Magtenlight 1 month review

[brokenbetty]

At the end of October I took a bit of a chance and ordered a new type of dynamo light from www.magtenlight.com, a company based in Hong Kong.

I couldn't find much about it on the web, but I thought someone has to be first and it wasn't that expensive (and ok, I'd had a couple of glasses of wine!)

Edit: was about 65 Euros, though I see it's now 99

I've been using it for about a month of regular commuting now so it's time for a review.

(The website seems to be down right now - I hope they haven't gone phut since I bought it)

Edit: it's back this morning

1. Customer service and delivery
I got an email the next day confirming the order. It arrived after about a fortnight, much sooner than I expected. As a bonus, there were two in the pack! There was an email telling me that the extra one was a gift I have no idea why

2. Product
It's a set of front and rear led lights powered by a magnet generator on the front wheel. Instead of being in the hub, you have a ring of magnets that clips onto the spokes and a dynamo unit that sits on the axle.

The front light is a bright white LED. According to the website it is 15 Lux and meets German road safety standards.

Our 15 Lux Headlamp set uses the world's best CREE Q4 LED which provides a light intensity of 1500 Lumens per square meter at 1 meter distance, and result in an Illuminance of 15 Lux at a 10 meter distance as per German Road Traffic Act stVZO 22A No: 23 at a bicycle speed of 15 Km/Hour

The lights are mounted on the bike with bolts and are not removable. There are no on - off switches - they are on if the wheel is turning.

There is a low power standing light that stays on for several minutes after the wheel stops.

3. Ease of fitting

Pretty easy to fit, though the magnet rings will give you a nasty nip if you trap your fingers.

It's hard to get the dynamo in the right place so it is close enough but doesn't foul on the ring. The instructions say 6-7mm - we couldn't get it that close but it still works fine.

There are no clips to hold the wires in place on the frame so we used gaffer tape.

The lights connect to the dynamo with quite flimsy wires. The connectors are spring-loaded clamps.

The build quality of the generator kit isn't great - it feels like a prototype rather than a finished product. The supplied bolts were too small for the holes so we had to use extra washers. The magnet ring is held on by bolts but there are also wire clips to keep it tight. When fitted as shown in the instructions these rake across the dynamo unit and score the plastic cover so I turned them round.

3. Performance

I haven't mounted the rear light so the following applies to the front only

Pretty bright! I didn't think so at first as it's hard to tell when you only see it from behind, but I got BF to ride it round the block and it is certainly brighter than a lot of urban bike lights.

front view (sorry about the quality, it's a video cap)

angle view

I was worried about side visibility as I couldn't see it in shop windows as I rode past so I added a flashing cat eye SL110, but after watching it in action it is better than I thought.

video:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-ekUMld7I


4. Drag

Definitely some drag, though I'm used to it and don't notice it now. I feel it most going up the one hill in my commute in the morning (Stamford Hill heading south, for those who know the area)

5. Durability

It seems flimsy and I have to admit the reason I waited before posting a review was because I half expected it to fail within the month. It has surprised me and it still going strong, with nothing having to be adjusted or repaired. I suppose the lack of features like switches and removeable mounts means less to break.

We were worried about the contacts being pulled out so wrapped them in gaffer tape. On a couple of mornings the light didn't come on until I wiggled the wire. However since I've taken the tape off I haven't had a problem.

6. Would I recommend it?

So far, yes. It's a bit Heath Robinson, but for someone who isn't organised enough to have good batteries or keep a rechargeable charged, and who can finish work 3 hours or more later than she expected to, it's fantastic. I really hope my worries about durability are unfounded.

I don't know how it would compare to a hub dynamo performance-wise as I've never tried one, but it was cheaper and easier to fit.

 

[brokenbetty]

Bump as I finally got the video up:
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-ekUMld7I

 

[andrew_s]

It's an interesting option, but not necessarily either cheaper or easier to fit.
Eg Spa cycles hub dynamo wheel and front light bundle, £67 (though I'd go for the somewhat better £80 option).

The magtenlight would still come in lighter and probably with lower drag, but I'd wonder about reliability

 

[brokenbetty]

It's an interesting option, but not necessarily either cheaper or easier to fit.
Eg Spa cycles hub dynamo wheel and front light bundle, £67 (though I'd go for the somewhat better £80 option).

The magtenlight would still come in lighter and probably with lower drag, but I'd wonder about reliability

Yes, since the price has gone up that doesn't compare so well. I'd still say easier to fit since you don't need to take the wheel off at all, let alone swap it out.

I would be very interested to see how the light outputs compare - I haven't knowingly seen a dynamo hub in action.

 

[Davidc]

A bit more expensive perhaps, but a hub dynamo is a proven technology with very little drag, sealed, and with good manufacturing quality, and lights up to 60 lumens are currently available. Complete wheels with Shimano dynamos and respectable hubs are available for less than £99.

Putting a tape, tube and tyre on one of those and fitting it to a bike undoubtedly takes less time than fixing all the bits of the magtenlight. (Just bought one at £80 + £17 for tyre, tape and tube for my tourer and it took me about 20 minutes to do this using non QR skewers, and wire it up to the B&M lights, which I already had but running on a battery pack).

I expect this setup to last about 15 to 20 years with no maintenance (by which time I'd be nearly 80), no fiddling with wires before it works etc, except if I ever move it to a new bike.

 

[Tynan]

I don't see the need, why run the lught off your own motion when most people are trying to make the bike go easier

the sorts of money you're talking buys good quality bright lights than run off rechargeable batteries surely

 

[brokenbetty]

I don't see the need, why run the lught off your own motion when most people are trying to make the bike go easier

the sorts of money you're talking buys good quality bright lights than run off rechargeable batteries surely

The need is for something you can fit then forget. Rechargeables have to be remembered and plugged in with enough time to get charged, and non-rechargeables have to be remembered and bought while the shops are open.

Rechargeables would cost me a lot more because I'd have to buy the rechargeable light and also employ a bloke to remember to charge them for me

 

[brokenbetty]

I expect this setup to last about 15 to 20 years with no maintenance (by which time I'd be nearly 80), no fiddling with wires before it works etc, except if I ever move it to a new bike.

It turns out I was a little unfair in the review - I had to fiddle with wires when I'd "upgraded" the connections with some tape, but since I took the tape off the light has been completely reliable.

Liz

 

[Andy_S]

I bought a magtenlight, too

My review is less good, although not altogether bad. The light and the beam are bright enough to see the road in front of you, which is what I wanted. (I was not looking for a "to be seen" light.) However, the generator makes noise. It might have been my unit (I only got one). But the biggest problem was that it put the wheel out of true. I first put it on a mountain bike, and after I put it on, I had to adjust the brakes... I didn't think much about it. The electrical connection was lost a few times and the light dimmed. One of the wires snapped at the tip where the generator held it. But the lights worked very well. When I changed the unit to a different bicycle, the brakes rubbed against the rim again. Instead of adjusting them, I put the magnets on the same wheel's other side, and the brakes now rubbed against the rim, but now on the other side. It looks like the way the magnet ring is attached squeezes the spokes on one side enough to make the wheel go out of true. I won't be using them, and will probably go to a cheap bottle generator, or perhaps upgrade to a hub dynamo. I don't like batteries, because I will only notice that they are running down when I am actually using them, and then it's too late. (Also, the battery lights that sell for less than $50 in the states seem totally useless for actually seeing the road, and I'd rather have a bottle generator than upgrade to "better" battery-powered stuff).