# headlights for urban commute



## cityrider (Mar 4, 2011)

looking for headlights to mount on road bike for urban commute. Would like to be able to see ahead and use when raining. mostly ride on lit streets and ocassional dark streets. was considering nite rider minewt 300 and 350. appreciate any recommendation for lights and whether i should go brighter or dimmer.


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

I'm a fan of brighter. You can always opt for a lower setting, but the maximum brightness is all you have....


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

http://forums.roadbikereview.com/commuting-touring-ride-reports/good-headlight-road-training-258745.html
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/commuting-touring-ride-reports/decent-light-price-262521.html
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/commuting-touring-ride-reports/commuter-lights-101-a-243140.html
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/commuting-touring-ride-reports/lights-246377.html

The search function on this forum works pretty well, and will get you a lot of information fast.


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## MDGColorado (Nov 9, 2004)

Check Peter White Cycles web site. It has more useful info on lights than anywhere on the web. I use the B&M Ixon IQ and it is excellent in construction quality and optics. I get 4-5 hours on High setting using Sanyo Eneloops.


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## apatron (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm still a fan of magicshine. relatively inexpensive and nice and bright I get about 4 hours on the head light w 1 battery and much more on my taillight.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

There are tons of options for great LED lights right now. Pick your pricepoint and shop away. Go for the lumens! I can't believe what you can buy now for $100-250 -- lights that are more powerful with longer run times than anything available for much higher prices just a few years ago. Some good options to look at are the Niteride MiNewt 600 cordless, Light & Motion Urban 500, Dinotte XML-3. The Dinotte looks like a great value if you want power (1000 lumens) and don't mind a separate battery pack. Their new tail-light also looks awesome.


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## old'n'slow (Sep 4, 2007)

apatron said:


> I'm still a fan of magicshine. relatively inexpensive and nice and bright I get about 4 hours on the head light w 1 battery and much more on my taillight.


Agreed. I'm into my 3rd year of using a Magicshine, with the original battery. 

I know there has been some problems/challenges with batteries no longer holding a charge and a recall due to combustion issues, but I think those situations have been resolved. For less than $100, my Magicshine provides more than enough light for me. On portions of my commute, I see 35 MPH and so far, I've not been able to out run the high beam.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

apatron said:


> I'm still a fan of magicshine. relatively inexpensive and nice and bright I get about 4 hours on the head light w 1 battery and much more on my taillight.





old'n'slow said:


> Agreed. I'm into my 3rd year of using a Magicshine, with the original battery.


Add me to the list. I have them on three bikes now.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

brucew said:


> Add me to the list. I have them on three bikes now.


which model? do they have several? anyone use magicshine headlamp?


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

55x11 said:


> which model? do they have several? anyone use magicshine headlamp?


Yes, they have several. I think most people talking about them here (including me) are using the original, nominally 900 lumen.
Magicshine : GeoMan Gear, The best products, the best prices, & Lightnin Fast service!

They do have a head/helmet mount available, but I think the light is too bright for that use on the road, even at the low setting. Shone directly in a driver's eyes, it's blinding. I use the MS on the handlebar, and a lower-powered blinking white light on my helmet to get dirvers' attention. Trail use on a MTB is another matter entirely.

Their taillight is really good, too. You can run both lights off one battery pack.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

^^^ Everything JCavilia said.

I have a 900 lumen headlight and a pair of the 1000 lumen headlights. I can't see any significant difference in the brightness or beam patten between the two. The 900 is bluer and the 1000 greener heading towards yellow. I prefer the switch sequence of the 100 lumen one. It doesn't make you cycle through the blink settings as you switch from low beam to high.

I have the taillight on one of my bikes too. At one quarter of the price, it's just as bright as the legendary DiNotte 140R, which I also own.

To the OP: 

I'm also a city rider, living and working in the city. I've tried different lights every year since I started commuting in 2006. What I found is that the the MagicShine is large enough and bright enough that I'm now treated as traffic by motorists and peds. Before I was dismissed by both as just some guy on a bike. Yes, they could see me just fine with lesser lights. The MS changed their behavior towards me. I get respect now.


