Sorry, not sure about the Magicshine, however, the documentation for my Dinotte headlight does indicate the battery does discharge when connected to the light, even if not in use. The recommendation is to disconnect the battery from the light when not using it.

I have, I got mine from Action led. It works great for illuminating the skunks along the sides of the bike path. I use it with a Ultrafire 501B on the helmet.

The original Magicshine owners manual said it was OK, the power used for the indicator light was so minimal it didn't really make any difference.

Took the plunge and ordered one too, and after receiving it a couple of day ago, I can honest say that it's improved the lights effectiveness for road use, although I feel that the beam is now much to wide and would have preferred something between the spot of the original and the one I got from the link above.

Also if anyone's thinking of getting it (definitely worth the money!), my advice if you have handlebars with any amount of rise, is to install and adjust the lens on the bike since even the most minute amount of rotation throws the beam off the horizontal axis. I'm planning on building a base to move it above the front fender/v-brakes where stock bicycle lights are usually located (at least in Europe).

I agree that it is very rude to run a flashing headlight in the night if it is very bright, especially on a bike-only route. These lights hurt my eyes, and what are these riders so happy about anyway? Do they want to see by those lights?

Simple solution: Don't ride bike paths at night. Even a tightly focused beam with a cut off is inappropriate for most bike path situations. The standard width for bike paths is around 11 feet (about the width of a road lane). There is less than 6 feet between you and any on-coming traffic if you are riding down the middle of the path. That's too close for even the narrowest of beams.

If you left it connected for days or weeks, it might run down the battery but it isn't a problem for a few hours.

Since I use the light daily, I have it constantly connected and top up the charge every couple of days. So far, after roughly a week of use, I've never seen the green light change color (even after 2 hours of continual use), and topping up of the batteries lasts roughly an hour at most (sans the first charge which took a couple of hours).

Talk about a non sequitur

...a term which you used improperly above.

Maybe simple, but around here, not very safe. Alternatives are very busy roads or highways. Just aim your lights down so the brightest light is less than 10 feet in front of you, and the spillage is enough to see fine. Half of my commute is against the flow, and I never get complaints from oncoming riders. The other half is with the flow, so I aim a little higher, and adjust down and to the side when the occasional rider comes along. Winding areas where a bike might appear suddenly, keep them aimed low all the time.

The draw is about 20 ma for the pilot light. That equates to about 6 minutes of lost runtime per 24 hours that the light is connected with the pilot light on.

Personally I disconnect it if I'm not riding the next day (over the weekend for instance) and usually as long as I disconnect it, I'll take the battery inside and charge it. I charge every 2 days even though I could certainly go 3 days, possibly 4, because I don't want to have to think about how I'm using the light - when I was trying to stretch it to 4 days I found myself leaving it on medium mode (400 lumens or so) on rough road and sometimes I'd hit holes I didn't see in time. Some of the road I'm riding on is so bad that when I see a hole late, there's nowhere to go - the hole is surrounded by other holes, and to miss them all I should have shoulder checked and moved 5 feet left about 50 feet ago.

Also, yes, IMO a spotty ebay light in conjunction with an Action LED Lights wide angle diffuser lens is about perfect.

Trail: I use the lowest setting, unless it gets REALLY dark, but I point it in front of my bike so I can see what I am going to run over, if I see a biker coming towards me, I point it to the right, runners/joggers I point it to the left (we have assigned lanes here).

Street: During the day, BLINKY... you see me? GOOD! Night- HIGHEST power and same aim in front of my bike.

I still see some drivers shield their eyes, but when they do that, they are usually making left turns smack dab in front of me.......cagers! The others are in parking lots trying to turbo boost themselves into traffic.

For one, why would I be in the middle of a two-lane path with a stripe; for another it conflicts hard with my actual experience that everyone on the bike path after dark is a serious thoughtful cyclist or runner, and I have far more trouble in bike lanes on suburban streets with skater teens on reflectorless BMX bikes salmoning at me out of nowhere.

I've ridden in the DC area. There are alternatives. Even in the gridless east there are alternatives that parallel busy roads. Even the busy roads are still rideable to an experience cyclist.

You are misunderstanding my point. Bike paths tend to be 11 feet wide. If you are riding down the middle of your side and someone coming at you is riding down the middle of their side, there is less than 6 feet between you. If you ride on the very edge of your side and the other user is on the very edge of there side, you'll be separated by 9 to 10 feet but even that distance is small for even highly focused beams.

You're right. They're called trails around here: Mount Vernon Trail, Custis Trail, Capital Crescent Trail, Four Mile Run Trail, etc. All are used heavily by bikes, runners and walkers day and night. The alternatives are not nearly as safe, but you already knew that, having ridden in the DC area.

If you are worried about how your lights affect other trail users as Darth Lefty stated in post 9, there are always nonbike path alternatives for night time use. I don't blind bike path users at night while running 3 very bright lights by not riding bike paths at night. I avoid using bike paths at night because 1) I don't want to be that jerk cyclists and 2) most paths around me aren't open after sunset.

The paths are patrolled and nothing slows down your commute like being stopped and explaining to the police why you are on a closed path. Checking your ID, checking you background and writing a summons can take an hour or more. I'd rather get home.

I'm pretty sure you have me on ignore but here goes anyway: I've tried to explain this to you several times. Lux is a valid measurement but so is lumen output. Lux is not valid if you don't have a distance measurement. My 650 lumen lights have a lux measurement of 1.3 million. What does that tell you about the light coverage. It also has a lux measurement of 29 lux. Which measurement do you want to use? For bonus points, how far way from the source is each measurement?

