Review of Cateye HL-EL135 LED Bicycle Headlight

Cateye HL-EL135 LED Bicycle Headlight
By: Cateye Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 19
More Information

Great, great product for its intended purpose.

On: 2010-02-01

Its main purpose is to make you seen at night. Its second purpose is to give you SOME light to see where you are going. This light is purfect for urban riding. I bought it for riding at night in Washington, DC. This gives me a little added light and makes me highly visable to traffic around me.

Unlike those small frog led lights and others like it, this light has enough power to help me see, not just be seen. In my opinion, the the single led lights (frog) are a waste of money. Buy this and make yourself much more visable and therefore safer.

At the same time, please note that if you want a light so you can go riding at night, you should updgrade to something of NiteRider (which is purpose built to see, not be seen) quality. I would also not recommend this product to someone offroading as there is not enough light to see every branch and rut in front of you.

A "To Be Seen" light, not so much a "To See" light

On: 2009-11-13

Bike lights generally fall in to two categories: "to see" or "to be seen". This light does illuminate a bit in front of you but not enough to go fast in the dark without worrying about hitting something. The light is surprisingly small (about the size of two fingers).

The switch is very well designed in that you hit it once and the light turns on solid, hit it again and the light blinks, hit it a third time and the light goes back to solid. This is nice if your ride takes you alternately through well lit high-traffic areas (blinking mode) and dark low-traffic areas. To turn the light off you hold the switch down for a couple of seconds. This way you never accidentally turn the light off when changing modes.

Light is not very water-proof. I left the light on when I washed my bike and the insides were soaked. Worked just fine after it dried.

Mount could be studier...but it is OK.

Wife loves it

On: 2009-09-20

I bought this light for my wife, to replace a POS Bell xenon light.
I was shocked at how small it was, but it really throws the light out there!
the light can be steady on, and also will flash if you so desire.
installation is a snap with no tools required.

Bright light, convenient to attach/detach.

On: 2009-09-08

I use it almost every day riding bicycle to/from downtown Chicago.
It still runs on original batteries and produces bright flashes - which I think necessary to be noticed by drivers and pedestrians (I use it any time, day or night).
Takes a second to attach/detach it to the handle.

Why you should buy two

On: 2009-06-20

If you live in one of Americas large cities, where Reagan-era cuts in mental health care sent hoards of people unable to care for themselves to live on our streets, you will be unable to leave this product on your unattended bicycle. Those who live on park benches, in cardboard boxes and under bridges will find your Cateye a great accessory to urban homelessness. Sooner or later, you will bike to your favorite hangout, and in a rush to see your friends inside, you will forget to remove and pocket your cateye, and when you return, your Cateye will be gone. Therefore, you will need to buy two. The good news is that its a fine product. But please, write your lawmakers and demand a sane public policy regarding the dumping of the mentally ill on our nations downtowns. Reopening of public mental health institutions would be a great start.

Good price for entry level LED light

On: 2009-03-01

The Cat Eye HL-EL135 is a good basic bicycle LED light for the price. The body and design of the light is cool, it looks great. The flashing function works well for riding at night and I use it the most. However, I found the steady function to be only marginally adequate for my needs, not bright enough for my taste. I will buy another Cat Eye Halogen light to go with it. Otherwise, I am happy with this light for most daily commutes.

Completely incompatible with water

On: 2008-12-06

I bought one of these from a bike shop. Indeed, the batteries last a very long time and it is "bright enough", but frankly I cannot understand the positive reviews here. Almost since I bought it, sometimes the light would not turn on (or would be very dim), and it would not respond to the push button. When this happened, the only way to turn it on or off would be to bang on it. Finally, I banged on it so hard that it broke, and upon seeing the insides, I understood the cause of the problem: it was full of water. I store this thing in my garage and I do not ride in the rain very often. Upon examining the design of the thing, it has many seams (without gaskets) in the top of the case, and none in the bottom, so it is only natural that it would take on water and stay wet long enough to mess up the circuit board, as has happened to me. The design is such that it is 100% inevitable that it will take on water in even a light rain.

So I am confused, do all of the other reviewers studiously avoid biking in the rain? If it starts raining while you are at work, do you sleep at work overnight instead of riding your bicycle home?

At any rate, if you dont live in the desert, I would avoid this and all other CatEye products like the plague. I have also owned CatEye Tomo and Strada computers, and they have also succombed to rain early on.

good for cars to see + strong mounting

On: 2008-11-16

The light is bright enough for cars to see it easily but not nearly bright enough for me to see bumps (etc) in poorly lit areas, however, at the price, I cannot expect it to be this bright.

I found the mounting to be very good long term but confusing initially. Now that I know how it works, it is quick on/off as needed. I can see how users broke the "docking snap" when first figuring out how to take off the light. However, I think if one is patient and careful not to force the light off the mount -- it slides off easily when done right -- this should not break easily and should become second nature quickly. The mounting has not budged since I put it on.

Ive had the light for >1 month (used about 15 nights) and will update if I have any issues. Im currently looking to get another light that is brighter for when Im in dark areas and also to further increase visibility (I figure having two lights mounted will permit cars to better gauge of my speed).

For a rear light, I would recommend Cateye TL-LD130 LED Bicycle Tail and Safety Light (Red).

Great commuting light, great price, and works as a flashligh too!