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## MTT (Oct 14, 2005)

1000 lumens- you guys cooking marshmallows? I have an urban commute, with a very dark wooded park section (no lights) and the Niterider 250 that I got on sale last year works great. Unless you are mountain biking at night I can't see why you would need more than 350, but hey you might want one that "goes to 11" (why don't you just make 10 brighter? Yea but this one goes to 11!)............MTT :thumbsup:


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

MTT said:


> 1000 lumens- you guys cooking marshmallows? I have an urban commute, with a very dark wooded park section (no lights) and the Niterider 250 that I got on sale last year works great. Unless you are mountain biking at night I can't see why you would need more than 350, but hey you might want one that "goes to 11" (why don't you just make 10 brighter? Yea but this one goes to 11!)............MTT :thumbsup:


Not all of us have your owl eyes. Once upon a time I had 15 watt bulbs in my living room lights. I could read the paper (remember those?) just fine and didn't understand why people kept bumping into my coffee table.

Plus the trail environment is considerably different form the urban commuting environment. Riding down a city four-lane by only the light of the moon will get you killed.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

It's counter-intuitive, but you actually need a brighter light when riding in dimly lit areas with streetlights and other light sources than you do riding on very dark roads and trails. The competition from other light sources makes your bike light less illuminating. My L&M Stella 300 puts out a well-more-than-adequate amount of light on a dark road, but the beam is largely washed out when riding on city streets. It probably has to do with your pupils opening wide when riding in very dark areas and constricting more when there are street lights, neon signs, headlights, etc.


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

My wife and I do a lot of commuting, which here in Berlin also means lots of stops to run errands and fun stuff like coffee/food/alcohol etc. So that pretty much rules out lights with external batteries in terms of having to take them on and off. 

I used road.cc's review round up that has a good beam pattern test to help compare lights.

Me being the bike-geek type I got my wife the Lezyne Power Drive  whilst I went for the L&M Urban 300.

*Lezyne Power Drive:*








Price is awesome (be sure to shop around, although it's new I got it online for way below retail). Battery life is good enough for roughly a week's worth of commuting (set on med or low). The mounting bracket/system is the best I've seen for a long time- no cheap plastic here. The light itself is very well made (like most Lezyne products) and seems very robust. It's small and light- easy to carry around with you. One big thing I like is that the Power Drive (and the model up 'Super') have user-replaceable batteries that you can buy. It's all still Li-ion, but like all batteries after a few hundred charges, battery life tends to drop so being able to buy a new battery is a nice option - also if you wanted to carry a spare for extended road rides. Operation is simple, long hold for on/off and a simple cycle through high>med>low>flash.

What I dislike though is that there's no battery life indicator. You have to either keep mental track of usage or charge it up on a regular basis... or be ok with it dropping into flash mode. Also when charging the light itself flashes - somewhat annoying if you're at work IMO. I'm really getting picky here, but Mini-USB is also a bit of an annoyance for my wife who has to then have an extra USB plug at work since her phone charges via Micro-USB. Overall though a great light with a tight spot pattern that even on low, is plenty bright to get you noticed on city streets. Side visibility is pretty much non-existant. Here's a guy going on about the light for 10min.

*L&M Urban 300*








A little pricier than the Lezyne. I personally like the strap system, nice and tight and easy to swtich between my road and commuter bike. Beam pattern is still a spot, but throws more useable light over a broader area than the Lezyne. The side orange windows work a treat for side visability. Battery life is also great for commuting on city streets (low-med) and lasts for 2 and a bit hours on high which is an easy 50km ride for me on the road bike. Also I appreciate the battery indicator too - very helpful. Micro-USB charging is great - same as my phone.

I dislike the lack of replaceable battery - although you can send it to L&M and they'll apparently do it for you. Also the light switches on a little too easily IMO. I haven't had it accidentally turn on yet, but unlike the lezyne you only need to long-press to turn it off.

