Twin lighting system mounts easily to your bike, and features two 10-watt headlights--one spot beam and one wide beam.. Sealed rechargeable lead-acid battery mounts to your bottle cage, seat post or top tube with two vibration-proof hook-and-loop brackets. Remote control switch mounts to handlebars, and operates both headlights. Battery is rechargeable at least 150 times; standard charging time is 8 to 10 hours. Lamp units detach easily from their mounting brackets for safe keeping when not in use.
Submitted by
Mark Begbie
a Cross Country Rider
from Edinburgh, UK Date Reviewed: March 1, 2006
Favorite Trail:
Glentress
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$50.00
Strengths:
Lamp units
Weaknesses:
Battery, charger, clips
Bike Setup:
Wheels, saddle, handle bars etc.
Bottom Line:
Like others, I wish I'd read this site first.
1) I NEVER got anywhere near the burn time that Cat-Eye claim for this set. Maybe 70% of quoted time, but no more.
2) I now understand why my battery lasted about 2 charges before it became almost useless.
3) The clip for the switch unit are garbage.
I came here cos I was wondering if I should get a replacement battery. I'm going away safe in the knowledge that I am not alone and will not go near one of these sets again. Supplying a killer charger with an already overhyped battery should be criminal. Now trying to find info on Electron lights.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sheldon
a
from Brittany Date Reviewed: October 2, 2005
Favorite Trail:
any one that's empty
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
internet
Strengths:
good entry level price can be upgraded to certain extent battery charge indicator is useful
Weaknesses:
dumb charger charges at 8 volts + battery case not waterproof battery case won't fit into most bottle cages
Similar Products Used:
none
Bottom Line:
I you've only used small, cheap, 1-2watt alkaline powered lights, this is a huge step forward. The battery supplied with my system was a Panasonic, I disagree that these are bad quality. The problem is a 4.2 aH SLA bat will only provide limited burn time. I've placed my battery case in a bag secured to the frame (it is definetely not waterproof).
To improve the system somewhat: a) buy a light timer (not as effective as a smart charger, but at least you'll never exceed the recommended charge time). b) buy a smart charger (more expensive) c) buy a voltmeter, this will help you amongst other things determine the battery's state of charge when disconnected (if you don't have a smart cahrger)
If you have the solo RC220 system (same thing but with only one 10w lamp) you can buy a 15w ABS bulb and an ABS alloy lamp body. This is an expensive upgrade, but it works.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Gunung
a
from Cranfield Date Reviewed: December 3, 2004
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
halfords
Strengths:
Cheap
Weaknesses:
Crap batteries and charger
Bike Setup:
Hardtail
Bottom Line:
Crap battery. Using both lights will only last 40 min max. Heavy too. So, there will be no opportunity to use both lights.. Charger for me ok.. if you are careful.. been using gor 6 months and no prob. with overcharging.. Set an alarm evertime I charge.
For people in UK who wants better quality charger and extra set of equivalent sla battery.. you can buy one of those handheld massive torchlight at Homebase for 11 pounds. You get good charger, one battery and of course the torchlight!!
I've upgraded the SLA to NiMH batteries.. Use 6 1.2V 9000mAH NiMH batteries and place them on seat pouch.. Can get 3 hours both lights and a brighter too..
Cycle express are selling these lights for 42 pounds.. The price is tumbling down at a fast rate.. I wonder why??
If I'm given another chance, I'll get one of those electron 5W + 10W.. Same value, but with NiMH bottle battery.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chet
a Cross Country Rider
from Las Cruces Date Reviewed: November 1, 2004
Favorite Trail:
CJ's Dona Ana
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Good light, separately adjustable beams.
