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Magicshine RN3000 self-contained light impressions

8163 Views 34 Replies 8 Participants Last post by ELmRidge, 3 mo ago

bergsnj

Discussion Starter · Dec 28, 2021 (Edited)

7

I bought a Magicshine RN3000 during the recent black friday/Christmas sales and had a chance to try it tonight. I'll say that it is really good for an all in one light. I rode with it on full blast for 90 minutes and it was still on "green" and didn't take very long to charge back to full. It is plenty bright to be your only light but probably would be best on a helmet as it is pretty much a spot light. I'm used to my monteer 8000 on the bars so this was no where near as bright as that. But it is by far the brightest all in one that I have ever seen. On low it is pretty dim for fast riding, but on the highest and second highest settings it is plenty bright. I think the battery life is going to be the best attribute for this all in one. Here are some pics:

Gadget Audio equipment Font Electronic device Data storage device

Bicycle Bicycle frame Bicycle handlebar Bicycle tire Vehicle

Fits on an out front mount with the garmin computer behind it

Bicycle Bicycle handlebar Bicycle tire Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Vehicle

Bicycle Bicycle tire Bicycle handlebar Automotive lighting Bicycle frame

For comparison here is my MJ-906 on high(5000 lumens) on my helmet:

Plant Natural landscape Road surface Asphalt Wood

and the RN3000 on high in the same spot (also on my helmet):

Road surface Asphalt Twig Natural landscape Wood

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Reactions: 2

1 - 20 of 35 Posts

MRMOLE

· #2 · Dec 28, 2021

Still waiting for mine to arrive (ordered from Aliexpress to save a little money). A little surprised at your beam shot results as MS rates the RN to have more throw distance/higher cd value than either the 906 or 906s but wouldn't be the first time I've seen inconsistencies in actual performance and claims between their different models. Will no doubt be doing the output testing when I get the light which should help fill up the time till it warms up some and I'm more motivated to take the bike out at night.
Mole

bergsnj

Discussion Starter · #3 · Dec 28, 2021

MRMOLE said:
Still waiting for mine to arrive (ordered from Aliexpress to save a little money). A little surprised at your beam shot results as MS rates the RN to have more throw distance/higher cd value than either the 906 or 906s but wouldn't be the first time I've seen inconsistencies in actual performance and claims between their different models. Will no doubt be doing the output testing when I get the light which should help fill up the time till it warms up some and I'm more motivated to take the bike out at night.
Mole

I'll look forward to your findings. The RN3000 is not brighter than the 906 but i wouldn't expect it to be with less battery and less LEDs. The 906 is my go-to helmet light and is really bright. Been using that one since 2018 and really love it.

New lights and gadgets are good motivation to get out and ride when it is cold and dark.

Reactions: 1

Biggs427

· #4 · Jan 3, 2022

I bought this light 2 months ago with an Allty 600 for my helmet and the combo is great except for one problem.

The problem is the mounting system. The quarter turn attachment on the RN3000 and the mount broke after a crash. I can easily find a mount on MS website but was not able to source the part that broke on the light.

This is problematic with the RN3000 as it is quite heavy and the attachment is the weakest part but it can't be found anywhere...

I sent an email to MS and never heard of them since.

Does anybody know where I could find replacement parts for the RN3000 and Allty 600?

If it is not available I will try to find a 3d model to make it on my CNC or 3d print it...

bergsnj

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 3, 2022

Biggs427 said:
Does anybody know where I could find replacement parts for the RN3000 and Allty 600?

If it is not available I will try to find a 3d model to make it on my CNC or 3d print it...

I think this is what you need: MJ-6259 Magicshine® Garmin adapter for MJ series bike lights

EDIT: actually thst might not work. I would contact magicshine at: [email protected]

Biggs427

· #6 · Jan 3, 2022

The MJ doesn't fit the RN3000.

I finally found this on MagicShine USA website: Magicshine® Ray Series Bike Lights Garmin Mount Base

It is not available on the canadian website so I will have to order from the US webstore and pay omport fees...

MRMOLE

· #7 · Jan 3, 2022

Biggs427 said:
I bought this light 2 months ago with an Allty 600 for my helmet and the combo is great except for one problem.

The problem is the mounting system. The quarter turn attachment on the RN3000 and the mount broke after a crash. I can easily find a mount on MS website but was not able to source the part that broke on the light.

This is problematic with the RN3000 as it is quite heavy and the attachment is the weakest part but it can't be found anywhere...

