Cateye Volt 1700 Review

Video Review – see it in action

Cycling is a great sport during the day, but at night it also offers an amazing experience. Many of us need to cycle at night to commute to work or even because they don’t have the time to train during the day.

However, there’s something very special about being on quiet roads or a rough trail while it’s dark. It’s extremely peaceful, and there are typically very few people around.

Riding at night does require proper equipment because, without the right lighting, it can be very dangerous. We have been lucky enough to try a lot of lights on this website, but recently we got the opportunity to try the new Cateye Volt 1700.

In this article, we will tell you all about this front light and why you should consider it for your night riding.

Who is Cateye?

Cateye is a great brand that makes safety products and computers for cycling. They are not a budget brand and sit much range but do produce high-end quality products. We have had a lot of experience with Cateye and highly recommend many of their products.

Design

The first thing to mention is the design. It’s a good looking light, and you can tell they have put time into the design. Instead of being fairly long, the light is short and stubby, and this works well for staying out of the way of things like aero bars.

The flex tight bracket makes it easy to fit onto anything. Here we are using it on a homemade aerobridge, and it tightens up very well and sits nice and secure.

Performance

The light performs very well, and using its two LEDs gives not just powerful lighting but an excellent beam pattern too. When they say 1700 lumens, I genuinely believe that is accurate, and they are being realistic, unlike many amazon seller lighting systems.

You have 5 different settings with the Volt 1700, and the battery will last for different durations.

• Full Power: 2 Hours
• Medium Power: 5 Hours
• Low Power: 15 Hours
• Hyper Constant: 12 Hours
• Flashing: 150 Hours

Battery

The Battery is 6600 Mah which doesn’t seem like a huge amount, but it is just extremely efficient, and it does last for much longer compared to its competition.

What we loved about this battery is the fact it can remove from the light, so you can also carry a spare and have up to 300 hours of flashing lightning if you require it.

We must say the spare batteries are not cheap and can cost near the same as the actual light itself. You charge the battery with a micro USB which comes included, and from fully empty, it will take around 5 hours, which is very fast for the size.

Reliability

We have used the Cateye Volt 400 and 800 for years, and they have never let us down. The Volt 1700 is a more powerful system but uses the same LEDs, so we highly assume that it will be a very reliable light in the long term.

If you do have any issues, you have a 2-year warranty which is always a great thing from any company.

Accessories

One thing which is great about Cateye is they made lots of accessories. You can get light attachment clips for the helmet, forks, and many other places on you and the bike.

We highly recommend checking out the other bike accessories they have to offer.

Price and is it worth it?

The light isn’t expensive, and it’s half the price of some of the top-end lights on the market, and it performs up to a very high standard.

We highly recommend it because it is well worth every penny, and you can rely on it to keep you safe.

Robbie Ferri

Robbie Ferri has spent years working in a bike shop, has worked with industry leading brands on product creation, has been a semi pro athlete, and is a fully qualified strength and conditioning coach. He has broken World Records, bikepacked all over the World and raced ultra distance at a top-level.