Weaknesses:
Charger, built timer to limit charger time
Similar Products Used:
cheapie led, worthless
Bottom Line:
Guys, you gotta plug the battery into the switch all the way! If the plug comes out of the light easily, take your pocket knife and split the center pin a little. No problems with the switch. If you label the lights, it's easy to know which is which. Geez
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James Combe
a Cross Country Rider
from Uk Date Reviewed: October 26, 2004
Favorite Trail:
jamescombe@supanet.com
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$50.00
Purchased At:
HAlfords
Strengths:
Well made lights bright and look good
Weaknesses:
Battery and crap charger
Similar Products Used:
Petzil Head micro torch
Bike Setup:
Giant NRS 2
Bottom Line:
Good well made lights that are bright and give a good spread of light. They seem to stand up to the mud and stones that are on my local Scottish trails. The wires are very chunky and the plugs need a good shove in. (obviously they will fall out if they are not in correctly) The sore point is the battery and the charger. The battery is simply to poor to cope with the lighting units and the charger has no indicators to show what state of charge the battery is in( A dumb charger), therefore a battery fry up will occur sooner rather than later.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Chris Screven
a Weekend Warrior
from Tucson Date Reviewed: October 25, 2004
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$79.00
Purchased At:
Oro Valley Bike
Strengths:
Bright for price. Easy access to on/off controls. Flexable battery mounting. Independently adjustable lights for low beam/high beam operation. Inexpensive SLA battery replacement core.
Weaknesses:
Terrible charger. Should use smart charger.
Bike Setup:
Specialized FSR
Bottom Line:
This is a great light for recreational medium speed trail riding or for night commuting. You can set up the wide angle to face the trail in front of you and the spot for distant objects. The thumb switch allows you to turn on the spot only when you need it.
The mounting of the battery is very versatile. You can use a bottle cage or strap it to the frame in numerous places. The battery core is a standard 4.2A/hr SLA that is widely available for <$10. Cateye sells the battery assembly for $23 so you can add a second battery for longer rides for not much $$$. The lights and control switch module are all easily removable from the mounting hardware
The charger will wreck your battery if you aren't really careful. I can't believe Cateye would chose this charger when you can get a two stage smart charger for <$10 which I did at http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=ACC-6BC0500D-1 You can just plug the battery into this charger no matter how much charge it has and leave it and the battery will always be maintained at 100%.
I do not know what the complaints above about the cable and switches are coming from. They seem fine to me. It took a while to figure out that you really have to press the battery cable into the switch assembly so that it’s beveled area can lock it in. The mounting hardware seems pretty firm but I haven’t crashed with them yet. In any case Cateye will see the mounts for a couple of bucks each.
This is not a high performance light for the competitive night rider but definitely will suffice for the recreational rider under most circumstances. If you need more light than this you can always add a helmet light in the future.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Pete
a
from London Date Reviewed: February 12, 2004
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Purchased At:
Halfords
Strengths:
gets you seen on the road relatively low cost compared to other off road lights Way way better visibility than your average commuter light.
Weaknesses:
Useless charger that will inevitably fry the battery if used daily. If you half discharge the battery then give it the full recommended 9 hour charge, you damage it and rapidly shorten its life.
Similar Products Used:
no
Bottom Line:
Got the lights from Halfords on offer for £45. If you buy make sure the battery hasn't been over-discharged by sitting on the shelf too long. The battery unit contains a standard sealed lead acid battery which can be easily replaced for around £10. Don't try and use the charger - replace it immediately with an intelligent charger that switches to trickle when the battery is fully charged. I got a Lawtronics SLA500M (£32.50 incl. VAT) (google search) It'll get you a decent 20W system for a reasonable price and no battery problems.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Shimon
a Weekend Warrior
from Israel Date Reviewed: December 18, 2003
Favorite Trail:
The one have never been done...
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$100.00
Strengths:
Briht light (compared to other halogen), the lamp units are very well designed and build, relatively chip. The "inside" of the batteryy pack is a standard 4.2 mAh lead acid unit - pick one for chip at your local hardware store and replace if you kill yours.
Weaknesses:
The switch design is VERY bad (compared to lamp unit), very heavy (uses Lead Acid battery), very short run time (<1h with both units ON)
Similar Products Used:
Only small "commuter oriented" units
Bottom Line:
Running the system with 2 beams all together is useless - less than 1h (I barely get warmed). Even with only one beam ON, 1.8 h is very short time. The extra battery is heavy - no use. The only way to make your system usable is to spend more money creating your own battery pack (stick 5x 9000 nAh NiMh D-cells into water bottle, and seal it) and pick commertial NiMh 6v charger. All is about 80$ more. Only than, you will get a system that is trail riding worthy! Otherwise, scrap it and spend 400$ for HID system (NireRider, not the CatEye).
