Magicshine Evo 1700SD light review

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The Magicshine Evo 1700SD offers something different from the typical front-light package because it’s designed to be used exclusively under the handlebar with a GoPro mount.

It can be paired with Shimano Di2 shifters, enabling control without needing to change your hand position.

How applicable that is for you will depend on your bike’s groupset, though.

Magicshine Evo 1700SD specifications and details

While almost all front lights follow the standard 'sausage' shape, the Magicshine Evo 1700SD is different – it’s boxy, short and tall.

It’s also designed exclusively to fit underneath your handlebar on a GoPro mount. Some other bike lights enable this fitting, but they usually also offer top-of-bar mounting.

The Magicshine Evo 1700SD doesn’t come with a mount either, so you need to supply your own GoPro-compatible mount – although, unlike some lights, there's a USB-C cable in the package.

The under-bar/out-front mounting means it’s tricky to reach the mode switch on the unit’s side.

However, for users of Shimano electronic shifting, the Magicshine Evo 1700SD has a trick – it’s designed to be paired to your Di2 shifters, so you can use the satellite buttons to control the light.

It’s worth noting that this limits its use by roadies to those with Ultegra or Dura-Ace shifting; 105 Di2 shifters don’t have a third button.

GRX electronic shifters also include the third shifter button, making the Evo 1700SD an option for Shimano electronic-equipped gravel bikes too. The light doesn’t work with Shimano ebike systems.

It’s worth noting the non-SD version of the light includes a wireless remote, making it easier to operate for non-Di2 users.

Magicshine Evo 1700SD performance

If you have a GoPro mount on your bike, the Evo 1700SD is easy to install. Its GoPro interface is held in place by a large button on the top-front of the unit.

Pressing this in enables the light to be slid out backwards and removed.

The light can be toggled between a high beam flood and a proper dipped beam, which cuts off the upper half of the flood.

This is done via a double-tap of the side switch or Di2 button, helping to avoid dazzling other road users, although the light is not StVZO-certified.

The high-beam illumination pattern is not as broad as, for example, the Knog Blinder 1300 and feels a bit less bright than the stated 1,700-lumen output might suggest.

It’s not as focused on the road either and the light provided plenty of illumination of surrounding trees when used on high beam. It also had the longest throw of the lights on test.

There’s a reasonably broad spread of light, although there’s a sharp cut-off to the sides.

The runtime of around two hours on peak output before the light steps down to conserve battery is good, though, and it ran for about 2hrs 45mins in total in my test.

As well as its standard modes, the Evo 1700SD can be programmed via an app, so you can customise the light output for each mode to suit your preferences.

Pairing to Di2 shifters requires waking your Di2 system, turning on the light and pressing its side button to initiate pairing.

It took a bit of fiddling around to get to work (Magicshine doesn’t say in its manual that the light has to be turned on before you start the pairing – and it took a while for Di2 to recognise the light).

The light will also forget your Di2 system after 48 hours of non-use, forcing you to repeat the process.

The light can be used without Di2, because the side control button is relatively large and easy to use.

It’s nice to have a real dipped beam rather than just a dimmer version of the standard beam, and double-pressing the control button isn’t too tricky even if you don’t have Di2 linked up.

With its Di2 compatibility and app-based programming, the Magicshine Evo 1700SD is by far the most sophisticated light on test, but it’s reasonably priced despite this.

That said, it feels a bit too clever for its own good and its usage limitations restrict its suitability to a fairly narrow group of riders.

Magicshine Evo 1700SD bottom line

The Magicshine Evo 1700SD provides a lot of light output and a wide flood, so it’s good for low-light conditions both on road and off, and it’s the only one of the lights I reviewed with a dipped beam.

Its linking to Shimano Di2 shifters makes it easy to use if you have a compatible groupset, but this isn’t without drawbacks, while the GoPro-only mount option is limiting.

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