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Gemini Duo clones

167K views 736 replies 109 participants last post by  garrybunk 
#1 ·
Anyone have one of the Gemini Duo clones from Ali Express or Fasttech?

What's the practical difference (if any) between the XM-L U2 and XML2 T6 LED's?
 
#356 ·
#376 ·
Today I received lens and remote button. This is assembled yinding mod.
The lens gives a more hostpot, and perfect fit :thumbsup: Some beamshots here http://forums.mtbr.com/lights-diy-do-yourself/good-xml-optic-804436.html#post9587038

1. Led-dna 10 deg. optics 10 Degree 21mm Reflector Collimator LED Lens For Cree XML XM-L LED - LEDDNA
Just a small post to confirm that the optics from LEDDNA are a perfect fit. I swapped one of the lenses in each of my two Yindings. One for more spot and one for more flood. Will get out to evaluate and see if I'll change the other one as well.
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Cheers
/Johan
 
#453 · (Edited)
Finally bought a pair of the clones off Wallbuys in 3B tint with battery etc ~$51(w/charger & battery), they have the Magicshine connectors and dimpled lens, already had a ton of GoPro mounts so got some of the GoPro adapters from Vancbiker over in the DIY thread, pretty awesome stuff at a good price. Here's one mounted up with 2 cell Magicshine battery.
 

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#454 ·
Finally bought a pair of the clones off Wallbuys in 3B tint with battery etc ~$51(w/charger & battery), they have the Magicshine connectors and dimpled lens, already had a ton of GoPro mounts so got some of the GoPro adapters from Vancbiker over in the DYI thread, pretty awesome stuff at a good price. Here's one mounted up with 2 cell Magicshine battery.
Very nice helmet set-up. Well done. :thumbsup:

If you could provide a better close-up of the Go-Pro mount / lamp that would be nice.

At some point someone needs to start a thread on "helmet mount solutions" so other people can better set-up their own helmet mount system.
 
#145 ·
Got my Yinding 2xXM-L U2 from Fasttech today (20 days from order).

Tried it at home and snapped some comparison shots for reference. Nothing like proper beamshots but thought they might be of interest.

It really is tiny
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Floodier than the 3xXML. Will probably feel like shorter throw in use.
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Brighter, cooler colour and less floody than the Magicshine MJ-872
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Finally. A lot brighter, whiter and floodier than my old MJ808 (P7)
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I think, changing one lens to more spot would make this a really really good helmet light.
Cheers
/Johan
 
#156 ·
Got out a short spin tonight but doing beamshots was trickier than I figured. Will have to do this again but find a better place and mount the lights to my bars. I didn't have a tripod for my camera and I managed to point the lights a bit differently so it'll be hard to make a proper comparison. At least the are all shot with the same exposure (F2.0, 1/3 s, ISO 800) and whitebalance (daylight). My bike is about 20 m away.You can click the image for larger size. (Or go here for even larger https://privat.bahnhof.se/wb594059/test/Comparison.JPG )
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The med in the Yinding is much more sensible than on the 3xXML where there is almost no difference to high. I think that I would have a hard time to tell the beam pattern apart on the trail.

Big win for the Yinding since it's so much smaller and lighter. I haven't tested battery properly but I find the short leads stupid but not a real problem since I already had an extension.

Cheers
/Johan
 
#195 ·
Here are some quick shots
Nice comparison! Very well done. A couple of questions for you. Which MJ880 clone do you have, the one from KD? Do you have the genuine MJ872 or the $30 clone? I always like the ability of the MJ872 clone to evenly light the near field. Is it the xml solarstorm or the xm-l2?

The dual emitter lights are clearly superior to the single emitter lights. It looks like the Yinding (Duo clone) has the best throw, but that could just be a function of how it's aimed (slightly higher?). They are all pretty similar really, but the Solarstorm has the brightest hot spot. It's tough to pick a favorite. I would probably go with the MJ880 clone or the Duo clone, because of the even beam in both near- and far-field.

I'm really impressed with the Duo clone. How are they pumping out this much light in such a small housing without overheating the light? Does it get hot, or is it a superior design?

