# Bright Eyes 1200 lumen light



## singletrkmind (Feb 20, 2007)

Any of you tried this light from Amazon? Seems to have pretty good reviews but haven't seen many mountain bike specific.

http://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable-...&qid=1417630549&sr=8-3&keywords=bicycle+light


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## Waldens (Mar 5, 2013)

The beam too focus, not good for mountain biking. Real lumen maybe less than 800!


从我的 iPhone 发送，使用 Tapatalk


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## C.M.S (Aug 28, 2009)

Bright eyes is just another cheap Chinese clone that's wayyyy overpriced !
808 in itself makes a decent helmet light that doesn't cost much .


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## tundratrader (Mar 5, 2010)

I think these are quite decent for the money. After the fact it looks like you can buy others that look about identical for less money. My dad and I are both running these. Does anyone know if the wide angle lens that says for magicshine and others will fit this. 

I have also been involved in a thread on Fatbike side with a guy making lights. That is what I like. I trust my Malkoff engines 100% in the indestructible Surefire bodies.


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## Richard=SSV (Oct 3, 2014)

I bought one of the Bright Eyes and then one of the CREE 3800 lumen that was quite a bit cheaper than the Bright Eyes. The CREE didn't appear any brighter than the Bright eyes and it started going dim 30 minutes into my ride. The next day I recharged them and set them up in my dining room to compare them..... same thing, the CREE wasn't any brighter and again the battery drained within an hour. Who knows, maybe I just got a lemon with the CREE, but I returned it and bought another Bright Eyes. 

I bought one of the wide angle lenses to use on the one I use on my handle bars and it works just fine. I'm not racing or anything and haven't tired any other lights other than these, but the Bright Eyes are plenty bright for the dark wooded trails I ride by my house.

Perhaps there are better lights for less money, but I chose the bright eyes based on the solid reviews it got and I have not been disappointed!


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## 745373 (May 17, 2013)

Which is the wide lens you bought that worked for it? I just got mine, haven't tried it yet but compared to my other light it is too focused.


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## Ian_C (Sep 27, 2012)

To my knowledge there really is only one wide angle lens for reflector based lamps. I suppose I could technically say three, because it comes in Clear, Amber, and Red. It fits any of the lights with a 34 mm diameter, including some of the tri-cones. When you order it from Action, get one of the clear glass lenses as well. The way some of these clones are built, you may need the glass lens to fill some space, and keep the wide angle one from rattling.

The Bright Eyes is probably quite overpriced. You can find tons of extremely similar light heads ranging anywhere from $10 and up, and starting at $20 for for light head and battery. The quality of the build, and internal components, are a complete crap shoot. There is no guarantee that what you get from Bright Eyes would be the same quality as what some previous purchaser received. It is extremely likely that the Bright Eyes light uses an older XM-L T6 LED, and probably has quite a blueish tint.

The general rule of thumb with cheep Chinese lights is the lumens are way below what they claim, and the battery packs are of very questionable quality, with well below the stated mAh. You just never know how good/bad the batter pack is.

You might be better off reading some of the other threads here, and looking at a dual LED light. The current "hot topic" in the lights forum is well built Yinding 2 x XM-L2 U2 (current generation, high efficient LED) in a neutral white tint. If you act fast and pre-order this light, custom built to our specifications, you can pick up the light head only for about $25. The full kit with a battery pack at just under $40. We don't know the quality of the battery pack.

Most people on here would suggest buying the light head only. Then purchase a battery that is known to be of very good quality, from a different supplier. Good batteries start at about $26, with higher capacity / longer run-time units for a bit more.

For about the same amount of money as the unknown quality Bright Eyes, you can get a much brighter, 2 x LED light, based on current generation LEDs, and a good quality battery pack. Shipping will take longer than Amazon, but you'll have a much better setup.


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## Richard=SSV (Oct 3, 2014)

MTB Marco said:


> Which is the wide lens you bought that worked for it? I just got mine, haven't tried it yet but compared to my other light it is too focused.


I bought this one and it throws a nice oval beam:

Amazon.com : Wide Angle Lens for MagicShine, Gemini, and many other Bike Lights / Headlight. Includes O-Ring : Sports & Outdoors


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## 745373 (May 17, 2013)

Awesome thank you. Bright eyes contacted me and said they sell them for 5 bucks . I'm sure it's the same thing as you showed me but I'd rather order from them just because it's their own light . Peace of mind thing I guess. I can't wait to take it out!


