NBYRDR

This is an addendum to Colleens very thorough review of the Gemini light

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...-with-beamshot

After reading her great analysis and opinion on the product I decided to take the plunge.

I have been using a Bell Platinum LED light you can buy from Walmart and an Energizer halogen head lamp. At best we're talking 150 lumens. Both lights are a wash with against the Gemini light. This is the first light I buy of this caliber and have just started to ride (almost 2 months). I've been looking for something that gets peoples attention as I cross dozens of intersections on my usual route, plan on starting to commute to work (12mi) and want to start riding in the street.

Today was my off day for weight training so decided to double up my usual distance (25mi.) I ride on paved bike paths (shared with pedestrians) with areas that have good street lighting, and other sections that have only stop lights as the only lighting.

The battery pack came charged at 7.8V. I let it charge for awhile (didn't keep track of the time, over an hour or so) and walked out the door with it showing 8.2V. My ride took 2hrs and the battery back was showing 7.4V when I came back. The light never kicked into low mode.

It goes without saying that I'm really impressed with the product. It lit up the path VERY well. I had no problems seeing 100+ feet in front of me, even with rolling hills, and noticed a few objects that I had never seen before. I was careful on how high I had the light tilted up as I was afraid of blinding oncoming traffic. It definitely caught peoples attention at the intersections, which is what I was looking for in a product. I could also see people walking on the paths that didn't have reflective gear on clearly coming down the road. I've been surprised a few times, which is another reason I was looking for better lighting.

I'm very happy with the product. There are 5 other cyclists at work and can't wait to show them the light. I'm thinking of trying to find a red tint lens so I can use one as a tail light.

My only apprehension in buying the product was the fake UL listing on the charger. I would easily pay an additional $10 for the charger that Colleen pointed out. With that said, I'm a mechanical engineer and work with a lot of electrical engineers. I figured at worst, for $130 I could get the light and figure something out for a charger and batteries. I would still be ahead compared to some of the $400-1000 lights out there.

Pics are definitely coming!

Garfield Cat

Do any of the 5 other cyclists at work have the Magic Shine?

NBYRDR

Not that I know of. One has the Cygolite TridenX. He was on the verge of buying another light, and was interested of seeing what I bought after I showed him Colleens review.

Some pics. I use the head lamp in conjunction with the bike lite.

I will take some pics along my usual route tomorrow night.

Energizer Halogen Head Light


Bell bike mount LED light


Gemini Low mode


Gemini High mode


Gemini High mode tilted up (more or less where I have it during path rides)

colleen c

Nice beamshot pictures. The beam seems consistent with the beam I get. A little hot spot in the center that can be used for throw but yet enough spillage around the side.

When you mention 8.2v, was that fully charged or did you terminate the charge cycle early?

NBYRDR

Sorry I didn't make it clear Colleen. The 8.2 volts was only partially charged. It was getting late at night and wanted to hit the road. Fully charged the light reads 8.4X V

Some more night shots for comparison.

Gemini on high at the darkest part of my fitness route.



This is what is used to use (LED + Headlamp). What a joke right?



I've ordered a Dinotte 140R tail light. Pretty stoked about that now.


FYI this is the charger I received with my unit. When it was charging the battery it felt warm to the touch. Not even close to hot. At least nothing that would alarm me in any way.

no1mad 

Dang, that is a bright one. The low mode looks like it would be fine for the MUP, then switch to the high mode when playing in traffic. I wonder how this thing would be in the fog?

colleen c

It's looks like they sent you the higher capacity charger. Mine was the 1 amp charger. I think I prefer the larger charger just because of the warmth I felt on my smaller charger although I like to charge the battery at a lower current rate. I also just received a different charger from batteryspace and so far it looks promising.

colleen c

It's been foggy here the last couple of days. Nothing close to tule fog but enough to see the moisture in the air through the beam of light. This was taken with my phone this morning. I thought I would get more glare from the fog with the Titan but it was minimal and much less than the glare from my Pocket Rocket XPG R5.