It’s that time of year again, and probably the best night riding lights have some money off at the moment – £50 off the Monteer 8000s V2 and £20 off the 6500/3500 models

8000s V2 £330

Magicshine® Monteer 8000S Galaxy V2 MTB Headlight with Remote

6500s V2 £290

Monteer 6500S Galaxy V2.0 Remote MTB Light

3500 £170

Magicshine® Monteer 3500 MTB Headlight

I’ve gone all in with the 8000s, I reckon I’ll get away without needing a helmet light 😁

Should be a slight upgrade from my bikehut 1600…

you know what…..this is exactly what i was planning to do, upgrade from my halfords 1600. you will have to let me know if you set the trees on fire with it on the first ride….

I’ve got the 3500 (actually the olight badged version, but its the same thing aiui) and its really good. Loads of light. I rarely use it on max. Nice build quality too, in the head unit and the battery.

They’re ok. Hated going back to a separate battery pack after years of Exposures though.

And the setting cycle is annoying, having to go through flashing mode to get to other settings. That may have been fixed on later models, I went back to Exposure.

Customer service is excellent though.

Yeah the remote fixes the issue of having to cycle through everything, one of the buttons switches between full power and the last setting you were on. And it doesn’t cycle through flashing modes when using the remote.

balls.

I just paid full price a few days ago.

I’ve messaged them to see if they can retrospectively apply the sale discount…you never know.

I got it through yesterday, the 8000s, and good lord. it’s a bit daft.

Looks a bit much if you ask me.

I’ve only had a zip up and down the canal path singletrack, but it’s a better distribution of light than I’ve seen before. It lights up the trail with no detectable shadowing, which really is quite something.

For reference, I’ve had a fair few lights over the years, home made super bright HID to my longest term gloworm light. Mostly with a helmet light to see round corners.

My philosophy on night riding is for it to be like riding daytime trails as much as possible. Not to be compromising my limited skills by not being able to see properly. Most important as I ride solo 99% of the time.

I also wanted to ditch the helmet light.

So suited to some, not for others I guess.

The great thing is with such a big output, even at 50% it’s 4400lm (according to the official specs) and you get 3.25hrs run time.

Would be a great option for long night rides which aren’t as technical, long gravel rides etc. You could do an all nighter on this with some careful usage.

I bought a 3500 Monteer last year from Olight for £99 although it did have Olight branding rather than Magicshine
Not seen it that cheap since but might be worth keeping an eye on their site as they do have bargains from time to time

I’ll be interested to see if I can truly ditch a helmet light, I don’t do jumps even in daylight but the trails I night ride on do have a couple of fairly hefty bombholes, will be good to see how much they light up ‘beneath’ the bike so to speak.

I’d still always run a head light. Even if 8000lm is enough to eliminate shadowing, I’d want a back up just in case.

I got it through yesterday, the 8000s, and good lord. it’s a bit daft.

Be careful if you’re riding any coast roads, or you’ll lure ships onto the rocks 😯

Following with interest.

I use the 8000 with a 4fourth scorch as a helmet light. It gets lost in the main beam but still does a great job of highlighting rocks and features.

The other thing it’s really useful for is scanning to the sides and behind for monsters in the woods at night (by which I mean it’s nice to move your head and have a light that moves with it).

Tempting!

I’d always run a helmet lights no matter what though.

What about steep hairpins, looking down the back of rollers when the bars point up (think BMX track style features), redundancy for failure or flat battery, filling in shadows, looking off the side of the trail to see what’s stalking you in the dark. Loads of scenarios where power won’t trump direction.

I always have a helmet light with a bar light for the reasons stated above. I remember reading in one of the magazine’s light group test that they recommended the helmet light is about half the power of the bar light. I’ve got the 3500 paired with the older Magicshine MJ902B (1600 lumen) with a narrower beam pattern and it works really well.

One thing to note is the beam pattern of the 3500, 5000, 6500, 8000 are slightly different as they use different LEDs. The 3500 is narrower but shoots further ahead. It’s one thing I didn’t realise when buying but luckily prefer the light shooting far rather than wide, its wide enough for me.