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## tundratrader (Mar 5, 2010)

Bright eyes sells the wide angle lens direct?


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## singletrkmind (Feb 20, 2007)

thanks for the replies. I was under the impression the bright eyes was more on the magic shine level than the other stuff floating around.


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## C.M.S (Aug 28, 2009)

singletrkmind said:


> thanks for the replies. I was under the impression the bright eyes was more on the magic shine level than the other stuff floating around.


Good that you realize this now , BrightEyes is a scam !


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## 745373 (May 17, 2013)

Gotta bump this after a couple months now of owning my light. So first of all they aren't a scam at all! I love my light! Sure its twice as much as some other on here on the cheap side but you can't beat customer service. 

Performance first: So I use this light on my helmet for night rides (honest to goodness mountain biking). I have the wide angle lens which is a horizontal beam not a flood, yes I got it directly from Bright Eyes. I have a flood self contained light for my bars made by Serfas. The Bright Eyes stays perfectly put on my helmet with the O-ring attachment but on the bars it moves a bit on rocky trails. I'm sure this is the same thing with all lights with this same method of attachment. I have more than enough light on my helmet to see everywhere I'm looking, maybe not 1200 but I've never needed more. Zero issues with battery life, it's worked great. I usually keep it on medium and then blast it for downhill. 

Customer Service: So this light I'm sure is manufactured in China but the company is based out of Mesquite, Nevada. Don is the person I've gotten in contact with a couple of times. Once because of the lens, once because as a promotion thing they were giving out O-ring attachments and once because I smacked my head on a branch and broke my mounting bracket. Every time I had my items to me in my mailbox within 3 days, can't get any better than that. With the mounting bracket he had sent it to me before I even sent him payment, I think that said a lot there.

Final Note: I would buy this light again no problem knowing that if I had an issue he'd take care of it for me and performance wise for $40 bucks for a helmet light, what do you have to lose? Sure its not top of the line but hey I'm on a budget, it gets me on the trail once a week at night for a few hours. If you buy a lemon, which I'm sure there is some out there, I'm sure they'd take care of you. 

Just my $.02 Hope that helps someone


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## OldTiGuy (Apr 3, 2012)

Bright Eyes lights are hardly a scam......they have a lifetime guarantee on the light itself and 1 year warranty on the battery with U.S. based customer service. Exactly which of the other 808 clones offer all that for half the price?

I've had my 1200 lumen light for a few months (for a few rides and one crash). When I bench tested the light right after I received it the battery only lasted 2.5 hours on high which is well short of the "around three hours" on the website. The battery pack was replaced quickly no questions asked. The new battery pack lasts almost exactly three hours. The light is as bright (or brighter) as my riding buddies name brand and very expensive lights.

The light's major is weakness is it's O ring bar clamp (which the 808 and clones share). After having to constantly readjust it on my first night ride I did this - FAQLoad - Magicshine (and clone) better bar mount. Now the light's mount is rock solid, instantly removable, and pretty much perfect.


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## 745373 (May 17, 2013)

That just made my day there! That's awesome! A friend of mine showed me how he made his out of a Go Pro mount. it worked but looked janky. This is a great option here! I can mount my self contained unit on my helmet for ease of wiring now. Thanks for that info!


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## DirtDobber04 (Jun 1, 2015)

thank you for your review MTB Marco. I am going to order one of these this week. I have heard other great reports about the customer service, so to me that is worth a little more over cheaper similar lights.


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## MaximusHQ (Aug 6, 2007)

If you think Bright Eyes is a scam then wait until you see this one on amazon! :yikes: Properly named Hozer b/c you are definitely going to get hosed. Amazon.com : HOZER(TM) MagicShine MJ-808E HA-III 3-Mode 1000-Lumen LED Bike Light Set w/ CREE XM-L T6 (4x18650) : Sports & Outdoors


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## 127.0.0.1 (Nov 19, 2013)

MaximusHQ said:


> If you think Bright Eyes is a scam then wait until you see this one on amazon! :yikes: Properly named Hozer b/c you are definitely going to get hosed. Amazon.com : HOZER(TM) MagicShine MJ-808E HA-III 3-Mode 1000-Lumen LED Bike Light Set w/ CREE XM-L T6 (4x18650) : Sports & Outdoors