But... if you still considering what system to get and budget is the problem - Niterider "TrailRat" will burn the same time, for the same price but 1/3 of a weight (take spare battery and be happy)
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Colin Swift
a Racer
from Leicester Date Reviewed: November 23, 2003
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Purchased At:
Julies Leicester
Strengths:
Bright light! Lamps themselves well made and fit easily into pocket
Weaknesses:
Swith unit rather poor and fiddly. Falls off too - I gave up on it and made my own! Battery charger poor as noted elsewhere, think I've overcharged my bat as I only get 1.5hrs from it - and the bat is rated at 4.2Ah!
Similar Products Used:
Everready navigator
Bike Setup:
Trek hybrid, and carlton (!) road bike for commuting
Bottom Line:
Lights are fine, the unit is let down by the charger switch unit and battery. Got a 6V SLA charger from maplins so going to see if that works better, at least you can plug it in and forget as it wwont overcharge! Also put together a NiMh battery pack with biuts from Maplins - a lot lighter and I should get 1.5hrs from it. Yet to be put to the test... The actual lamps are good, bright and you can see well on dark roads - provided the oncioming traffic remember to dip theoir headlights!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
James
a Cross Country Rider
from Lake O Date Reviewed: September 15, 2003
Favorite Trail:
The one I'm on
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$55.00
Purchased At:
REI sale
Strengths:
price On Off switch good light combo
Weaknesses:
LAME BATT.
Similar Products Used:
cyg. cheap d cell lights
Bike Setup:
trek 4500 Sram 9.0
Bottom Line:
the batt'. is very lame the first thing I did was to go down to the hobbie shop and get six 2400ma "D" cells soderthem together shove them in a watter bottle now I have three times light brightness and I go up to a week befor charging they on for about 8hrs a week and are just starting to loose their intensady, I use a RC batt charger and it keeps my batt. at top notch performance at all time well worth the extra cash. the spot goes 40 to 50 YRDS nice and bright and the flood about 20-30 YRDS and about 140deg visability this is so sweet for the price...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Phil
a
from Adelaide South Australia Date Reviewed: June 26, 2003
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Good light coverage, wide and spot. Easy mouning/removal. Weather proof so far. Relatively cheap. Can point the lights where I need them. Seem tough, no damage from my tumbles yet. Seem to take trails fine, dont shake loose.
Weaknesses:
Lots of cable... crappy standard charger, no battery mount options
Similar Products Used:
Cateye HL500, lit match etc!!
Bike Setup:
Bike moves forward at night, needs lights!!
Bottom Line:
I like the light coverage, and the ability to turn on or off either light as needed. handles trails fine. I have had no problems with cable connectors, actually they fit so tight sometimes I dont get them in all the way!! There certainly is plenty of cable. I ditched the standard charger straight away for a trickle charger...plug in and forget!! The switches are actually numbered to match the lights, so what are people going on about what switch does what? I mean really how long does it take to learn the top switch is for the one I normally use ... so the bottom one must be....!!! I am happy this is a 6V system, so when the battery eventually goes I will buy a 12v replacement and a chopper circuit like from here: http://www.cs.indiana.edu/hyplan/willie/lvr.html to give me longer brighter burn times probably with a lighter battery!
Overall: Works great for me!! Just dont use the charger supplied.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
kelly
a Cross Country Rider
from Auckland, New Zealand Date Reviewed: February 5, 2003
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$75.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
it is a good bright light that I can see by. I like the wide beam for off road (used with a headlight) and the spot is good for rosd training.
Weaknesses:
It's a bit expensive when in NZ you can order a 35W halogen for about the same price. If I had seen Nightlightnings before I would have bought those.
Similar Products Used:
Cateye non rechargeable lights
Bike Setup:
2002 Kona caldera, road bike
Bottom Line:
It does what its supposed to, if you remember to keep it charged you won't ever run out of light, but if you want lots of power save money and build your own.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
azzoh killoh
a Weekend Warrior
from the ghetto; marple Date Reviewed: December 5, 2002
Favorite Trail:
mellor, delemere forest, compton
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
halfords
Strengths:
i fort dat dis was well sick man!!! i is like faster dan steve peat but i is arder dan im, so i dont want to race cos ill well win, is it. so cos i is fast i can go on da run from 5 o wiv dese ya know what i mean
Weaknesses:
my dad put speedholes in my car wiv an axe when e was pissed yo,so i levod im, so e it me wiv da battery and nocked me out, e is well dead now, i is from marple, i is well ard. part from bein smacked with da battery da lights are safe, respect to cateye!
