CigTech

The Light came in yesterday. And all I have to say is DON"T LOOK INTO THIS LIGHT! I mean it will blind you.
The light is at least 900LM in high mode. In low mode it's about the same as a AA flashlight at about 300LM. It has a lighted switch that glows Green (75% - 100%), Blue (50% - 75%), Yellow (25%-50%), Red (10% - 25%). There are 4 modes to run this light in. High, Med, Low and flashing. The flashing mode is in high only and you have to hold the switch for 3 seconds to get it in that mode.
As far as what you get with the light:
1 * CREE XML T6 Headlight
1 * Headlight Band
1 * 4400mA Li-ion Battery
1 * Power Charger
2 * Plastic Rings
I did not gat a User manual but I just throw it away any ways. LOL

The Battery is a 8.4 V 4400mA Li-ion. So at 9 watts and 8.4v you'll get about 4.1 hours run time. (9/8.4=1.0714)(4.4/1.0714=4.1 hours). So in the real world in thinking about 3.5 to 4 hours. In med mode it should run about 6 hours. In low mode you should get about 12 hours.

All in all I say is this light is way brighter than any other light you can get for $40.00. I have bought a few run of the mill bike lights like Bell, Schwinn ect... And none of them are even close to this light in low mode. I have a NiteRider NoMad, M-11 bulb 10 watt 6v light which is not as bright as this light in med mode. So if you need a bright bike light for less than $50.00 this is the light for you. With this light you can see up a head as well and be seen.

Here is the link to the web site I order it from:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ls_o00_s00_i00

ben4345

Are you an adbot?

In any case, if it's running that current, I wouldn't leave it on the highest setting more than 3-5 minutes. Hopefully it will have a thermal cut off.

Snowsurfer

What's the build like? It looks like one of those magic shines.

Snowsurfer

I am using a WildCat XP-G R5 I believe, but puts out like 900 lumens. Like you said, " Do not look into the light."

CigTech

It's a lot like the magic shines. But from what I see the different between the two is. The magic shines battery is incased in a box where the Cree is incase in a thin film. The Battery bag has two straps where the Cree has one to hold it on the bike. The reflector is not orange peel like the magic shines. And the O-rings do not have the pull tab.

And Ben no Im not a Ad-Bot LOL.

RoadTire 

Looks promising - I'm still leaning to flashlights, but I think others in my family are thinking dedicated bike lights like this setup. Can you get any road or MUP beamshots?

jeffpoulin

CigTech, have you ridden home with it yet? If so, how does it compare to your old lights?

somedood

At 9 watts? That's not a lot of heat. My flashlight with the same LED has no problems at the highest settings with respect to heat generation, especially while on the bike with all the airflow.

colleen c

The difference might be mostly in the battery. After the fiasco with the Magicshine battery issue, I think Magicshine since then has started to use better quality battery to avoid the inbalance issue and water proofing issue by going with the hardcase instead of the PVC film. The battery you got is probably still the old style.

The runtime on the new pack will most likely be less than your calculated time. The calculated pack power is 32.6 watt hr. That is base on the nominal volatge instead of the 8.4 peak voltage. Based on that you should be getting 3.5 hr runtime based on the 9w claim, however with variations like low volt cutoff from the lighthead and voltage sagging, you will see more like around the low 3 hours runtime or less.

The 9 watt claim from the seller listing should put this light at about the 700 lumens range based from the Cree XML datasheet.

All this said, at $40 you still getting a pretty good value light that is very useable for commuting and you are getting a pretty good lumens/dollar ration.


This is true with most flashlight. Flashlight has a better heatsinking and thermal transfer design that cools the LED more efficiently. A flashlight also gets some heat transfer through your hand while being held. OTOH (no pun), air flow cools the bicycle light fairlly well. Do keep in mind though that the bicycle light set like the OP bought will not get enough cooling during the period of non movement. As a preventive measure, I would suggest turning the light off or lower the settings while you are at stop for any long period such as a bathroom break or a slow hard moving climb up an incline that will take over several minute. Just some info: Most bicycle light I tested will climb to an external casing temperature of 140 degree and higher in 5 minutes or less with no airflow present.

CigTech

The light does have a hot spot (meaning lots of light) right in the middle with a light outer ring flood effect. Here is a picture taken of the light 3 foot away from a wall in a day lit room. 1st the wall without the light, then with the light. The hot spot (as I call it) is 6 inches arcoss with a 3 foot throw. So run the math and it should be a 5 foot across with a 50 foot throw. Here is the pictures.

Barnabas

nice i like the pic very helpful...btw your profile picture looks like daniel tosh with long hair!

