Trans Iowa riders, listen up! Here is some verbiage you will find interesting. The review of the Cateye LED powered HL-EL500 is at hand!!!
First- the pertinent info! Cost: about $50.00 or slightly less. Power: 1 watt single LED. uses 4 double a batteries,(not included! GRRR!!) Waterproof case to 30 meters. ( has ANYBODY ridden at this depth!!?) magnetic switch, handlebar mount with swivel function, light quickly detaches from the mount for "flashlight" duties, and "Power Opticube" technology.
Now for the performance! This light was puchased by myself as a replacement for the Planet Bike light that I reviewed a couple of months back. As you may remember, I was less than thrilled by the performance( or lack there of) of that light. Well, I can say that this Cateye light definitely "outshines" the competition! (groan!!!) At the very first, it was obvious that this light was going to be good. But first, I would like to comment about a few nits I had with this particular design. The Planet Bike light had a great QR type mount that was SUPER easy to remove and replace on any handlebar. The Cateye light is woeful in comparison, with a mount that must be futzed with to get it from one bike to another. Added to this is the nut and bolt that help to secure the mount are not "captured" in the mount, and can be easily lost. Beware of any nightime, or feild removal of this mount, because you may lose these critical parts! That said, the mount is extremely secure and does grip the bar like a vise. Whilst I'm talking about the mount, I'll say that the slight swivel adjustment allows you to center the light patch in front of you, even if you have to mount the light off center on your handlebars.
The light itself is a great light source for commuting, bike path riding, or very light duty offroading. The light stays lit for 30hrs! No more worrying about where I'm going to plug in my recharger at! The switch is easily activated, even with a gloved hand. Very cool! With it's waterproof case, I don't have to give a second thought about rain or snow. `
The light beam is WAY better than the Planet Bike light in intensity, and in color. The Cateye light produces an intense bluish-white light that made the PlanetBike light look yellow in a side by side comparo. The beam is intense, and focused. ( Is it just me, or does anybody else think the beam pattern looks like Cateye's logo?) The beam can be focused out to about 25- 30 feet, with a width of about 3-4 feet. Outside of this "zone" there really isn't much light to be had, except for some concentric "half rings" of light that trail backwards toward the bike. It is the Power Opticube technology that keeps the 1watt beam so intense and focused. Also, because of that, I really could ride along at a good clip through the city streets with good ability to see any debris or potholes in my path well before I arrived on top of them. I felt totally comfortable, as long as the surfaces were smooth. When things got rough, the intense beam patch bounced up and down with my handlebars, making navigation difficult. Of course, I was on a rigid bike and sussy riders may not have such a hard time. But, I would think that this light would not work all that well in the woods, in singletrack. The beam is just too narrow and intense for that. Now if Cateye could rig up a helmet mount for this bad boy- that'd be a different story! It would be a great compliment to a nice HID bar mount system. Anyhoo! I really like this light!
For something like Trans Iowa, this light would be awesome! Small, lightweight, and 30hrs operation make it a no- brainer! Better yet- get two for a wider veiw of the gravel at night! Plus, in the event of a feild repair, you can quickly, and easily dismount the light body for trailside repair visibility. I highly recommend this light to all commuters, and night time pavement riders!