Magicshine Allty 1000 front light

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

> Six tips for cycling at night - don't let the dark stop you riding

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