Magicshine R300 Review: Should You Avoid It?

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After the collaborative radar with Magene, the Magicshine Seemee 508, Magicshine now has its own radar. It’s called Magicshine R300, and in this review, you will learn whether it’s worth your money.

I’ve been sent 3 review units (!) by Magicshine in a span of several months. The first 2 were giving me a very high number of false positives. This was before the radar was even launched to the market. Based on my feedback, Magicshine decided to postpone its launch until they improve its accuracy. So, how did the third review unit hold up? Better, but still not good enough…

My R300 rating at a glance:
Reliability 2/5 | Multi-object Detection 4/5 | Battery Life 2/5 | Brightness 5/5 | Side Visibility 5/5 | Mount 5/5 | App 3/5 | Price 4/5 | WEIGHTED OVERALL SCORE 3.8/5
More about this cycling radar scoring.

Magicshine R300 Summary

Below is the summary of the Magicshine R300 technical specifications.

My Experience with R300

I tested 3 different units of the Magicshine R300. The first two were too sensitive and gave a very high number of false positives. The last one is better but still not good enough. I compared it mainly with Garmin Varia RTL515 because I consider Varia the most reliable cycling radar. I found the following pros and cons of the R300.

I connected the R300 to Hammerhead Karoo 3 and Varia RTL515 to Garmin Edge 840 to see how quickly and accurately they detect cars. Varia usually detects cars about a second sooner than R300. This difference may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but every hundredth equals tens of meters for fast-approaching vehicles, giving you less time to react.

However, the lower detecting speed is a bigger issue. R300 won’t detect cars riding faster than 100 km/h (62 mph) relative to your speed. For comparison, Varia can detect cars up to 160 km/h (99 mph). I will talk about this more below.

The R300 performed pretty well in detecting multiple cars at once. I encountered multiple scenarios when 4 or more cars were driving behind me in a bend so R300 could detect them. I also double-checked this by pointing it to the highway, but due to the high speeds, R300 could not detect them.

The biggest issue with R300 is the high number of false positives. It gave me more than 5 per hour. I noticed that it gives more false positives when riding through cities than when riding in nature. I guess the signal is reflected from traffic signs and parked cars. This is disappointing because when I tested the first two units, I stressed to Magicshine that this is the main feature of a radar that has to be dialed in just right.

Although the third unit they sent me performed better than the first two, it still gives more false positives than any other radar I tested. Whether they will improve it by pushing a firmware update is a big question mark, but they had plenty of time to do so already. I wouldn’t buy the radar based on this promise.

The battery life was also underwhelming. After deducting all stops during my rides when I turned it off, it lasted only about 9.5 hours in the flash mode. It’s worth adding that I tested the radar in winter and spring at temperatures ranging from 5 to 15°C (41 to 59°F). In day flash mode, the radar was supposed to last 16 hours, so realistically, it only lasted about 60% of the time. That’s miserable.

I also want to highlight the auto sleep feature. It ensures that the radar enters a sleep state after being still for 5 minutes and automatically wakes up once it detects vibrations or movement. This is an excellent feature as you don’t have to think about saving the battery by manually switching it off.

It’s a pity that the Magicshine app doesn’t offer the possibility to adjust the light modes like the Magene L508. On the other hand, the preset ones are sufficient. It can, however, replace a bike computer with its car detection mode.

Unlike many other radars, the mount of the R300 is pretty firm, ensuring the radar stays in place even when riding on cobblestones. This is, for example, one of the most significant weaknesses of the Varia RTL515, which tends to slide to the side.

You can also control R300’s light mode from the head unit. The bike computer can also wake up the radar automatically from standby mode, so you don’t have to turn it on manually.

Magicshine R300 vs. Other Cycling Radars

The following table summarizes the technical specifications of the R300 and other popular cycling radars, such as the Garmin Varia RTL515, Magene L508, Bryton Gardia R300, or iGPSport SR30.

Magicshine R300 is incompatible with Garmin or any other mounts because it uses a proprietary mount. So, if you consider buying it, keep this in mind.

When a car overtakes you, the light changes its flash pattern throughout the overtaking period.

Unfortunately, R300 doesn’t remember the last light mode used, so you always have to change it manually. Luckily, you can do it from the head unit (if it supports this feature), and bike computers can also wake R300 from the standby mode.

Things to Consider Before Buying Magicshine R300 (or Any Other Bike Radar)

Cycling radars have to be highly reliable. They may give you false positives, but they should never give you false negatives, meaning they never miss a car.

You should have zero tolerance for false negatives if you buy a device like a cycling radar. But you also shouldn’t 100% rely on a bicycle radar and use your other senses while riding.

Based on my testing, the R300 proved to be unreliable. The first review units missed some cars and motorbikes (false negatives). The latest generation was more accurate, but is still giving too many false positives (more than 5 per hour of riding).

Conclusion

In recent years, several manufacturers have tried to replicate the success of Garmin Varia radars. Some have done it better than others, and unfortunately, Magicshine falls into the latter category. R300 gives too many false positives, leading you to ignore the alerts eventually. And that is a problem. Its battery life also falls well short of the claimed one.

Overall, it’s a shame because, in other aspects, the R300 is quite decent. It has excellent visibility (even from the sides), a stable mount, and good brightness. However, that is of little value when it fails in its main function—reliably informing about approaching vehicles. For this reason, I recommend browsing these best bike radars on the market and buying one of them.

Magicshine R300 FAQ