Dinotte or Cateye

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The Dinotte is fine for this, and withthe lowe power setting in town, tha battery life is fine for most commutes, especially if you use the LiIon set.

My system is a Hope HID for really dark places and the Dinotte for town / poorly lit rides
 
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slow down

New Member
Location
Walsall
But more W doesn't necessarily mean better?

Will the Cateye be good enough for what I want, or do I need to spend the extra on the Dinotte?

Also, I'm aware that there are a lot of lights that are good at making you be seen, but I also need something that allows me to see where I'm going.
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
You can get the cateye doubleshots or triple shots for 99 which will be better than the single shot

I use the Doubleshots off road and they will be plenty bright enough for the road. Cars do tend to slow a lot when i come up to them. i think they might be a touch too bright to be pointing at eye level
 

Abitrary

New Member
I've got a cateye, with a slidey on-off button on top, that literally the wind can operate

I'm constantly switching if on and off getting on and off the bike. This is annoying if I'm in stealth mode and I don't want to alert anyone to my presence

Also, it gets switched on when stashing it in a pocket or pannier, wasting valuable battery current.

All I can suggest is copying and pasting this post and emailing both companies and asking them about the likelyhood of this
 

domtyler

Über Member
I have the Dinotte and can testify to its build quality and brightness, it is easily bright enough to cycle at full speed on unlit roads. You will have to get used to recharging the batteries every day though, or do as I do and buy a few sets.
 

Noodley

Guest
domtyler said:
I have the Dinotte and can testify to its build quality and brightness, it is easily bright enough to cycle at full speed on unlit roads. You will have to get used to recharging the batteries every day though, or do as I do and buy a few sets.


What he said - especially re buying a few sets of re-chargeable batteries. Also get a few spare battery catridges and pre-load the spares to stop the faffing about of getting batteries in and out (especially with cold fingers). Very good lights, easily good enough for those speeds. The newer version is even better than the version I have - I have ridden with a clubmate who has the newer version, and it also has more options re lighting options.

(edit - forgot to mention the Cateyes: a few other clubmates have them and they are ok for getting you home, but don't expect to necessarily make it back in one piece if travelling above 15mph)
 

alfablue

New Member
Dinottes every time. The Cateye is overpriced for a 1w (there are several better, cheaper options), Cateye design and build quality is poor, and when they fall apart warranty support from Zyro non-existant. The Dinotte is simple, robust, far brighter. You have already made the right choice. Get some 2800mah AA's from ebay (about £10 for 8).
 

andrew_s

Legendary Member
Location
Gloucester
slow down said:
But more W doesn't necessarily mean better?

Will the Cateye be good enough for what I want, or do I need to spend the extra on the Dinotte?

Also, I'm aware that there are a lot of lights that are good at making you be seen, but I also need something that allows me to see where I'm going.

The Cateye is bright enough on a reasonably straight road, but on bends there isn't enough light spilling out of the rather narrow spot to let you see where the road goes without slowing down.
 

Abitrary

New Member
If anyone actually owns these lights, it's very easy to give a quick demonstration by shining them on something and taking a photo

Was looking at a yank thread and there was some sort of competition to work at the other's candle power by shining them on their garage door and posting the pictures on the thread
 

bonj2

Guest
Is the EL530 really that good? geargurl is doing them for about £20.

No. If you want to see just what a genuine work of crapola it is, you're welcome to send me an SAE and you can have mine - it's been sitting in the box under my bed for ages. You can have it for free, it's such a bag of shite. I can't guarantee I'll be able to find the mounting bracket but you can get spares I think.
For normal night riding round town I've got a smart polaris II (either the 3 front/7 rear or 5 front/1 rear can't remember) but it was £15 from JE James. It's ideal - it's compact, sleek-looking and plenty bright enough for other people to see me. I basically used to use the EL530 until I realised, why would I have something 2 and a half inches in diameter, when I can have something 1 inch in diameter, that's cheaper, lighter and looks better? (and is just as bright if not brighter?) The compact LED type ones are just so much better in my opinion, 'cos the EL530's just too bulky for a front light that isn't bright enough for actually lighting the way on dark unlit country lanes.

Seriously though User if you do want my EL530 you're welcome to it, pm me if you want my address to send an SAE.
 

wafflycat

New Member
Is the EL530 really that good? geargurl is doing them for about £20.

I have two mounted on a Minoura Spacebar which is on the handlebars of my bike. I was out riding unlit country lanes last night. Having two lit up the entire width of the road and gave a decent beam into the distance. I was riding at 20mph downhill at times and was comfortable at 15mph on them. At no time did I feel I didn't have enough light to see where I was going.
 
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