8000 is a bit silly!

My Hope R8+ lets me ride at daylight speeds no issues whatsoever, and that’s “only” 3000 lumens.

I use the 8000 with a 4fourth scorch as a helmet light. It gets lost in the main beam but still does a great job of highlighting rocks and features.

I’m looking at either one of these or a exposure diablo as a helmet light, does the scorch touch control work with gloves that have the touch screen threads in the fingertips?

I’m looking at either one of these or a exposure diablo as a helmet light

Wiggle are selling Diablos for £140 at the moment.

Wiggle are selling Diablos for £140 at the moment.

Yeah exactly, makes them cheaper than the Scorch QR once you add a go pro mount, and the exposure helmet mount is pretty much unbeatable.

Some complaints of the tap function not working brilliantly but when I tested one a couple of years ago it was fine.

I’m looking at either one of these or a exposure diablo as a helmet light, does the scorch touch control work with gloves that have the touch screen threads in the fingertips?

Yes, I’ve used it successfully with 100% r-core (which have the threads) and Leatt 3.0 (which don’t).

Can thoroughly recommend the scorch, the only thing I’d change in a perfect world would be longer battery life but I’ve only had it run out once or twice in a few years of use.

Yes, I’ve used it successfully with 100% r-core (which have the threads) and Leatt 3.0 (which don’t).

Can thoroughly recommend the scorch, the only thing I’d change in a perfect world would be longer battery life but I’ve only had it run out once or twice in a few years of use.

Excellent, cheers.

Now, if only the scorch had the exposure mounting system… More lumens, better battery life, but I’d either need a permanent GoPro mount on the helmet or a strap mount.

Edit: exposure make one…
https://www.exposure-use.com/Brands/Exposure-Lights/Products/Bike/Brackets-and-Mounts/Helmet-Mount-With-Action-Camera-Brackets

Hmmm, that evens things up a bit!!

Makes the scorch £187 though, Vs £140 for the diablo.

Once my Monteer 8000 comes (hopefully tomorrow) I’ll test it with my Halfords 1600 and then decide what helmet light to get.

if you are running a massive light please spare a thought for those (walkers/runners/bikers) coming towards you. it bloody hurts stareing 8000lumens down. it hurts staring 1000lumen down!

for a helmet light i run the chilli tec capsule – its a good balance of flood and weight and its easy to turn off and it doesnt have a cable. the single led is a better pattern to teh dual led version (for me)

if you are running a massive light please spare a thought for those (walkers/runners/bikers) coming towards you. it bloody hurts stareing 8000lumens down. it hurts staring 1000lumen down!

I wouldn’t dream of using the 8000lm on a path with walkers etc, even with my current Halfords 1600 if come across walkers coming the other way (usually on a river path or similar) I’ll even cover the light with my hands to stop them being blinded, and I’ll have it turn down to a low setting already. There’s no need for loads of light on a path like that.

if you are running a massive light please spare a thought for those (walkers/runners/bikers) coming towards you. it bloody hurts stareing 8000lumens down. it hurts staring 1000lumen down!

I had to stop riding home on Friday at dusk, not even fully dark, as someone rode the Glen Road with a small sun attached to their bars and a second one on their helmet. They carried on cycling without acknowledging me a) stopped and shielding eyes and b) calling out to turn down their lights….

As ever, there are idiots in every walk of life….

if you are running a massive light please spare a thought for those (walkers/runners/bikers) coming towards you.

Not falling for that. “Ooh, we are just harmless walkers and definitely not zombies”

if you are running a massive light please spare a thought for those (walkers/runners/bikers) coming towards you.

Up on the moor they’ve all got dazzling lights these days. And hatchets. But it’s the ones you can’t see…

Didn’t think there postie was going to turn up today, but they did, and bearing gifts 😁

First thoughts after a play, the remote is functionally perfect but feels like a slight afterthought – not sure how I’m going to mount it with the velcro straps.

The battery pack is much smaller than I thought it would be, which is silly as I have a 10,000mah power bank on my desk for comparison, it’s exactly the same length but a bit fatter. Oh and as it’s usb C it charges my phone at the same speed as the wall plug, so I’ve basically got a free 10,000mah power bank too.

