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Magicshine Allty 1000 front light

9
£69.99

VERDICT:

9
10
A compact, bright and brilliant front light that excels on the road
Easy to navigate modes
It's bright!
No programmable mode
Fuel indicator is rudimentary
Battery is built in
Weight: 
146g

At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.

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The Magicshine Allty 1000 is a compact unit that packs enough punch to illuminate even the darkest of road rides. It has a great beam, mode selection is simple, and all options are easy to navigate, even on the fly. It's not programmable and the battery indicator could be more detailed, but if you're looking for a do-it-all light road light, the Allty 1000 is very hard to beat for the price.

> Buy this online here

The Allty 1000 features a rugged aluminium body that's nice to find at this price. Behind the lens sit two bright Cree XP-L V6 LEDs and a smaller, always-on 55-lumen LED for daytime running. The casing tapers to keep it compatible with most out-in-front mounts.

2020 Magicshine ALLTY 1000 - front.jpg

In the box you find a standard bar mount with three different straps to accommodate the majority of bar sizes and shapes. I mounted the Allty to everything from skinny 28.5mm bars to chunky aero ones without issue.

One thing worth noting is that the aero mount doesn't allow for rotation around the bars, meaning the angle of the beam cannot be changed. For me the light fell where I wanted it anyway, but others may not be so lucky.

> 17 best rear bike lights for 2020 — boost your day & night visibility

The included mount and clamp may be simple, but that's by no means a bad thing! For commuting especially it's useful to have a mount that stays attached when it's necessary to lock your bike up in a public place.

2020 Magicshine ALLTY 1000 - mount.jpg

The Magicshine has an integrated 4000 mAh battery which allows for decent burn times even at high power, and up to 28.5 hours on its most frugal mode. The six modes are:

  • DRL (25 lumen/28.5 hours) A useful and always-on option that doesn't deplete the battery quickly.
  • Eco (250L/12.5hrs): I didn't use this much, as it's not bright enough for full dark, but it's okay under streetlights.
  • Medium (500L/4hrs): Good for most nighttime riding, and four hours is long enough for most nighttime rides.
  • High (1000L/1.8hrs): Bright enough for even the darkest of lanes, although it might struggle with off-road singletrack.
  • Flash 1 (1000 L/3hrs): What I call manic mode... this one's definitely eye-catching, so brilliant for urban riding to attract attention even from a distance.
  • Flash 2: (500 L/7.2 hrs): A steady flash that's still bright enough to get you noticed from about 200m, but with a much longer burn time.

The flashing modes aren't excessive, you don't have to cycle through them when changing brightnesses, and you don't get plunged into darkness whilst changing them.

By using a single click to change the brightness and a double press to change to flashing mode, you can 'scroll' through without stumbling across flash modes at all, as you do on the more complicated Lezyne Lite Drive 1000XL, for example.

2020 Magicshine ALLTY 1000 - top.jpg

It amazes me that so many companies still haven't come up with such a well rounded and simple set of light modes as Magicshine has here. The Allty 1000 has modes for every kind of road riding I can throw at it, yet remains easy to navigate. The claimed run times are consistent with my own experience, too, so top marks to Magicshine.

A single large button on top keeps it simple too, and is perfectly usable even in thick winter gloves.

This button also incorporates a battery indicator, which lights green above 30% and red underneath. That means you can have 100% or 31% left, but be none the wiser... an amber intermediate would be very useful.

> The best 2019/2020 front lights for cycling — 40-light beam comparison plus how-to-choose guide

Recharge time is claimed at five hours, which I found to be spot on (and pretty much the average for 1000 lumen lights with sensible burn times).

I can't fault the beam pattern. The 21-degree angle is right in the sweet spot for intensity and side illumination. Side visibility is good thanks to the sides of the lens being left exposed, although it's no more than good – there are better lights for that.

2020 Magicshine ALLTY 1000 - bottom.jpg

The overall package comes in at at 146g, which is good considering the power output. For comparison, the Moon Meteor Vortex Pro (£79.99) weighs 169g, The Cateye AMPP 1100 (£109.99) is 203g and the Knog PWR Trail (£109.99) is 230g. The very good Lezyne Lite Drive 1000XL (£70) gets closer at 153g.

Although the Allty 1000 is £69.99, there's no skimping on details. The rubber bung covering the charge port is rugged and, like the rest of the light, feels durable. The light itself has an IPX7 rating, which means it's good even submerged up to a metre – it survived shower and bathtub tests. An IPX7 rating is better than most lights at any price.

