Thinking of a Magicshine

[Holdsworth]

One of the MJ-808 models might prove useful for commuting come the winter, it is certain that it will be pitch black going both to and from work. My commute is mostly down unlit country lanes, the first mile is through the edge of town and the last 1/2 mile is down a busy trunk road which is lit.

I can't think of another light that would allow me to see the road ahead for the price of a MS other than the Hope Vision 1, which is £30 more than the imported MS. Plus a set of good rechargeable batteries are needed so I would need to budget those in and get some recommendations.

I would like your thoughts on the Magicshine and any alternatives in the £50-£80 price bracket (I am on a budget here)

The MS lights get good reviews and reliability seems to be mostly okay apart from a few cases where the battery/charger has exploded. The important things is what would be the deal if I had a mechanical failure with a DX imported light, would returns be an issue?

I think I am sorted for rear lights BTW, I have a Raleigh twin 1 watt LED light, an LED flasher and I am think a fibre flare added in wouldn't do any harm.

Thanks all.

 

[gaz]

IMO the hope vision 1 isn't much good by it's self on unlit roads. It's beam is quite tight and the power just isn't enough to light the road enough for a fast speed.

The magishine has the power and is noticeably better but the beam throws the light in all directions so you do loose some light importantly it is enough to use on an unlit road and lights up a lot more than the hope.

I have and use both throughout the dark nights.

 

[cyberknight]

The magicshine is a great light , i used mine last winter on unlit country lanes and i could cycle at full speed with complete confidence.

With DX it does take a while to get through the red tape of automated responses and the language barrier, when i did have a faulty torch they did refund about half the value of the torch ( it still works it was just that the on/off button was a bit temperamental) .

 

[_aD]

Magicshine are fabulous. Whenever I'm on one of the Friday Night Ride to the Coasts I end up being an inadvertant salesman - people comment on how bright they are and are interested to hear what they're like. This being with a hundred other cyclists with their lights on says something!

My review: http://simplypeachy.livejournal.com/465702.html

 

[Hacienda71]

I use an MJ808 for commuting in the winter on an unlit country lane commute. It is mostly down hill and I often hit 30mph+. With the Magicshine I can see potholes and cycle with confidence, prior to this I used a couple of 5W torches and there is simply no comparison. The Magicshine is the only light I have used where cars dip a long way off. The only downside is that if you have your light aimed too high they flash you to dip as well!

 

[fossyant]

If the batteries do pack in, you can get better quality ones from the UK seller quite easily, that have a good protection circuit.

The 836 is a neat package. Or there is the new 4 x LED model.

I have two magicshine rear lights though, but I adapted a 6 x AA holder for each light as an alternative - charging batteries at work unattended, so kept the MS batteries as spares.

 

[Scoosh]

I bought a light from this guy and his website.

It's worth having a read around his site and it certainly helped me understand the different LEDs etc.

The particular light I bought earlier in the year is not available now - they've got brighter and cheaper (for the not-quite-so-bright ).

 

[Holdsworth]

I bought a light from this guy and his website.

It's worth having a read around his site and it certainly helped me understand the different LEDs etc.

The particular light I bought earlier in the year is not available now - they've got brighter and cheaper (for the not-quite-so-bright ).

That's where I got the info about possible reliability issues with Magicshine lights. If I recall he posted a few messages in a thread on here about them.

I think I might stick with what I know is a good and fairly-priced light and get the MS. It is tempting to take the £30 discount and import direct from China. Does anyone know whether the Chinese import comes with a UK charger? The returns thing may still sway me towards the UK dealer though.

 

[cyberknight]

My MS did not come with a uk charger but the one that comes works if you plug it into the shaver shaped plug socket or adaptor

Just went to check my MS and even after 3 months sitting in the garage the battery is still at 75 % and the light is fine.


I took a chance on DX as in the past everything i have had has worked bar a £11 torch, you can either pay more for some peace of mind or chance it and save £20-£30 .
If the item is truly defective then i cannot see why they would not exchange /replace, my case was a bit of an odd one as the cost of returning the item to hong kong meant i would lose out even if i got a full refund so in the end i kept the torch and got half my money back so i was happy enough.

 

[Cubist]

I got mine from DX, no issues. As CK says, a shaver socket is OK, or you can get a US to UK adaptor at poundworld.

Go on, someone ask me how much they are so we can get it over with...............

 

[_aD]

Just went to check my MS and even after 3 months sitting in the garage the battery is still at 75 % and the light is fine.

Was it left plugged in? I've noticed mine will flat itself over three or four weeks if it's left plugged in.

 

[cyberknight]

Was it left plugged in? I've noticed mine will flat itself over three or four weeks if it's left plugged in.

Nope the light is unplugged.
It has lost .2 of a volt while in storage, the battery type does lose charge over time, my standard rechargeable AAA batteries are the same .

 

[Holdsworth]

Thanks for all your input, I have bitten the bullet and bought from DX, current price is £50.13

Now comes the waiting

 

[cyberknight]

Did you get the one with the sealed battery + charge indicator LED?

 

[Holdsworth]

I got this one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-808-ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-set-44459

I see there is a second version but I can't see much difference in the specs:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/ha-iii-ssc-p7-c-sxo-3-mode-900-lumen-led-bike-light-set-25149