The overall build quality is up there though, and I like the angular style CatEye has gone for on their higher models. It looks at home on a modern aero frame, so won’t be cramping your style for the pursuit of safety (nor performance at only 47 grams)!

Charging times are similarly faithful: 3 hours from a laptop, 15 minutes faster at the mains. That's longer than some, especially those using USB-C, but on a par with other, such as the Sigma Blaze. Plugged into a dynamo USB it's a bit more variable, but has gone from zero to hero in just over 4 hours. Value The rest of the burntimes are 15 hrs, 11hrs and 70 hrs as you drop down through modes. After a few charging rounds I found those times to be easily achievable on all but the coldest of rides. Sub-zero I'd say they drop by around 5%. The Group mode is next in line for output at 50 lumens. To be honest, because its flash pattern is so much more sedate it actually seems brighter, but it's a bit too much for those sitting on your wheel. Or buy a Rotlicht instead, where you can replace (and recycle) an exhausted battery. I'm getting the sense that you can't do that with the Cateye?So Cateye decided it would be a great idea to discontinue the cheap and much loved Rapid Mini and Rapid Micro lights just so they could bring out a new product line with more eyeball searing lumens than you'll ever need that does nothing apart from blinding everyone behind you and inflating the price, Just so they could make more money off you. With an 8hr claimed run-time from the 800mAh li-ion battery, Group Ride is very usable too. I certainly never had it shut down even after multiple rides, as there's ample opportunity to top up before it gets critical (and a red warning light at 1hr left, when it also switches to a special power-saving flash pattern). Value Positioning it vertically has a small but palpable edge, especially at junctions, negotiating roundabouts and just performing turns in the road – particularly so when I've tethered it to my low-slung trailer. Though it has a smaller surface area than I'm usually comfortable with attaching to a trailer or tagalong, the daytime mode more than compensates, especially in such contexts. That doesn't sound very bright, but the 30lm glow from all three LEDs through the transparent case is actually pretty eye-catching outside of bright sunshine or night-time commutes.

Obviously that's not a picture (above) of the full brightness, or indeed any of it... use it in the dark and it's likely to irritate anybody behind; not so much because of the intensity, but because of the pattern. The recharge time is 3hrs, dependent on your charging source. An LED on the side shows the battery status. That's all the facts and figures out the way, so how does it work as a light? Easily, as it turns out. Group ride is also a surprisingly good choice for these duties. That said, something like the Knog Cobber Mid Rear Light is a superior choice for nocturnal couplings, but a good deal dearer, too. On the bike the CatEye ViZ is simple, secure, effective and long-lived. The clamp needs a bit more attention once you remove it – and if you don't use lights on bright days it's a bit excessive – but other than that it's very good; it gets the job done well. Verdict As the name suggests, Cateye's Viz 450 rear light can throw out an extremely bright beam, although the full power is reserved for an intermittent flash in the 'Daytime Hyperflash' mode. In some specific use-cases you might appreciate this amount of power, but for most cyclists it is overkill and potentially a little provocative. There are more socially acceptable modes, but you could also just buy a less powerful, cheaper light.Returning to the review, I honestly cannot see how anyone thinks 300 lumens is appropriate for a red light aimed at following vehicles or riders, whether at night or in daylight. I find 30 lumens is more than enough to draw attention. The Viz 150, which appears to have a very similar shape, has more than enough punch and is significantly cheaper than this unit.