Similar Products Used:
smart l.e.d, but dey is well gay, so i frew em at my neighbours cat, cos i is ard!!
Bike Setup:
barracuda, with 20 inches front and rear, it is well sick, got 90 gears and machine guns, in it!wiv dampnin il yo.
Bottom Line:
dese are well phat lights, respect to cateye cos i fort dat no one could do better, cos i is well da best in da world and i avent broke dem so dey must be ard like me.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Lord Sideburns
a Cross Country Rider
from Oxford Date Reviewed: November 3, 2002
Favorite Trail:
North Devon Coast Path
Duration Product Used:
1 Year
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At:
Halfords
Strengths:
Bright lights mean more respect from motorists, and the twin beam means a more useful spread of light on dark trails. The ability to use one lamp at a time means that longer winter rides (45 minutes each way to work and back) can be lit on a single charge.
Weaknesses:
Oh god, I WISH I'd read this site's review of these lamps before I bought mine! Stupid cable, with pointless curly bit. What is it for? The clip which attaches the switchbox to the bars broke in the first week, and now the switchbox falls off on bumpier trails; The battery is, as many others have noted, way to easy to overcharge, which I think I've done already, as the lamps are not nearly as bright as they were; no way of telling which switch is for which lamp.
Similar Products Used:
old Cateye Halogen battery (C-cell) headlamp.
Bike Setup:
Stock Marin Hawk Hill, but with nice BG saddle and Time pedals, semi-slick commuter tyres/ Fire Mud for trails.
Bottom Line:
You get slightly less than you pay for, I feel. Quality of build (switchbox clip)and attention to detail (fiddly to take off and put on, piece of CRAP for a charger)detract from a light set that started off as a top purchase (respect from motorists= less chance to eat hospital food), and now I feel that maybe I should've saved my pennies and gone for something with a bit more durability, and a battery that would produce full charge for longer than a few months. On the plus side, it is cheap-ish, bright and has saved my bollocks on more than one occasion. Oh well, live and learn...
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Aardvark
a Weekend Warrior
from Melbourne, Australia Date Reviewed: July 27, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Beach Road
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$85.00
Purchased At:
Dean Woods Direct
Strengths:
Powerful beams - no problems seeing well into the distance. Easy to get ready for a ride, once the mounts are in place. Battery fits snugly into the bottle cage. Reliable battery life.
Weaknesses:
Charger is a bad design which will fry the battery. Read the great article on Sealed Lead Acid {SLA} batteries at http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harart-commute-lights.html. It seems all SLA battery bike lights are supplied with this sort of junk. I replaced the charger with a Jaycar MB3516 trickle charger (AU$30) which works a treat - just plug in and forget it - it will charge safely to 100% every time. I plan to use this light for many years, so the charger will be a good investment. Also, setting up the mounts the first time took an hour of fiddling, but now its OK.
Similar Products Used:
Planet Sun Insight (aka SMART BL912HW) NiMH - utterly useless battery which lasted 30minutes, which I traded in on the Cateye. NiMH might be highly rated, but not when it gets cold outside. Be ready to use your night vision, because you wont get much help from that light set.
Bike Setup:
Giant TCR1 road bike.
Bottom Line:
Very happy with this unit. Mostly just use the spot beam, aimed about 5 meters ahead. I turn on the wide beam as a boost, mainly for the dark & hairy bits of road. I ride about an 90 minutes, with second beam on about half of the time, with no hassle, even in mid-winter. Good honest lights these. I can't understand the other reviews complaining about the wiring - I found the connections to be very secure.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Simon
a Cross Country Rider
from ACT Australia Date Reviewed: May 27, 2002
Favorite Trail:
The one I'm on
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$70.00
Purchased At:
Bike Culture
Strengths:
Good light for the price. Good to be able to turn one on at a time (or both).
Weaknesses:
I keep hearing how bad the chunky battery is, but I knew how big it was before I bought it. Also i read that the cable from battery to switch falls out. Try pushing it all the way in, as mine clicks into place after a good push and then needs a solid pull to get it out. It has never fallen out, even on very rocky tracks.