Just giving a lux number for a light tells you nothing about the light without the distance to the target. To put it in chemical terms, I have a reaction with compound A and compound B going to compound C. If compound A has a concentration of 4 moles per liter and compound B has a concentration of 2 moles per liter while compound C has a concentration of 6 moles per liter, how long has the reaction been going on and what was the starting concentration of A and B? You can't tell me because you don't have enough information. If I told you a rate constant, you could figure out the problem but without it you can't.

Same holds for a lux measurement. Without knowledge of the distance to the target, the measurement is meaningless. If I have the lumens, I can calculate a lux at any point from the source to infinity. I can't determine if the light is bright or not based on just the lux measurement. A 29 lux light could be a 1 lumen light measured millimeters from the source or a million lumen light measured 10 km from the source. I can't tell and neither can you.

http://www.s201795021.online.de/bumm...c_iq_fly_t.jpg

My wife runs this on her commuter, at 40 lux it is the equivalent of a 3 watt LED and runs off a generator hub.

The output is more than adequate to see and be seen, the daytime lights are excellent, and it has a high beam cutoff and standlight... the matching rear also has a standlight and voltage sensor that brightens the rear light at stops like a car or motorcycle.

European lights now come in versions that have twice the output and one thing that sets them apart is their high quality lenses and high beam cutoff that keeps you from blinding other road users.

I would like to take all these tactical flashlights and shove them where the sun doesn't shine and North American Cyclists shoulds be pushing for better regulations on bicycle headlights as it might get us a little more credibility and respect.

I'll second Sixty Fiver... have been running the following on my tourer with 60 lux and daytime running lights and am very satisfied with the spread of the beam and it's intensity. Whenever I use my tourer in the city with this light, I have people telling me that I've left my front lights on (the four bottom leds + 20% of the main led), which means that I can and am seen.

http://www.bumm.de/uploads/tx_bummpr..._leuchtend.jpg

I had to change my rear dyno light because of a capacitor fail, and opted NOT to get the brake-light function since I believe would confuse the already dazed and confused drivers where I commute. I ended up getting the following which cost next to nothing (around $18) and has a very bright light, seen for 320 degrees. It of course has a 4 minute stand-light function, but unfortunately no off switch, which I believe is needed when you reach your destination and don't want the rear light on when you've walked away from the bike.

http://www.bumm.de/uploads/tx_bummpr...tra_320alk.jpg

Telly, I plan on getting a Cyo for my Moulton which rolls out a little faster than my wife's commuter... it is another great light.

Absolutely worth it's weight in gold, and I would suggest getting the T and not the RT, since the T is 60 lux verses 50 (rt), and throws the light a bit farther away. Just note that the T leaves a 2-3 foot "gap" from the unit to where the light touches the pavement, but this sounds worse than it is.

I know the difference between Lux and Lumens. Most reputable light makers list Lux over the areas and distances described in the German regulations, which state that certain areas at certain degrees and distances from the headlamp mounted at the particular height and angle relative to the ground.

Therefore, I know that the light company has done the necessary measurements so that I know it works in a particular manner, hence I know that it's over a threshold performance.

As far as lumens goes, it's just a crapshot measurement that doesn't state when the light actually goes. In addition, it's grossly exaggerated by most makers, because the US doesn't have a mandatory testing service that must be undertaken before a light enters the market. So, when I see lumens, I know that 99% of the time there's no quality minimum that has been surpassed.

Yes, you're blocked as I find your comments distracting and really you want I'm totally bored.

I have seen few distance measurements with lux data. Sixty Fiver and Telly both list lux measurements without any reference to a distance measurement. Sixty Fiver even has a screen shot from a manufacturer that includes a lux measurement without a distance measurement. Perhaps there are standards out there that the manufacturers use but I haven't seen any reference to those standards. That makes the measurement as meaningless as most lumen claims.

Huh?

cyccommute, some of us are happy with our lights, even though they are different from yours. It might pay for you to acknowledge that and also the fact that our reasons are not due to our ignorance or stupidity.

Your comment is completely uncalled for. Where in this thread have I said anything that could even be remotely construed as saying that people are ignorant or stupid? For that matter where have I said that people have to have lights that are just like mine? I never say that someone has to have lights like what I use. I may argue that some lights and lighting systems are inferior in other threads but I have never said that you have to use lights like mine.

Sorry. I must have misunderstood you. When some of us say why we like our lights, you point out a problem you have with them. I took that to mean that you feel we're overlooking something important.

Your lights are brighter than you are?

:lol: Perhaps! But for sure, cyccommute's lights must be brighter than I am! :lol:

OK calm down.
Lux or lumens... the real problem is these metrics do not tell you how it will work for you under your riding conditions.

Lumens usually means the total luminous flux emitted (in all directions), and Lux is lumens per sq meter (so where do you position that square meter).
And light falls off with distance. What is not quantified is the shape of the emitted beam.

If you want to ride at say 20 mph in total darkness, you need a very bright light to see both what's coming up and the obstacles.
But a person on the trail/road coming toward you will be blinded by that much light.

We need lights with more abrupt cutoffs so you can see the trail surface without blinding oncoming people.
A helmet mounted light can be good because you can steer it away from oncomers.
And, I use my helmet visor to block the bright lights coming toward me.
I've been commuting 20 years, and the lights are MUCH brighter than they used to be.

If you are in bright city lights in every direction, then you simply need very bright lights, or many lights, or luck to stay safe.