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Posted 20 hours ago

Cateye Viz Rear Light

£14.975£29.95Clearance
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ZTS2023
Joined in 2023
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About this deal

As the name suggests, Cateye's Viz 450 rear light can throw out an extremely bright beam, although the full power is reserved for an intermittent flash in the 'Daytime Hyperflash' mode. In some specific use-cases you might appreciate this amount of power, but for most cyclists it is overkill and potentially a little provocative. There are more socially acceptable modes, but you could also just buy a less powerful, cheaper light.

The overall build quality is up there though, and I like the angular style CatEye has gone for on their higher models. It looks at home on a modern aero frame, so won’t be cramping your style for the pursuit of safety (nor performance at only 47 grams)! Or buy a Rotlicht instead, where you can replace (and recycle) an exhausted battery. I'm getting the sense that you can't do that with the Cateye?

Latest Comments

One thing I did notice though is still the use of micro USB. With the move of many electronics now to USB C, it would be nice to see companies making this change on bike lights as well. Plus with the higher potential power draw for faster charging, there is an additional upside beyond just being able to plug the cable in either way up. The shortest claimed run-time is a useful 5hrs, and that's pretty accurate – surprisingly it's not for the eyeball-grilling 300lm 'Daytime Hyperflash,' which can signal nearby planets (probably) for up to 10hrs, but for the 30lm Constant mode. Daytime Hyperflash (100 lumens):15 hrs Battery: [AMPP200] Li-ion rechargeable battery (3.7V-800mAh) Charging times are similarly faithful: 3 hours from a laptop, 15 minutes faster at the mains. That's longer than some, especially those using USB-C, but on a par with other, such as the Sigma Blaze. Plugged into a dynamo USB it's a bit more variable, but has gone from zero to hero in just over 4 hours. Value

The ladder strap hooks into lugs either side, and I've had no issues with standard round profiles between 25.4 and 30.8mm. It's compatible with some box-section trailer tubing and helmets, too. So, the modes are a bit topsy turvy. The one I got the most use out of, day and night, was the Group Ride mode due to its more subtle flash pattern. With the LEDs being lit longer it gives better side illumination too. The most startling thing about this light is how bright a mere 40 lumens can be when funnelled through effective lenses. The constant mode is very bright when seen from 300 metres away at night, and vastly more so than the higher lumen output from the lens-less Knog Blinder Skull. On this basis, unless your commute takes in a lot of fast daytime dual carriageways (my sympathy), I just don't think a case can be made for needing more than 10 times this output, as here. ViZ100] φ21.5-32.0mm. Fits up to 130mm outer circumference. (SP-15) Recharge/discharge number of times: about 300 times(until the rated capacity drops to 70%) Water resistant: [AMPP200] IPX4 Cateye's previous Rapid range of rear lights offered excellent all-round visibility using a line of LEDs that were visible from the sides and the rear. I still have some that I tested six years ago and they still work fine, which is a decent innings – other brands' lights have not lasted nearly as well.Positioning it vertically has a small but palpable edge, especially at junctions, negotiating roundabouts and just performing turns in the road – particularly so when I've tethered it to my low-slung trailer. Though it has a smaller surface area than I'm usually comfortable with attaching to a trailer or tagalong, the daytime mode more than compensates, especially in such contexts. I found the final mode – Group Ride – the most useful. At 100lm it's bright but not tactical nuke bright, and it's actually easier on the eye than the dimmer flash as it always seems to leave something lit. That doesn't sound very bright, but the 30lm glow from all three LEDs through the transparent case is actually pretty eye-catching outside of bright sunshine or night-time commutes. It's hard to tell exactly, as looking at this straight on can literally make your eyes hurt, but Group Ride appears to switch each LED between two brightnesses, and leave either two dim or one bright one on at all times. Thus it's never fully dark, and consequently easier on the eyes (I was looking from the side, in case you were wondering...).

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