Cateye EL-020 Hybrid solar + battery front light

The Cateye EL020 hybrid lamp certainly isn’t the most powerful in its class but sophisticated solar technology backed by a single AA contingency cell signals an end to sudden, unexpected and potentially fatal blackouts.

However, the small, uncharacteristically fiddly switch was poorly positioned and particularly difficult to engage on the fly, let alone wearing winter gloves.

Everything about the EL020 screams space age, this is another of those lights that bears more than a passing resemblance to the USS Enterprise with its huge solar panel and round lamp. Engineering grade plastics feel extremely robust and despite the swooping curves it doesn’t consume nearly so much handlebar real estate as you’d think thanks to the slender mount, which is thoughtfully universal throughout the brand's commuter lighting range. Flip it over and loosening the discrete Philips screw provides access to the battery tray.

The panel display indicates which power source is operating at any given time. For a full charge, the solar panel needs to sit six hours in daylight – the average window ledge seems fine – although at a pinch it will absorb some charge when left in the gaze of a desk lamp. Keep an eye on the display – a blue arc suggests all is well but red calls for a flick of a small-serrated switch drawing auxiliary power from the dry cell.

The Opticube lens technology has a quoted 400 candlepower delivery and you get two hours runtime on high beam and six in flashing mode from the solar power, although this fluctuates with temperature. By contrast, two alkaline AAs returned eight and twenty four hours respectively. While very pure, the light isn’t terribly powerful, especially riding away from the main drag. Flashing is a different story, the steady pulsing beacon cutting a swathe through congested streets and roundabouts straight through to the suburbs – perfect alongside older, or more basic dynamo headlamps that don’t hold their charge when stationary.

Verdict

Clever commuter lamp with a rather fiddly switch