Magicshine ALLTY 200 Rechargeable USB-C Road Bike Light

The Magicshine Allty 200 Rechargeable USB-C Road Bike Light is a remarkably good product for its intended audience, especially given its low price. It's a good choice if you're a commuter or mainly ride in urban conditions and are looking for a light to be seen by, and in its high 200-lumen setting you could even use it as a light to see by at a push. Its flashing modes are excellent too, making you very visible to other road users.

> Buy now: Magicshine Allty 200 for £18.99 from Magicshine

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In many respects the most important question is 'what does it look like to other road users?' And I did a number of tests with a fellow rider to test the light in a variety of conditions to find this out.

We tried all of the modes riding a couple of hundred metres apart, and I have to say that we both thought the Allty 200 did a great job at making you extremely visible. The illumination has the appearance of coming from a much bigger lens/reflector than its 30x30mm size would suggest, while side sections of the lens add to your periperal visibility at junctions.

Modes

The Allty 200's 900mAh rechargeable battery provides from two to 42 hours of output. The high 200-lumen solid setting is designed to deliver two hours of illumination, you get 4.5 hours at 100 lumens and 10 hours at 50 lumens.

The day flashing mode will deliver 42 hours with the standard flashing mode 7.5 hours.

I was surprised that the Allty 200 seemed to deliver more than the advertised two hours at full power. Looking further into this, I found that once the battery level falls to 10% it automatically goes into a low 50-lumen setting, giving you an extra hour of get-you-home illumination.

A full charge from a 1A 5V USB source took around two hours using the supplied USB-C lead.

In use

The beam shape at the light's maximum 200-lumen output is a good compromise between the extremes of a bright spot and a diffuse beam. I found the road well lit from between two and five metres ahead of my front wheel, with the next 10m or so reasonably lit. At around five metres in front the width of the light pattern was about 3m, with a similar beam pattern to that delivered by more expensive lights in their 150-lumen settings.

The light's single button controls all the functions and is simple to use. A long push turns the unit on, single clicks scroll through its Low, Mid and High settings, while a double click moves you to the Flash modes where a single click lets you choose from its two options.

The power button lights up in green until it drops to 20% when it turns red. At 10% it flashes red.

Overall, I found the Allty 200 pleasingly straightforward to use. My only real criticism is that Magicshine's website says it has an 'aluminium alloy body', while ours seemed to have a plastic body. This isn't necessarily a problem as the light felt well made.

Mount

The Allty 200 is a small light, easy to fit and it weighs little in your pocket when you're off the bike. Its impressive IPX6 rating means it can survive direct jets of water, and I found that it shrugged off showers without any issue, helped by the USB-C flap that is secure and well sealed.

The rubber O-ring accommodates handlebar diameters from a Brompton's 22.2mm to a road bike's 31.8mm. And it's a standard part too, so if it wears out or lose it, it'll be cheap and easy to replace.

The base of the light has a grippy rubber section that further adds to its security when mounted.

The light and O-ring weigh 63 grams between them.

Value

The Allty 200 is a very well-priced little unit.

One of its closest rivals is the Cateye AMPP 200. But the Allty is not only cheaper, it also has more modes and a delivers a wider spread of light.

The Cateye AMPP 100 comes in at similar price to the Allty 200 but as the name suggests, it only delivers half the output.

Otherwise it's a case of paying a chunk more and stepping up to 400-lumen lights such as the £40 Sigma Buster 400, which has twice the Allty 200's power output – but at twice the price and double the weight.

Conclusion

I was very impressed by the performance of this well-thought-out little unit. I'd happily use it as a daylight flashing light and as a back-up get-you-home light at the end of the day when the light's fading. It would also work well when you're riding under streetlights, and in its 200-lumen setting you can even ride unlit sections at a push. Overall, it's a case of very well done for Magicshine.

Verdict

A small and well-thought-out be-seen-by light that's easy to use and great value

> Buy now: Magicshine Allty 200 for £18.99 from Magicshine