new lights

Just got my magicshine from GEO yesterday; took about 1.5 weeks from order to delivery. Charging as we speak
 
I recommend going with Geo too. I've had my MS for 3+ weeks and very happy with it. No complaints, plenty of light, plenty of burn time. It does get pretty hot to the touch though..be careful. I have my light AND battery on the helmet. No tethering to the Camelbak. It is a nice setup and easy to get used-to because the battery is small and light.
 
Fightnut said:
Don't get the magicshine from DE. I'm all for buying cheaper flashlights and batteries and stuff from them, but I wouldn't buy an $80 item from them. Besides the fact that they ship sloooow, if you have a problem, it will be a big PITA dealing with it through them.

Definitely worth the extra $10 to get it from GEO.
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Agree. I bought a magic shine from DE, and two weeks later a friend bought one from Geo man. He got his first.

The Magic shine absolutely destroys my $500 niterider HID in just about every aspect. no comparison at all.
 
Going on my first night ride tonight. I have a Geoman MS on the helmet and a PTEC 3 on the bars.. the geoman is way lighter, and the battery is much much more compact than the ptec 3.. will report back on light output.

Another big bump for GEOMAN, It would seem he opens up each box to check its contents. I bought two at once (one for a buddy) and he gave for free a multicharger to charge 2 off of one power brick.. just sweetens the deal even more. also both batteries were fully charged.
 
elsanto said:
I bought two at once (one for a buddy) and he gave for free a multicharger to charge 2 off of one power brick.. just sweetens the deal even more. also both batteries were fully charged.
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Are you talking about a Y cable?
If it is, I'm pretty sure it's to run 2 lights off one battery. Should have nothing to do with charging.
I got a free Y cable when i bought 2 lights.
 
Ahh, I suppose the Y cable could be to run both off one battery.. i'd imagine that would drain things pretty quickly, and the batteries are soo tiny.

I had a blast, both the Magicshine and the Ptec3 worked great. the only difference i'd say is in build quality and parts included. the ptec 3 comes with locking connectors which seem bulletproof.. the magicshines lock into place, but feel more like a cheap AC connector for a laptop than a Heavy Duty off road connector.. still neither gave me any issue.

the light output from the Ptec3 is more dispersed, but only marginally so. If i did it again i'd buy 2 magichsines and call it a day.

Long term endurance still TBD.
 
I just started night (early morning) riding and today I had my first real crash. I finished a downhill section well before my bike got to the bottom of the hill. It seemed like I had enough time to realize I was not hurt and brace for impact from the bike that was still flying behind me.

I use Magic Shine on my bars and the light made it through the crash with no problems. Bike suffered a good impact, I had to straighten out my bars and my seat was loose. The light stayed on and it was cool to see my bike cart wheeling into the woods in pitch darkness.:)

My Princeton Tec 3 ( helmet light), went off and I was not able to use it for the rest of the ride. After getting home I found the extension cord was loose. I hope that’s all it was.

Magic Shine is a good deal for your $.
 
I just saw this review by a reputable online newsletter. http://www.roadbikerider.com/

www.RoadBikeRider.com said:
Buyer Beware

A reader tipped us off to a headlight called Magicshine. Its single LED puts out a pavement-melting 900 lumens from a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The system is compact, lightweight (315 grams), comes with a charger and costs only $85, plus shipping, from a company called GeoManGear.com.

It sounds like a heckuva product, so we ordered a Magicshine to review for RBR.

We used it on night rides of 3:30 and 5:20 and were stunned. The high beam was long, wide and clean. The medium beam was plenty, even on 30-mph (48-kph) descents, and provided a runtime of more than 5 hours. The low beam would be fine for commuting and other rides at moderate speeds.

There were a few flaws to nitpick but, basically, it was a nifty little light. Until we got ready for the third ride and found the system completely kaput. The light wouldn't shine and the battery was dead. It seems the charger had failed.

It was a disappointment to say the least. After a few more hours in the dark to continue checking reliability and burn time, we were going to tip you off to very nice light.