Similar Products Used:
handle bar mounted rechargable and battery only lights. (I still have a 'white' led for around traffic)
Bike Setup:
Giant ATX Aus model, (XT discs, XT/LX/Race face mix, Judys)
Bottom Line:
I think these are excellent lights. My partner, who I ride to and from work with each day, bought the 5W single light mentioned in other reviews here, and it is NOT brighter. It is a blue tint, where as the Cat Eyes are white (yellow). The cable doesn't fall out on mine or a friends if it is put in properly to start with. The lights have survived a 45 min ride in heavy rain (while on), a couple of hours of trail riding and now nearly 20 trips home in cold weather. Nothing has yet broken or fallen off.
I have the spread beam angled down, and on our sealed bike paths this means I can Dip my lights for oncoming bikes by turning the spot off.
I had the spread beam off in light drizzle using it as a work light to fix a puncture, and it was great!
I'd recommend this light to anyone who wants more than just a basic commute light, does some mild trail riding and prefers a 'chunky' battery to paying a bomb for NiMH. And hey, when the battery dies, I'll go to the local battery specialist and get a neat NiMH or similar for low $$$, and probably one that fits in the old case.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
John G.
a Weekend Warrior
from Peterlee, Co Durham Date Reviewed: March 22, 2002
Favorite Trail:
C2C
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
Halfords
Strengths:
Bright Lights, ease of use and removal to prevent theft.
Weaknesses:
The bulb holding rings keep on loosening off, the main cablke connection is absolutely rubbish as it keeps on falling out. light casing made of very soft plastic and easily dented with flying stones etc (recumbent rider, so lights close to road).
Similar Products Used:
None, first battery operated light set, apart from a Cateye 2.4watt cheapy.
Bike Setup:
PDQ Recumbent, 20" wheels, lights set on seat frame with battery zip tied to underside of rear rack, controls under seat.
Bottom Line:
Light set pretty good for price. As with the connections,I am not bothered about the warranty, so plan to replace the piggy cable and get better connectors. Getting a better battery after this one is exhausted for longer use, I have used a locking compound on the bulb rings to stop them falling off. As a summary, you get what you pay for, and at £59.00 for a twin 10 + 10watt with a sealed lead acid battery it is, in my oppinion, good value, and suited to by recumbent on and off road.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Warren Anthony
a Weekend Warrior
from Redhill Date Reviewed: March 4, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Cut gate path
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$75.00
Purchased At:
Finch & Sons, Reigate
Strengths:
Bright lights, spot and beam provide good coverage. The lights themselves are solid and can take a few knocks.
Weaknesses:
Pathetic design on the switch unit - the battery connection cable can actually fall out while you are riding and you can't tell which lamp is which without switching them on. Why does this not clip or screw in? This is criminal design! No indictator on the battery, so it's going to get overcharged at some point (I think i've already killed mine). The switch box is a naff plastic affair that isn't going to last very long.
Bike Setup:
2 round wheels.
Bottom Line:
The lamps themselves are great, and the beam/spot combination works well. Cheaper than most.
The battery is chunky as the other reviewers have stated, but at least it fits perfectly into a bottle cage and it ain't gonna fall out. It has a crap connection cable with pointless wiggly bit and a dangerously unreliable connection to the switch box.
I just need someone with electrical expertise to make me a new switch box that I can rely on, cos the one supplied is RUBBISH.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Robert
a Cross Country Rider
from Vermont Date Reviewed: February 20, 2002
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
REI
Strengths:
none
Weaknesses:
this light is absolute crap for many reasons: 1) my friends 5 watt sigma sport is brighter than the cateye's 20 watts combined, making it good for the road only 2)there are too many parts and wires, it takes at least fifteen minetes to set up the light. it did not mount well on my rider bar. 3) the cords keep on pulling themselves out of the lamps 4) the company gave misleading sales information on this product from thier website.
Similar Products Used:
a flashlight
Bike Setup:
98 Gary Fisher big sur with 00 Judy race, riser bar,many new components
Bottom Line:
Don't buy this product if you want to ride off road. The light is very dull even on full power. Sigma sport makes a light that is many times better for the money.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Dave
a Weekend Warrior
from Bucks, UK Date Reviewed: February 2, 2002
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
Bucks Cycle Centre (HW)
Strengths:
VERY bright lights, and the choice for wide beam and spot or both is very useful. Really nice and small and easy to remove if you're parking up the bike. Adjustments can be done whilst riding and they appear to be fully waterproof. Also very lightweight.
