Cateye Volt 500 XC Front Light

Cateye has a big range of lights on offer, with this Volt 500 XC slotting in somewhere in the middle. It is a simple four-mode light with a reasonable output for commuting and riding at night.

• Pros: Bright, simple to use, durable
• Cons: Charging time

The 500-lumen output from its highest constant setting is enough light to see by at sensible speeds on unlit roads. It lasts almost a full two hours in this mode, which should be long enough for just about any commute or a reasonable night ride. The beam offers a fairly large spot, although I was more impressed with that of the 400-lumen Lezyne Hecto Drive that I have also been testing.

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Charging time isn't the shortest at just over five hours, but it's still possible it could be charged up during the day between commutes on a typical working day if necessary. Charging is fairly standard via a micro-USB cable that comes included and plugs into a port on the rear of the light. A useful LED in the power button lights up to indicate that the battery is low when it falls below 20%.

The 500 XC has three other modes: 100-lumen solid beam, 50-lumen solid interrupted by a 500-lumen pulse, which is great for daytime use or street-lit commutes, and a 100-lumen flash. As usual, the flash is the best option if you really need to extend the battery life – according to Cateye you'll get an impressive 120 hours from it. While I haven't accurately tested this claim, the only times I have had to recharge the light so far have been after a couple of longer uses when testing the main beam.

Operating the light is very simple, with a single power button. It also features a useful double-click function which switches the light to the main beam regardless of the current mode.

> Buyer's Guide: The best 2017/2018 front lights for cycling

The bracket is a simple rubber band option, which is easy to attach once you get the hang of it and generally stayed put, except during some more vigorous testing on my cyclo-cross bike. Cateye claims to have improved this rubber band to make it more durable than previous versions. I had no issues here, though I did find it significantly less sturdy than the strap of the Lezyne Hecto Drive mentioned earlier. It also doesn't give much scope for different diameter bars, with only two size settings. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was stretchy enough to fit around the base bar on my time trial bike during an impromptu evening session.

As far as value goes, another change Cateye has made is a £10 reduction in RRP to £49.99, which I'd say is a fair price for what's on offer. Using the beam comparison engine above shows there is a lot of competition out there, though, including a few options from Moon, the slightly cheaper Kryptonite Street F-450, and the Lezyne Hecto Drive already mentioned, at £33.

Verdict

A good light for commuting or riding after dark at a sensible price