The latest of an almost unbroken tide of bicycle lights to have poured through the letter box of RCUK Towers in recent weeks is the Cateye Volt 1200.
No prizes for guessing it’s maximum output: a formidable 1200 lumens. Yes, 1200 lumens. I only say that again as it doesn’t seem very long ago that I owned a Volkswagen with less lighting resource.
Cateye’s Volt 1200 has an integrated battery, so there are no extraneous or unsightly cables. The head unit is substantial, some 110mm long, 58mm wide and 30mm deep, and tipping the RCUK scales of truth at 234 grams, including the handlebar mount.
The front section of the head unit’s casing, one that contains the Volt’s two LEDs, is made of alloy, presumably for its greater heat resistance, while the rear, the portion that carries the battery, is plastic. The clamp is neat, not unlike a jubilee clip, and made from resin.
The Volt has a Li-Ion battery, charged via a micro USB port on its underside, concealed behind a rubber cover for weather protection. Interestingly, the charge time varies between eight and 14 hours, depending on if you are using the USB 3.0 or 2.0 standard. The light ships with the micro USB lead for charging from your laptop.
Run times vary from two hours for the maximum 1200 lumen setting, five hours for what Cateye calls “normal”, and 17.5 hours for “all night”. The flashing mode will run for a claimed 100 hours, and “hyper constant” for 14.5 hours.
The last of our early observations before testing begins: the beam pattern is uniquely square, and we’re interested to see how this will effect illumination out on the road.
Now the clocks have gone back, we’ll have ample opportunity to test the Volt’s impressive specification over the coming weeks. Check back soon to see how we get on.
Price: £149.99
Size: 110mm x 58mm x 30mm
Colour: black and silver
Website: Cateye
Distributor: Zyro