CigTech

LOL , I need to updat the Picture, thats me back in 2006.

CACycling

Looks like the same as the ones I picked up from Deal Extreme this winter:
https://www.dealextreme.com/p/t6-wate...-82510?item=33
So far, I've been very pleased (major upgrade from the PB Blaze 2W I was running). Only down side (at least for the DE ones I got) is the status light on the switch is always lit and draining the battery so I need to unplug the packs when not in use.

Triggerhappy007

https://offers.dealextreme.com/team.php?id=1469

If you want one buy it or it will be sold out soon. SOLD OUT.

I recommend this so you get a wider beam:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wide-Angle-L...item415e27aa23

CigTech

I been looking at that Lens also. Think I'll get one this week to see how it is.

Triggerhappy007

I use it with my C8 flashlight and it diffuses the hotspot to give a wider beam. Works very well and you should see similar results with your bike light.

CigTech

Will rode home tonight with the Cree light 32.6 miles at 1:00am. All I have to say is it's nice making it home just as fast as getting they at 4:00 pm. All the ohter bike light I have did not put out enough light to ride at 20+ MPH. But this light does and then some. With ohter lights I had to stay under 15 MPH to be able to see whats up ahead. Not any more.

AndreyT

These lights have been posted/asked about quite a few times here. It looks like an [almost] exact copy of MagicShine, yet it is not branded as MagicShine. It is either a knock off or the same OEM.

One concern about these lights is the battery. As we all know, MagicShine recalled its batteries once. These no-name version might come with pre-recall version of the battery. I don't know whether there is a final verdict on what kind of battery they usually come with.

CigTech

I'll have to take my Raytek mini-temp with me on a few rides to see if the battery is get to hot. I did not check the battery temp on the ride. Most of the ride I run it on High on the back roads. I check it tonight on the way home.

Cyclaholic

I know this light and yes, they're bright, but there's no way on earth you're getting anything like 900lm out the front.

You wouldn't want to be driving the LED at maximum current anyhow simply because these housings don't have anything like the heat dissipation necessary to keep the junction temp. within parameters.

If you want to know how it performs (as opposed to what they print on the box) check your battery current draw and voltage simultaneously at full brightness, knock 15% off that to allow for your driver loss and you'll have a good estimate of the LED current. Check with the Cree spec sheet for raw lumen output at that current then take 20% off that to allow for reflector losses.That will get you a much more realistic figure for the initial brightness. If you really want to know how it performs install a thermal transducer on the LED mounting surface and monitor the heat sink temp until it stabilizes then go back to the spec sheet and derate the L/W for junction temp. Even if you were driving the LED at the full 1k lumen output because you somehow managed to keep the Tj under 25deg.C. with a big heatsink you're still losing about 200lm on the reflector.

If you want to improve the performance and longevity of your light I would open it up and check for heatsink compound between the LED and the surface it sits on. It's a white substance with the consistency of grease. Some of these cheapie lights don't have any heatsinking compound, I'm guessing to save cost, and that will lead to a dead LED in a short time. If the LED is glued to the surface then you have nothing to worry about.

I have a bunch of LED lights, and some I've built myself. A half decent light with this LED in a package that's small enough to mount on a bike will get you maybe 500 - 600 lumens out the front.... that's still a good deal of light! I run 2 x 600lm (measured) lights on my bike. Nobody is left with any doubt whatsoever that I'm coming down the road with 1200 lumens out the front

40SpokeOD

LOL, I had two 600 lumen NiteRider lights on my bars for a week or so and cut it down to one because drivers were stopping and telling me they couldn't see.

CigTech

Cyclaholic, As most people who are looking for a light I don't care if it's puting out 1200 lm or 300 lm. I just want to be able to see. As Far as that goes + the price I'm happy with this light. As we all know the box print is always a lie to get you to buy it.

But if the battery is going to lite the bag on fire, then I have a problem with that. I can see me trying to go faster to put out the fire LOL. I'll check it tonight.

cehowardGS

You mean drivers from BEHIND you were catching up to you and and stopping and telling you that they can't see???? Or do you mean drivers that were facing you, as in driving toward you, TURNED AROUND caught up with you, pulled you over and told you the lights were blinding them**********

cehowardGS

I am running TWO 1600 lumen (rated) LIGHTS on the front, a 1600 lumen (rated) LIGHT on my helmet. Since I have been running these lights, I see much better, I am SEEN, AND most important, Drivers DON'T TAKE MY RIGHTAWAY ANYMORE!!

scoatw

wow! what lights are those ? do you have a link ?