On: 2008-09-17

Bought this for my girlfriends new city bike, and I am a little jealous because it is a far better (and half the price) then my stylish Knog (the price you pay for style)... Ill probably get one for myself and shelf the Knog.

Bright and compact, super easy to install, great battery life, easy to use, and the clip works very well. Some complain it is too easy to remove, but that is just silly. The light stays on when you want it to, and comes off when you need it too... I have used it as a flashlight a few time around the house and once while out on a ride when repairing a fender support on her bike!

If you are worried about getting it swiped when you have your bike locked up, just unclip it, it is tiny small enough to fit in a pocket or a small bag... plus at the price, while a bummer if it was stolen, the cost to replace wouldnt make you cry.

All in all, this is by far my favourite light for riding around the city.

Great Light

On: 2008-09-08

After figuring a way to mount this to a TerraTrike recumbent tadpole, this light is a great addition. It is bright enough to be seen by others in the daytime and dusk and we dont ride at night.

Works fine

On: 2008-06-25

No complaints so far, except that its very easy to take off, so someone could steal it easily if I didnt take it off the bike when parked in a public place. May not be as bright as some people would like.

Bright, reliable, economical

On: 2008-06-24

I bought this light over a year ago and have used it at least once a week during that time. I have not changed the batteries yet, and the beam is still bright enough to hurt my eyes if I look into it. I have not had any problems with the clip. The thing clips on and off my bike with no problems at all. The clip release is a little tricky sometimes, but its such a simple and bright light that I dont mind.

I recommend this light.

Worthy of 4 stars!

On: 2008-04-24

This is an excellent, LONG BATTERY life light. I have owned this for a few months and still havent needed to swap the batteries. The flashing mode is working as I see cars that have let me by to pass. I feel safe with this light on lighted pathways.

Regarding unlit trails...I dont think this light can do the job on steady mode for complete comfort. If you are going slow its okay but if you want to cruise > 15 mph this may be dangerous cause youll overdrive your headlight and not be able to swerve.

BTW, 4 stars instead of 5 due to the installation of the mount...it was bad. But its on, and thats THAT!

release clip easy to break

On: 2008-04-06

I purchased this light from a bike shop. I liked how clean and simple it looked. Was happy at first- installation was easy. It was not intuitive how to quick-release the light to remove it and eventually I popped it off and popped it back. What I didnt realize was that in doing so, I broke a very delicate tiny plastic tab that prevents the light from sliding off of the bracket. (another reviewer did the same -so its not just me)

I went on my first test-ride. Went over a bump and the light flew off the bracket and onto the street, breaking into 4 pieces plus 2 batteries. Spent 15 minutes under the streetlights searching for the parts- eventually found them and somehow was able to put the thing back together. One of the batteries was a bit crushed. Wedged a piece of aluminum foil into the bracket to get the thing to stay in place. Used the light a few times on my commute. Performance was not so good- pretty dim-even for riding under city lights.

A month later the light wouldnt work and I realized that the crushed battery had leaked acid all over the inside of the product, corroding it and destroying it.

Well, that was the end of my story- a bad experienced cause by an unintuitive and delicate quick-release tab.

I wouldnt recommend this light.

Cateye LED light

On: 2008-02-08

This works well for what I needed--a flashing light to increase my visibility to traffic. It is light, easy to remove, and sleek. I would not suggest using it to light the road in front of you; it is not that powerful.

Good light in a small package

On: 2008-01-31

Pros:
small light
regular batteries (AA)
removable light
easy to install mount
flashing mode, good for being seen on the bike

Cons:
could be a little brighter in non-blinking mode. I think I was expecting just a bit more light from 3 LEDs, but it gets the job done.

Pretty Good for the price

On: 2008-01-15

I have had one of these for about a year now, riding with and using it at least three times a week. The battery life is looooooooooong. Really economical. It was probably a good 6 months before I changed out the batteries, and that was only because I was paranoid. The center of the beam is small, and there is not a lot of radial light outside of it, but it does go out far enough ahead of you to see whats in front of you with plenty of reaction time. In city streets this thing is perfect. If you have to go in pitch darkness it probably wont be enough. However, for the price and the quality, its worth getting two. They are small enough that they dont take up much room on your handle bars; I have two of them on mine. I will warn you though, the clip where it locks into the frame broke on one of mine from taking it on and off too much. I was able to rig with no problem.
Pros: Long battery life. Definitely visible to other drivers.
Cons: Locking mechanism broke on one, not bright enough for pitch dark.

This is a great light

On: 2007-11-14

This light is VERY visible from way off. You can either use it blinking or constant. It is easy to install, and quite size adjustable for different size handlebars. Its easy to operate, and easily removed to slip into your pocket, when you park your bike and leave it somewhere. This is our 3rd light. (one for each bike). The batteries in the first one are still good after 5 months of almost daily use.

Good product

On: 2007-10-13

This is the first light I have owned for a bike so I cannot compare it to other products. I have owned it for about a month and use it for my daily two and a half mile commute through the city to school.
It performs as I expected, bright light, solid construction and has a farily sturdy, but adapatable, mounting system.
When shopping for this I was not looking for a super bright headlight; just something that would help me see in the dark and would catch drivers attentions. I does help you see in the dark, but will only give you the sense that you have a decent flashlight lighting the way, not a headlight.