BBB Swat BLS-105K front light review
The BBB Swat is a compact unit with a quality feel, but unfortunately it's lacking in power and features
Compact size but underpowered, inflexible and loose in its mount
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Solid feel
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Compact size
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Road-specific beam pattern
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Only a single mode
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Rattles in its mount
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Mount requires allen key to fix to bike
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The BBB Swat is very much a road/commuting focussed light. With its single constant mode, no flashing mode and 120 lumens output, it’s only really suitable for riding on lighted roads. To add to its specialisation, it also has a square, downward facing beam pattern designed not to dazzle oncoming traffic.
>>> Cycle lights buyer's guide
In its favour, the BBB doesn’t weigh much, it’s small so it doesn’t get in the way and it is very portable. Charging is via a USB plug at the rear, which is covered by a large flexible rubber cover which is easy to get off and on and should be pretty weather-resistant.
The light fixes to the bars with a mount which is closed with an allen bolt. This means that it isn’t easy to get on and off, so that it will become a feature of your bars whether you are using the light or not, although this also means that it can’t be lost that easily either.
>>> Best front lights for under £100
The light clips into the mount with a solid click, although there’s some play between them, so that it wobbles around a bit over uneven surfaces. You can buy an optional helmet mount too.
>>> Buyer's guide to rear lights
Overall, this is a light unit which has a quality feel, but lacks in power and flexibility making it only really useful for commutes where you need to remove the light from the bike once you arrive. The poor interface with the mount is disappointing too and the rattle which results is likely to be an irritant over the usual British road surfaces.
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Paul started writing for Cycling Weekly in 2015, covering cycling tech, new bikes and product testing. Since then, he’s reviewed hundreds of bikes and thousands of other pieces of cycling equipment for the magazine and the Cycling Weekly website.
He’s been cycling for a lot longer than that though and his travels by bike have taken him all around Europe and to California. He’s been riding gravel since before gravel bikes existed too, riding a cyclocross bike through the Chilterns and along the South Downs.
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