Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

find_bruce wrote: I don't want to alarm you but I would strongly advise against leaving the battery on charge overnight. All of these lights use lithium batteries & there have been a few reports of the battery venting a emitting a short burst of flame. The numbers from one american distributor Geomangear were 3 units in 20,000. From what I hae been able to gather on forums such as Candlepower.com & forums.mtbr.com the risk while real, it is low and it seems that this is often caused by the battery being overcharged by being left on after it is fully charged.

WOW (AT)!!!
Interesting stuff - thanks for the info
I have 2 batteries
Charged 1 x abt 8 hrs last night
Left the other to charge today from 6am till I got home at 6pm - so 12 hrs
I've had these for over 12 months now and I've never had a problem...but I understand what you are saying
I use them every weekday (With front and rear plugged in on a y adapter) and most weekends - average about 12 hrs a week on them
They certainly have been value for money
I still have a third Battery that I have NEVER USED !!!

How long did it take for yours to arrive Parrott. I order on the 5th and havnt received it yet.
Thanks
Nicko

brokenbus wrote:How long did it take for yours to arrive Parrott. I order on the 5th and havnt received it yet.
Thanks
Nicko

About 3 weeks. Dx are cheap but not quick

I have two Magicshines from Geoman, love them, 20W of LED power is brutal Beam pattern ideally needs to be corrected for road riding as it tends to dazzle oncoming traffic, but I'd rather be seen than be loved.

They seem to get some condensation inside the lens that won't go away even if I open them and let it evaporate, but it only appears after cold rides.

My recollection of the battery issues was that it was caused by excessive discharge, but I could be wrong. I have the old Geoman ones in the metal cannister, so well weather protected (plus stored inside my bag). I had a Y cable break because it is a massive PITA to disconnect the plugs when cold, you tend to pull on the cable and it fractured the wires where they were cable tied to my rear brake cable.

MattyK wrote:My recollection of the battery issues was that it was caused by excessive discharge, but I could be wrong.

Excessive discharge is a problem but I don't think it is the only one. As well as overcharging and getting wet, the other issue appears to be defective cells, but that should show up fairly quickly after use.

Makes them sound like gremlins - don't get them wet, don't feed after midnight ...

MattyK wrote:I had a Y cable break because it is a massive PITA to disconnect the plugs when cold, you tend to pull on the cable and it fractured the wires where they were cable tied to my rear brake cable.

I know what you mean - mine is the same. Have you tried using o-ring lube ? Do you run a rear light, or is the Y cable for 2 front lights ?

Parrott wrote:About 3 weeks. Dx are cheap but not quick

Yep, mine took about the same time. Exactly what you would expect for free postage

Y splitter is for the two front lights. Should give about 1.5 hrs run time, but I usually recharge after every 2 commutes (25 mins each). Have a spare battery too

Can you guys be so kind as to take pics of your setups especially how the light sits on the bar and the different setups you've used to hold/protect the battery unit ? Only if you can be bothered !

Thanks.

edit found some pics here
http://www.bikefix.net/2010/03/bikefix- ... ne-mj.html

stylo wrote:Can you guys be so kind as to take pics of your setups especially how the light sits on the bar and the different setups you've used to hold/protect the battery unit ? Only if you can be bothered !

Thanks.

edit found some pics here
http://www.bikefix.net/2010/03/bikefix- ... ne-mj.html

No pics, but here are some details - Front light mounted on transition from 31.8 to 26mm area, but hanging from underneath.

Tailight (from magicshine) directly attached to seatpost, just above clamp area, battery pack sists in bike bum bag. I use a 1m extension cable and Y splitter.

Love it

stylo wrote:Can you guys be so kind as to take pics of your setups especially how the light sits on the bar and the different setups you've used to hold/protect the battery unit ? Only if you can be bothered !

Have posted before on here, but anyway:
Lamps are spaced as widely as possible, for two reasons: 1) it adds more "presence" and appearance of width to oncoming viewers, and 2) due to the curve in the bar it aims them out slightly to spread the beam.

I usually tilt the left one up (basically horizontal) and the right one down to reduce dazzle for oncoming traffic.



The wiring is cable tied to, and twisted around, the rear brake line, into a Y splitter along the top tube (still twisting around the brake line which is fully sleeved), and just forward of the seat is where I plug into a 1m extension that stays attached to the battery pack (you can just see the unplugged end dangling). The battery is stored in the rear Topeak bag, so it never gets wet.