The 872 is good if you want a really bright near-field, maybe for tricky root or rock sections. It obviously has bad throw. The three dual-emitter lights are probably a better buy for most people.

Based on the picture Modig posted, the triple xml is also a good bet. It's has a proven track record, and it appears to be somewhat brighter then the three major dual emitter lights (880 clone, Solarstorm X2, Gemini Duo clone). The triple can be had for pretty cheap now, I'm sure. There's also the option of buying these lights as light-heads-only. That's especially good if you already have decent battery from action led or xeccon. The Solarstorm and the KD 880 clone are both available that way.

It seems that we have reached a new standard for cheap lights and a new era of night riding. It's probably enough for most riders to ride at their day time speeds without too much worry. The doubles are definitely in and singles are out. These new lights really open up the world of night riding for everyone.

In my opinion, the better the cheap lights get, the harder it is to justify the $200 minimum for the "good" lights. I feel sorry for the guys who only buy their lights at the bike store. $100 buys you a 400 lumen light that last 1.5 hours. $100 sent to China buys you two complete sets of lights that are two to three times as bright and last for twice as long! If you read the bike magazine this entire segment of lights, i.e. Chinese imports, is virtually ignored. If it wasn't for this forum, I would have never known this stuff was out there. Thanks guys.

Happy night riding everyone!
 
#319 ·
YD vs. the real deal

In the name of science, I picked up a real deal Gemini Duo lighthead (2013 XM-L U2 version, not the 2014 XM-L2). I only own one battery pack at the moment (the POS that came with the YD), so I couldn't do any side-to-side beam comparisons. However, when trying out the lights one after the other in my garage, I couldn't really see any difference in brightness or beam pattern. Some superficial differences I noted:

  • The Duo has more of a matte anodizing, the YD is glossy
  • The Duo switch material sticks out more and feels thicker
  • The Duo click is a bit firmer
  • The Duo is 1mm longer front to back, otherwise the dimensions are identical
  • The cases have a different machining designs on top
  • Fit and finish of the Duo is ever so slightly better
  • The printing on the wires is the same
  • The mounting brackets appear identical

The most significant difference is the Duo has the programmable brightness levels (and has a warranty, etc.). The YD is short click L-M-H-off, the Duo is short click L-M-H, long press for off. When you cycle the Duo from H to L, there is a gradual fade, which the YD doesn't have.

I've got a couple of the Panasonic 6200 mAh battery packs on order from Hunk Lee, once they arrive from China, I'll be able to use both lights together. :band:

In these pics, the Duo is always on the right:
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#333 · (Edited)
A yinding clone, you know that's going to be no good. At least it looks different, so you can tell them apart. The original has proven itself to be nice light. I would just stick with that. It's almost like there's a two or three month window where you can get the original and it works great. Then the cloners take over and then you have no idea what you are getting.
 
#340 ·
A yinding clone, you know that's going to be no good. At least it looks different, so you can tell them apart. The original has proven itself to be nice light. I would just stick with that. It's almost like there's a two or three month window where you can get the original and it works great. Then the cloners take over and then you have no idea what you are getting.
Hey, they're cloners....and damn good ones too...;)

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#550 ·
I am in VA..not CA. The one in the link is the right one. I choose EMS (the one with USA in it).

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk
OH my bad - for some reason I thought I read CA, doh!

You know, I was thinking the same thing too, choose the one that has the word USA in it but what caught me off guard is the fact that everytime I select it, the 'Ship my orders(s) to' menu changes to: "AE-United Arab Emirates"

If I go back and change that pull down to US, a $2.42 charge pops up for EMS.

This is why I figured I'd ask. :)
 
#593 ·
7.4 is the average battery voltage, they charge up to 8.4V. So you can use either value.

It drops during use. Yes your light might run a bit dimmer as the battery runs down, ideally the driver circuit should output the same current to the LEDs but in practice that doesn't happen.

