And there i thought i had beaten the banker,because i purchased mine from ebay for £24.24 last month.But then again mine came with a rear back light and a water proof case for the battery,lastly the head gear strap etc looks more quality. So looking back over my shoulder i wasn't too bad after all.
Mountainsport
They are usually very good lights - and a mile better than the sort of rubbish you buy in Halfords for £50. The big differences in these Magicshine knock-offs (apart from the battery pack quality) to look out for are :
1) Battery pack case - some are better than others and most need velcro reinforcing
2) Connectors - the very cheap ones usually have small connectors which when coupled with battery packs do not overlap for a tight seal. The worst I saw was even prone to uncoupling during a ride. You can swap connectors for high quality tight waterproof ones by disassembling one of these and splicing in the relevant connector to battery pack and light :
Cheap 5.4mm Male to Female Extension Cable for SKU 29489/30864 (100cm)
or
Buy 5.4mm Male to Dual Female Adapter Y-Cable for SKU 29489/30864 (25cm)
.... but be
very careful not to short battery pack wires when upgrading the connectors... and shrinkwrap the join as well as covering VERY well with something like this, which is brilliant stuff for weatherproofing joins like that :
SILWELD EverBuild Silicone Hose Self Fusing Repair Rescue Tape Pipe Amalgamating | eBay
3) Whether charger has a UK 3-pin plug (many from Hong Kong need adaptors, which over time can be a pain)
I have some single CREE T6 lights from different places including this one - which is very decent and was £17.49. About the same as I paid for a 2 x 1/2W rear clip on light :
Cree XML XM-L T6 1600LM LED Bicycle Bike Front Torch Head Cycle Lights Headlight | eBay
It's nothing like 1600LM - and I didn't expect it to be. But it is very bright, enough for ordinary town riding / commuting, and you get a wide beam spread with one of these :
Wide Angle Lens for Magicshine, Lupine and Gemini Bike Lights | eBay
Draws about 1A at 9V.
Although it came with a UK-3PIN charger, I did change the connectors though - they were awful.
For a 'plug and play' light with good connectors, good battery pack, long run time, UK 3-PIN charger and if anything a bit more performance than above light (20% more current draw to single CREE LED than the cheaper one measured off exactly the same rig, so likely more Lm) This light also comes with tougher flex cable and a better quality housing (slightly) than some of the cheaper ones :
CREE XM-L T6 LED 1000 Lumen Bike Light & Headlamp Kit | C&B SEEN Ltd
... but it's nearly twice the price... and I'd still buy a wide angle lens for it.
Single CREE T6 lights only run up to about 1000Lm - 1200Lm per emitter and to get that you have to run them at 3A. The driver boards usually see to it that current doesn't exceed about 1.05A. So whatever the manufacturers say they are likely more like 350-400Lm max. However when you see one against other LEDs, even 10W ones, they knock spots off them. They are amazing value lights, compact and very effective.
A couple on the front (or one on your helmet and one on the bike) will do most normal use in urban to semi-urban or mainly lit areas miles better than almost any disposable battery or dynamo-driven bike light. That includes fancy B&M lights at best part of £100.
In town I use it with wide angle lens, which as well as squaring off the beam pattern also seriously reduces glare, and on 'low' power setting anywhere with street lights. And that's just a single light.
