
The mid-power mode is fine for less stressful situations with a low power for cruising and two flash modes for on-road safety. Add the 800 on your helmet to focus exactly where you’re looking and you can tackle seriously technical or previously unridden trails with reasonable confidence.
#Cateye lights review full
The twin LED 1100 puts out plenty of light to illuminate incoming features in detail at full power even when used on its own.

That means reach isn’t as powerful as Cateye’s Volt family (which are still better for the road) but you get a much broader sense of what’s happening on technical trails.
#Cateye lights review windows
It works well, keeping the AMPP firmly in place, and the small lever allows you to remove the light quickly outside of shops and so on.The Cateye AMPP 1100/800 lights get a brand new casing with slightly curved front optics and extended side windows for a wide, progressive light spread. If you are riding or commuting in the dark in a mostly urban environment, or on major roads with street lighting, you're going to be able to get away with the lower or flashing modes, with the knowledge that if you have some unlit sections coming up you'll have enough illumination to keep you going.Ĭateye's FlexTight bracket uses a wheel and notched band for fixing the light to the handlebar. To be fair to it, though, the AMPP 500 probably isn't a light you are likely to buy if you are spending most of your time on unlit roads. > The best 2021/22 front lights for cyclingĭepending on where you live and what roads you ride, if you're using High for the majority of the time it'll restrict your ride time.
#Cateye lights review Pc
A full recharge takes just over 4hrs if using a wall socket, and up to double that if using a PC or laptop. The Flashing mode gives you 50hrs, and the Daytime Hyperconstant will run out in 5hrs. One thing I do like about the AMPP that so many other brands can't seem to achieve is that you don't have to scroll through the flashing modes to get back to High a double-click from any mode will take you straight to it.īattery life isn't massive: on High you'll get 1.5hrs, with 3hrs on Low. It changes colour to red when the battery life is below 20%.

Modes are changed via the on/off button on the top of the light which is usefully backlit so that you can see it when you are riding. There are two more modes, the Daytime Hyperconstant – 250 lumens backlit and a 500-lumen flash over the top – and the Flashing which is 250 lumens.

The Low mode offers 250 lumens which is okay for riding in urban environments and country lanes at a sedate pace. On the High 500 lumens mode I was happy riding at around 20mph without issue, but any faster than that on unlit back lanes with no road markings requires focus. The central spot is bright, though, especially considering the claimed 500 lumens against other lights of similar power. It's quite narrow I'd like a little bit more illumination to pick up the verge either side of the ride to give a bit of depth and sense of speed. The AMPP 500 uses a single LED and Cateye's OptiCube lens which gives the light quite a focused spot with a small amount of spread out to the sides. It's not badly priced, though it has a slightly cheap feel to it, and if you need to run it on max most of the time then the battery life isn't massive. Cateye's AMPP 500 is one of its lower powered 'see by' lights, but it still manages to chuck out enough lumens to light dark rural roads for riding at a decent pace.