The Chinese-made Magicshine has a 90-day warranty. We phoned GeoManGear.com and left messages. We e-mailed twice. No response.

You've probably never heard of GeoManGear.com. We hadn't, either. It sells a number of products besides the Magicshine headlight. It appears to be a legitimate company, but if our experience is indicative of the quality of goods and customer service, you'll do well to take your business elsewhere.
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One thing I can say is mine has no issues and I have two. It also clearly states not to run the the battery to complete cycle like nicad, not sure if this was what may have happened. Charger does seem a little cheezy but light is solid. I personally had good CS from geoman. Time will tell...
 
This newsletter reviews hundreds of products and writes about all of them. They are well versed in reading the manual to ensure proper use.

I'm not dissing the product. I don't own one. I just wanted to make everyone aware that it is not all rainbows and waterfalls. If you have not had a problem you are good to go. It appears that once you have a problem, you are F'ed. A manufacturer that doesn't respond to an actual product reviewer is definitely shooting itself in the foot.
 
As mentioned, there is a lot of 'magicshine' talk on MTBR, and Geoman always chimes-in when there is a complaint. I too have read that there is virtually no support from the (Chinese) manufacturer, but Geoman apparently fills this gap in warranty support. He also pre-tests all units, including chargers.

I purchased my Magicshine in August - still rockn' !

Tom P.
 
Looks like Geoman responded to the criticism.

RoadBikeRider said:
Last Thursday in this space we had little good to say about the Magicshine 900 headlight or the company we bought it from, GeoManGear.com. After the light failed 9 hours into using it for an RBR product test, phone calls and e-mails to GeoManGear.com went unanswered.

A few hours after the newsletter was published, GeoMan himself, Jay Stolpestad, e-mailed RBR. He was cordial but upset about the situation.

"Needless to say, I am distressed at your comments and don't feel they were unfair, but I have to admit that something happened to the communication that wasn't entirely our fault," Stolpestad told us.

He went on to explain a complication involving personal issues compounded by a Google Voice misconfiguration, the result being that our calls over a 2-day period were not received. As for the unanswered e-mail, we don't need to be convinced that e-mail isn't the most reliable means of communication.

So, this seems to be a classic example of "if it can go wrong it will go wrong."

As the day wore on, a number of satisfied GeoManGear.com customers came to the company's defense on our Cycling Commentary page. So did several happy owners of the Magicshine 900. Their comments are now in the archive below newsletter No. 427.

We thought highly of the 900-lumen, $85 LED headlight -- while it worked. We've now exchanged our faulty Magicshine (it wouldn't recharge) for a new one from GeoManGear.com and will continue with our test.

Assuming the replacement light works reliably, we'll write a review to tell you all about it. If it doesn't, you'll learn that too.
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Magicshine

I have 2 of these lights.
Many months of riding, a couple of crashes and limb bashes and they are still going strong.
I did not like the flimsiness of the nylon pouch and it's hook and loop fittings.
I used a toe strap through the plastic eyes to secure it on the bike.
I eventually made a bottle batery out of one with a small water bottle and some foam padding.
I have the extension cord and the helmet light battery is in my Wingnut pack.
 
Sigma is a good brand. Nice and easy clip on system with a NiMH battery pack.
 
As someone who works in the industry and also builds his own lights, that guy does know what he is talking about. I have also read the mixed reviews on magicshine, and the price point they are at also discouraged me from doing a small side run of lights for sale. I have not had one of the magic shine lights apart, and cannot vouch for the quality or lack thereof, but if what I have read is true I would ALWAYS have a backup light when using one. I've been stranded in the woods at night without a light, and it is no fun. I hope no one on this board experiences a problem with theirs, and even if the light only lasts for 500 hours, as opposed to the 20,000 plus a well designed one would last, that is still a lot of night riding. If any of you do have problems with your lights post up some pics and symptoms and I may be able to hep cure what ails ya.
 
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