ItsJustMe

Supposedly, 3 hours on high, 4.5 on low. I'll try running it down to empty this weekend and see how it does.

xiyangshen

So it seems some other companies are selling 200 to 500 lumen lights for up to $500!
Is "you get what you pay for" no longer applicable?

dougmc

Yes and no.

The really expensive lights tend to be more ruggedly built, have better mounts and come with better support if things do break.

But you can often get something that's almost as good for 80% less money. Or sometimes the cheap stuff is better than some of the expensive stuff.

You only `get what you pay for' if you carefully research what you're paying for first. And often you can get most of that for a whole lot less ...

dougmc

It's not all about lumens.

If the beam is well focused, and it's shining right on the road, few people complain. But if a lot of light makes it into the eyes of people around you, then they might get upset.

Some of the better lights focus their beams better than the cheap flashlights. My Deal Extreme 400 lumen $40 light, for example, doesn't focus the beam terribly well, so I aim it down more than I would otherwise. But I move it back up when needed.

bkrownd

Depends entirely on your conditions. I have plenty of street lights on my route, so I only have a headlight for the odd moments when I take an unusual turn and ride into a deep shadow. It's an old cateye luxeon model, and not terribly bright, but works in a pinch. Originally I was using one of those tiny 3 LED headlamps.

Nickshu

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'm going to go with this setup:

https://www.niterider.com/prod_minewt400dual.shtml

I thought about the supposed "900 lumen" MagicShine, but I think two lights will spread the light better than a single.

making

I am late to this thread but excellent choice. I have the night rider with the single light and ride to work in the dark every day. It does fine. Two would be better I guess.

cyccommute 

If you want two lights...a good idea by the way...why not buy 2 or even 3 of the MagicShines? The Minewt is a $250 light that has half the output of the MagicShine. The Niterider really is a poor choice in comparison.

Having 2 (or 3) lights that run on independent batteries is also a plus. If something goes wrong it will likely only go wrong with one system. Having 2 lamps tied to the same battery can leave you riding in the dark.

Nickshu

Well that's a good point. I have seen the Niterider dual Minewt system for much less than the $250 list price at online sites. What about weight....One Magicshine is over 700g (Two = almost 1500g). The dual Niterider system is 317g!

AND....with this thread we've managed to run the Magicshine out of stock today at Geomangear.

Redrom

This comparison helped me decide... https://www.peterwhitecycles.com/headlights.asp

If you are going to bike while snowing, you need every available lumen.

kaseri

You need as many lumens as it takes for you to feel comfortable. Always buy more lumens than you think you need and you'll save money by not needing to upgrade your lighting system. You want to be seen as a vehicle by cagers. I use the Dinotte 800L on the bars and a 140r on the back. This setup makes me visible to cagers and it allows me to see the road ahead. Those are two very different things with very different lighting requirements.

ItsJustMe

I got my MagicShine P7 system from GeoMan on Friday, and spent a lot of time Saturday checking it out. I posted my impressions, a few photos and a video here:
https://johnridley.livejournal.com/266955.html
Keep in mind I wrote it for a mixed audience of friends, some of whom are very much newbies about bikes and lights. The video doesn't show much about the headlight but it does show the superflash and Dinotte taillight.

cyccommute 

Weight should be a secondary or tertiary consideration. Light output is the most important consideration. I'm not sure where you are getting the 700g weight from, however. Geoman lists the total weight as 325g.

And the cheapest I've seen the Niterider for is $180. Still twice the price for half the light.

frunty

I'm not sure if you picked one up yet, but I snagged a couple yesterday to replace a Minewt x2 Dual setup (300 lumens), basically last year's system. Yes, it's brighter, but the new emitters have a slightly bluer tint that isn't as pleasing and the new lights have more pronounced hotspots in the middle. Bummer, the x2 Duals were great.

ItsJustMe

Uh, try again. From GeoManGear.com:
Weights: Lighthead: 4.2oz/120g, Battery Pack: 7.4oz/205g, Total: 11.6oz/325g (approx.)

onyourback

I received my Magicshine yesterday. One thing I didn't find in the box or on the website was anything about its water resistance. Has anyone used one in a downpour? Can a battery pack get wet?

ItsJustMe

The light itself seems to be quite able to stand up to heavy rain.

The battery pack, I'm not so sure about. I think it'd be fine in an average rain, but I'm going to just add a little electrical tape around the heat shrink wrap on mine, just to be sure.

Oh, and I am starting to suspect that the green light that's on when the unit is off draws significant power. My light is on "low battery" indication now, and it's only run 40 minutes on high and 40 on low, plus about 6 hours off with the green light on. I'm going to test how much it actually draws in that mode later.

Schwinnhund

I use a 6000 lumen Cree rechargeable LED headlamp. On the bike, I run it on low with a semi-wide beam, probably around 500-700 lumens, most of the time when riding. The nice thing is that I also use it in my kayaks for frog-gigging. 6000 lumens will definitely freeze a frog in place. It's good for hunting varmints at night, as well. I don't know why anyone would need the strobe function, but my lights also came with red, blue, yellow, and green inserts for the lenses. I suppose in an emergency, you could put in a colored lens and strobe as a danger warning signal, or request for help.

