Lifeline’s Pavo 720 has a quality feel and a high power output that provides a strong spot-style beam, with plenty of throw.
While its illumination is enough for most night road riding conditions, disappointingly it has no waterproof rating, which for UK riding I find somewhat risky.
The two-piece alloy bar clamp needs patience and nimble fingers to attach because it has to be opened right up and the chances of dropping the foam shim are high. It uses an Allen key to tighten it into position, but once set it’s solid and won’t need touching again.
There is no lateral adjustment though, and if you can’t mount the bracket centrally it makes it hard to point the light where you want it.
That’s because the beam, although bright, has a distinct central spot with an obvious peripheral circle.
The reach and visibility over distance are excellent, but it feels like you’re riding down a tunnel, especially on unlit country roads because the light doesn’t leak upwards either.
It is such a directional beam that it really works best when centrally mounted.
The five modes are easily cycled through using the power button, which goes blue for visibility.
Hold it down and it jumps to flashing mode, and it has a memory function that picks up from the last setting used.
Although the body and mount are both well constructed, there are a few disappointments with this light.
It has no side lights, the micro-USB port cover is flimsy and too easily knocked, and the bracket fixing is much less elegant than the parts it joins.
In summary, the reach of this light is great, but the narrow beam pattern won’t be for everyone and especially not if you ride unlit or rural roads.
How we tested
With darker nights upon us, we put eight front road bike lights to the test.
Unlimited budgets are a luxury, though, so each light is priced under £100 and has a brightness of between 500 and 1,000 lumens (with one measured in lux).
As well as brightness, we considered beam performance, run times, mode options and any waterproofing claims, as well as the unit’s construction and other features, such as mount types.
The lights were all tested in urban conditions and on unlit and rural roads.
Also on test
Product
| Brand | lifeline |
| Price | 195.00 AUD,60.00 GBP,68.00 USD |
| Weight | 194.0000, GRAM () - with bracket |
Features
| br_lightType | front |
| br_integratedBattery | yes |
| Features | Lux @ 5m high beam: 224 Run time: 110 minutes at max power Modes: 5 – Full, Medium, Low, Power saving, Flash |
| br_outputLumens | 720 |
