Magicshine Ray 1600

The Magicshine Ray 1600 is a very versatile front light. Thanks to its dual LED design and multiple settings, it's ideally suited to riding from dusk to dawn, whether commuting, out with friends or on an audax. With a heavy-duty machined aluminium body, it's also good for drops onto tarmac at speed – not that I'd recommend doing this…

If you're interested in the Magicshine Ray 1600, check out our guide to the best bike lights for more options.

Having used a wide variety of single beam LED torches, I reckon the Magicshine Ray 1600 offers a serious step up in performance. With dual LED lights and four different lighting combinations, it provides optimal lighting for every condition.

> Buy now: Magicshine Ray 1600 for £72.99 from Amazon

Paired with a 5,200mAh battery, Magicshine quotes a maximum run-time for the Ray 1600 just shy of 51 hours (50hrs, 46mins) on low-output single-beam settings, down to 1 hour 41 minutes if using the maximum output dual-light configuration.

It's all packaged inside a sleek, CNC machined aluminium body which is rated to withstand drops up to one metre according to Magicshine – I can vouch for this, too (more about that later).

A rubber bung on the back of the light provides access to the USB-C charging port, while on top you've got two control buttons allowing you to change light settings up or down.

On the bottom, there's a mount that's compatible with GoPro (and similar) systems.

The Magicshine Ray 1600 has an IPX6 waterproof rating, meaning it can withstand torrential downpours. You might not plan to ride in such weather, but it does offer peace of mind if you get caught out.

It all gets delivered in a sleek black box with all the mounts and tools you could ever need: a 3mm hex tool, a handlebar mount, GoPro mount, 'aero-compatible straps' and a USB-C cable. The bar mount is quite neat and the different length aero-compatible straps mean you can easily mount the Magicshine on a range of handlebars.

Unfortunately, the design of the mount itself is a bit lacking. It requires the 3mm hex to secure the light onto your bar, and I found it can shake itself loose over rough surfaces – which is how I happen to know the light can withstand drops at speed. It's a good idea to always check the mount before heading off on a ride.

Bulbs and beams

Magicshine describes the two LED lights as a 'unique combination of long reach spot light and a close flood light'. It's an apt way of describing the lighting options they provide.

There are four brightness settings whether you're in either of the single or dual modes – Eco (100lm), Low (200lm), Mid (400lm) and High (800lm) on the single beam settings, double those for the dual beam. Either 'side' can be used individually, so plenty of options.

On the left side of the Ray 1600, you get the long reach spotlight. The best way of describing it is that it appears to act in a similar manner to the high beam of a car – producing a bright patch straight ahead. Up close, it also appears that the light is more focused centrally. I found the Mid good for riding down country lanes, giving enough light that you can plan your route in advance.

In comparison, the right side provides a close floodlight. It provides the same amount of light as the left, yet it's noticeably dipped downwards. The overall spread of light is noticeably larger with a less bright central spot. Generally, I found the close floodlight on the low setting (200lm) suitable for dimly lit streets.

Unfortunately, as I tend to hang my lights underneath my handlebar, this downward dipped close beam makes it less suitable for my use cases. Even more so when considering it could shine into other road users' (and pedestrians') eyes.

> Check out our guide to the best front lights

You also get two flash settings: a low-intensity or high-intensity pattern. With both offering 200lm of brightness, they're excellent at drawing attention, but I would have preferred additional options with varied sequences; it's personal preference, but I feel they draw attention better.

In reality, I found myself defaulting to the dual beam modes, as I found they offered the perfect combination of lighting for my day to day riding at this time of year, the low (400lm) when commuting and cycling around town, and the mid (800lm) for unlit country lanes, enabling me to see and dodge ruts and potholes and also offering enough run-time to comfortably complete a couple of decent length rides per charge.

If you did want to go bombing downhill, the 1,600lm output of the high setting provides an impressive floodlight so you can see everything in your immediate path, as well as looking further ahead.

Easy to use

As I said earlier, the Magicshine Ray 1600 features two buttons for adjusting up or down between brightness settings (Eco to High). To turn the light on and off, either button can be held down, and to change modes, you double-click either button.

I found it intuitive and easy to use, with the ability to change between light settings a real highlight – one click to change them, either up or down. Certainly, I found it a significant improvement on lights I've used where you have to cycle through all the brightness settings before you get to the one you want.

Run-times and recharging

On the Eco settings, you can expect a run-time around the 50-hour mark (although I can't see any use for such a dim light).

Realistically, I spent the majority of my riding switching between the Low and Mid settings of the dual LED output, and couldn't fault the run-times – if anything, I would suggest that the 3:23hr guide time for the Mid setting (800lm) was on the cautious side.

Nestled between the buttons is the battery indicator. It provides a constant indication of the Ray 1600's charge status: Green (20-100%), Red (10-20%) and Flashing Red (0-10%).

As someone who charges their lights regularly throughout the week, it's unlikely that I'd run into issues, especially considering my average ride lasts 90 minutes to two hours. However, if you like to throw caution to the wind and don't regularly check your lights, a bit more indication could be useful. An orange light, perhaps, to indicate 50-30% would be a handy little reminder that it's time to consider charging your light again.

When charging, it'll flash red until it's fully charged.

Magicshine estimates a full charge will take about 2.50 hours. I tended to simply leave it to charge overnight once or twice a week and never ran out of juice.

Value

The Magicshine Ray 1600 usually retails for £79.99, although it's currently available from Magicshine's Amazon store for £72.99; either way, it's great value. You won't find many front lights offering the same output as the Ray 1600 at this kind of price.

Some come close – the ETC F1500 costs the same, but you're 100 lumens down (though Emily thought it was really good – and our results in the beam comparison engine back that up), but mostly you're paying a lot more.

For example, Ashley tested the Lezyne Mega Drive 1800i last year, and although excellent and offering another 200 lumens, it costs £160.

The NiteRider Lumina Dual 1800 also offers 200 extra lumens but costs £165, and Dave wasn't overly impressed with the performance for the money.

When testing the Magicshine I barely used the maximum output, so you could argue that a 1,000-lumen front light, such as the Ravemen PR1000 that Stef was testing last autumn, would be a good alternative – but as they cost around the same, you might as well go with more light just in case (though the Ravemen does come with extras, like a remote, and the ability to charge other devices).

Conclusion

The Magicshine Ray 1600 is great value, well built, offers good run-times and is easy to use. There's not much to dislike. Yes, the mount needs checking to make sure it's secure each ride, and the close floodlight beam doesn't work so well when you hang your lights under your bar, but these aren't dealbreakers – or at least won't be for everyone.

At the end of the day, the Magicshine Ray 1600 is a great front light, offering multiple options to suit all conditions.

Verdict

Great all-round light, ideal for riding on any terrain