[GEOMAN]

Just launched overnight, Bikeray Ray IIIs, Magicshine 900s and 1400s with Open-Light Systems batteries (German manufactured, tested and approved). We currently have a limited number of Open-Light batteries and more on the way from Germany.

http://www.geomangear.com/

 

[sam2391]

When will the Bikeray IV be released? Have you got any pics yet? Thanks Sam

 

[Bryank930]

So are these Open-Light Systems batteries the ones going to be sent out to owners of recalled batteries?

 

[GEOMAN]

Hi Sam
We have seen some basic photos, it really is still in development and we have no confirmation of when it will be available. We do like to have a prototype to test ourselves for a few months before launching and we don't have one yet. As soon as we have a date of availabiliy or even prototype we will be open and honest with our feedback as always.

When will the Bikeray IV be released? Have you got any pics yet? Thanks Sam

 

[GEOMAN]

Hi Bryan

This is the message we have listed on our site

The batteries from Open Light Systems are not our Magicshine recall replacement battery pack. The U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission requires that our approved replacement battery pack remedy be the same for all customers. To be able to get the large number of U.S. CPSC approved packs necessary, the only solution was to have them produced by a US manufacturer.

We are still working on the entire recall process but wanted to offer an option for those that can't wait for the recall battery to be shipped out and for new customers who are wary of Chinese battery packs. The new German packs have a 1 year warranty as well.

So are these Open-Light Systems batteries the ones going to be sent out to owners of recalled batteries?

 

[Cat-man-do]

Geoman, Nice to see some of the new stuff arrive. Looks lot a lot of people want to hold out for the Bike Ray IV. Any news on the 15degree optics and when ( or if ) they are available and will they be available for the Bike ray III as well?

While the BR IV is not available yet I see a nice option for those wanting more light: namely, a BR III light head couple with a MS 900 and Open light 5.8Ah battery with Y-cable. A set up like that on the bars would give you all the flood and throw you should need. ( edit: and still have decent run time )

 

[GEOMAN]

We will be discussing the Ray IV and the tighter lens for the Ray III with Bikeray. We will post info here on the development as we get updates in the coming months. Agreed, that Open-Light 5.8Ah battery is awesome, we have had a Ray III burning on low for over 18 hours and still had more burntime left :thumbsup:

Geoman, Nice to see some of the new stuff arrive. Looks lot a lot of people want to hold out for the Bike Ray IV. Any news on the 15degree optics and when ( or if ) they are available and will they be available for the Bike ray III as well?

While the BR IV is not available yet I see a nice option for those wanting more light: namely, a BR III light head couple with a MS 900 and Open light 5.8Ah battery with Y-cable. A set up like that on the bars would give you all the flood and throw you should need.

 

[MI-29er]

Iam not an electrical guru. What is the difference between the 5.8AH and the 4.5AH. Guessing the 5.8 would be brighter??

 

[GEOMAN]

The 4.5Ah and 5.8Ah rating refers to the capacity of the cells in the battery pack. It affects the burntime of the lighthead. eg the Magicshine 900 will burn for 3 hrs on high with the 4.5Ah pack but will burn 4 hours on high with the 5.8Ah pack. This is really handy for folks who are doing longer nightrides or endurance events, both packs are manufactured with 4 premium quality Panasonic cells, they are just different capacities. I hope this helps explain it.

Iam not an electrical guru. What is the difference between the 5.8AH and the 4.5AH. Guessing the 5.8 would be brighter??

 

[thunderstruck]

What is the ETA for the replacement battery packs? spring is just around the corner, Thursday here in the midwest to be precise.

 

[Rakuman]

Cut And pasted from Geos site
BATTERY RECALL PROCESS

Late October 2010 - Contacted by customer about a safety incident with the Magicshine battery pack. Halted sales of Magicshine lightsets with affected battery packs.

Early November 2010 - Contacted U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the Magicshine battery issue. Retained Exponent, a leading lithium ion battery consultant for testing and evaluation. Exponent tested the Magicshine battery packs and found them to be of very poor quality and containing un-balanced cells. Submitted initial report to CPSC.

Mid December 2010 - After contacting several U.S. based battery manufacturers, we sent Exponent to Totex, a California company, for a manufacturing plant site visit. After getting positive feedback from Exponent regarding its site visit, Totex engineers started design of the replacement battery pack.
Late December - Submitted proposed recall plan to the Safety Commission for approval.

January 2011 - Completed design and engineering on battery pack PCB and hard plastic housing.
Mid-February 2011 - CPSC approves our Totex designed battery pack.