IMO you can't go wrong with either or any of the new compact rechargeable lights. They blow my old Mi-Newt (with seperate Ni-Mh battery) out of the water in terms of battery life, weight, beam and convenience. I decided against a NR Mi-Newt because I dislike their plastic brackets - a little too much on the cheap side for me.


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## SockToy (Sep 4, 2011)

I use a Knog boomer rear and Exposure Joystick front. For city commuting they're both more than bright enough, though you dont get the terrifying 'I AM A CAR' blast of 1000lumens ;-p

Nice and light too, the exposure mounting system is very simple and secure clip in/out, they both charge off USB. The exposure gives you a green/amber/red battery indicator and runs high/m/l with flash. Both are good in the rain too - little cap over the charging socket on the exposure, and a complete rubber sheath that also makes the attachment on the boomer.


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## MTT (Oct 14, 2005)

Just curious: what lumen number is the average car head light? What do car high-beams go up to? Is 1000 approaching what cars have? Anyway on my urban commute I use the blinker more than the solid, as someone mentioned that one is less like to get washed out in the noise.............MTT :thumbsup:


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## bigbill (Feb 15, 2005)

I bought my HID while I was commuting in Hawaii. It's probably around 500 lumen. I bought it for the sketchy rural areas in Western Oahu where I wanted to project a light far down the MUT. Here in the PNW, it's handy for the first seven miles that is very rural with no other source of lighting. IMHO, urban commutes are more about being seen than projecting light to see. I like my HID, but I wish it had more settings than on/off. A 500 lumen LED with lower settings seems perfect for an urban commute.


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

MagicShine is a poss light!! I have a friend who bought the XPG 1600 (1600 rated lumens), this thing is bright right? WRONG!! When he and I tested it against my Cygolite Mitycross 480 (480 rated lumens) the Mitycross was BRIGHTER!! The Mitycross light was whiter, it threw out light further, but the XPG1600 had a bit wider beam, but both could see the sides of the road very well, but with the brighter Mitycross detail was more pronounced. The Magicshine battery was size wise quite a bit bigger then mine and he had trouble finding a place to put it, so he liked my battery size because it was far smaller and you could mount it almost anywhere. Plus the Mitycross run time is 3.5 hours on high and 14 hours on low; while the Magicshine was only 2.4 hours on high and 7.5 hours on low. The Magic shine has a 90 day warranty, the Cygolite has a 1 year warranty.

My friend sent his MagicShine light back for a refund.


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## Bizman (Apr 27, 2011)

I just picked up a Light Motion Urban 500. It's light 110g, attaches easily to bars or helmut (with included helmut strap), 4 modes, low 6h, med 3h, hi 1.5h, & strobe 18h, 466 actual lumens when tested in the shootout, lifetime warranty (except battery), USB cale included to charge from computer, reasonable price. The guy at my local bike shop recomended this light over the Serfas True 500 which is what I was going to get. 

Today coming home I used the strobe function, tonight I took a ride to check it out and it worked good on any of the other 3 settings. You do have to cycle through the strobe setting to get back to the other modes but it doesn't seem like that much of a problem (to me). This is my first light and I just got it today, it is working good so far and I like it, now my wife wants me to get her one.


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## tystevens (Jul 10, 2008)

Only 2 commutes with it, but I'm liking my Magicshine 808 and tail light. The tail light is very bright, and the low setting for the headlight seems to be more than enough for urban streets. Looking forward to taking the unlit bike path home tonight to try out the high beam! Both use the same rechargable battery pack, so only one battery to worry about. $120 for everything shipped to my door from Geomangear. So far so good!


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

tystevens said:


> Only 2 commutes with it, but I'm liking my Magicshine 808 and tail light. The tail light is very bright, and the low setting for the headlight seems to be more than enough for urban streets. Looking forward to taking the unlit bike path home tonight to try out the high beam! Both use the same rechargable battery pack, so only one battery to worry about. $120 for everything shipped to my door from Geomangear. So far so good!