Most LED lights (I believe...) are adjustable as to both power, and beam spread. Just use what is most appropriate for your current riding situation. It's better to have a lot more lumens than you think you will need.

I got my Cree lights (4) on EBay for less than $20.00 a piece (from China, but what isn't made in China, these days???), with free shipping. It took about 2 weeks to get them. They came with both a handlebar mount, and a head strap. I don't know how long a charge lasts, because none of them have run down, yet. I know the one I use for riding has at least 20 hours on it, and it still does not appear to be getting weak. The instructions say that when you get <30 minutes left, only one light (there are 3) will stay lit, and it will flash 3 times. These things are cool!

Bikerdave222

I have begun to look for a new bike light myself. The one I have is maybe 400 lumens but I don't think that is quite enough. I think one would need a tight beam as appose to a floody one but was wondering if anyone would agree with that?

bigredkevbot

So here's my pitch: if you are riding on a lit street and want to be seen (as opposed to be able to see) you need 200 lumens minimum. If you want to be seen well - 400.

If you are out on trails, or in places where street lighting is sparse or non-existent, you will need 1000 lumens minimum. Cygolite makes a front back combo with 1200 for the front and a 2-watt rear light on performance bike for $120

Andy_K 

As zombie threads go, this one is kind of interesting. I really expected the numbers to be lower for a thread of this age. I know that in 2009 I may has well have been riding with a candle on my handlebars compared to what I use now.

It seems that back then the options were MagicShine or spending a fortune. Now really bright lights can be had at a reasonable price from more established companies and inexpensive Chinese lights have gotten ridiculously inexpensive. It also seems to me that bright lights have gotten common enough that people are starting to realize that there really is such a concept as more light than you need.

Leisesturm

When I realized this thread had long been dormant I decided to investigate just what kind of person would revive a thread dead for six years. Very interesting. With just a casual perusal of half a dozen of your archived posts I find one where you are defending the revival of a dead thread with the excuse that posters after you didn't have any problem with it. Because they didn't know!!! Moreover you asserted that the topic was interesting enough to warrant resurrection. Headlights? The only thing I find surprising is that in six years, so little has changed in the price, size and capacity of the main choices in the marketplace. Which gets me to your thread bump... 6000L??? $20? Seriously, you are like one of those serial killers who lays low for awhile before he strikes again. There is a Lights and Electronics forum now that maybe didn't exist in 2009. This thread should be moved there. But before it goes I would just like to update the Commuting Forum on knock-off's of knock-offs. $20 knock-off's of MagicShines are recommended endlessly when the subject comes up. I have 3 MS's that I am very happy with but when I lost one of them (I thought) I got a knock-off from Amazon. Bad idea. If you are thinking about it, don't do it. A MagicShine is a very reasonable facsimile of a Lupine Tesla which retail in the $450 price point. A MS 808 with 4400mh batterypack is about $80. A $20 knock off MS has a beam so narrow it makes the MS look like a floodlight. It runs for about 3/4 hour on high power. Never again.

H

Reynolds 

I'm aware this is an old thread, but anyway...
Don't know about lumens - my shaped beam light is rated at 80 lux and I find it OK, but a little more wouldn't hurt. Are lux and lumens comparable?

Leisesturm

Of course they are. But... what would it tell you? Farenheight and Celcius can be converted. It is a complicated formula but it works well enough and if someone gives you a temperature in degrees C and you need degrees F, you do the conversion and Bob's your uncle. You understand Farenhiegt you've lived with it all your life. Lumen's? Lux? Radians? None are understood to any great degree and it doesn't help that bike light manufacturers play very fast and loose with their specifications. A city dweller needs less light than a rural rider. A rural rider cannot go wrong with a couple of MagicShines, one on a helmet and one on the bars. A city cyclist can get on with anything from a blinky to a blinky and a 1/2 to 1 watt commuter headlight. FWIW.

mangiventofly

There is so much more to a good light than the number of lumens. I have a large family, so I'm not able to spend lots of money on this stuff. So you better believe that I researched the heck out of this. I ended up buying a Busch and Mueller Ixon IQ. It has removeable batteries. I wanted this for when I ride brevets. I don't want a dyno hub, and the rechargeable lights don't last long enough. The Ixon last about 5 hours on full blast with 4 rechargeable Nicd AA size batteries. The spare batteries for those other plug in lights tend to be heavy and bulky. On a rando bike, real estate gets valuable. Plus I wanted to be able to just stop somewhere if necessary, say at a gas station and get fresh batteries. With rechargeables, you don't have that option. Riding all night is something I have to do occasionally. Most of the lights listed here suffered from a number of things. Cheaply made, short battery life, EXPENSIVE. The Ixon was the best light I could find. B&M specialize in these types of things. My ixon is MAYBE 200 lumens. But it is brighter than any light up to about 5 times that powerful. The secret is in the reflector. You'll have to look it up yourself to understand, but it really is that simple. A light doesn't have to be insanely powerful to be insanely bright. That's just marketing. This is (in my humble but educated opinion) by far the best commuting light available. I paid less than $70 for mine and that included the shipping. I actually bought two so I could have one for each bike.