A "to see with" light required

[400bhp]

I have recently taken the plunge on one of these here

I am very pleased with it for the money and have now undertaken three rides with it on unlit country roads without any problems.

I am so happy with it, I have just ordered another, as much to have a spare battery as anything, but £12 for a battery or £17 for a light, batter and charger...

Mr Andrew_Culture will be able to vouch for how rubbish his own light is and how much better mine was. It was so much better that I got the KoM and he didn't

Also on returning to my road last night I found that cars waited behind other parked cars, rather than deciding it's only a bike and making progress through the narrower gaps.

Recommended.

This looks promising

Couple of questions:

1. It looks like you need the mains charger to charge it. Are these standard type mains chargers? Ideally I'd leave a charger at work and one at home. I have quite a few mobile phone chargers and it looks like an old style nokia charger?

2. Is the battery unit velcro'd on? I guess the ideal place is on the top tube? (does anyone have any pics of mounting positions).

3. I'm an impatient bugger and anything that takes more than a minute to fasten a light ready for the ride to/from work will leave me getting pished off with it. How easy are they to remove and refit?

 

[Hacienda71]

Is the generic copy like the one Matt has linked to above?

That sort of thing. The only negative on the clones is the battery pack can be suseptible to water ingress while the Magicshines have a proper sealed battery unit with lcd charge read out and tend to use slightly thicker cables and connectors. I think Fossy has made Franken battery packs using AA batteries with a few bits and bobs from Maplins. Sure he will fill you in on that.

 

[400bhp]

That sort of thing. The only negative on the clones is the battery pack can be suseptible to water ingress while the Magicshines have a proper sealed battery unit with lcd charge read out and tend to use slightly thicker cables and connectors. I think Fossy has made Franken battery packs using AA batteries with a few bits and bobs from Maplins. Sure he will fill you in on that.

I'm sure he will....

 

[Hacienda71]

Dead easy to fit (30 seconds) I sling the battery pack on the top tube on the Ribble or the handlebars on the carbon bike.

 

[StuAff]

Got one of the new 2013 model Hope Vision 1s the other week (the link upthread is the mark one). Nothing wrong with the old one, anything but but the 2013 is a clear step up. More powerful LED, with the same power consumption, and better optics as well- the beam is wider spread than the somewhat overfocused original. On the Reading night ride to Brighton on Friday, the two of them did a (far) more than adequate job on level one.

 

[400bhp]

these any good?

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/exposure-sp...ium=affiliates&utm_campaign=www.cyclechat.net

 

[HovR]

I got one of these off of Ebay in January...

... it's the nearest thing i've had to a car headlight on the bike.
Can see everything on unlit lanes at night and for £20 it's a bargain.
Took about 3-4 weeks to arrive from Shanghai.
Not had chance to use it much but the batteries seem to hold their charge well.

the back light is pants though, why they bothered sending it I don't know

+1. I've had one of these for over a year, and recently bought a second one as I like them so much. Two of them angled correctly is comparable to a standard (non HID) car's high beam.

Here's the sort of brightness you can expect from one. My review here.

 

[400bhp]

It's a rubber bracket? I know i've had problems with these before?

 

[HovR]

It's a rubber bracket? I know i've had problems with these before?

The one which ships with it is a rubbery plastic. I've had no problems with mine (on-road) since I bought it early last year. If you have an issue with it you could buy a LockBlock like Sara_H linked further up the thread with the money saved from not spending your full budget.

 

[Andrew Br]

............... it is supposed to go red from 65%- 30% and flash red >30%

My Magic Shine-a-like went from "solid red" to "off" in about 15 minutes.
Despite this I'm very pleased with the unit and it's seen a lot of service, some of it in prolonged rain.
I've wrapped the battery in a plastic bag and I'm using the diffuser lens.

The cheap T6 are good but I would always want a back-up to be sure.

^ This.
Always 2 front and 2 rear lights for me (sometimes more).
My "main" front light is an Ixon IQ Speed.

.

 

[Sara_H]

I got one of these off of Ebay in January...

... it's the nearest thing i've had to a car headlight on the bike.
Can see everything on unlit lanes at night and for £20 it's a bargain.
Took about 3-4 weeks to arrive from Shanghai.
Not had chance to use it much but the batteries seem to hold their charge well.

the back light is pants though, why they bothered sending it I don't know



I'd forgotten i was after a mount like that, cheers!

Thats the light I've got. I think it says an hour battery life on full power, but mine seems to last longer. Fantastic light. OH has stolen it off me because I'm not working at the mo, but I've warned him to get his own cos I'm definitely having it back!

 

[4F]

Couple of questions:

1. It looks like you need the mains charger to charge it. Are these standard type mains chargers? Ideally I'd leave a charger at work and one at home. I have quite a few mobile phone chargers and it looks like an old style nokia charger?

No it is specific to the battery

2. Is the battery unit velcro'd on? I guess the ideal place is on the top tube? (does anyone have any pics of mounting positions).

Yes it has a velcro strap however I am not convinced it will be waterproof. I wrap the cable around my top tube and feed it into my saddlepack

3. I'm an impatient bugger and anything that takes more than a minute to fasten a light ready for the ride to/from work will leave me getting pished off with it. How easy are they to remove and refit?

Rubber O ring, no problem with mine and I have used it since October last year

 

[4F]

And I would add that I find the low setting fine for the darkest of roads and will only put it on the bright mode on fast decents. I get 6 hours on low setting between charges which does for me 3 days worth of commuting. For that price you could buy 2, still be in under £ 40, have a charger at home and work and have a spare battery pack. Jobs a good un

 

[400bhp]

Thats the light I've got. I think it says an r,hour battery life on full power but mine seems to last longer. Fantastic light. OH has stolen it off me because I'm not working at the mo, but I've warned him to get his own cos I'm definitely having it back!

Not long enough for me but thanks for your input. .

 

[400bhp]

And I would add that I find the low setting fine for the darkest of roads and will only but it on the bright mode on fast decents. I get 6 hours on low setting between charges which does for me 3 days worth of commuting. For that price you could buy 2, still be in under £ 40, have a charger at home and work and have a spare battery pack. Jobs a good un

does seem like it. Cheers fella.