+1. I picked up Magicshine MJ-816E, based on recommendations here, at mtbr forums and elsewhere. Extremely bright, nicely designed light. Did my first test-ride in pitch-dark area last night, the range of the light is amazing!


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

I'm also considering a new commuting light (as opposed to rebuilding my NiteRider NiCad battery pack for $40), & the recs for the Magicshine are very persuading. But I haven't seen any comments about the beam pattern or light spread. I mean, a ton of light is great, but if it's just a round beam pattern then I'm not sure it's what I want. I've been using NiteRider 10w & 15w halogen lights since about 1993, & they have the round beam pattern. They throw a lot of light out, but it's very hot in the center & fall-off is pretty tight to the beam's center. Does anybody have a picture or description of the Magicshine beam pattern?

The Ixon IQ that MGDColorado mentioned looks like it has a nice "road sensible" pattern to it on the Peter White website, with asymmetrical lighting that keeps both near & far illumination consistant. I also like the idea of being able to run rechargeable AA cells rather than a dedicated battery, since I can pick up a 4-pack for less than $10 & always have a charged set handy. I also suspect that the German-made Ixon will last a good while longer than the Chinese-made Magicshine, but that's just a feeling...

Any other input - pro or con - between these two very different lights?


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## Asmodeus2112 (Aug 5, 2008)

Bought a Philips and love that it doesn't blind oncoming peds/cyclists/cars/deer. Way bright enough, perfect commuter light IMHO.


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## pmf (Feb 23, 2004)

Eiron said:


> I'm also considering a new commuting light (as opposed to rebuilding my NiteRider NiCad battery pack for $40), & the recs for the Magicshine are very persuading. But I haven't seen any comments about the beam pattern or light spread. I mean, a ton of light is great, but if it's just a round beam pattern then I'm not sure it's what I want. I've been using NiteRider 10w & 15w halogen lights since about 1993, & they have the round beam pattern. They throw a lot of light out, but it's very hot in the center & fall-off is pretty tight to the beam's center. Does anybody have a picture or description of the Magicshine beam pattern?
> 
> The Ixon IQ that MGDColorado mentioned looks like it has a nice "road sensible" pattern to it on the Peter White website, with asymmetrical lighting that keeps both near & far illumination consistant. I also like the idea of being able to run rechargeable AA cells rather than a dedicated battery, since I can pick up a 4-pack for less than $10 & always have a charged set handy. I also suspect that the German-made Ixon will last a good while longer than the Chinese-made Magicshine, but that's just a feeling...
> 
> Any other input - pro or con - between these two very different lights?


I had that Niterider system years ago (it's got the water bottle battery, right?). The battery lasted for two, maybe three years. It was the second and last Niterider system I ever owned. Their stuff is so expensive for what it is. I bought a Magic Shine system last fall and am in my second season using it. They had a battery recall, which I participated in this summer, so I'm on a new battery. The old one always worked just fine. The original batteries for these lights were Chinese, the batteries they now come with are made in the U.S. 

I have the bottom of the barrel $89 system. It puts out plenty of light -- more than your Niterider system. The range is good. I can go down a hill pretty fast and see just fine. Does it really put out 900 lumens? No, maybe half that at best, but its sufficient for me. Are there nicer lights out there? Absolutely, but not for $89. I bought my wife a Cygolite Mitycross 350 for around $170 (this was before I discovered Magic Shine lights), and the MS is brighter. I'm sure the more spendy Cygolites are better, but I'm sick of paying $200-$300 for a bike light. Ther's no reason these things should cost that much. The MS isn't a Cadillac system (more like a Hyundai), but it has worked well for me so far. 

One thing for sure is that lights these days are so much better. The batteries and lights are so much smaller and more powerful. There's no more worrying about over-charging a battery and they hold a charge for a lot longer.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

pmf said:


> I had that Niterider system years ago (it's got the water bottle battery, right?). The battery lasted for two, maybe three years. It was the second and last Niterider system I ever owned. Their stuff is so expensive for what it is. ...
> 
> I have the bottom of the barrel $89 system. It puts out plenty of light -- more than your Niterider system. The range is good. I can go down a hill pretty fast and see just fine. Does it really put out 900 lumens? No, maybe half that at best, but its sufficient for me. Are there nicer lights out there? Absolutely, but not for $89. ...
> 
> One thing for sure is that lights these days are so much better. The batteries and lights are so much smaller and more powerful. There's no more worrying about over-charging a battery and they hold a charge for a lot longer.


