Since AA's are nominally 2 amp-hours, and I run the LED at 1 amp, then it'll run for 2 hours. This should produce a bit under 300 lumens, which is a nice number. I use a fairly narrow optic, which isn't as well controlled as what B&M makes, but is pretty good. For the B&M to get a 5 hour run time, it would have to be running at about half the power of my light, producing roughly half the light. I would understand if some folks didn't think it was bright enough.
The bigger factor is the ambient light, in my opinion. My lights always seem much brighter after the sky is totally dark. If there are a lot of nearby lights, they will ruin your night vision and make the headlight seem less effective. I ride through a neighborhood where everyone has bright yard lights. These don't light up the road, but they do mess up my night vision. I really don't like that neighborhood!
A second factor is just the color of the road. I ride on some roads that are chipseal with few rocks, so it is almost completely black. Other roads have lots of white rock. I can see the road with the white rock much, much better than the road with no rock! If you have a snow covered rural road and a full moon, it's amazing how little you need your headlight!
I've done a conversion on an old Cateye micro II headlight that is powered by 4 AA's. Since AA's are nominally 2 amp-hours, and I run the LED at 1 amp, then it'll run for 2 hours. This should produce a bit under 300 lumens, which is a nice number. I use a fairly narrow optic, which isn't as well controlled as what B&M makes, but is pretty good. For the B&M to get a 5 hour run time, it would have to be running at about half the power of my light, producing roughly half the light. I would understand if some folks didn't think it was bright enough.
The bigger factor is the ambient light, in my opinion. My lights always seem much brighter after the sky is totally dark. If there are a lot of nearby lights, they will ruin your night vision and make the headlight seem less effective. I ride through a neighborhood where everyone has bright yard lights. These don't light up the road, but they do mess up my night vision. I really don't like that neighborhood!
A second factor is just the color of the road. I ride on some roads that are chipseal with few rocks, so it is almost completely black. Other roads have lots of white rock. I can see the road with the white rock much, much better than the road with no rock! If you have a snow covered rural road and a full moon, it's amazing how little you need your headlight!
ATTN: San Francisco Bike Expo, today!
Compare your IQ Premium, Big Bang, or any other lamp to a B*rry B*eam! Not sure about earplugs, but no need to sign NDAs!
As a moderator chose to shut down the topical thread, I post this where those interested in beam functionality are likely to read...
"For those of you in the SF Bay Area, B*rry Be*ms will be at the SF Bike Expo, at the Cow Palace, Saturday 11/21, 11:00AM til 5:00PM.
Please do come and check out the beams first hand. Bring other lights you want to compare it to.
[commercial part about show special removed]"
Looking forward to your wall shots, ceiling shots, anything meaningful.
Compare your IQ Premium, Big Bang, or any other lamp to a B*rry B*eam! Not sure about earplugs, but no need to sign NDAs!
As a moderator chose to shut down the topical thread, I post this where those interested in beam functionality are likely to read...
"For those of you in the SF Bay Area, B*rry Be*ms will be at the SF Bike Expo, at the Cow Palace, Saturday 11/21, 11:00AM til 5:00PM.
Please do come and check out the beams first hand. Bring other lights you want to compare it to.
[commercial part about show special removed]"
Looking forward to your wall shots, ceiling shots, anything meaningful.
Steve K
Flashlight Enthusiast
I noticed that Mr B. was promoting his light on rec.bicycles.tech. I hope someone can get out there and check out his stuff. It would be nice to hear what sort of beam his optics really produce. Any chance that the show is at night so some road testing can happen?? A side by side comparison with the B&M Ixon IQ would be especially helpful, since it has a proper bike light beam (and is the subject of the thread).
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Just a quick follow up to this thread. I've continued using the IQ Premium for my nightly commute home from work for the past 2 and a half years, and it's continued to work flawlessly, even through some very wet commutes. Not exactly downpours, mind you, but drizzly and wet none the less.
I know this light isn't for everybody, as it's brightness is quite limited, but I still love the beam pattern and find it to be plenty bright for my use on a sometimes poorly lit bike path.
I know this light isn't for everybody, as it's brightness is quite limited, but I still love the beam pattern and find it to be plenty bright for my use on a sometimes poorly lit bike path.
I_saw the light
Newly Enlightened
- Joined
- Nov 26, 2017
- Messages
- 1
Thanks very much for you long term review and comments. I'm seriously considering getting this light for conditions similar to yours. Your information, particularly about longevity and reliability is really helpful, even though the piccies do not show for me.
Busch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - Warning Photo Heavy
When you use Firefox with this Add-On, you'll see all pictures:
addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/photobucket-fix/?src=api
Depending on what you have and miss now, want and need in the future and how's your budget, there might be even better solutions than one B&M Ixon IQ Premium.
When you use Firefox with this Add-On, you'll see all pictures:
addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/photobucket-fix/?src=api
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Re: Busch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - Warning Photo Heavy
I just LOVE how wide the beam is on this light, and with a very even quality..... not perfect, but pretty darn even throughout, with just a hint of extra brightness about 40 feet out, right at the end of the beam, right where I want my eye to go, not brighter close up, like so many other lights.
Personally, I'd love to see something that's built a bit more robustly, and with at least one brighter level (that uses lithium-ion 18650 rechargeable batteries)...... but only if they could keep, what for me, is that nearly perfect beam quality.
