Cateye Uno and LD600 LED light set

The super minimalist Cat-Eye Uno and 600 make a very lightweight competent “seen by” package for round-town commuting and as a contingency lights for those summer evenings when you’ve taken the best bike on an extended run and lost all track of time. However, while the 600s is undeniably bright, sealing and the seat post bracket are looking dated and run times don’t quite keep pace with the latest generation.

Delivering 400 candlepower at 10 feet, the Uno’s clever opti cube lens delivers a sharp, narrow beam of white light in either flashing or static modes it is very efficient for a 75g light powered by a single AA battery. Cateye, bill this as a light powerful enough to see by, with a fully charged battery it is bright. The beam is certainly sharp enough to see by in sub/urban context with infrequent street lighting and the clever design does allow for plenty of side illumination as which helps keep you visible to traffic emerging from side roads.

However, it's a little trickier to generalise in rural settings. Not bad on clear, cloudless nights but more limited when conditions turn overcast or roads characterised by lines of overhanging trees. Personally I would prefer a wider light spill for riding on unlit roads. 

Give the contacts a slither of Vaseline as while the design is water-resistant, seals are of the good but not great tradition. Bijou dimensions mean its great for fixing flats, finding keys or other little jobs. Despite this, the rubberised switch is easily operated in gloved hands on the fly and must be pressed continuously for five seconds before engaging but this safeguards against accidental illumination in a jersey pocket or seat pack. Thirsty in static mode with a mere sixteen hours on offer, flashing delivers closer to sixty.

By contrast, the LD600 requires little introduction, it's a classic that's spawned an army of imitators. Five LEDs and four modes (static and flashing) explain its popularity and correspondingly long production life. However, vertical mounting is most aesthetically pleasing but requires a lot of exposed seat post and doesn’t affix convincingly to clothing or luggage, which is a touch irksome some of its clones score here the RSP springs to mind as having a better designed bracket. That said, the large surface area is perfect for trailers/tag alongs and having followed scores of the breed, they scream cyclist from ¾ mile on unlit roads. The trade off is relatively short run times. That's where it could be argued time is catching up with the LD600, in terms of performance/economy technology has moved on, well in static mode anyway.

Our test model with stock batteries managed 13hrs 45 minutes in static (compared with a quoted fifteen) yet the flashing modes achieved a surprising thirty-two despite being regularly subjected temperatures close to freezing. The tactile rubberised switch is something of a mixed blessing-pleasant to use but prone to accidental engagements in bags, panniers and jersey pockets with drastic effects upon longevity.

Some suggest seals could be better, though we’ve had no problems despite it being mounted low on a trailer, regularly blasted with silt and filthy water along waterlogged roads and muddy farm tracks. A lick of Vaseline around the contacts will deliver some additional protection and ultimately peace of mind.

Verdict

Bright safety light package which is perfect for use with dynamos, although the 600 is starting to show its age.