The sockets and plugs for the Y splitter rattle on the frame a bit but no biggie.

that's convenient being able to put the battery in the bag !

velcro to the top bar looks like the norm on the roadies ..

I took the plunge off DX today. If they work well, I'll get some more.

Bit of a tip- the screw that holds the light to the bracket vibrated out the otter day. I'd suggest some locktight as a preventative.

Xplora wrote:I took the plunge off DX today. If they work well, I'll get some more.

I hope you got this one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-808e-ha ... 8650-57100

I have one of these and they are excellent. The battery has been improved (now sealed), and light is brighter and has a better beam pattern for cycling with less wasted light and no complaints from oncoming riders. I've had several ayup owners wanting to talk to me about my light since I got it. It is more than 100 lumens better than the old 900 lumen lights.

Yup that one. The cree LEDs seem to get a better rap than the S7/P7 or whatever they are called. The rear light as well. Haven't got a Y plug but I'll see what happens first. Dunno how long everything is anyway?

Well done -you won't be disappointed.

My only minor complaint is battery life. They claim 3-4 hours on high. I haven't run it down to zero but I suspect it would only just make 3 hours tops. So if you run both front and rear off 1 battery you just need to be conscious of the run time. I wish they would upgrade the battery pack from 4400 to 6600 mAh batteries like other ones I've seen. That way I could charge up once a week instead of twice.

Rhubarb wrote:Well done -you won't be disappointed.

My only minor complaint is battery life. They claim 3-4 hours on high. I haven't run it down to zero but I suspect it would only just make 3 hours tops.

Mine is the same haven't run it flat yet either but it indicates 0-25% charge after less than 3 hrs

On these cold and dark mornings when I leave home at 5am I've been running mine on low. I only turn it on high in areas without street lights. It might get 2-2.5 hours use in the morning and another 45 minutes on the way home. I haven't run out yet but I've been watching it.

I actually run mine on the Y adapter for front and back on a single battery even though I actually have 3 batteries
I try and run in flashing mode at sunrise and sunset as I don't so much need to see but definitely want to be seen
I had similar issues just a week ago with y adapter plug - actually thought the batteries were dying after almost 18 months But had fortunately pre ordered a couple of spare y adapters and found that was the problem
Have to say this unit has been faultless for well over the 12 months and yes it was a P7
Interesting to see how the newer models brightness is (HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU REALLY NEED ???)

ajh003 wrote: (HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU REALLY NEED ???)

You'll never know ........ unless you get one of the new 1000 lumen lights with the better focussed beam.

Rhubarb wrote:

ajh003 wrote: (HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU REALLY NEED ???)

You'll never know ........ unless you get one of the new 1000 lumen lights with the better focussed beam.

Oh RATS !!! - I was thinkin the same thing and ....well I really think the wife needs a good set of lights and this P7 would be Perfect for..... her
Can you put the reflector and lens from the 1000 into the P7 ??

cell have their bikerider version of the magicshine on for $99 at the moment.

You wouldn't bother with 1000, just go to 1200 or 1600

I guess the battery issue comes down to one question. Are you using this as a performance edge or safety? Safety = two or three batteries, performance = maybe the yumcha light isn't for you? I need these for safety (pitch black and I'm a bit of a bike ninja plus 10 bucks of baby LEDs) so I don't think I'll be overly stressed about needing to charge them a couple times a week.

Parrott wrote:

brokenbus wrote:How long did it take for yours to arrive Parrott. I order on the 5th and havnt received it yet.
Thanks
Nicko

About 3 weeks. Dx are cheap but not quick

If they ship your order within 2 days you get it in about 2 weeks, if not you need to wait even longer.

Xplora wrote:You wouldn't bother with 1000, just go to 1200 or 1600 .

I have been looking at something like the 1600 lm majicshine to complement my ayup helmet light. Anyone used one of these yet? Its this one:

http://www.dealextreme.com/p/mj-872-wat ... -set-80953

I'd like to know too. I suspect the battery life will be too short at full brightness. -quoted as "up to" 2 hours. I also think the beam pattern is a bit too wide for my liking. Might be ok for use in conjunction with helmet ayup as proposed but probably not good for oncoming riders

The 1000 lumen one I have is not only much brighter than my previous 900 lumen MS light but also much more effective due to the focussed beam.