BBB StrikeDuo 2000 front light review

A high-output light that's not without its problems

This competition is now closed

By Paul Norman

Published: October 16, 2023 at 2:00 pm

The BBB StrikeDuo 2000 is a large front light with high output and battery capacity, geared towards nighttime road riding and some off-road action.

BBB includes a one-button wired remote and two mounting options. However, although the brand says the rubber strap mount is compatible with aerobars, it doesn’t sit that well on non-round bar tops and the light has a tendency to wobble.

There are a couple of other issues that prevent the StrikeDuo 2000 from featuring as one of the best bike lights on the market, too.

The BBB StrikeDuo 2000 is a large light that, as its name suggests, provides a maximum output of 2,000 lumens. It has a run time of around two hours from its 6,700mAh integrated battery.

Illumination comes from two LEDs, with the lens angled slightly downwards, so there’s some shielding of your eyes from stray light.

There are fairly large side windows to the lens, which provide some illumination to alert side traffic to your presence.

The light slides onto a rubber strap bar mount and clips in place.

Get sufficient tension on the rubber strap and there’s enough grip to hold the light firmly, although it’s a less substantial connection to the bars than with a screw-on mount.

It makes the mount easier to remove when not in use though and, unlike many mounts, enables you to use it on non-round bars.

The high output, coupled with a wide light spread, provides good illumination of the trail or road ahead.

There’s quite a wide peripheral spread, so you can pick out obstacles well and make out the best path through a turn. Although the central focus is not very pronounced, the large amount of light on offer means you can ride with confidence.

BBB’s wired remote has its pluses and minuses. Not needing a battery to power it, it’s much smaller than the wireless remotes supplied by brands such as Ravemen and Magicshine.

The wire is long enough to stretch to the grips on a flat-bar bike, but you may need to tape it to your bars to keep it in place.

On a drop-bar bike, you end up with a loop of wire hanging below the tops. This didn’t get in the way, but it might be better routed semi-permanently under the bar tape if you want it to be a fixture.

Using the remote means you need to leave the weather flap for the charge port open. I was concerned this might allow rain to find its way in, but the plug for the remote has a firm rubber seal around its edge, so this is unlikely to be a problem.

The open bung will get wet inside and potentially dirty, though.

The single mode switch means a change of brightness requires cycling through all five non-flashing modes, although flashing options are on a separate menu.

The remote also operates in one direction only, so you need to cycle through modes when using it. I found being left with a 50-lumen light as the next option when I wanted to cycle through from the 2,000-lumen output an annoyance.

A double tap of the button on the light body or the remote switches to the flashing modes, of which there are two – a regular flash or a twin flash.

It’s useful to have flashing modes hived off to a different menu, because it reduces the number of options to scroll through when changing light level.

Finding a light that fits on aero-profile bars is a problem, because most lights have a round mount, but BBB claims the StrikeDuo 2000’s mount will fit on non-round bars. However, I didn’t find this to be the case.

The shape of the mount means it doesn’t sit closely on the rear side of a sharply aero bar top. There’s a tendency for the light to wobble even on a round section bar, which this accentuates.

BBB deserves credit for including an adaptor to fit the light under an out-front bike computer mount. Although some brands offer this, it’s usually an additional cost item.

You’ll need a sturdy computer mount to handle the 254g weight of the light, though.

The BBB Strike provides plenty of light output and coverage for off-road adventures.

However, the wired remote is less drop-bar friendly than a wireless one, and there are issues with mounting and a flimsy charge port cover that could be improved upon.

Paul has been writing about bike tech and reviewing all things cycling for almost a decade. He had a five-year stint at Cycling Weekly and has also written for titles including CyclingNews, Cyclist and BikePerfect, as well as being a regular contributor to BikeRadar. Tech-wise, he’s covered everything from rim width to the latest cycling computers. He reviewed some of the first electric bikes for Cycling Weekly and has covered their development into the sophisticated machines they are today, on the way becoming an expert on all things electric. Paul was into gravel before it was even invented, riding a cyclocross bike across the South Downs and along muddy paths through the Chilterns. He dabbled in cross-country mountain biking too. He’s most proud of having covered the length of the South Downs Way on a crosser and fulfilling his long-time ambition to climb Monte Grappa on a road bike