Cateye Orb Rechargeable Front And Rear Light Set

The Cateye Orb Rechargeable Front and Rear Light Set is a handy 'see me' solution on its own, or as a backup to your main lights in an emergency. They're small, punch out a decent amount of illumination and weigh very little.

You can pick up 'be seen' lights with a stretchy band for a few quid in plenty of high street locations, but the £31.99 Cateye Orb set is the next level up – they offer a machined aluminium body and decent waterproofing at IPX4, which basically means they cope with road spray and rain.

I tried them on various wet rides and they performed without issue.

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Another bonus is the USB rechargeable batteries. Many cheap lights use coin-type batteries which don't last that long, and aren't exactly cheap. This rechargeable option means there is no other financial layout, and your lights are always ready to go... well, as long as you remember to charge them.

From flat that takes about 3.5hrs, and you unscrew the light section from the body to gain access to the charge port.

Fitting them to your bike is easy with the rubber strap, and there are plenty of cutouts to suit the various size bars or seat posts. The range is anywhere from 22mm to 32mm in diameter, and the Orbs can cope with aero profiles too.

Pressing and holding the lens turn them on or off, while short presses scroll through the options: constant, fast flash and slow flash. On the front light that gives you burn times of 3hrs, 6.5hrs and 6.5hrs respectively, while the rear gives 2.5hrs, 5hrs and 5hrs.

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Cateye doesn't give a lumen or lux output, but they are certainly bright enough to get picked out in the dark. Personally I wouldn't use them as my only source of lighting, as they're pretty small, but they are ideal for an emergency or if you're just popping to the shops.

If there is a huge amount of ambient light around though, as in a city centre with lots of traffic, they'll be much harder to notice. They aren't bright enough for daylight use either.

Value

They are only a couple of quid more than the £29 Lezyne Femto USB Drive Pair, which Jamie was very impressed with, but the extremely similar Oxford Bright Spot USB LED lightset is just £19.99. The Oxfords perform much the same as the Cateyes, making them ideal emergency lights to get you out of trouble.

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The Orbs are certainly better value than the BBB Spycombo USB light set, though, which are similar in design and application. They retail for £49.95.

Overall

The Orbs are a neat solution as a 'be seen' light set, and the rechargeable batteries give them an edge over some of the cheaper opposition. They are well made and take up little room on your bike, too, so you can easily leave them attached without causing clutter.

Verdict

Compact 'be seen' lights with the bonus of being USB rechargeable