new lights

Thin Diesel said:
I remember reading somewhere (either Geoman's website or a forum) that Geoman does both: he feeds back comments/improvements to the factory and also does some of his own QC. I gathered that DX is just a middleman but Geoman opens up / tests the magicshines and makes sure they're up to snuff. Who knows? I ordered one because the price can't be beat and I figure I'm a winner if a get a year out of it. Any more and that's gravy. Have not received it yet. Will post up a review after receipt and usage.
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M3Tim, what thin diesel said. Geoman posts on mtbr. The Magicshine lights made waves in the DIY and Lighting forums over there when they came out, and of course the first questions were about quality.
He also sells several of the higher end manufacturers lights.
 
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Sorry for the hijack :getsome:, has anyone seen or tried the rav x beam x, jenson has the dual beam setup for $70, thinking of getting just wanted a review if anyone has an opinion.
 
creeker_1 said:
Sorry for the hijack :getsome:, has anyone seen or tried the rav x beam x, jenson has the dual beam setup for $70, thinking of getting just wanted a review if anyone has an opinion.
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I have not used it, but I would think it wouldnt be that great. I looked at it real quick and I didnt see an output, but it looks like they want you to use either one light or the other because with both lights on you only get an hour and a half burn time. There isnt a review on MTBR, so that might be a clue as to how popular it is.
 
The p tec was brand new so I assume it is an 09' version. this light sucked and I am definitely going to spend the cash to get a good light. I'm not tootin by own horn but we do ride fast and this light wouldnt cut it with a slow pace. anyway im gonna go for either a l&m or one of the new niteriders. thanks again for all the input
 
walter said:
Kev, this is the exact set up I am looking to do. I already have the 200, please let me(us) know how it works out. Thanks
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Will do. I can't wait to try the 300 on the trail. To answer you question about the 2 lights, unless I am missing something, you have to turn both of them on and cannot control them separately. The spot where the on/off button is located just has a hard covered over it on one of the lights. The flood light is super intense to look at.

Will try these on the road sooner than the trail (big surprise) and if I run both helmet and bar, I can still blind driver that keep there high beams on while not losing light on the road 😀

I think the thing that is best about the stella (which you know) is how lite the battery is, i drop it in my jersey pocket and forget it. makes a huge difference from other lights I have had.
 
Used my 300L and 200L on the road on Tuesday morning and it was great. The helmet light really isn't needed with the two lights on the bar. The flood light throws a nice dull glow all around. I could see shadows of my levers on the edge of the light. It lights up everything around your front wheel, which is a plus over just a single spot. The spot light brightens up further up the road....great lights.

Rode 6 mile last night with both the helmet and bar lights. It was excellent, however with following other people with lights, it was hard for me to judge what light was mine and what light was the person in front and back. Based on what I saw on the road, it should be awesome....
 
For the skeptics...

In my case two lights is necessary. Picked up the Stella 200L. Have tried riding with it alone on both the bars and helmet. Having just that on the bars sucks quite frankly....going into turns it offers no idea of whats around the corner. Aside from that when you hear the 6miles bear break wind you cant turn to see where hes hiding. Just one light on the helmet is a bit better if your content with riding slower than you normally would🙂confused🙂..... but if youd like to ride as fast as you do during the day (or faster?) I believe you'll need both a bar and helmet light. I guess ill be adding a second 200L to the arsenal....the secca is out of my league. More $ ... Eh.
 
My vote goes to the magicshines. You can't get a better deal for the money.
Did a night ride last night with 10 people, and there were 6 magicshines (one rider had 2).

Bright, cheap, fairly small/lightweight, convenient mounting system, long burn time.

There are some light systems out there where a replacement battery would cost more then the whole MS system. That's nuts.

These things are so cheap you could buy extras and loan them out to friends, and still spend less them some high dollar, name brand light.

Here's mine on my helmet (photo angle is deceptive, light IS in fact centered on helmet, just looks like it's off to the side):
 

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I would stay away from NiteRider. I've had a lot of problems with my Flight HID. 3 dead lights (two while riding - lucky I run two lights) 3 warranty services and a Customer service policy that will "allow" me to buy a new (2009 closeout) light system at near retail pricing. They'll even dispose of my flight for me. :getsome:

I talked to the CSR yesterday and my blood was boiling. I'll never support NiteRider again.

I would suggest Lupine. They've got some rediculously nice setups, but you'll pay for it.
 
BShow said:
I would stay away from NiteRider. I've had a lot of problems with my Flight HID. 3 dead lights (two while riding - lucky I run two lights) 3 warranty services and a Customer service policy that will "allow" me to buy a new (2009 closeout) light system at near retail pricing. They'll even dispose of my flight for me. :getsome:

I talked to the CSR yesterday and my blood was boiling. I'll never support NiteRider again.

I would suggest Lupine. They've got some rediculously nice setups, but you'll pay for it.
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I was less than impressed with niteriders service as well.

The Magicshine is real hard to beat. Its a nicely built light cannon that burns for 3 hours on high for 85 bucks. I'd say it looks like 3 stellas running at the same time.......
 
From what I remember reading they use somewhat unrealistic peak power measurements from the battery it's more like 500-600 lumens, which is still beastly for the price. It's a hard value to beat. I'm content with my stella 200 on my head.
 
ellbiddy said:
From what I remember reading they use somewhat unrealistic peak power measurements from the battery it's more like 500-600 lumens,
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I saw an independent testing report, they got something like 550. I don't recall the exact number, but in that area.
 
ellbiddy said:
From what I remember reading they use somewhat unrealistic peak power measurements from the battery it's more like 500-600 lumens, which is still beastly for the price. It's a hard value to beat. I'm content with my stella 200 on my head.
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More than likely they are claiming the 900 lumen output as that is what the data sheet of the LED claims - http://www.acriche.com/en/product/prd/zpowerLEDp7.asp

Basically, the LED die (the semiconductor material inside the LED that actually emits light) are made in big batches. These batches yield a range of output intensities, basically following a Gaussian distribution. Some of these are bound to fall on the extreme hi output side of things, ie 900 lumens. Most are probably in the 7-800 range. The company purchasing the LEDs selects a bin, or range of color and intensity values that they can accept, and the LEDs are priced accordingly.

Anyway, back to the point - That 900 lumen LED is measured by the factory and rated at 900 lm. The process involves powering the LED for milliseconds and taking a quick reading. In real life the output will be lower due to heat. In the milliseconds it takes for the measurement to occur, there is essentially no heat buildup, and no intensity degradation. The hotter the LED gets, the lower its' output becomes.

So now the theoretical 900 lm LED is at 800 due to heat. Now that light is directed by a reflector and then shines through a glass or plastic lens. If the reflector is 95% efficient, and the lens is 90% efficient, we have ~685 lumens.

This is in no way a dig at the manufacturer...providing what they do at that price is pretty darn good. Just the reality of how the manufacturers claim the output. I'm sure some of the more well known names do this as well.

I'm curious, how hot does the magicshine get? If you leave it on hi mode and are stopped for -15 min, can you still touch the heatsink?
 
 
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