Cateye Rapid Micro Rear

The Cateye Rapid Micro Rear LED is the baby of the Rapid family and marketed as Cateye's budget model, which has apparently been designed for minimalists. It's a lot mightier than 15 lumens would suggest, and at a mere 21g seems ideally suited to sleek commuter bikes, or even lightweight/winter trainers.

Behind the fetching, slightly Lego-like lens, which uses collimator technology to amplify the middle of three diodes, there is a slightly traditional feel. A rechargeable lithium-ion cell recharges in a genre-typical two hours, slightly less from the mains, with a charge indicator light denoting when it's fully juiced. Others will doubtless disagree but four modes (constant, flashing, rapid and pulse) seem ideal for most contexts.

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To operate, just press its little grey rubberised switch for two seconds until the unit engages and you're ready to go. Though slightly softer than some, it hasn't accidentally engaged when bouncing around in a jersey pocket and it's surprisingly easy to operate mid ride.

Constant produces a rich, red glow that grabs attention better than I was expecting after dark and won't irritate riders following close behind. Visibility is good to 150m on a clear night, 120 on murkier rides, and around 100 through town. I was also pleased by its peripheral bleed, welcome at roundabouts or when turning right. A life of 2hrs 51mins from a full charge is pretty respectable too.

The rapid mode lives up to its name and reaffirmed my belief that presence isn't a numbers game: we're talking 220m on a clear night, 150 through neon soaked high streets. This put a relatively big dent in run times compared to pulsing or flashing, and it isn't the most pleasant to eyeball for any distance. Nonetheless, 4hrs 54mins is still pretty frugal.

Flashing has been my go-to setting and when mounted vertically, the light not only looks sleek but pumps out a surprisingly compelling beacon of light. As it's only 15 lumens, I wasn't surprised to discover it's too weak for daytime, though turns extrovert enough come dusk. Although 30 hours is claimed, 29hrs 47mins has been the best I've achieved. Theoretically at least, urban riders could get a month between charges. Visibility is a more modest modest 125m on the open road, 80-100 in town.

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Pulsing is another distinctive, reserve-sipping option which, aside from those occasions when dusk came quicker than expected, I used as backing singer to a dynamo. I've got 19hrs 47mins from ours against the 20 quoted. On clear, dark nights, it can be seen from up to 180m, 120 through built-up areas. It isn't going to break any records but is up to the job.

Cateye has embraced the minimalist and pretty universal O-ring bracket, which is a vast improvement on its zip-tie concept from a few years back. Not only is it neater, but super-dependable on all diameters.

Ultimately, in my opinion, the Rapid Micro Rear is an excellent benchmark for rear LEDs, though I would recommend running it in conjunction with a bigger, brighter unit on really dark nights.

Verdict

Well-thought-out compact light for all but the darkest nights