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review
Cateye TL-LD130 Rear Light£11.99
VERDICT:
Ticks the boxes for a cheap urban light
Weight:
0g
Contact:
www.zyro.co.uk
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
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Twelve quid can buy you a lot these days; the LD130 is a very decent rear lamp that comes with Cateye's excellent twist-to-lock mount. You even get the batteries thrown in.
The LD130 is a pretty standard-spec unit, using 2AAA batteries to power three LEDs. They're not hugely powerful but fine for use about town, and the lower output compared to some of the new high-power LEDs means that the battery life is very good, especially in flashing mode, making it good for fit-and-forget commuting duties.
Side visibility is okay; the LEDs all point forward but there's plenty of lens at the sides. The light is nice and water tight too, it's put up with some pretty awful weather while on test, and even if the rain does get in it's a simple job to strip the light down and dry it out.
The FlexTight™ mount – a plastic jubilee clip – can be tightened by hand, and you can fit it wherever you've room. The square mount on the light allows you to run it horizontally or vertically, and the mount has a good range of angle adjustment too. There's also a clothing/bag mount.
If it's a town light you need then the LD130 should fit the bill pretty well. For commutes on faster roads you'll no doubt want something a bit brighter, and there's plenty of choice around the £20-£25 mark if you do. If you don't want to spend the extra cash, and don't need the extra power, the LD130 is a good buy.
Dave is a founding father of road.cc, having previously worked on Cycling Plus and What Mountain Bike magazines back in the day. He also writes about e-bikes for our sister publication ebiketips. He's won three mountain bike bog snorkelling World Championships, and races at the back of the third cats.
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