Any light recommendations??

[Neil G]

Exposure lights get my vote. Brilliant UK made lights with top customer service/backup

 

[gdb2b]

Several weeks back I read the thread about bike lighting, posted a reply about the MagicShine I have, and read the subsequent replies about the lower cost Chinese knock-offs out of Hong Kong.

Bought one. CREE XM-L T6 LED with a 4400mA battery. It took a month or so to arrive (by sampan) , and it arrived with the box corner crushed, but without evident damage to contents.

It arrived Tuesday. Immediately charged it overnight - its very first charge. Ambient charge temp was 76 degress Farenheit. Used it for the very first time on a nighttime ride here in the land of the windchill factor last night. The ride temp was about 43 degrees F. My question is how long should the battery life last at full brightness, first ever battery discharge after the very first full charge?

I was expecting a bit less that the rated/advertised 3 hours due to the lower temp. but all I got was 55 minutes at full brightness and then the LED went red. I switched to the 1 lower power setting (there is only 1, not the advertised 2 lower power settings), got 8 more minutes out of it before it died on me out there in the dark. That was fun.... :x

Any ideas from the experts as to what the life should have been?

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Any ideas from the experts as to what the life should have been?

Most batteries will need a few (5-10) cycles before they reach their optimal capacity.
The temperature is well within the normal operating range for any battery, so I doubt that was the problem.

Keep some backup lights at hand and give these a few more full cycles.
If they keep performing badly, you may have a bad battery, which would result in a warranty claim. That could be fun.

Personally, if the battery turns out to be bad, I'd cut my losses and get something more reliable. Whatever you paid for that CREE knockoff isn't going to be worth the hassle and frustration that a claim will bring.

-----

Anyway ...

I'm currently testing a few sets of Lezyne Femto lights and am liking them very much.

Available in front and rear models, in silver, black, ano turquoise and ... yes, that's purple

The front ones have a normal backside, the rear ones have it at an angle to compensate for seat post angles.
5 modes, which is 2 too many IMO. I really like the slowly pulsating effect on the rear one though.
Video of the front one going through its different modes

I'm seriously considering keeping them on my bikes. I just need to figure out a way to get them mounted securely.

 

[gdb2b]

A bit of follow-up on the MagicShine knock-off I just received.
Purchased from TradeWonder out of Hong Kong.
Shipment time from HK - 30 days.
Cost: $38.00 USD - less than half the price of the MS 808 unit.
Uses the same Cree XM -L T6 LED emitter.
The emitters mirror is smooth and fully reflective, as opposed to the MS's "crinkle" finish. This alters the light throw and dispersion (more throw and focus, less lateral difusion/dispersion).
Nearly the same packaging and content as the MS unit.
Advertised as having 4 illumination modes. Actually has only 3.
Stated battery life rating was 180 minutes at full brightness (4400mA rated battery pack). First use got less than 60 minutes, and died just under 70 minutes of total use.
LED's CRI is noticeably green as opposed to the blue/purple of the MS unit.
The knock-off is much less "noisy" RF-wise. It does not interfere with my Cateye CC-RD400DW Strada wireless unit. When in use, the MS unit interferes with the RF signal and renders the Cateye inoperable.
The electrical connectors used on the knock-off are not watertight like the MS unit's are. The open/exposed electrical contact joint surfaces invites a short in wet weather useage.
The electrical connecters are not compatible between the two units.
No instruction manual.
Every bit as bright as the MS unit.
Charge time was about 4 hours after the first full discharge.

In general, the fit/finish of the unit and its related components was not as good as the MS unit. Almost seemed like it was a factory "second".

Bottom line. Probably an example of you get what you pay for. Very reasonably priced. Wish the battery life was longer. A little puzzled by the one response indicating that it take 8 - 10 charge cycles to get the pack to maximum service life. LI batteries, unlike NiCads, do not have charge cycle ramp time. This next use (probably later today) will probably tell me the max duration I will ever get out of this pack.

 

[JamesM]

I'm currently testing a few sets of Lezyne Femto lights and am liking them very much.

Available in front and rear models, in silver, black, ano turquoise and ... yes, that's purple

It's suposed to be red not purple. I have a red one and was a bit disapointed as it was more erm, faded red. Other than that I like it, should have bought black or silver though.