Cateye

Cateye's Nano Shot Plus front light is the bigger, brighter sibling of the Nano Shot we reviewed, and liked, last year. Amazingly, it manages to kick out more than twice as many lumens for the same price the Nano Shot was then (it's around £60 now).

It's the purity of delivery that separates Cateye's Rapid 3 front light from a wealth of similar blinkeys. I don't like watts as a measure since it's concerned with consumption, rather than output. However, ours has saved my blushes (possibly my life too) when a high power main system packed up ten miles from the nearest stretch of street lighting, let alone my front door.

The Omni 5 is a brand new front light from Cateye and offers a near full 180 degree range of visibility making it a a very good commuting light in its own right or as an emergency backup light to a brighter main beam.

Inside the new lens are five LEDs and the light they produce is reflected through prisms carefully placed to split their beams. This ensures there is a healthy amount of light reflected sideways as well as straight ahead, and really seems to work.

This Cateye light set consists of the Cateye HL-EL010 Uno front light and the Cateye TL-LD630 Rapid 3 rear light. The set is not cheap, but you get a pair of decent lights that will get you seen. Each light runs on a single AA battery, keeping size and weight down while achieving pretty impressive run times and light outputs.

The front light achieves this by using Opticube lens technology to put every lumen available from its single LED to the best possible use. The rear has a high power SMD-LED in the middle, with another LED either side.

NOW SOLD, pending collection tomorrow. (28/11) in full working order, Cateye double wireless which does the usual time, speed, dist, average speed etc plus Cadence. comes with original box and all the bits. will also chuck in a few cable ties.

£23 posted, £20 collect (Bristol)

email. mrah702@gmail.com

Cateye's EL540 is a viable alternative to dynamos for commuting and utility riding round town and in the sticks. Don't be fooled by the slightly quaint looks and AA Nimh power source, cutting edge technology squeezes every last ounce from the single LED and it's powerful enough for navigating unlit backwaters by. Forgetful types will be reassured by the fact the cells can be swapped for common or garden alkaline types without impairing performance.