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Overall, I've been extremely impressed with the Allty 1000. It outperforms some lights that cost far more, and I haven't come across a riding condition where it hasn't excelled. The Allty 1000 has quickly become a staple on my bars, whether for solo blasts on unlit roads, spins under suburban streetlamps or for daily city commutes.

Verdict

A compact, bright and brilliant front light that excels on the road

If you're thinking of buying this product using a cashback deal why not use the road.cc Top Cashback page and get some top cashback while helping to support your favourite independent cycling website

road.cc test report

Make and model: Magicshine Allty 1000

Size tested: 1,000 lumens max

Tell us what the light is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Magicshine says, "Our newest all in one design bike light with independent DRL (Daytime Running Light) Allty 1000 is a great road & commuter light, as well as a helmet light for a mountain bike setup." I can agree with all of that!

With 1000 lumens and a daytime running light, the Allty 1000 is an excellent choice for every kind of road riding.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?

From Magicshine:

Max Output: 1000 lumen

Dimensions: 96*30*37mm

IPX7 waterproof rating

claimed weight: 132g

Seperate daytime running light LED

4000mAh cell

CNC aluminium housing

3 straps included (28.5mm-36.5mm +aero bars)

Optional helmet mount available to purchase seperately

21 degree beam angle

Charge time: 5 hours

6 modes: DRL (28.5H/25LM), Eco (12.5H/250LM), Medium (4H/500LM), High (1.8H/1000LM), Flash 1 (3H/1000LM), Flash 2 (7.2H/500LM)

Rate the light for quality of construction:
 
9/10

CNC aluminium body feels robust, and the mount is well made with no obvious weak points.

Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
 
9/10

Excellent mode selection uses single and double presses.

Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
 
8/10

Twist mount is really quick and easy to use.

Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
 
9/10

IPX7 rating is higher than most lights, especially at this price.

Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
 
7/10

Claimed times are accurate, and are middling-to-good against the competition.

Rate the light for performance:
 
9/10

Beam pattern is excellent for all sorts of road riding, from commutes to high-speed lane bombing.

Rate the light for durability:
 
9/10
Rate the light for weight:
 
8/10

It's lighter than many front lights with similar outputs.

Rate the light for value:
 
6/10

Most lights of this output (and quality) cost considerably more.

Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Excellent in all types of riding.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the light

Simple to use, bright, that easy twist mount.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light

Battery indicator goes from green to red at 30%, which is quite low; I'd like an orange intermediate step.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

The price is very good. The Cateye AMPP 1100 (£109.99) and Knog PWR Trail (£109.99) are both heavier and more expensive, though the Moon Meteor Vortex Pro (£79.99) is only a tenner more (and brighter). The Magicshine is basically the same price as Lezyne's Lite Drive 1000XL (£70), but much easier to use.

Did you enjoy using the light? Yes

Would you consider buying the light? Yes

Would you recommend the light to a friend? Yes

Use this box to explain your overall score

It's hard to find faults with the Allty 1000. It's simple, robust, well designed and well priced – an easy 9.

Overall rating: 9/10

About the tester

Age: 22  Height: 6ft  Weight: 74kg

I usually ride: Specialized venge pro 2019  My best bike is:

I've been riding for: 5-10 years  I ride: Every day  I would class myself as: Expert

I regularly do the following types of riding: road racing, time trialling, cyclo cross, commuting, club rides, sportives, general fitness riding, mtb,

Jamie has been riding bikes since a tender age but really caught the bug for racing and reviewing whilst studying towards a master's in Mechanical engineering at Swansea University. Having graduated, he decided he really quite liked working with bikes and is now a full-time addition to the road.cc team. When not writing about tech news or working on the Youtube channel, you can still find him racing local crits trying to cling on to his cat 2 licence...and missing every break going...

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5 comments

Avatar
df280 | 3 years ago
0 likes

It's hard to tell from the second photo, does it come with a "go pro" style mount?

If so looks like a great option to mount front and centre underneath a combo Garmin / go pro mount.

Avatar
MRMOLE replied to df280 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Yes it comes with a Gopro adapter that retains the Garmin compatible feature so still quick and simple to  mount/remove.

Avatar
Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

What flavour USB charge port does it use? I'm fed up having to retain different cables for different kit, so now if it isn't USB-C I'll pass.

Avatar
Jamie Williams replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
2 likes

Hi Sriracha, I'm afraid its a micro-usb

Avatar
MRMOLE replied to Sriracha | 3 years ago
1 like

Magicshine's other 21700 single cell light (RN1200) uses USB-C.

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