I've been looking for a better front light for unlit roads, cyclepaths and towpaths (my current one is great for making me visible to other road users but not so good for avoiding potholes or the canal!).
This one has a 3 hour battery life in High Mode (400 lumens) and up to 60 hours in flashing mode.
USB rechargeable battery is removable so you can carry a spare.
I already have a Cateye light so this'll slot into the same bracket (and my old one becomes a spare).
RRP is £60 I can't find it for less anywhere else.
Don't confuse this with the lower spec 400XC.
2.1% Quidco and probably TopCashBack too.
18 comments
davewave
18 Jan 172#1
heat simply for your name
ArthurDent1 to davewave
18 Jan 173#5
Not looking forward to tomorrow. I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
pvfc247
18 Jan 171#2
Bargain , I've had mine for at least 12 months and I cannot fault it .
I run mine on just the flash mode as I find it is ample to get me seen , on this mode the battery charge lasts at least 2 weeks with every day use :smiley:
hotrod2
18 Jan 172#3
I have the 700 volt version and love it. Mainly use is on the ~400 volt setting and find that absolutely fine.
bschofield to hotrod2
19 Jan 17#13
Is that a more powerful version? My husband commutes on a bike and he's been asking for a new light for ages. x
hennerz
18 Jan 17#4
Thanks OP, ordered
ebble
18 Jan 17#6
I've got three Cateye cycle computers that are still going strong after about 18 years and 2 Cateye rear lights that are about ten years old.
But I've found their front lights to be poor and unreliable in comparison.
ArthurDent1 to ebble
18 Jan 171#7
My current Cateye front light is 10 years old and still works fine (it's just not bright enough for unlit roads).
There's a 2 year warranty.
So I'm hoping you were unlucky rather than I was lucky.
I have come across people complaining about Zyro Limited, the UK importers being utterly useless. They're also the distributors for lots of other brands like Altura, Abus, Camelbak, Blackbunr, etc. and their attitude with any problems seems to be "take it up with the shop you bought it from". Hence I'd rather buy their stuff from a reputable dealer than somebody I've not heard of on the internet - so far my dealings with Evans Cycles have mainly been very positive so if my light fails in the first 2 years I expect them to sort the problem.
mcrobbj
18 Jan 172#8
Not voting hot or cold but solarstorm x3 from ebay does the job for me at half the price.
anoned to mcrobbj
19 Jan 17#9
I checked this out just to see if someone had posted a cheaper alternative :smile: My current cateye could just be a little bit brighter but I'd rather not spend 35 quid (for lit roads, that is)
Hootwo to mcrobbj
19 Jan 17#12
How good do you find this in use? Fittings, battery life, build quality, heatsinking? (we have two ebay '1500 lumen' lights - the battery pack on one has, err, packed up, and the leads on another showed bare at the light body, so am a bit wary!)
Thanks!
KareemSaid
19 Jan 17#10
Awful mounts IMO. No side visibility eaither by looks of it?
PDW & Smart lights are very good and use almost identical mounts to each other - not the horrible cable tie things Cateye use. Some of the Planet X lights are fantastic for the money - Moon clones
Pretty sure Smart & PDW and Planet X and Moon are all built in the same factories!
They look nice for smaller lights, but the brightest I can see is only 220 lumens - I'm not sure that's enough for a unlit canal towpath. And its battery life is only 1.3hours on that setting - that's enough for me to cycle along the canal to Clydebank... and then I'm in Clydebank in the dark! It'll be like the blitz all over again!!
I realise everybody needs something different from a light - for me this one seems to represent the best compromise between light output (I really don't need the 1000 lumen lights mountain bikers use) and battery life (3 hours at 400 lumens should be enough for my night-time jaunts along the canal/old railway line).
ArthurDent1
19 Jan 171#15
Yes, the Volt 700 is a 700 lumen light, but hotrod2 is saying he mostly uses it on the 400 lumen setting.
The light in the OP is 400 lumens on its max setting (not bright enough for mountain biking at night but bright enough for unlit roads).
The more lumens, the brighter the light but the shorter the battery life.
bschofield
20 Jan 171#16
Thx! He only cycles on unlit roads and not offroad so this sounds perfect. X
The 400 is a 400 lumen light with a replaceable battery and a quick release mount.
The 400XC is a 300 lumen light (it flashes at 400 lumens, but can't maintain a constant 400 lumen output), non-replaceable battery (with a shorter battery life) and an elastic band.
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Opening post
This one has a 3 hour battery life in High Mode (400 lumens) and up to 60 hours in flashing mode.
USB rechargeable battery is removable so you can carry a spare.
I already have a Cateye light so this'll slot into the same bracket (and my old one becomes a spare).
High mode 400 lumens： 3hrs
Middle mode 100 lumens： 8hrs
Low mode 50 lumens：18hrs
Hyper Constant mode 400/50 lumens：11hrs
Flashing mode 50 lumens： 60hrs
RRP is £60 I can't find it for less anywhere else.
Don't confuse this with the lower spec 400XC.
2.1% Quidco and probably TopCashBack too.
18 comments
I run mine on just the flash mode as I find it is ample to get me seen , on this mode the battery charge lasts at least 2 weeks with every day use :smiley:
But I've found their front lights to be poor and unreliable in comparison.
There's a 2 year warranty.
So I'm hoping you were unlucky rather than I was lucky.
I have come across people complaining about Zyro Limited, the UK importers being utterly useless. They're also the distributors for lots of other brands like Altura, Abus, Camelbak, Blackbunr, etc. and their attitude with any problems seems to be "take it up with the shop you bought it from". Hence I'd rather buy their stuff from a reputable dealer than somebody I've not heard of on the internet - so far my dealings with Evans Cycles have mainly been very positive so if my light fails in the first 2 years I expect them to sort the problem.
Thanks!
PDW & Smart lights are very good and use almost identical mounts to each other - not the horrible cable tie things Cateye use. Some of the Planet X lights are fantastic for the money - Moon clones
Pretty sure Smart & PDW and Planet X and Moon are all built in the same factories!
Lots of smaller Knogs at £10-£15
I realise everybody needs something different from a light - for me this one seems to represent the best compromise between light output (I really don't need the 1000 lumen lights mountain bikers use) and battery life (3 hours at 400 lumens should be enough for my night-time jaunts along the canal/old railway line).
The light in the OP is 400 lumens on its max setting (not bright enough for mountain biking at night but bright enough for unlit roads).
The more lumens, the brighter the light but the shorter the battery life.
for 400xc at my local, what's the difference between this and 400xc?
The 400XC is a 300 lumen light (it flashes at 400 lumens, but can't maintain a constant 400 lumen output), non-replaceable battery (with a shorter battery life) and an elastic band.
Volt 400:
High mode 400 lumens： 3hrs
Middle mode 100 lumens： 8hrs
Low mode 50 lumens：18hrs
Hyper Constant mode 400/50 lumens：11hrs
Flashing mode 50 lumens： 60hrs
400XC:
High 300lm: 1 hr
Low 100lm: 8 hrs
Hyper 400lm: 8 hrs
Flash 100lm: 20 hrs
Hyper is low light mode with a brighter flash.
The best price I can see for the 400XC is £23.91 at Wiggle
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/cateye-volt-400-xc-front-light/