You can definitely feel how fragile the light is, being mostly plastic, but I've been very careful with mine, keeping it in a soft camera lens case when not in use, and I'm always cautious when taking the batteries out to charge, as that plastic latch is probably the weak point on the light, but overall, considering how often I use it, it still looks and performs like new.
By the way, not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but the one thing I did do was to put tape over the charging port of the light, to help keep moisture out, which made sense considering that I take the batteries out to charge them.
Oh, and thanks for posting that link to the Firefox plug-in so that folks can see the photos : )
I'm curious what you would suggest as a better option than the IQ Premium?
I just LOVE how wide the beam is on this light, and with a very even quality..... not perfect, but pretty darn even throughout, with just a hint of extra brightness about 40 feet out, right at the end of the beam, right where I want my eye to go, not brighter close up, like so many other lights.
Personally, I'd love to see something that's built a bit more robustly, and with at least one brighter level (that uses lithium-ion 18650 rechargeable batteries)...... but only if they could keep, what for me, is that nearly perfect beam quality.
You can definitely feel how fragile the light is, being mostly plastic, but I've been very careful with mine, keeping it in a soft camera lens case when not in use, and I'm always cautious when taking the batteries out to charge, as that plastic latch is probably the weak point on the light, but overall, considering how often I use it, it still looks and performs like new.
By the way, not sure if I mentioned it earlier, but the one thing I did do was to put tape over the charging port of the light, to help keep moisture out, which made sense considering that I take the batteries out to charge them.
Oh, and thanks for posting that link to the Firefox plug-in so that folks can see the photos : )
Re: Busch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - Warning Photo Heavy
Next step is already prepared, will switch completely to the Supernova M99 Pure.
For riders without bike integrated battery system the new B&M Ixon Space or IQ-X Speed would be THE move from 80lx to 150lx.
Also the brand new Trelock LS 760 with just 100lx is interesting.
sloger.sk/katalogy/TRELOCK_Katalog-2018.pdf#page=6
facebook.com/trelockgmbh/photos/pcb.329907320793445/329906944126816/
Other option with integrated battery would be the Specialized Flux Expert. It is possible to replace the battery, but only with tools.
After that, only lights with external batteries (Lupine SL, Outbound Lighting Focal Series) or without cutoff-beam (Nextorch B10 with 4x AA) can replace the Ixon IQ Premium.
On my old bike i extended to 3x Ixon IQ + one Philips SafeRide 80lx. But carrying and recharging 16x AA cells was to much effort, so on the new bike i downgraded to just 2x Ixon IQ.
Next step is already prepared, will switch completely to the Supernova M99 Pure.
For riders without bike integrated battery system the new B&M Ixon Space or IQ-X Speed would be THE move from 80lx to 150lx.
Also the brand new Trelock LS 760 with just 100lx is interesting.
sloger.sk/katalogy/TRELOCK_Katalog-2018.pdf#page=6
facebook.com/trelockgmbh/photos/pcb.329907320793445/329906944126816/
Other option with integrated battery would be the Specialized Flux Expert. It is possible to replace the battery, but only with tools.
After that, only lights with external batteries (Lupine SL, Outbound Lighting Focal Series) or without cutoff-beam (Nextorch B10 with 4x AA) can replace the Ixon IQ Premium.
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Re: Busch & Muller Ixon IQ Premium - Warning Photo Heavy
Thanks, angerdan. I see that European bike lighting technology has advanced quite a bit since I last looked around. Wow, that M99 Pure looks amazing, in fact, all those lights look amazing, practically like car headlights.
I'm now strongly considering the Ixon Space. Of course it's almost 3x more expensive than the IQ Premium, but it does have a wonderful looking beam. My main issue is that it doesn't appear to have a replaceable lithium-ion battery...so once the battery dies you either have to go in and mess with the insides, or ship it back and let them do it. I understand why manufactures prefer this, but I'm not a fan.
In any case, thank you for bringing those to my attention. It's nice to see that bike lights are finally getting the attention they deserve : )
Thanks, angerdan. I see that European bike lighting technology has advanced quite a bit since I last looked around. Wow, that M99 Pure looks amazing, in fact, all those lights look amazing, practically like car headlights.
I'm now strongly considering the Ixon Space. Of course it's almost 3x more expensive than the IQ Premium, but it does have a wonderful looking beam. My main issue is that it doesn't appear to have a replaceable lithium-ion battery...so once the battery dies you either have to go in and mess with the insides, or ship it back and let them do it. I understand why manufactures prefer this, but I'm not a fan.
In any case, thank you for bringing those to my attention. It's nice to see that bike lights are finally getting the attention they deserve : )
znomit
Enlightened
Derek Dean
Flashlight Enthusiast
Wow, did you read that thread? I did. Quite informative....... and sad : (
Beam quality (cutoff, shape) of the B&M Ixon IQ Premium would be better for road/street/city use, but quantity (lux&lumens) not.
But lux and lumens from the previous named alternatives are good enough.
Steve K
Flashlight Enthusiast
Very interesting... and a shame. Barry had a chance to provide good customer support and for some reason, couldn't do it.
The optics seem to be performing well, though. Any thoughts or observations on how they differ from other lights on the markets?
Overall, I find myself empathizing with Barry's desire to create a light and do everything himself. However, it seems unrealistic to expect one person to excel in all of the disciplines that are part of designing, producing, selling, and supporting a product.
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