Be-seen lights such as the Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 are essential for remaining visible during the day or night. The compact light is designed to be easy to install and remove and ensure you’re always visible on the road. Planet Bike offers the Dual Beamer 120 for an affordable $25 retail price with a dual LED design. The light offers 120 lumen output maximum output with four modes including Planet Bike’s iconic Superflash and Courtesy modes. Instead of a typical USB rechargeable design, the Dual Beamer 120 uses two AAA batteries to power the light. Planet Bike also includes a tool-free A3 Cam Mount to quickly install or remove the mount from handlebars.

The Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 is a simple dual LED daytime visible light that uses a tool-free A3 Cam handlebar mount.

Retail Price$25
Rating8.5/10
Measured Weight (in g) 54 (headlight) / 12 (mount)
Likes+ Affordable price
+ Daytime visible Superflash and Courtesy output modes
+ Tool-free mount is easy to install and remove
Dislikes– Proprietary mount
– Uses simple but less practical AAA batteries
– Power button is quite stiff
Where to Buy (US)Planet Bike

UNBOXING

The Dual Beamer 120 comes in a Planet Bike’s simple with distinctive circular patterns printed on it. You can also easily interact with the light as it’s directly mounted on the exterior.

  • Dual Beamer 120 headlight
  • 2x AAA batteries pre-installed
  • A3 Cam Mount

Unlike traditional rechargeable lights the Dual Beamer 120 doesn’t require any charging cables or tools for setting up the mount.

MOUNTING

The Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 uses Planet Bike’s A3 Cam mount. It’s a tool-free cam design that simply slides into a slot with a large thumb screw that can be hand tightened or loosened. It’s a very similar design to the Fenix BC26R and is one of our favorite designs as it’s quick to install or remove from handlebars. Even though we’d prefer a more generic Garmin quarter-turn style mount that could be used with out-front-mounts, the cam design is simple and even offers some side-to-side angle adjustment. The mount is designed to work with 22, 26 and 31.8 mm handlebars by unscrewing the top cover and moving the strap attachment point. Although it requires tools, the design is better than mounts that use easy-to-lose rubber spacers to accommodate different handlebar diameters.

Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 Front Bike Light Review - Mount
The light uses a simple cam style mount that can quickly be installed or removed from handlebars.

FIT & FINISH

With the all black design, the Dual Beamer has a less dramatic visual design  than the Planet Bike Blaze SLX lights and features a rounded rectangular cross section. The two LEDs are placed side by side in the front of the housing with most of the rear taken up by the batteries. While the light isn’t as compact as the Topeak Headlux 100, the light itself isn’t much larger than the two AAA batteries it uses and easy to place on handlebars. Branding is limited to a small Planet Bike logo on top of the light and Dual Beamer 120 printed on the side in white. The combination of the 54 gram weight and plastic construction means the Dual Beamer 120 doesn’t feel as premium as all-metal body lights that are more common at higher outputs.

Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 Front Bike Light Review - Battery
The Dual Beamer 120 uses two AAA batteries that can be accessed by twisting off the front of the lens housing.

What’s unusual about the Dual Beamer 120 is Planet Bike’s choice to use two AAA batteries instead of a common integrated rechargeable battery design. The stated reasons for this approach are to provide longer runtimes and less confusion about battery status or recharging. If you’ve ever forgotten to recharge one of your cycling accessories only to have it die mid-ride then it’s easy to see the advantage of a traditional battery setup. Unlike rechargeable batteries that tend to simply cut-out once they run out of power, AAA batteries have a more gradual discharge behavior and will dim as they become depleted. That said, rechargeable bike lights with multi-level battery status indicators such as the Magicshine Allty lights can alleviate that issue but would likely increase the cost.

Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 Front Bike Light Review - Side View
The Dual Beamer 120 has a simple rectangular design with minimal branding and side cut outs on the lens for improved side visibility.

The Dual Beamer 120 has a clever two-piece design which conceals the replaceable AAA batteries inside the body of the light. Rotating the front of the headlight unlocks the lens portion from the main body and reveals the two AAA batteries. It’s a nice way to hide the battery access point compared to traditional threaded tail caps found on lights like the Fenix BC26R. The front portion of the light also has the rubber power button mounted on it. It’s a simple one button interface that has no mode memory, so you’ll need to cycle through the four modes to turn the light on and off. The button is also quite stiff and requires quite a bit of force to activate compared to other lights we’ve used.

LIGHT OUTPUT

To achieve the 120 lumen output, the Dual Beamer 120 utilizes a dual LED design. There are four output modes to choose from: high, low and the Courtesy and Superflash modes. Claimed runtime and output  is 6 hours / 120 lumen for the high mode and utilizes both LEDs, while low uses only a single LED for upto 15 hours / 80 lumens. The more interesting output modes are the 25 hour / 105 lumen Courtesy and impressive 70 hour / 120 lumen modes. As the name implies, Courtesy is designed for bike trails or urban riding with a pleasant ramping effect that alternates between each LED. Superflash uses both LEDs together to do a non-uniform sequence of low power flashes followed by a brighter flash.

Unless you have a lot of AAA batteries or already own rechargeable AAA batteries the constant high and low modes aren’t particularly useful. The Dual Beamer 120 is a “be-seen” style light, like the Topeak Headlux 100 and other lights, that is not bright enough for riding at night even in the full 120 lumen mode. Instead, the light is best used as a daytime visible or secondary light to improve your visibility while riding using the two flash modes. The Superflash mode in particular is perfect for urban riding as the irregular pattern ensures drivers or other cyclists see you while riding.

THE VERDICT

Overall, we found the Planet Bike Dual Beamer 120 to be a simple and daytime bright light. The combination of the 120 lumen output and unique Courtesy and Superflash modes ensure you remain visible during the day or night. With its simple cam mount, the Dual Beamer 120 is easy to install or remove from your bike which makes it perfect for commuters. As with other Planet Bike products there are also a variety of spare parts and excellent customer support that gives you peace of mind. The main downsides of the light is the use of AAA batteries and the stiff power button that requires cycling through all the modes to turn off. While the Dual Beamer 120 isn’t the best be-seen light we’ve used, the affordable price point and bright output make it ideal for daytime riding or as a secondary light.

Disclaimer:  The product for this review was provided by Planet Bike. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.

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