$331.00 wow !!!!!!!

just buy 10,000 unit run of these, 5 bucks a unit

sell everywhere for all sorts of prices, and some insane prices

profit


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## DirtDobber04 (Jun 1, 2015)

OldTiGuy said:


> Bright Eyes lights are hardly a scam......they have a lifetime guarantee on the light itself and 1 year warranty on the battery with U.S. based customer service. Exactly which of the other 808 clones offer all that for half the price?
> 
> I've had my 1200 lumen light for a few months (for a few rides and one crash). When I bench tested the light right after I received it the battery only lasted 2.5 hours on high which is well short of the "around three hours" on the website. The battery pack was replaced quickly no questions asked. The new battery pack lasts almost exactly three hours. The light is as bright (or brighter) as my riding buddies name brand and very expensive lights.
> 
> The light's major is weakness is it's O ring bar clamp (which the 808 and clones share). After having to constantly readjust it on my first night ride I did this - FAQLoad - Magicshine (and clone) better bar mount. Now the light's mount is rock solid, instantly removable, and pretty much perfect.


I just received the light and I am going to use the Hope universal clamp, but another fix is to wrap a small piece of non slip mat around the bar once or twice and then use the band mount. No issue, even riding washboarded trails. I'm just doing the Hope mount to "pretty" it up.

With the diffuser lens the light output and beam is great. I'm thinking about making a spliter to run two lights (bar and helmet) off of one batt as my night rides are typically about an hour or so long.


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## ledoman (Apr 17, 2012)

DirtDobber04 said:


> "I'm thinking about making a spliter to run two lights (bar and helmet) off of one batt as my night rides are typically about an hour or so long."


Just a side note. That way you would make single point of failure. Think again.


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## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

DirtDobber04 said:


> I'm thinking about making a spliter to run two lights (bar and helmet) off of one batt as my night rides are typically about an hour or so long.


If you want to try running 2 lights off one battery we do have Y-cables for this in stock.
MJ-6018 Y-Cable - Action-LED-Lights


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## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

tundratrader said:


> Bright eyes sells the wide angle lens direct?


Bright Eyes tried to copy the wide angle lens I designed and manufacture. I bought a couple to test and there not nearly as effective or efficient.


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## DirtDobber04 (Jun 1, 2015)

ledoman said:


> Just a side note. That way you would make single point of failure. Think again.


good point...


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## Sidewalk (May 18, 2015)

Pretty old, but did a search and this was near the top so I figured I would weigh in.

I bought a Brighteyes 1200 last year. I was on a tight budget, and the reviews were great. It is definitely not 1200, but pretty bright. Mine worked well all through winter until the days got long enough that I didn't need a good light anymore.

Now that the days are getting short again, I pulled the light out to use again. Charged up the battery and went out riding. Battery lasted me 20 minutes. I contacted Brighteyes via the site, Don got back to me within a day offering me a new battery or troubleshooting tips. I chose troubleshooting first (since it is faster), but the problem wasn't resolved. So he sent me out a new light and battery and a hand written apology.

Yes, I would buy another one.

My light originally came with a narrow and wide lens (I use the wide lens), tail light, battery, and battery extension. 

I'm probably going to buy something else brighter since I am much faster now then last year and need to see further, but I had a good experience.


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## DirtDobber04 (Jun 1, 2015)

I just had an issue with the battery for my brighteyes light, so I went to their website yesterday and filled out a Contact Us submission form stating with the issue was. Within 5 minutes I received an email from Don at brighteyes apologizing for the inconvenience and also asking for me to confirm if my shipping address was the same as when I initially ordered the light. I will post back as to when I receive the battery. But I am very impressed, by how quickly I got an initial response.


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## jm88 (May 26, 2016)

DirtDobber04 , did you get your replacement battery ?


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## DirtDobber04 (Jun 1, 2015)

jm88 said:


> DirtDobber04 , did you get your replacement battery ?


I did and in just a few days after hearing from them. Including a hand written note saying sorry for your inconvenience, this is awesome service.