Ooh and it’s quite bright. And wiiiiide. And that’s just testing in the daylight in the kitchen! 😎🤣

8000 is a bit silly!

I can confirm, it’s definitely silly 😀

Oh and I’m guessing the random o-ring included is for the main light to power pack connector, it’s the only place I can see for one and there’s not one on there as standard. Doesn’t mention this anywhere in the instructions!

I think I’m going to go down the zip tie route with the remote, it won’t come off until spring and I don’t see the battery running out that fast.

Please keep us updated on how you get on when you use the light in anger, I was/am tempted but I’m unsure on the mounting and how well it will do over bumpy ground with it being a big light and set forward.

I’m unsure on the mounting and how well it will do over bumpy ground with it being a big light and set forward.

they’re solid – it’s a really nice mount. The head unit isn’t actually all that big/heavy.

I’m unsure on the mounting and how well it will do over bumpy ground with it being a big light and set forward.

Will do, but honestly I don’t think this will be an issue – the head unit is only 140g and the mount is alloy, with a proper bolt on clamp. That’s about 2/3rds the weight of the bikehut 1600 light.

A mate just bought a Monteer 8000S. Crikey, it makes mine look weedy.

Quick test in the dark in the garden and although there’s a lot of light being output by it, the most impressive thing is just how far it penetrates, and how wide the beam is. Everything within a 130 degree area in front is bathed in light, even the treetops and that’s with the light angled down slightly!

Owls, squirrels, zombies etc on my night rides be like:

Love the ability to choose between spots or floods or both, and a range of lumens on each. I think I’ll probably set it to floods only on 2nd brightness for climbs/easy bits.

I’ve had the fantastic 3500 for quite a while, and that is silly bright, the 8000 must be like the sun 🙂 along with an older joystick, it’s absolutely spot on, even for bigger drops and technical stuff.

First time out with the light tonight, nothing majorly technical as it was my first time back on clipless for 3.5 years too.

Yeah, it’ll do.

🤣🤣🤣

The lowest setting with just the 3x flood LEDs I found was perfect for on the road or river path, which according to the instructions is 600 lumens.

Turning it from that setting to the full 8000 (with the handy remote) is like…

Nighttime… DAYTIME! 😁😮🤣

This is about the most accurate representation of the amount of light in 8000lm mode, without the middle bit as over exposed

1hr 20m ride and I still have 3 bars left too.

Magicshine® Monteer 8000S Galaxy V2 MTB Headlight with Remote

down to £299 now, not the £390 I paid a week or so ago…grumble grumble…..etc..

Used mine a few times now.

On the road to trails I use the lower of the ‘all led’ settings, with the head mount angled slightly toward the kerb so not to blind oncoming traffic. Seems to be OK at that as I’ve had no complaints, or evidence of drivers having to slow too much when approaching.

on the trail, I’m on the second from base setting for most things. It’s noticeably brighter than the base setting, lights up the trail and far enough ahead to be useful. fireroads and wide tracks are illuminated from side to side and have enough light down on the trail to pick out details. that setting is brighter and more useful than my previous halfords 1600 bar and meteor 1500 helmet light combo, even though it doesn’t shine quite as far down the trail.

in techy bits and fast descents I used the full whack. not intentionally really. I mean I can get away with less, but the single push button to 11 is much easier than a couple of pushes, bump, oops, flashing mode, bump, what setting is this?…method.

the previous reviews have it right. it’s not like super bright lights of old, this has a wide, even distribution of light, with a punchy forward section and a really really wide side cover. Switchbacks are easy, no need for a helmet light to see round.. The only disadvantage of not having a helmet light is that I can’t see when twigs get stuck in my mech.

battery wise, I’ve only really been out for a couple of hours at a time, but the indicator when I plug it in says I have at least 2 bars left. so plenty for my needs and I imagine using it as I do it’ll last way longer than I want to be out in cold winter nights.

get the 8000 if you can afford it, but if the light spread is as good as the 8000, then the 6500 should be plenty for most.

If it’s anything like mine the big rubber O ring is to be part of a bar mount