Hi pmf,

Thanks for the feedback. My system is probably lower-end than what you had. It was originally introduced as the Cyclops, but then got re-vamped as the Trail Rat (I think). It came as a single 10W headlamp with a battery pack that consisted of 5 D-size NiCad cells in a nylon bag you strap to the frame. I think I originally got something like 4 hrs out of the battery, but now I'm down to only 30-40 min (still using the original NiCad pack from 1993). The 2nd (15W) headlamp was something I picked up with a "reusable" battery case that held 5 alkaline D cells. For the life & use I've gotten out of this setup, I certainly can't complain!

Your comments are part of the dilemma I'm facing: do I rebuild my NiCad pack for $38 & continue to use my two round beam, hot-spot headlights, or do I take that money & put it towards the newer technology? The pattern coming out of the Ixon IQ makes more sense to me than round beams, so I don't mind paying a little more for it. What's the beam pattern of the MS?


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## Mtn2RoadConvert (Aug 28, 2006)

During the Black Friday sales I bought myself the NiteRider Minewt 600 for just over $100. I'm a big fan of self-contained lights without any external batteries or cables to deal with. I've used the light on about half a dozen rides and it works really well with a good light pattern. It must be pretty bright as I have had motorists coming the other direction on a two-lane road flash their high beams at me, even though the main beam was point towards the ground about 75 feet in front of me. On high beam I've been getting about 2 hours of run time, but have found the medium setting is plenty of light it extends the battery life considerably. An excellent light for the price, and the handlebar mount is much more solid than a Cygolite I was using previously, which actually snapped off between the base and the slide-on mount.


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## 55x11 (Apr 24, 2006)

Eiron said:


> I'm also considering a new commuting light (as opposed to rebuilding my NiteRider NiCad battery pack for $40), & the recs for the Magicshine are very persuading. But I haven't seen any comments about the beam pattern or light spread. I mean, a ton of light is great, but if it's just a round beam pattern then I'm not sure it's what I want. I've been using NiteRider 10w & 15w halogen lights since about 1993, & they have the round beam pattern. They throw a lot of light out, but it's very hot in the center & fall-off is pretty tight to the beam's center. Does anybody have a picture or description of the Magicshine beam pattern?
> 
> The Ixon IQ that MGDColorado mentioned looks like it has a nice "road sensible" pattern to it on the Peter White website, with asymmetrical lighting that keeps both near & far illumination consistant. I also like the idea of being able to run rechargeable AA cells rather than a dedicated battery, since I can pick up a 4-pack for less than $10 & always have a charged set handy. I also suspect that the German-made Ixon will last a good while longer than the Chinese-made Magicshine, but that's just a feeling...
> 
> Any other input - pro or con - between these two very different lights?


Magicshine (at least 816 that I have) has three settings, with side-lamps adding to the horizontal spread of the light pattern. If you google around, you can find photos and videos.
I have been using mine for a month now, and can't imagine anyone will find it inadequate for any night-riding situation. Super-bright and has a great range - far and near.


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## Eiron (Sep 9, 2006)

Well, I decided to have my NiCad battery pack rebuilt for my NiteRider halogen lights. The reasons for this decision boiled down to:

1) Environment - I have trouble "throwing away" perfectly good equipment just because there's a new model available. I know that the new LED technology is better than these old halogens, but I was always amazed at these lights when I first started using them. I guess I'll see if I still feel the same a month from now.

2) Installation - I mount my lights under my front bag, which means they fit best when they're hanging upside-down. The Ixon IQ (the light I really want to buy, based on the beam pattern & battery design) can't be hung upside-down (because of the beam pattern), so it wouldn't fit in my mounting location.