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## gckless (Aug 25, 2016)

I just ordered this light. It seems pretty decent for $40. The battery was better than some I've seen, and the light seems pretty sturdy. I don't really like how focused the beam is, but it would probably work fine. I don't think it's quite 1200 lumens, but it is pretty bright. I did an unboxing video of it here:


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## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

gckless,

As you've seen the smooth reflector used on those lights produces way too tight of a beam to be very useful on a bike. You can spread that out with our Wide Angle Lens and make it much better. And/or replace the reflector with an orange peel one.
As far as your battery goes, every cheap (low priced) Chinese manufacturer uses that same rubber boot and nylon case that Magicshine used to use before they went to a hardshell case. Decent looks have nothing to do with the quality of the cells inside the pack. Be sure you take that off the bike and charge it in a fire proof container or location. A large can with a couple of inches of sand or kitty litter in the bottom works well.
1200 lumens - not possible. 700 - 800 is much more likely.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

^^ x10 there. They may seem decent but you never know. And too many horror stories of battery packs exploding or catching on fire. Still happens. Sadly its the cause of all the issues with shipping lithium batteries. Its not the batteries that would be dangerous, is the cheap chinese factories not making them anywhere close to within regulations. Combined often with chargers I have dubbed "detonators" because they can overcharge the packs causing them to explode.

I wish they would ban all cheap Chinese battery packs and chargers not meeting worldwide regulations and standards from ever leaving China. Then we don't have to sound all "OMG that pack is going to burn your house down". But the risk is very real. Just like the Samsung recall (went to batteries that weren't high end specs and chemistry) and the hoverboards that disappeared because of using cheap chinese cells that would catch fire.


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## riding4life (Jun 4, 2013)

Action LED Lights said:


> gckless,
> 
> As you've seen the smooth reflector used on those lights produces way too tight of a beam to be very useful on a bike. You can spread that out with our Wide Angle Lens and make it much better. And/or replace the reflector with an orange peel one.
> As far as your battery goes, every cheap (low priced) Chinese manufacturer uses that same rubber boot and nylon case that Magicshine used to use before they went to a hardshell case. Decent looks have nothing to do with the quality of the cells inside the pack. Be sure you take that off the bike and charge it in a fire proof container or location. A large can with a couple of inches of sand or kitty litter in the bottom works well.
> 1200 lumens - not possible. 700 - 800 is much more likely.


Hey Jim, I'm new to the light seen and I was just checking out the magic shine MJ908 on your website. according to your website it says that light is 4200 lumens. With this light serve as a good handlebar light? Would it require a different lens? Also on your post above you mentioned Magicshine used that rubber boots and nylon case, does this is MJ 908 use the more decent hard shell case?


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## Action LED Lights (Nov 11, 2011)

I'm not a fan of the MJ-908 since it uses a propiatory battery with a special connector. The actual lumens are listed for each light in the specs.


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## gckless (Aug 25, 2016)

Action LED Lights said:


> gckless,
> 
> As you've seen the smooth reflector used on those lights produces way too tight of a beam to be very useful on a bike. You can spread that out with our Wide Angle Lens and make it much better. And/or replace the reflector with an orange peel one.
> As far as your battery goes, every cheap (low priced) Chinese manufacturer uses that same rubber boot and nylon case that Magicshine used to use before they went to a hardshell case. Decent looks have nothing to do with the quality of the cells inside the pack. Be sure you take that off the bike and charge it in a fire proof container or location. A large can with a couple of inches of sand or kitty litter in the bottom works well.
> 1200 lumens - not possible. 700 - 800 is much more likely.


Wow, awesome stuff! Love the stuff you guys have. Wide-angle lens, trustworthy battery, helmet strap, quick-release, shoot I should have just ordered from you! Lol. But yeah, I know that the battery is questionable at best. I have experience with RC cars, so I'm familiar with the charging and potential safety risks. I've had a couple puff on me. Do most batteries have the same connector on them? I'm fairly new to them. I'd like to get a battery I can trust; I'm assuming those hardshell ones you guys offer are good? And yeah, I didn't think this was 1200, so the 800 claim sounds about right.

How do you guys measure for lumens? Do have a full properly calibrated integrating sphere? And do you think lux is important for reference? Since manufacturers give lumens, that's probably the best way to go, as most do. Just curious.