Did an initial test run on my HunkLee 5800mAhr battery, it ran my little magic shine light on low for 36hrs, vs 21hr for my fasttech battery I got with the Yinding. That included being on high for two hours so probably more like 38 vs 21 hrs. :thumbsup:
 
#2 ·
I think there are a couple of guys that have one on order. It's a great looking light. The only thing that worries me is the description of the lens as 60 degree. That's a super flooder, and probably not very useful for riding. And this is coming from a guy who likes a flood light. The 872 clone I'm using has about a 22 degree hot spot and that is more than enough. That's just the hot spot though, it really shoots light everywhere. So hopefully the Duo clone has a smaller than 60 degree hot spot. Otherwise it would just be too dim even with 2 leds.
 
#6 ·
I ordered a red one from FastTech a week ago, hope to have it soon.

Depending on brightness and beam pattern, I MIGHT be removing the mount and using 3M Dual Lock tape and mounting it flush on my helmet for a nice low-profile set up. We'll see. But I'll do a brief review for sure.
 
#9 ·
Are these clones available in colours? I'm curious because I saw a Gemini Duo on ebay for about $200 and was going to get it but the colour option raised red flags as did the 4400mAh battery as opposed to a 5200. Good thing I didn't get suckered into paying 2 bills for a $50 light! I hate sellers like this who try to pass fakes as legit.
 
#11 ·
Just arrived today, this thing is tiny! Seems so far so good. the beam shots are on high and from about 8' away.

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I have a dumb question about the charger (it didn't come with a manual so I couldn't RTFM). The battery appeared to shipped charged, because the light worked when I first connected it to the battery out of the box.

When I plugged the charger into the wall, the LED on the charger illuminates solid green with nothing attached to it. When I attached the battery to the charger, it remained solid green. How do these chargers typically operate - Does solid green means the battery is fully charged? Does the LED on these chargers blink or turn red they're charging or something else is going on?
 
#14 ·
When I plugged the charger into the wall, the LED on the charger illuminates solid green with nothing attached to it. When I attached the battery to the charger, it remained solid green. How do these chargers typically operate - Does solid green means the battery is fully charged? Does the LED on these chargers blink or turn red they're charging or something else is going on?
They usually go RED if the battery isn't fully charged, and changes to green when it's done.
 
#15 ·
I always plug the battery into the charger and then plug it into the wall. If it's not charged fully, then the led turns red.

That thing does look tiny. I just ordered a solarstorm x2 xm-l2 today, but this might be better. Looks pretty spotty? How would you rate the brightness, is it brighter than a single xml? How are the modes arranged? Are flash and off part of the rotation?
 
#18 ·
Thanks for the info zuuds! That UI sounds pretty good.

I don't know what's going on with that battery. I thought that it came with a 2s2p battery which would have a maximum voltage of 8.4V. Since you are measuring 10.67V this must be wired differently, maybe 3s1p or 4s1p. That would make it incompatible with all my other stuff.
 
#19 ·
I don't understand the battery voltage either - according to the item description on Fasttech, it comes with a 4x18650 / 4400mAh / 2SP pack. :skep: I'm no battery expert but It's a standard looking square shrink wrapped 4x18650 pack and as far as I can tell there are 4 cells in it.
 
#24 ·
Depends on how the battery is being measured. Each individual battery would be charged to 4.2v when fully charged, so when fully charged you should get a reading of 16.8v. When wired 2s2p the driver restricts the voltage to 8.4v, this is output only. Zuuds can you clarify how you are measuring the voltage?
 
#26 ·
I'm placing the negative probe on the metal edge of the cylinder part of the battery lead , and the positive probe on the post part in the middle. Is that the right way to do it?

I'm not even sure my charger works. (See post 11 above). All it ever shows is solid green when it's plugged in -- whether or not the battery is connected to it. I tried connecting the battery to it before plugging it in, but it still does the same thing.

If the charger LED is supposed to display red at less than full charge, and it is green when my battery is at 7.4 (out of 16.8) volts, I don't think it's working. I plugged the charger into the wall and put the voltmeter to it (black probe to the outside cylinder, red probe into the center hole) - shows 0 volts. Shouldn't it show 8.4v? (the sticker on the charger says the output is 8.4v, 1000 ma.)

I guess I can put the battery on the charger tonight and see if the battery shows higher voltage tomorrow.
 
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