Magicshine lights, advice please!

Anybody know anything about Magicshine MJ-880 lights?

http://www.bestofferbuy.com/MagicShine-MJ880-2Cree-XML-2000LM-White-Bike-Light-Set-with-Battery-p-74886.html?currency=GBP&utm_source=gbase&utm_medium=cse&utm_campaign=gbase_uk&gclid=CJ3ov4j_57oCFYbLtAodHXwAZQ

My mate has got one, it’s ultra bright but as he’s only used it 2 or 3 times I wonder if anyone has experience of prolonged use and how it has done.

Never read reviews of that particular light, but Magicshine seems to be decently regarded.

However – You could save yourself a whole bunch of money by buying a SolarStorm X2 light only (£13) a battery from Torchy (20 or 35?) and a charger from Torchy (£8ish)….

You’ll get the same quality (or better as Torchy gets stuff tested before selling) and save a whole bunch of cash. There’s also the YinDing light that seems popular and good quality, and again, you’ll save yourself a whole bunch of cash.

I’ve got the mj880u, really light in weight so great on the helmet.
Long throw and wide. They seem to have gone up in price a lot this year but it is by far the best light I’ve used.
Previously used £35 Cree and a £80 copy of the magic shine 872.

two mates have them (MJ880)..since last year….very good!
no complains with charger or batteries ..
as theraq said ..they have gone up in price this year..

They are decent lights with good output around 1500 lumens.

Way better than the Yinding and Solarstorm X2 in terms of throw and lumens output. I bought one of each of them to test and I would be surprised if either was putting out more than 1000 lumens based on my test on current draw and lux on full.

Thanks all.

I thought Magicshine was ~2000 lumens. I think it’s probably what I’ll go for @ ~£125. But at ~£65 the following is tempting;

However – You could save yourself a whole bunch of money by buying a SolarStorm X2 light only (£13) a battery from Torchy (20 or 35?) and a charger from Torchy (£8ish)….

But, the following is pointing me in the direction of Magicshine;

Way better than the Yinding and Solarstorm X2 in terms of throw and lumens output. I bought one of each of them to test and I would be surprised if either was putting out more than 1000 lumens based on my test on current draw and lux on full.

The chosen one will be used at least 4 times a week (2 commuting days) so I want something reliable and that I trust. I’ve read too many bad things about Solarstorms, but that debates been had already!

It’s my second winter with my MJ880. It’s a great light, and all you’ll ever need. The battery lasts a while as long as you don’t use it on full power, but it’s plenty bright enough at 1/2 power. I run it on the bars and have a head torch so I can see where I’m looking.

It’s funny, a few years ago, magicshine were the cheap Chinese knockoffs. Now they are considered a mainstream brand!! ( not knocking them, I have an 818)

for mee it seems that especially charger and batteries are much better today..
still have an 3 years old light and use it for commuting…, but a new charger and new batteries..the old charger melted..

number18…

I commute using the SolarStorm X2 5 days a week. To be honest, it’s verging on being too bright for road use. I find Medium setting is more than enough. And the high setting (to give you an idea of output) is brighter than my mates setup which is two bar mounted Moon x500’s.

The x2 beam pattern is very similar to the moon.

The light itself is good quality – I’ve been out in torrential rain with it and even with my stupid race blade mudguards helping the front tyre direct spray into the light for the entire duration of the ride it’s utterly waterproof. Sadly, the supplied battery and charger are trash – hence why it makes sense to get the light only and not pay the extra £20 it costs for the “battery” and “charger” (my battery and charger are that in pretty much name only)

I’ve got an X2 and an MJ880 and much prefer the X2 it’s a better beam pattern for me and noticeably more light

I think you have to be carful with the X2 though as many peeps have pointed out thier are plenty of fakes and several different types of LED’s (mines the XM-L2 U2)

So I guess the Magic shine is the safer bet for sure especially on the battery front, personnally I only use good single cells in holders and charged separately, but the torchy option is also spot on.

second winter on these also and they have never missed a beat. work best with the helmet attachment, also means you can run them on a lower setting as the light is always where you are looking. battery life is excellent either way. Too bright for road use though if you intend to commute with them IMO and there no flash mode.