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## Staypuft1652 (Oct 8, 2016)

gckless said:


> Wow, awesome stuff! Love the stuff you guys have. Wide-angle lens, trustworthy battery, helmet strap, quick-release, shoot I should have just ordered from you! Lol. But yeah, I know that the battery is questionable at best. I have experience with RC cars, so I'm familiar with the charging and potential safety risks. I've had a couple puff on me. Do most batteries have the same connector on them? I'm fairly new to them. I'd like to get a battery I can trust; I'm assuming those hardshell ones you guys offer are good? And yeah, I didn't think this was 1200, so the 800 claim sounds about right.
> 
> How do you guys measure for lumens? Do have a full properly calibrated integrating sphere? And do you think lux is important for reference? Since manufacturers give lumens, that's probably the best way to go, as most do. Just curious.


Most bike lights use the "magicshine" style, same plug, 8.4 volt. The major brands (magicshine, xeccon, gemini, gloworm etc.) all use basically the same connector, the female and male jacks are always the same (with some exceptions with a few magicshines) but the connector sheaths can vary some but are generally useable. There are a few clone lights that are 4.2 volt, and at least one older xeccon with a higher voltage. There is also the solarstorm type, screw together connector, which is reasonably compatible with magicshine style. The old school (niterider, cygolight) brands use proprietary plugs. Fenix is reversed with male and female switched. Someone else can verify what Ituo uses, I believe its a screw together variant but 8.4 volt. Batteries listed 7.4 or 8.4 v are the same. Just a different measure, nominal or charged.


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## tigris99 (Aug 26, 2012)

Lumens is just lux over a given area. Using a sphere the lux reading is used in a simple formula to get the lumen ratings of lights.

Most manufacturers have their own, I built myself a DIY sphere with the help of other forums. Pretty dang accurate too.

I'm not sure of ACTION-LED has one or not. I went DIY because a professional sphere is thousands of dollars.

Most cheaper manufacturers don't have one and just give a "maximum rating" of the LED and ignore the fact of all the factors to be met to get remotely close to that number. Even worse the really bs ones rate their lights at impossible levels by a long shot. They literally add zeros behind the ratings just to make them look better.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk


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## MOmountainBiker (Dec 26, 2016)

I have a Bright Eyes 1200 which I mount on my helmet. I usually leave it on medium. I have the stock lens on it and mainly use it to light the trail up at a distance. For lighting the trail closer up I have a Revtronic BT40S 1600 lumen with the diffuser lens on the bars. It does a great job of spreading the light. While neither of these lights give the advertised lumens, they both put out a lot of light. Plenty for riding fast, flowy singletrack in the woods. The main drawback to both of them is the mount that they come with. For that reason I used some 3D CAD software and drew up replacements. If anyone is interested you can see them here: https://www.shapeways.com/shops/gss-components?li=pb


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## BigKahuna (Jan 19, 2004)

I bought the Bright Eyes 1200, and have no complaints for a $36 light/battery. Are there better, sure. But it's a VERY decent budget light to get started.


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## cakemonster (Sep 30, 2012)

I ride at 0500 (before kids get up) with a friend who also had kids.

I got a Lupine Wilma (3500 lumens) after clipping a pedal in the dark and getting a concussion using a "commuter light" and spent $500. That is the primary light on my bars now.

I got this because sometimes I can't see around the corners with the bar mounted light.

I wasn't expecting much but it is very nice for that purpose. I have also ridden with just this light when the Wilma dies or a couple times the battery on the frame moved down and disconnected from the light leaving me with just the bright eyes. It is quite good, but of course not 3500 lumens.

I put the battery pack in my pack and run the light up to my helmet with the little extension they provide. The rubber band lets me mount it on my helmet no problem. It has stayed on for 12 "enduro" rides until today the light on my helmet clipped a low lying branch. I broke off the plastic piece below the aluminum light and hope they can give me a new piece as the light itself is fine. If not, I would gladly pay the $50 for a new one.

It is 1200 lumens, not 3500 lumens, but at 1/8-1/10 the cost it is very nice. It lasts 2x as long as my Wilma as well so it is a a great setup, if like me, you are riding in the dark, in the woods, going fast over rough terrain.

My only wish is they made the mount (meant for bars) easier to put on a helmet (not bad now, but a flat mount under the light rather than the curved one would be great.)

If the CAD guy could send me some .stl specs I can print one at work!

I have used the regular and diffuser lens, and prefer the diffuser, but the other one lets you see farther which has a benefit as a secondary light.

Overall, well worth 40-50 bucks and much better than the other regular commuter lights in this price range.


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