Weaknesses:
No marked way of telling which bulb is spot and wide beam unless you look directly into them which is annoying. The charger has no way of showing how full the battery is so overcharging is all too easy, the cable from battery to lights has an annoying coily bit on it and the battery case is way too large for the battery. Low battery life on terms of both useage and recharging capabilities, my next light will be NiMH.
Bike Setup:
Specialized A1FS
Bottom Line:
Overall for £59.99 ($80) this lights are brilliant but the use of a lead acid battery dissapoints. Still, well worth the money I piad for definate, even if I do only get 150 charges out of it. These lights also sell re-badged as logun gun-lamps for £70 per single unit and battery so very good quality lights for not much money. Could do with a better battery though, I shall be buying the Stadium 3 when these go instead of buying a new battery....
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Shaun Finning
a Cross Country Rider
from Bristol UK Date Reviewed: January 18, 2002
Favorite Trail:
Any
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$65.00
Purchased At:
Halfords Bristol
Strengths:
Good lighting. Easy to detach from cycle.
Weaknesses:
Stupid plastic covering of battery. Makes it too big. Why the coiled cord? You have to wrap it round your frame 5 times, looks like a curly snake!!!
Similar Products Used:
Cygo light, fantastic but could not get another one.
Bike Setup:
Stock Marin Pine Mountain.
Bottom Line:
Ok, but silly battery cord and too big case which I have now thrown away and now use the "frame bag " from my old cygo light to carry the battery, but still silly cord. Why not use straight cable ie Cygo?
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Thomas von Carlshausen
a Cross Country Rider
from UK Date Reviewed: December 22, 2001
Favorite Trail:
North Cornwall
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$90.00
Purchased At:
Portswood Cycles
Strengths:
I can see at last, no more sniffing the road on my daily commute to work.
Weaknesses:
Remote switch is a little on the flimsy side this is the only thing that stops me giving 5 chillies
Similar Products Used:
SMART Halogen light, I might as well tape a lit match to the front of my bike!
Bottom Line:
Excellent value for money. Essetial for anywhere without street lighting.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
Sprocketeer
a Cross Country Rider
from Narashino, Chiba, Japan (Native New Yorker) Date Reviewed: November 28, 2001
Favorite Trail:
Japan is 80% mountains, so it's all good.
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$80.00
Purchased At:
Seo Cycle (pro shop), LalaPort shopping mall at Tokyo Bay
Strengths:
I can SEE!!! That and people can see me MUCH better than before, so they clear out of my way without getting startled by my previously more bat-like appearence coming from behind them. All around, this lighting system makes my riding in dark and gray conditions much safer and faster.
Weaknesses:
The same as with all good lighting systems, the battery is too big and heavy, though after opening it up I believe this is unnecessarily so. The casing for the battery is bigger than a water bottle, but the battery itself is smaller than a pack of cigarettes--this is probably to deminish the effect of low temperatures on the battery's performance, but I think there are smarter ways of doing this than simply making the casing chunky. A more efficient design using the exact same battery components could result in a battery which could be mounted on the bikes stem or other more convenient place, such as under the saddle without comprimising durability. I might actually shave a bit off the casing or make something better.
Similar Products Used:
Zefal xsf something-number-something-like that--a very good 4AA battery halogen light whose only weakness is that it eats batteries.
Bike Setup:
1999 Trek Cro-Moly race-geometry frame with racing level parts I chose and installed myself. Planning to buy a Trek 8000, 2002 model very soon.
Bottom Line:
I'm highly satisfied with these lights, especially for the price. I didn't even realize some of Daylights II's great design strengths until I was mounting it on my bike--which are: (1) the lights themselves are on quick release mounts which don't merely slip on and off, but have push button release mechanisms so they wont become missles during forward impacts, yet they can be easily removed so they don't get stolen;(2) the mounting brackets also have quick release leavers--like the ones on wheel hubs--so you don't need a screwdriver; (3) the lights themselves, as well as all of the mountings and battery casing are made of extremely light, yet highly durable plastic.
The whole setup is about as light as it possibly can be for the price, and all but the battery casing are so small that they can be carried easily in jersey pockets.
Basically, for the price, this is an extremely good lighting system. I think to get a system that is any better would cost $200 or more.
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