3) Cost-to-Value - I considered both the MS 900 for $89.95 ($102.11 incl ship) & the MiNewt 600 for $99.99 ($107.49 incl tax), but when I went to Batteries Plus with my old NiCad pack, they looked at it & said it would only be $31.95 ($34.35 incl tax) to rebuild. If I was going to end up with the same beam pattern I already had (due to my mounting configuration), then why spend 3x more money? 

I did try selling the old NiteRider system, thinking the cost/value for a new LED would be offset by using whatever small amount I could get from old system. But you know who wants an old halogen lighting system these days? Yeah, nobody.  

I knew the old halogens would burn brighter (& whiter) with a new battery pack than they have been for the past several years, so I was comfortable with the decision from a "candlepower" standpoint. The only two things I was giving up were improved light coverage on the road (which I was only going to get with the Ixon IQ) & the convenience of a smaller battery. (The IQ's user-replaceable rechargeable AA cells seem to be the smartest battery option available if you're likely to keep your light for more than 3 yrs.)

Before rebuilding, I was only getting about 40 min of weak, yellow light from my NiCad battery pack. I've used the rebuilt pack only once so far, but I can already tell it's going to put me close to my original run-time of 4+ hrs once I've conditioned the batteries.

Thanks pmf & 55x11 for your insights; they helped!


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## teflondog (Aug 23, 2011)

I just bought the Niterider Minewt 600 and I'm very impressed so far. It's super bright! Even on the lowest setting, it's still twice as bright as the high setting on my Princeton Tec EOS. The high setting on the Minewt is insane. It looks as bright as a motorcycle headlight imo. 

One downside is that my battery life is about 15% shorter than the claimed run times, but that's plenty enough for my night rides (3.5-4 hours). I wish they would make a better handlebar mount as well since the light is a bit front-heavy.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*I have 2 9oo lumen*



55x11 said:


> which model? do they have several? anyone use magicshine headlamp?


magicshines, both with the 6.0 ah batteries. One mounted on the bike, one on my helmet

I have plenty of light on the medium setting but use full sometimes for giggles

nothing gets a motorists attention than that light blasting into their window


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## froze (Sep 15, 2002)

Roughly 3 years ago I bought the first generation of Magic Shine after reading reviews from Geoman just before he died, the light came with a 3 month warranty. One month into ownership the light failed, the battery charger showed the battery to be charged but no light. I sent the light back with a letter in the box describing the situation and an e-mail telling them I had sent the light VIA UPS, gave the tracking number and explanation of what happen. 3 weeks went by and I didn't hear anything, UPS said it was delivered, they didn't have a phone number so the first of numerous unanswered e-mails began over a 7 month period. I finally gave up. Never heard anything ever. Like I said before it's a pose light

Then about two months ago a friend of mine bought a Magic Shine MJ-872 that supposedly had 1600 lumens of light on high. He and I compared his light with my Cygolite Mitycross 480 (480 lumens) and mine was brighter and whiter, mine reached out further, his was a bit more of a flood pattern vs mine, but the Cygolite pattern was more then adequate to the sides for riding dark bike paths. His battery was significantly larger then mine, but his run time was rated less at 1.75 hours on high vs 3.5 hours for the Cygolite; he never tested the run time so we really don't know how long it would have ran. My friend was shocked, he sent it back, I told him what happened to me but he didn't care, however he did get a refund about 30 days later.

I only use the light mostly on the medium setting myself, sometimes I switch to high when I ride a bike path near where I live surrounded by trees due to deer that hide there.

I do ride with a front amber flasher at night so that the flashing will hopefully attract a motorist's attention. I also use a helmet light, but it's a inexpensive BLT with about a 100 lumens of light in a very wide flood pattern which is great for aiming at drivers, or filling in light spaces close to the front wheel, reading street signs, etc.


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## cityrider (Mar 4, 2011)

thanks for suggestions. went with niterider minewt 350 cordless since it looked like a good quality light. using light at lowest setting since streets are well lit and only need for being seen. happy with light but overkill for intended purpose.


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