Cateye Volt 800

£89.99

The Volt 800 has a slim cigar shape and feels very robust with its aluminium casing. It screws to the bar very securely via a knurled-knob mount that works better than some elastic band types, though it does leave a sharp plastic end sticking towards your stomach.

It has high (800 lumen), medium (400 lumen) and low (200 lumen) constant modes, giving claimed runtimes of two, 3.5 and eight hours respectively. There’s a flashing (100 hours) and an always-on pulse mode (seven hours).

The top-mounted switch is recessed so that it can’t be turned on accidentally, and a single click cycles the light through its five modes. A double click switches it straight up to its highest output. We found this was a great feature and we would like all lights to have this function, but we would like the ‘click’ to be slightly more positive for when you’re wearing full-finger gloves.

The switch is also a battery indicator, turning red when you’re down to the last 20 per cent, but there’s no indication before that. Other lights, such as the Lezyne, have different coloured LEDS to show battery status in more detail.

The highest constant light output (800 lumens) is good for riding on unlit roads, but there are more powerful lights out there and you only get two hours. Medium gives you 3.5 hours and low eight hours, while on flashing you get 100 hours — perfect for commuting under street lights.

The battery is replaceable and, as is the case with most Li-ion batteries, Cateye estimates it is good for about 300 recharges and discharges.

The Volt 800 isn’t the most powerful light here and it only has one LED — two would produce a more even coverage — but we really like the Cateye’s double-click function that returns it straight to full beam. www.zyrofisher.co.uk

8

Weight 140g