Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Magicshine or P7 Flashlight -- best road bike functionality?

I have been looking at lights for night riding. The Magicshine and the P7 flashlight seem to be mentioned a good deal.

I know that the ML has a four hour battery pack v. the P7 two hour battery.

I'm interested in your opinions about which is functionally the best for road bikes at night. Remember, I'm out riding, not commuting.

Thanks

what type of roads are you riding on? when i ride at night its usually on well lit roads where the only purpose of a light is to be seen, not to see the road, what's your situation?

To see. I am often riding up in the hills or through sparsely populated desert suburbs without street lights at and after sunset.

I'll move this to the lighting/electronics forum. I'd suggest taking a look there as there are a lot of reviews in that forum as well.

I'll move this to the lighting/electronics forum. I'd suggest taking a look there as there are a lot of reviews in that forum as well.

I have read extensively in the light forum. But the question of road bike functionality was not answered. I'd prefer to hear what road bikers say based on actual use.

I have a P7 flashlight and while it works well, if the Magicshine had been available (or I knew about it) I would have bought that instead. The P7 tends to switch between modes over bumps. I have minimized that by making sure the battery is really tight, but this is not an issue at all with the Magicshine. I also had to build a hood for the front of the P7 to knock down some of the upward throw of the light. I was getting flashed by cars even with it tilted down. The amount of light is great.

The Magicshine seems to be equal in light output but since it is meant as a cycling light the beam may be more shaped for the road instead of a general purpose flashlight. It also doesn't extend behind the bars for your knee to hit. The extra run time is a bonus. I get about 80 minutes out of my P7 on high.

I also have a 200 lumen trustfire flash that I use as a helmet light. That combination gives me all the light I could ask for. I ride farm roads and a rail trail in full dark so I need plenty of light.

I may be doing some night mountain biking and if I do, the Magicshine is the way I will go.

The two flashlights I've tried have both eventually gotten to where they change modes or turn off when I hit bumps too. One died in a couple of days, the other lasted a couple of weeks. Others have had good luck with them.

The Magicshine has a battery life of 3 hours on high, about 8 or 9 on low.

I think your 2 hour runtime for a P7 is a little high.. Most P7's run around 60-80 minutes.. I have found that the new Ultrafire Protected 3000mah cells have given me the best runtime w/ p7 flashlights..

The gradual dimming w/p7 flashlight is very relevant to what you might need.. The MS light is a constant output over the 3 hour runtime, you need to take this into consideration..

I ride fast for almost 2 hours in pitch black. The MS is awesome. Haven't used the P7 Flashlight.

I ride fast for almost 2 hours in pitch black. The MS is awesome. Haven't used the P7.

The MS is a P7 emitter..

The MS is a P7 emitter..

edited...lol

The flashlight would actually have closer to an hour of runtime, not two.

I've been using a Magicshine light for about a month. Although I don't have a P7 flashlight, I have been using a Fenix flashlight for more than 2 years.

The Magicshine is designed for cyling use. So it has a more focused beam pattern than a flashlight. It has a mount designed to attach to your handlebar; with a flashlight, you have to buy a separate mount or rig something up. My Fenix flashlight tends to move around a lot more on the handlebar, so I have to readjust it more often than the MS. With the MS, you have to find a place to attach the battery case, while the batteries are contained within the flashlight case. The actual light on the Magicshine is much more compact (about the size of an egg) compared to a P7 flashlight.

Your needs may be different than mine, but for me the MS is hands-down more preferable compared to a P7 flashlight.

I don't have any problems with my P7. Never have had it change modes after a year of using it. I did have a battery die when I dropped it (the battery, not the flashlight), and the charger cord connection seems to be loosening a bit more, but no problems with the actual flashlight. As with the other posters (either/or) I don't have experience with the MS.

If I need a longer run time than what my P7 gives, I just throw an extra battery in my pack.

I think either would work fine for any type of biking you would want to do. If I didn't have either and had to choose, I think I would still buy the flashlight. I'm not a big fan of external battery packs cluttering up my bars, and the flashlight is a bit more versatile for other things besides biking.

I think the fact that most P7 flashlights are direct drive means that they dim as the battery lowers. Whereas the MS is regulated and puts out consistent output.

The beam on the MS has a more focused bean rather than a big flood like a lot of the P7 flashlights. I use the MS + a Dinotte 400L on my road commute and think its GREAT. Just enough light.

Flashlights have about 45-60 min run time before their light becomes significantly less usefull. The MS is more like 3 hours. People say, "I just carry spare batteries." To that I say, great, now I have to think about and maintain 2 seperate batteries and always remember to carry 2. And, when its dumping rain, do I really want to open up my light and swap batteries? I like to charge up a light once a week, not once a day. I ride in the dark 4 nights a week, accounting for about 45 min each trip. With the MS/Dinotte setup, I charge on Sundays and am set for the week. With a flashlight setup I would have to charge up 4 times that week, or purchase 4 batteries + 1 backup in order to matain the same routine.

The UI on the MS is better on the old units which had just 3 modes, unlike the new batch which has 5 which give you more modes,... but mostly is useless for bikes.

Having a light-head that is small like the MS gives you more mounting options and there are makers who make mounts for the MS head that allow a quick connect/disconnect.

IMHO, I never really liked flashlights for biking use. Now that there is the MS, I see no reason to go with a flashlight at all now.