If it is not available I will try to find a 3d model to make it on my CNC or 3d print it...

As time goes on I'm seeing more of this type of mount failure. Any type of mount is susceptible to failure in a crash but could be indicative of the need for a more durable solution. Replaceable Garmin adapters are great for the RN/MJ/Monteer/Ray and lower powered Allty series lights but owners or those considering the purchase of Allty 1000/1500/2000 models should consider that this type of failure would require a light replacement as the Garmin interface is molded into the lighthead body (bummer).
Mole

wayold

· #8 · Jan 4, 2022 (Edited)

Would it be worth machining one of these mount interfaces out of Aluminum, or does that just transfer the weak/breakable point to the mounting threads (which are much less easily repaired if stripped)? I guess that just replacing these plastic parts as needed may be the best solution short of re-engineering the whole mount.

BTW. This was the main reason I got the Ray 2600 instead of the RN3000, which costs about the same and in some ways looks like the more capable bar light. The 2600 is just enough lighter that I think I can keep it from snapping off its mount in regular use (ask me again after a few months of riding).

MRMOLE

· #9 · Jan 4, 2022

wayold said:
Would it be worth machining one of these mount interfaces out of Aluminum, or does that just transfer the weak/breakable point to the mounting threads (which are much less easily repaired if stripped)? I guess that just replacing these plastic parts as needed may be the best solution short of re-engineering the whole mount.

Plastic bar/helmet mount would give way before alloy Garmin adapter IMO.
Mole

Biggs427

· #10 · Jan 4, 2022

The weakest link of the system should be replaceable and affordable which the Ray 2600 and RN3000 base are.

7$ for the base is ok as long as the availability is there which is problematic in Canada but ok in the US at the moment.

mb323323

· #11 · Jan 4, 2022

Biggs427 said:
The MJ doesn't fit the RN3000.

I finally found this on MagicShine USA website: Magicshine® Ray Series Bike Lights Garmin Mount Base

It is not available on the canadian website so I will have to order from the US webstore and pay omport fees...

Is this the whole base just w/o the strap. Mine is not broken but knowing they might always be available, I may just go ahead and order a few as back ups.

Thx

MRMOLE

· #12 · Jan 4, 2022

mb323323 said:
Is this the whole base just w/o the strap. Mine is not broken but knowing they might always be available, I may just go ahead and order a few as back ups.

Thx

It's the Garmin interface adapter that screws on to the bottom of the lighthead body. I looked at a couple of the MS sites but only found the adapters on the magicshine.com and magicshineusa.com locations. Still haven't received my RN3000 yet but Aliexpress tracking says 1/7 estimated delivery so hopefully in a few days.
Mole

Reactions: 1

bergsnj

Discussion Starter · #13 · Jan 5, 2022

wayold said:
BTW. This was the main reason I got the Ray 2600 instead of the RN3000, which costs about the same and in some ways looks like the more capable bar light. The 2600 is just enough lighter that I think I can keep it from snapping off its mount in regular use (ask me again after a few months of riding).

They both seem to be very good options. I can say that I had the RN3000 on an out front mount and rode on very rough trails and jumps and it didn't have any flicker or noticeable vibration/shaking. But like you said, time will tell. In the meantime I just ordered one of those spare garmin mounts

MRMOLE

· #14 · Jan 5, 2022

wayold said:
BTW. This was the main reason I got the Ray 2600 instead of the RN3000, which costs about the same and in some ways looks like the more capable bar light.

I have to agree that the optic setup + available remote are advantages over the RN and its more appropriate for output much larger battery capacity and heat-sink mass. In the end the $85 deal I found on the RN was the deciding factor for me though the fact that I do a lot of 3-5 hr. rides and live in a very warm climate probably make the RN a better fit for me anyway.
Mole

MRMOLE

· #15 · Jan 7, 2022

Ran across this Youtube video with some decent ride footage for the RN3000.
Mole

froze

· #16 · Jan 8, 2022

Biggs427 said:
I bought this light 2 months ago with an Allty 600 for my helmet and the combo is great except for one problem.

The problem is the mounting system. The quarter turn attachment on the RN3000 and the mount broke after a crash. I can easily find a mount on MS website but was not able to source the part that broke on the light.

This is problematic with the RN3000 as it is quite heavy and the attachment is the weakest part but it can't be found anywhere...

I sent an email to MS and never heard of them since.

Does anybody know where I could find replacement parts for the RN3000 and Allty 600?

