Cree 1200, 3800 lumen lights

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Since limited budget for bike stuff is a way of life, my thought process was to go inexpensive, and just replace if there is a problem.

At $20 per, the 1200 lumen Cree (Amazon) seemed like an interesting way to go. I had been biking and jogging with a Princeton Tech headlamp and two bar lights using 3x AAA batteries each - worked for a couple years, but the pile of dead cells was getting a bit overwhelming. I still use these during the day when a strobe is necessary.

To the Review:

Cree 1200 XML T6 Bicycle Headlight LED 1200 Lumens

The 1200 came with a remote battery pack, charger, and a head strap - can't really say the head strap would fit my head, even fully extended. The helmet strap was extra $$, so the head strap was repurposed to attach to the helmet with some hook&loop through the vents - piece of cake.

The beam on these are very tight, so I picked up the diffuser ($4.95) - this helped to throw a wide swath (redundant?) of light.

One of these on my helmet, no diffuser, and one on the handlebars with diffuser works out great. The lights have 3 settings (high, low, strobe). setting them on low was more than adequate.

These units have a remote battery, with 3' of cable. One of the battery units came with a case which had two hook&loop straps, and a belt ring. The other had a single hook&loop strap, no belt ring. not sure why the difference, but the double one had long enough straps to fit around the downtube in the waterbottle cage - the other didn't. It was hooked to a strap on the hydration pack where it couldn't flop around.

3X CREE XM-L T6 LED 3800Lm LED Headlight Headlamp and Bicycle Light

Just recently, a 3 LED model popped-up on Amazon for $40. If two of these lights running on low is enough, why would this be necessary? Gotta have a spare right? Same battery pack, longer wire on the battery, shorter one on the light than the 1200.

I have one ride on this light so far, and it is bright. It has 4 settings, low, medium, high, strobe. On low it is bright, on high it is like one of those filtered instagram pictures. The beam is much wider than the 1200. Suspect this is a result of the LED Array. After about 1:15 on low, I decided to try riding on the high setting. the battery lasted about 10 minutes before the light shut down for low battery. Temps were in the high 20s- will do some more experimenting to put together a timing chart.

Misc
Each unit came with two sizes of rubber rings for clamping the light to a bar, or mount. A head strap, which was too small, and a battery charger with "fully charged" indicator light (red/green).

batteries - two strap case: 225g, 1 strap case 190g

Size - the 3800 is slightly larger, but uses the same bezel and lens size. weighing in at 126g. The 1200 weighs 90g.

So far so good. I'll report back if any problems arise, and let you know the lights' runtimes.

For reference, there is an iPhone 4 in the picture.

2013-11-21%2009.54.33%20-%20Copy.jpg

2013-11-21%2009.55.03%20-%20Copy.jpg

2013-11-21%2009.55.25%20-%20Copy.jpg

2013-11-21%2010.03.22%20-%20Copy.jpg
 

clarkenstein

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
nice write up. i have one of the 1200 amazon dealies. i ended up putting a piece of an old tube underneath the light on the handlebar of my road bike. the light would slip every time i went over a bump in the road. now it's solid. it's great for road riding - don't need the diffuser even. i put the batteries (in the velcro pack) just above the rear brake between the two seat stays. works great.

i'm curious how long low would work with that trio set up. it has to be stupid bright. have any beam shots?
 

TurkeyTenderloins

New Member
Have one for the bars and one for the helmet. Work perfect and you cant beat the price- if something happens/breaks they are so cheap you can toss 'em and grab another. I'm new to night riding and they allowed me to try it without breaking the bank. One negative is that I hated the wide angle lens- I run them on medium to conserve battery but the lens just dampens the beam to much. Again it only cost $5 so it wasn't a big deal.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Wow... can't go wrong for 20 bucks.
 

jdgang

Well-Known Member
Thanks for the write up. I was thinking about picking up one as a backup. How hard was it to put the diffuser in?
 

TurkeyTenderloins

New Member
It takes 2 seconds- screw off the silver ring on the front of the light and swap it out. For me it defiantly made the beam a lot wider but it took away from the overall brightness. I also have the 1600 lumen light, not the 1200. If you pick one up and you ride 6mr let me know you can have mine- I live 5 mins away and could drop it off to ya.
 

JimN

Captain Wildcat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have two of these. Well, actually I have two batteries and one light. Make sure you don't accidentally plug a Magicshine battery into the Cree light. They are not compatible :p
 

I Ride Bikes

Well-Known Member
While these cheap lights are nice to have I just want to mention the fact that batteries and chargers in this price range are usually of lower quality increasing the chance of a catastrophic failure. It would be very smart to at the very least buy a battery charging bag to charge and store them in. They are cheap and well worth the added insurance. You can find them at any hobby store. I know these are li-on batteries and are typically considered safe compared to li-po but its up to you if you want to gamble.
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
While these cheap lights are nice to have I just want to mention the fact that batteries and chargers in this price range are usually of lower quality increasing the chance of a catastrophic failure. It would be very smart to at the very least buy a battery charging bag to charge and store them in. They are cheap and well worth the added insurance. You can find them at any hobby store. I know these are li-on batteries and are typically considered safe compared to li-po but its up to you if you want to gamble.

Save you breathe, magic shine almost burnt down a few houses and people just kept buying because they are cheap.
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
As with any of these Chinese lights it is best to charge them out side and as soon as they are fully charged unplug them from the charger..btw for 20 bucks I ordered one of these...
 

I Ride Bikes

Well-Known Member
Save you breathe, magic shine almost burnt down a few houses and people just kept buying because they are cheap.

Exactly my point. Imagine what the quality is at 1/8 the price of the magicshine. :scared:

Im not saying I wouldnt buy it. I own a magicshine. Just think about your safety and family. I cant imagine anyone would be against a $20 charging bag since they saved so much money on the light itself.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Charging bag is not a bad idea at all -

Front porch is all stone, so outside has a shot too.

Having a timer on the chargers is also a good idea. have them shut off after a couple hours.
 
Last edited:

Frank

Sasquatch
I'll charge mine at work, if it catches fire....bonus! Seriously though, very good advice that I will follow.
 

mike_243

JORBA Board Member/Chapter Leader
JORBA.ORG
Remember this is not a save all solution... and I quote.

"Note: The use of a LiPo Guard is intended to reduce the damages in an accident and will not essentially prevent damage to surrounding objects. Never charge batteries unattended and please follow all safe charging and storage practices."

Best charge them at work like Frank does... :)
 

mattybfat

The Opinion Police
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Anybody have a link to magicshine batteries? All 5 of mine have STB. I have 4 lights and no working batteries.
 

Dirt Dawg

Member
I am pretty sure you can find them on e-bay. There was a guy making aftermarket batteries for magicshine but I have not seen them on line recently. Just from memory it was something like geo man gear. Or something like that.
 
Top Bottom