Pending - Receive approval from CPSC for our recall plan 

Pending - Send out recall notices 

Pending - Manufacture replacement battery packs (expecting first shipment end of April)

Pending - Send out replacement battery packs in phases. Our engineering consultant has determined that the oldest battery packs pose the greatest safety risk, so those will be replaced first.
Looks like us that bought right before the recall are SOL for a while hopefully they will get thru the whole 20 thousand packs in a timely manner

 

[GEOMAN]

Thanks Rakuman
We will work as diligently as we can to get the recall wrapped up in the shortest possible time, we understand this is a major inconvenience for you all. We have expedited the recall replacement development wherever possible and are trying to get the recall rollout underway asap.

Cut And pasted from Geos site
BATTERY RECALL PROCESS

Late October 2010 - Contacted by customer about a safety incident with the Magicshine battery pack. Halted sales of Magicshine lightsets with affected battery packs.

Early November 2010 - Contacted U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) about the Magicshine battery issue. Retained Exponent, a leading lithium ion battery consultant for testing and evaluation. Exponent tested the Magicshine battery packs and found them to be of very poor quality and containing un-balanced cells. Submitted initial report to CPSC.

Mid December 2010 - After contacting several U.S. based battery manufacturers, we sent Exponent to Totex, a California company, for a manufacturing plant site visit. After getting positive feedback from Exponent regarding its site visit, Totex engineers started design of the replacement battery pack.
Late December - Submitted proposed recall plan to the Safety Commission for approval.

January 2011 - Completed design and engineering on battery pack PCB and hard plastic housing.
Mid-February 2011 - CPSC approves our Totex designed battery pack.

Pending - Receive approval from CPSC for our recall plan 

Pending - Send out recall notices 

Pending - Manufacture replacement battery packs (expecting first shipment end of April)

Pending - Send out replacement battery packs in phases. Our engineering consultant has determined that the oldest battery packs pose the greatest safety risk, so those will be replaced first.
Looks like us that bought right before the recall are SOL for a while hopefully they will get thru the whole 20 thousand packs in a timely manner

 

[BPSarge]

Looking forward to not storing my battery pak in a bomb shelter

 

[GEOMAN]

We feel the same way, sorry for the inconvenience.

Looking forward to not storing my battery pak in a bomb shelter

 

[picassomoon]

Hey, great to see that there is a replacement pack available for those of us who aren't into waiting longer.

I bought a MS from an ebay vendor who also advertised in MTBR classifieds after you pulled your MS's for the recall. I was impatient and broke and really wanted to night ride this winter. Any chance whatsoever of a battery pack discount/trade in program for MS owners who want a new safer battery but didn't originally buy from GeoMan? I realize you can't offer me recall coverage, but I thought it was worth a shot to ask.

I'm about five minutes from placing an order for one of the new battery packs regardless, but I thought I'd ask first just in case. Thanks for all your efforts in this situation and all the great communiction and interaction. I'll be looking into a second light head of some sort from GeoMan by the time next winter rolls around.

 

[GEOMAN]

Hi Picasso, we applied a relaunch discount to all of those products with the new Open-Light batteries. It's really expensive importing from Germany but we wanted to give folks like yourself a premium quality option. Open-Light sells the 5.8Ah battery on their site for 90 Euros which is currently equivalent to $125 US. Sorry we can't discount further at this point, it does carry a full 1 year warranty which is definitely a vast improvement over the 90 day warranty.

http://www.open-light.de/en/Batteri...alextreme HA-III Cree SSC P7-C Lamp Head.html

Hey, great to see that there is a replacement pack available for those of us who aren't into waiting longer.

I bought a MS from an ebay vendor who also advertised in MTBR classifieds after you pulled your MS's for the recall. I was impatient and broke and really wanted to night ride this winter. Any chance whatsoever of a battery pack discount/trade in program for MS owners who want a new safer battery but didn't originally buy from GeoMan? I realize you can't offer me recall coverage, but I thought it was worth a shot to ask.

I'm about five minutes from placing an order for one of the new battery packs regardless, but I thought I'd ask first just in case. Thanks for all your efforts in this situation and all the great communiction and interaction. I'll be looking into a second light head of some sort from GeoMan by the time next winter rolls around.

 

[picassomoon]

Alright thanks. I'm thinking maybe I might as well order an enitre MS. Do you know if two MS 900 heads would be able to run off one of the new batteries with a Y cable? Would that just decrease the overall runtime?

 

[GEOMAN]

Open-Light has not confirmed whether this is advisable for long-term battery health, but that would cut runtime basically in half.

Alright thanks. I'm thinking maybe I might as well order an enitre MS. Do you know if two MS 900 heads would be able to run off one of the new batteries with a Y cable? Would that just decrease the overall runtime?

 

[sam2391]

Can you get a beamshot of the bikeray III compared to a magicshine please? Or just link me to a bikeray III beamshot as I can't seem to find one anywhere. Thanks

 

[acg]

Geoman,

I have been following the battery saga for a few months. I have not purchased from you in the past. I compliment you on your excellent customer service approach. I have just placed an order with you.