If it is not available I will try to find a 3d model to make it on my CNC or 3d print it...

Geez, I guess MagicShine is still up to their old tricks. I had one of their first lights they ever sold, and the darn thing failed while under warranty, they told me to send it back, so I did, never heard anything more! I think the original owner died or something during the time I sent it back, but that sort of sucked, regardless of death of an owner or not they should have kept up with their customers and honored the warranty.

MRMOLE

· #17 · Jan 8, 2022

froze said:
Geez, I guess MagicShine is still up to their old tricks. I had one of their first lights they ever sold, and the darn thing failed while under warranty, they told me to send it back, so I did, never heard anything more! I think the original owner died or something during the time I sent it back, but that sort of sucked, regardless of death of an owner or not they should have kept up with their customers and honored the warranty.

Of course your welcome to hang on to quality and distributor issues that existed with Magicshine 10 yrs. ago but as time has moved on things have changed. A few mount failures from crash damage is something to keep an eye on and could potentially prove to be a durability issue but also could just be a few isolated cases. Overal IMO current Magicshine products have equal to or better quality and performance compared to anything offered by the name brand products typically seen at your LBS.
Mole

froze

· #18 · Jan 8, 2022

MRMOLE said:
Of course your welcome to hang on to quality and distributor issues that existed with Magicshine 10 yrs. ago but as time has moved on things have changed. A few mount failures from crash damage is something to keep an eye on and could potentially prove to be a durability issue but also could just be a few isolated cases. Overal IMO current Magicshine products have equal to or better quality and performance compared to anything offered by the name brand products typically seen at your LBS.
Mole

Not sure about today's stuff for MagicShine, but back when I bought mine evidently there were a lot of issues, some people got them resolved but some did not. Now we're hearing about mounting issues that are going unresolved by MS pushing the IGNORE button.

And I doubt MS is better than other top brand stuff, I have an old Phillips Saferide 80 light and compared it to a friend's MS light that was supposedly about 600 lumens brighter than mine, except in the test with his on bright and mine on bright mine was noticeably brighter. So maybe the lumens quoted may not be so accurate as they state it to be. This test was done about 3 years ago, so newer MS lights may have improved?

MRMOLE

· #19 · Jan 9, 2022

froze said:
Not sure about today's stuff for MagicShine, but back when I bought mine evidently there were a lot of issues, some people got them resolved but some did not. Now we're hearing about mounting issues that are going unresolved by MS pushing the IGNORE button.

Older Magicshine lights weren't built with the best quality components but those less than top quality $80 400ish lumen lights provided a popular alternative to the typical $4-500 600ish lumen brand name sets available at the time. They also forced the other Manufacturers to reconsider their profit margin policies making night riding more affordable no matter what light you used (except maybe Lupine). Ghosting the guy (if it was intensional) on his email is an issue but I don't think I'd consider crash damage a mounting issue.

froze said:
And I doubt MS is better than other top brand stuff, I have an old Phillips Saferide 80 light and compared it to a friend's MS light that was supposedly about 600 lumens brighter than mine, except in the test with his on bright and mine on bright mine was noticeably brighter. So maybe the lumens quoted may not be so accurate as they state it to be. This test was done about 3 years ago, so newer MS lights may have improved?

Don't think that I blame you because of your past experience and the fact that Magicshine hasn't always had the best reputation for quality. Just sharing my opinion of the many lights I've had the opportunity of testing. As for your Saferide vs. Magicshine comparison total lumen output and brightness/intensity are two different things. I don't know which MS light you compared the Saferide to but if it was something like a 858 that probably has 4 times the coverage area it would need 4x the output to have the same brightness. Claimed lumen output on the older MS lights were always considerably overstated. The newer models I've tested are much better.
Mole

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Biggs427

· #20 · Jan 10, 2022

froze said:
Geez, I guess MagicShine is still up to their old tricks. I had one of their first lights they ever sold, and the darn thing failed while under warranty, they told me to send it back, so I did, never heard anything more! I think the original owner died or something during the time I sent it back, but that sort of sucked, regardless of death of an owner or not they should have kept up with their customers and honored the warranty.

I'm not blaming MS at all for the broken mount. Heck I'm glad I broke only the light mount!!

As for MS quality vs other lights brands, I only have two other to compare to which are:

Bontrager that have better mounts but the run time on MS are generally better and the optic is miles ahead of any Bontrager.
Evolva that is a Chinese cheap light that is inferior to MS in every aspect.

1 - 20 of 35 Posts