Techalogic CF-1 Front Light with HD Wide Angle Camera

The Techalogic CF-1 Front Light with HD Wide Angle Camera is easy to use, produces decent images for incident/accident duties and runs for over five hours with everything on. The light itself is adequate rather than outstanding, but overall it's still a good commuting accessory.

If you're used to the sleek designs of modern lights, this black box feels like a step back to the old days. I think it's a bit of a lump to be honest – enough to put me off using it on my best bike – but on the winter hack it doesn't bother me unduly.

> Buy this online here

Halfway through the test period, Techalogic sent us out a new set of mounting hardware to replace the rather bulky setup you see in the other photographs (these are the new ones here).

The new mounts are CNC-ed aluminium, Techalogic-branded and secured with more discreet hex bolts. They come in two sizes, the smaller for bars (or posts – these are the same mounts that come with the rear version, which we'll review soon) of 20mm-28mm diameter, and the larger for 26.6mm to 32.5mm. There's also a stem bolt adapter.

The light attaches to the brackets using a simple slot-together fitting, which you can fasten with either a hex bolt or the supplied thumbscrew. The latter is theoretically handy for easy removal, but needs to be done up very tight to prevent the camera moving on the mount – something that's quite awkward as it's being pretty short and leaves little clearance for fingers. It's only trickier when those fingers are cold.

Techalogic is now supplying these units with a nice blue thumbscrew spanner, though a thumbscrew that works with thumbs would arguably be the best option...

The camera

The lens sits above the light with a flush-fitted cover to reduce the risk of scratching, while the control buttons are mounted down one side. The USB and SD card ports are on the other.

The camera records in 1920x1080p format at 30 frames per second, with the 120 degree field of view taking in the full width of the road.

I thought the pictures were remarkably stable given that bike-mounted cameras are prone to suffering from vibration, and there's no excessive pixelation at high speed – the bane of many early digital video cameras. Pausing on random frames always seems to reveal a sharp enough image.

There's a consistently blue tinge – presumably the white balance failing to respond to winter light – but even at speed downhill I was able to ready the number plate of every car that overtook.

Oncoming vehicles are a little trickier, especially at a distance, but the ones causing the problems always proved close enough to mean image was perfectly clear.

The camera can also be switched to stills mode, which shoots static images once a second. The picture quality is grainy even at maximum (12mp) resolution, though, so I didn't find it particularly useful.

The only other issues I had were that very low sun can cause the light to smear across the image, and that old-fashioned side-exiting shifter cables (see the 9-speeds on the video from my winter bike) get in the line of vision. Also, using the stem mount may eliminate this problem.

Sound is recorded via a tiny hole on the side of the unit, and it suffers fairly badly from wind noise. The range is also quite limited.

The controls

Using the unit is about as simple as it gets. Press the power button and both the light and the camera are activated. A flashing green light indicates when you're actually recording, but it's set in the front of the unit where it can't be seen by the rider... and the same goes for the battery level warning light.

The light defaults to a flashing pattern and doesn't remember the last setting you preferred, though there's only one – steady beam – besides off. The single 400 lumen LED is adequate on dark lanes and no more, but it's fine for town riding bar the side-visibility (which is nil). The flash is eye-catching enough, though.

Whilst the buttons are easily accessible, they're quite low-profile. I got used to using them by feel with a bit of trial and error, but when wearing thick gloves it's pretty hopeless. Some raised bumps on the rubber covers might be helpful.

The camera functions can also be controlled remotely from your smart device, via the CR-1's built-in Wi-Fi and an app, RICAM. There's a certain amount of setting-up to be done, but it's easy to use. My device was sometimes a bit slow to identify the WiFi signal, but once connected it was very stable with a range I'd estimate at around 30 metres.

You can change the recording file length (1, 3, 5 or 10 minutes), turn off the sound, turn off the timing watermark and select resolutions.

Crash bang wallop... what a picture

There's a feature called 'G-sensor' which is designed to automatically lock the video file if the camera senses an impact. Thankfully, I had no cause to test this in real life so can't say for sure that it works, but you can adjust the sensitivity in the settings/switch it off if your find it oversensitive. Time and date are set automatically by the app – great, as it's one less thing to mess on with.

However, if you are using the rear CR-1 unit as well you can only connect one at a time to the app, which seems a bit of missed opportunity.

Additional charges apply

Battery life is described as 'up to four hours' with both LED and camera running, and 'over seven hours' with the light off. With the camera only I did indeed get 7 hours and 20 minutes, and with the flashing light and camera still achieved around four and a half hours. Using the steady beam, battery life fell to around 2.5 hours without the camera running.

So that's as promised, but is it enough? On one longer day out I found myself riding home in the gathering gloom with no front light, while the matching rear unit was still going...

> 22 best rear bike lights for 2021 — boost your day & night visibility

The good news is the CF-1 is fully functional whilst charging, so you can plug in an auxiliary battery on the go. That means leaving the SD card port uncovered, though, which isn't so great in the rain. I found (normal) recharging quick, at about 2.5 hours.

Card declined

The camera accepts a micro-SD card of up to 128GB – it doesn't come with one, and the unit won't work at all without a card fitted, but they're an optional extra from Techalogic. I had an issue with one they supplied which resulted in the camera turning itself off all the time and disabling the controls (though the light continued to work). Two other cards I had lying around wouldn't work either. I eventually bought a SanDisk Extreme Pro 64GB and had no further problems.

I found that after 4hrs filming I still had two-thirds available, meaning around 12 hours total. The camera automatically overwrites the card when it's full so there's no problem with running out of space; by that time you should have had ample opportunity to copy any material you want to keep. The ports are protected by a rubber cover which fits fine, but the recess could be deeper for peace of mind.

> The best 2021 front lights for cycling: Our big beam comparison engine plus how-to-choose guide

There's no need to remove the card to transfer files – just plug the camera in to your computer. A USB cable is supplied. File transfer is quick and easy and I was able to play video files directly from the SD card.

Value

Last time we tested a light from Techalogic it was the unusual looking double-ended helmet cam, the DC-1, which was originally designed for motorcycles. The CR-1 is a bicycle accessory from the ground up, and avoids the controversial issue of using protective equipment as a mount.

I've actually found identical-looking (unbranded) versions of the CF-1 on eBay going for £145.00, so in that light Techalogic's price seems reasonable. Also, Aldi does a combined front light/camera called the Bikemate, and that's a very similar price of £99.99.

The main rival is Cycliq's Fly12 HD, which we last reviewed in 2018, but even then it was packing 600 lumens. It was, however, considerably dearer at £255 and is now £269, against which the Techalogic looks good value – the specs and claimed run times are similar.

Overall

The CF-1 is hard to fault for value, even against cameras that aren't also lights. The light is fine for town and occasional country use, while the camera is straightforward and gets the job done – so long as you're not after great sound.

Verdict

Adequate rather than outstanding as a light, but the camera works well and Techalogic gives good back-up