B&M Ixon IQ vs Ixon Pure
 

Googled around, couldn't find a head-to-head comparison between the Busch & Muller Ixon Pure and IQ (not the lower power Pure B, or higher power IQ Premium). Anyone had a chance to compare these two?

Both are reasonably priced now and the IQ appears to have the better specs and light pattern, but the Pure has a built in USB charger while still being compatible with AA rechargeables. That's a must for me -- I'm looking for a moderately bright bike mounted headlight that runs on AA rechargeable batteries. I already have lightweight USB rechargeables and need a AA battery light for longer rides (but not ready for the dyno commitment at the moment).

Ixon IQ is brighter. Pure is smaller. Peter White has a good description of both. I have the IQ and charge my batteries in a smart charger so the USB on the pure doesn't do anything for me. IQ premium is worth the extra money IMO.

Thanks. Shopping around, looks like the IQ with charger and light shield is about $18 more than the Pure. Not too bad.

The IQ Premium is way out of my budget. Good light, and the video/photo tests show it has advantages over the original IQ.

Highly recommend the fork crown mount if you go with the IQ. Pairs nicely with the Relite D on the seat stay or the toplite if you have a rack. Buying batteries and a charger separately is also a good way to go.

Ixon IQ regular is fine, I just take the batteries out and charge them , skipped the charge in-place plug in .

I use that extra Mount to put the light on top of my front Rack..

Thanks, folks, I'm leaning toward the IQ after finding some light pattern photos on B&M's website.

How's the beam pattern and illumination evenness from a handlebar mount? I don't have fenders yet so I'm not sure about the fork crown mount, although it makes sense.

I've noticed with the Vivo-Bike Illuminati the beam pattern and illumination evenness vary depending on whether it's mounted. I prefer it on my helmet, since my handlebar bag blocks the low mounted light. It's just bright enough to get home at night, and very directional so I can avoid blinding drivers unless I look directly at them. That's what persuaded me toward the B&M lights.

Handlebar mount is fine. Fork crown mount is much better. There is no helmet mount for the IQ as far as I know. I run the light on the fork crown mount in the rain with no fenders. It's fine. There is also a 5 year guarantee on the light, and the retailer will replace it if it fails in that time. I have had one replaced and it's super easy. I'm telling you, just get the IQ and the fork crown mount. The IQ is far and away the best battery powered light for the money right now.

Thanks, sounds like a solid recommendation. Looks like Peter White is the only US distributor. I'll email him.

Have been using the IXON IQ for a few years now, for batteries, I use Energizer Lithiums, they can be picked up on eBay for not much more then regular batteries (at lease in the UK), and last much longer than regular Alkaline batteries.

Have tried the fork mount, and didn't find it much/if better than the handlebar mount for beam.

If your looking at re-chargeable, would discount the ones that #kingston links to, as these are only 2000mAh, which is pretty low spec for today, would look for around 2500mAh, Sanyo Enloop are a good choice if looking at high capacity.

I picked up a Pure thinking it would be a good backup light for touring, as it doubles as an AA charger via USB.
Lightwise its pretty horrible, its a very defined beam with almost no spill, so you can't see anything outside the beam at all.

You can try to order from Peter White if you want. I just order my lights from the links I provided as I don't have the patience to deal with an online retailer who refuses to implement modern e-commerce technologies in 2016. Shipping from Germany is fast and easy, customer service is good, they handle warranty claims. The only possible reason not to order from there is you may get hit with a 10% import duty if your order is large enough (I've heard over $200, but I don't think anyone knows for sure). Even with shipping and the import duty it's still usually cheaper than ordering from the only US distributor. While I appreciate the information that Peter White provides on his website, I personally don't see a single advantage to ordering B&M Lights from there, and I have a lot of them.

So you use disposable batteries in your headlight? That doesn't make any sense to me, but I ride in the dark almost every day so I would be replacing batteries constantly.

I recommended the eneloop 2000mAh because I think they are the most cost effective, not the best. While they don't last as long as some of the higher capacity batteries like the eneloop pros at 2500mAh, they are roughly half the price and can be recharged 1,800 times vs. 500 times. Even on brevets where I'll be in the dark for a long time, I use the regular eneloops and pack an extra set. I also run tail lights that take AAs, so I can use the same batteries for all of my lighting. I would only use disposables in an emergency.

Interesting that you didn't care for the fork crown mount. I find it to be better than the handlebar mount in every way and have installed one on just about all of my bikes.

Yes, the main riding I do with this light is a commute, which the light is used for about 45mins, say 4x a week + mornings for about 20mins in winter & I will get about 3-4 weeks from single set of Lithiums.

Have found them to last longer than rechargables, although the do cost a little more, and I do have some rechargeable batteries, the rechargables are significantly heavier, and decent ones do cost.

For long distance riding (Audax/brevet) I have a dynamo setup, no batteries for that.

Disposables are not just a little more expensive. You might be able to make a case for disposables if you only used the light occasionally, but at your rate of consumption you will spend about $360 in batteries over 5 years. (4 batteries a month at $1.50/battery)(£0.7/$ or €0.9/$). At only about $50 for 8 the regular eneloops and a smart charger it's not even close. Not to mention the fact that you will dump 240 batteries into the landfill over that time. Such is the cost of convenience.

Interestingly, I just got my first dynamo setup, and I'm putting it on my daily rider not my long-distance bike.

Agree a dynamo would make more sense on a daily rode, I can put my bike in a secure parking area at work, however if I use it when going to the supermarket/shopping, it goes on the street, I used to have a battery light with a separate battery compartment, and someone stole the head unit (rendering it inoperable) so prefer to use totally removable (less the mount) lights not for this bike/use

Ah, I see what you mean. Ordering from Germany wouldn't be much more expensive. I hadn't realized White's website was still firmly in the 20th century. Perhaps his encounters with scammers is a factor in personally handling each credit transaction. I'd probably use PayPal anyway.

Thanks for the link to Rose Bikes, I may give them a try instead.

Perhaps it's because he is a self-proclaimed luddite

PayPal on the Rose site only works from within Europe. I have to use a debit card to get the order to process, which I was a little nervous about the first time, but I have now dealt with them many times with nothing but good experiences