Cateye Single Shot - good or bad

Steve I

I'm a bit confused here. This site has 2 reviews of the Cateye Singleshot, here - http://www.bikeradar.com/fitness/articl ... test-12928 and here - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/ ... shot-25059. One review really rates this light, the other seems to treat it as a bit of a joke. It's not surprising that I'm confused is it?

Also, the high power lights test doesn't even mention the 2 lights that seem to be flavour of the month i.e. the Dinotte 200l and the Exposure Joystick Maxx. Is this an old lights test they've dragged out from somewhere? There's no date on it, come to mention it, none of the site reviews or tests seem to have dates. This is poor, technology changes so fast these days that up to date information is necessary to make informed decisions on equipment choices.

aracer

That high power light test is totally up to date, as they have a review of the Exposure Enduro Maxx, which is only just making its way into shops. I guess they didn't include the Joystick as they wanted to cover as wide a range as possible and already had the Enduro - anyway the Joystick is much the same, just with only one LED. Not sure why no review of the Dinotte though. I imagine the Singleshot doesn't do so well in that review as it fairs poorly in comparison with the others on test.

I agree with you that the reviews would be more useful with dates.

alansmithy

I agree the reviews are pretty contradictory. The Single Shot itself is pretty new too, so these are both pretty current.

I have invested in the Single Shot Plus (the bigger brother of the Single Shot). I consider it to be perfect for my needs (long commutes, mostly on lit roads but covering a few miles of unlit lanes). It holds a really good charge, recharges very neatly and quickly. I like the fact that it's self-contained and can be taken off easily. Very well made. A good piece of kit. But - compare it to some of the lights in the next category up (£100) - and of course it's not so good. But for me it spans the obvious market gap between "Halfords" light and "I haven't got that kind of money" light.

andrew_s

No contradiction. It's great as a commuter light, but fairly useless off road.
The high-power light review has a fairly obvious off-road bias, not unreasonably as that's what the main use for high power lights is.

SBothwell

The high-power light test on this site appears to have been taken from one of the MTB mags in the stable. This months Cycling Plus has a review of high powered lights in the context of road-based riding.

They included the Dinotte 200l ('Small but with a very impressive run time. A little more light would be nice 8/10'), the Cateye singleshot plus EL610 ('Striking a balance between power and visibility, this is the value-for-money choice' 9/10 recommended) and the USE Joystick Maxx ('A simply incredible light that earns a top score with distinction' 10/10 Best Buy).

Worth a read in the shop if you want to put the £4 towards a better light in the £85 - £600 range (yes really).

andylav

I've got one of the lower specification Singleshots - the single LED version - and I think it is an excellent commuter type light, but, it's not going to have anyone's jaw dropping open in astonishment in pitch blackness as the spread of light is quite wide, lighting up quite a bit of road at a lower level of brightness, rather than a narrower section at a higher level of brightness.

Don't get me wrong, it's more than good enough to ride on unlit roads (though perhaps not at serious speed) and significantly better than any of Cateye's previous commuter type lights but it's in a different category from all of the other 'big' lights in the most recent site review.

The Singleshot has a lot going for it (self contained, compact, light, easy to mount, intelligent charging, good burn times, a fantastic light to be seen by and can be obtained for quite a bit less than the RRP if you do a Google search) and I'll continue to use away at mine quite happily for now, but I've also just ordered a set of Ay-Up lights from www.ay-up.com.au for when my fast winter training night runs start in earnest.

Lots of favourable reviews for these units as an off-road light on www.singletrackworld.com and I would see these as a real contender for high honours in a direct comparison to those lights rated by Bikeradar - but at a significantly lower cost (the set I ordered cost £90 with £9 internationally tracked shipping by TNT - with import VAT, total should still be under £115).

I'll report back when they arrive and I've had a chance to try them out and can make informed comparisons.

Hope this is helpful

Steve I

Thanks very much for all the replies. SBothwell I'll try to pick up a copy of Cycling Plus, cheers for that. I want a compact light to swap easily between my road bike and mountain bike. I'll only be riding canal paths and Sustrans paths on the mtb and unlit lanes on the road bike.

I was leaning towards the Dinotte but that's twice I've heard it's not all that bright, once above and once on the Chain Reaction website, kind of puts me off a bit. The joystick fits the bill but it's just too expensive. Looks like I'm leaning towards the Singleshot Plus.

Jashin

Is the charger in the Singleshot self contained in the light or separate?

andylav

Self-contained.

No extra bits or bobbins - just one fairly compact, single unit with a quick-flex, no-tools needed handlebar mounting bracket.

Simplicity itself and quite impressively made - particularly when compared to other Cateye lights that I have had in the past.

SBothwell

Steve I wrote:

I was leaning towards the Dinotte but that's twice I've heard it's not all that bright.

To be fair, they are basing the 'not too bright' in comparison to lights costing 3 or 4 times more - there are beamshots in the article if you can find it, but I guess nothing beats trying one out yourself to see whether its enough light for you.

roger645

It's a shame they didn't posted Lumen output as they mentioned they tested them. I use the 200L and it's pretty bright. there are beamshots out there on the web if you search.

Steve I

As an update on this; I got to read the article in Cycling Plus and in the end went for the Dinotte 200L, the AA battery version, as I liked the idea of the battery flexibility it gives.

I used it last night on a 30mile ride consisting of Sustrans trail, canal and a bit of country lane, all unlit. It's a bright light, more spot than flood and maybe a shade brighter than a 10w halogen. You can get by with just this light, but there were times when I wished I had another light. If I set the light low I couldn't see all that well in the distance and vice versa. I suppose this is the limtation of running a single, relatively low powered light. It would be a better light for road use as the handlebars tend to stay more in the straight ahead position. Off rode I kept losing the beam as the handlebars swung from side to side.

As a contrast, my brother was running a Light and Motion Solo Logic which is a single 13w halogen. A maximum run time of 2 hours on high is enough for him, not for me though. The difference in colour of the 2 lights is very noticeable. The Dinotte is bluey white, the L&M is distinctly yellow. As a single light the L&M possibly had the edge, at least in flood mode it did, in spot mode it was similar to the DInotte (it could adjust from spot to flood by turning the bezel). The L&M threw out a very good pool of light in front of the bike and, with a headlight spot, would be ideal for most riding, accepting its limitations.

For me, the battery flexibility beats the pants off halogen lights. My brother was really worried about his battery running out and had to run in low power for some of the ride. By contrast, I had a tiny spare battery holder in my pocket, preloaded with 4 AA cells, giving me an extra 2 hours of light (on full power) if I'd needed it.

I now just need some form of headlight and I've posted another question asking for advice.