Neninja…

Way better than the Yinding and Solarstorm X2 in terms of throw and lumens output. I bought one of each of them to test and I would be surprised if either was putting out more than 1000 lumens based on my test on current draw and lux on full.

That’s pretty interesting to know. I was toying with buying a Yinding for comparison purposes but haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Do you have beam shots for the three for comparison? I’d be really interested to see.

This light thing is a slippery slope though – I find myself wanting a Spider Eyes more an more. 😀

My only complaint is that the Velcro on the mj872 battery unit I have is pretty shabby a after a year or more of use. Battery still holds it charge well and runs for the weeks commuting.

p8ddy – I was intrigued as to whether they were any good so bought one of each.

I’m in the process of doing beamshots and lux tests (2 Lux tests – a bounce back test like the MTBR one to give a comparison of total output and a beam profile test – tested at 2m at 10cm intervals from the centre).

Should have the beamshots done tonight (depending on the weather).

The thing that I liked about my mate’s Magicshine is that it really turns night to day when we’re up in the woods. I can ride in front of him (going uphill) and I can turn off my Cateye 1100 lumens and still see better than if I was on my own with my existing light!

The OH bought me the magic shine m880 at the bike show this year and I’ve been using it on night rides 1-3 times a week since. I use it by itself as a helmet light and everything we’ve compared it with so far it has beaten both in terms of power, beam and usability. We got it slightly reduced at the show for £130 and its money well spent IMO. The battery could be better as by 1hr 45mins mine is flashing to indicate 10% or less but this could just be my battery and is something I’ll be raising with magic shine to see about getting it swapped. I’m wanting a bar light to go with it now just to get even more spread and peripheral vision but want an all-in-one light instead. I’d not hesitate in recommend the magic shine to anyone.

Thanks Golfchick, I’ll be using it on the bars rather than helmet. At what power output do you find the limit to be about 1hr 45 before getting to 10% or less please?

Neninja…

You’re a superstar! Thank you! 🙂

I bought my mj868 from torchy 3 years ago and had no problems with any of the set up. I don’t use it for much more than 1-2 hours a week in the winter but love it – has got me up to 40mph on the road bike. I think torchy was doing some tweaks to them and maybe doing different cells to the standard supplied. He doesn’t seem to have the same username or sell the same stuff anymore, not sure what happened…

Has anyone tried the MJ880 XM-L2 version ? I was just going to get another x2 but now I’m thinking of the magicshine

dantsw13 – Member

It’s funny, a few years ago, magicshine were the cheap Chinese knockoffs. Now they are considered a mainstream brand!! ( not knocking them, I have an 818)

They still do some pretty ropey stuff tbh but they’ve got a couple of really quality lights.

Right, I’m going to order this light now! Thanks all for your input.

i have two magic shine lights. One battery has been a bit poor (the ‘better’ one) but lasts a 2 hour ride no bother.

One of the head units did give up completely, but when I took it aprt there was one wire astray – quick soldering job and it’s fine since.

No 18, the newer version is available here for a few quid more (£134)

http://www.bikelightsuk.com/front_bike_lights/magicshine_mj880_2000_lumens_xml2_leds_2014_model_P571.html

Thanks Womp, thankfully that’s the one I’ve ordered, from there, at that price!

Awesome let us know how you get on, I’m very tempted to get the light only option

I ordered it on Sunday and it arrived on Tuesday. However the rubber belt required to fix the light to the handlebar was missing. I emailed them and they sent one out straight away, it arrived yesterday.

I wen’t out for 45 mins yesterday and used the light for the first time. Very bright, easy to set up and use. Decent fixings ie I did a few small jumps and went downhill over plenty of cobbles and it didn’t budge.

Only when coming downhill will I need to up this from the lowest setting.

I’ll aim to report back in a few weeks.