Lights - 2012

NSMB, I need your help. My riding time is dramatically diminishing, with the days shorter and a little one and all that….my only option is riding when it is dark.

Soo…is anybody still running MagicShine? I need replacements for my old ones and came across them.

I am thinking about buying either the current edition of the MJ 880 or the MJ 872, along with a battery upgrade.

THing is, the MJ 872 is cheaper, at around the 100 Euro mark, whereas the 880 is more expensive, at nearly twice the price.

2 of the guys i ride with have them they say they work great for the $$$ i,m in need of lights as well so share your thoughts with whatever model /brand you go with .

I had a $30 magic shine knockoff, worked great until I accidentally plugged in a higher voltage battery that fried the circuit board.

Niterider Lumina 750, has usb charging. ~$100

You could just get a 800 lumen flashlight using high capacity cells (longer runtime) for $19.
http://www.manafont.com/product_info.php/ultrafire-f13-xml-u2-1200lumen-5modes-led-flashlight-black-18650266503aaa-p-13204

But you have to add battery ($13) and charger ($7), and you have to buy a flashlight mount.

No offense to Gemini but $260 is steep for a bike light that's coming out of china with fancy packaging.

Plus these things go outdated so fast in two years or less, I wouldn't spend more than $50 for a bike light nowadays. $100 gets you two $50 light or 3 $30 lights for 2000 lumens. Sucks for folks who bought a Lupine Tesla ($500) or the older niterider hids ($400) a few years back.

i had a older niterider and the battery died they told me i was SOL as they used a new type of battery and charger so my only option is a new unit

go to ActionLed ( http://www.action-led-lights.com )

They Carry Gemini, MagicShine and Glowworm so you can pretty easily compare prices and specs between lights.

FYI - I have used them quite a bit and a purchase is usually in my mailbox (USPS) in Kelowna within a week.

Too expensive, most of those lights are more than $100.

I picked up 3 of these.
They have been working great so far.

http://dx.com/p/magicshine-mj-808-ssc-z7-900lm-3-mode-white-bike-light-black-silver-4-x-18650-168077

my question is battery life as the weather gets colder on these cheaper units out there now anyone use them in sub zero temps ? or when it,s cold and wet ?

This is my set up this fall. Christmas came a bit early. Lezyne Super Drive used as a helmet mount with the NR 3600 on the bar.

Lezyne - 30ft to the bush

NR3600 - 30 ft to the bush

This is my set up this fall. Christmas came a bit early. Lezyne Super Drive used as a helmet mount with the NR 3600 on the bar.

Lezyne - 30ft to the bush

NR3600 - 30 ft to the bush

Put the big light on your helmet, especially if you are riding tight stuff like Ledgeview. You want your light to be where you are looking, not where your bike is looking.

Many magazines recommend the bright light on the bar or if running one light run it on the bar. I don't think they actually ride though. The helmet is best if you run one light and I much prefer the brighter of the two on the helmet.

Many magazines recommend the bright light on the bar or if running one light run it on the bar. I don't think they actually ride though. The helmet is best if you run one light and I much prefer the brighter of the two on the helmet.

Any magazine that recommends running your only light on your bar is a magazine you can promptly stop reading.

We've just got the Gemini Olympia and a couple offerings from Lezyne in for testing.

Lezyne is still low on the lumen count but I'm interested to see if they'll be suitable for XC type riding as well as commuting – kind of a dual duty set.

With the Olympia I promptly turned it on and shined it right in my eye – bad idea… it's 1.5x brighter than the Duo I was already completely happy with as a head lamp.

It's obvious you want a minimum lumen count, but you guys feel like there's an upper limit as well? A point where battery life becomes more of a priority?

I think at that point you'll probably have higher lumen count light on your handlebar with bigger battery pack 4cel for bar and 2cel for helmet

did you get the new gemini units? new units upped lumen count on all models

They just sent through the Olympia. Said the upped lumen counts aren't really noticeable to the naked eye. The Olympia is brighter than the Duo which is brighter than the Xera, and then have 3, 2, and 1 LEDs each respectively.

helmet lite if only using a single set-up, i tried the bike mount back in the day and it was stupid on tight trails , switched to a single helmet set-up and way better to single track with , that being said i,d love to run both with as much lumens LOL dual 3600,s with one on spot and the other of flood :D