Lezyne have built a solid reputation in five short years for revolutionising the multi-tool market, making tools for the first time sexy.
They’ve since expanded the range into other areas, the latest addition is a range of three LED lights. We’ve got our hands on the most powerful of the three, the Super Drive.
Packing 450 Lumens, this is the brightest on offer (the Mini Drive, reviewed here, has an output of 150 Lumens, while the mid-range Power Drive puts out 300 Lumens), and with a price tag of £99.99, it’s immediately clear you’re getting a decent whack of illumination for little money (it is significantly cheaper, for example, than the Exposure Lights Joystick, which only manages 325 Lumens ).
So already it’s off to a good start. A rechargeable Li-Ion battery provides 1.5 hours of juice on the full 450 Lumen mode, while the rubber button on the top of the light can be used to cycle through the other three modes; medium, which sees battery life extended to a more useable 2.5 hours, low and flashing.
Lezyne developed their own lens to make the most of the available output from the Cree LED. Combined with a mirror polished parabolic reflector, the 450 Lumens spill out with a very wide beam.
Charging is simply a matter of using the supplied USB cable, removing the light from the mount and, turning it upside down to reveal the charge port cleverly tucked underneath a rubber protective flap. Charge it at your desk during work hours and it takes about four hours to top up from empty.
The clever mount – it uses a knurled thumb screw designed to prevent over tightening – keeps the light securely in place. Very little bounce occurred even over some of the rougher paths we encountered when taking the light off-road. Each light comes with two mounts, for 31.8mm and 25.4mm bars.
A very useful touch, and something that shows Lezyne really do pay attention to the details, is the small amount of rotation the clamp design allows. You can point the light just where you want it, especially useful if you can’t or don’t want to fit the light right up beside the stem (if you’ve have a Garmin fitted for example).
All in all, Lezyne’s first entry into lights is a well priced, nicely designed and focused light that offers a surprisingly powerful beam.
Performance
Lezyne have set their sights on cycle commuters and those after an affordable, small and light unit that doesn’t break the bank.
However, that said 450 Lumens is still a decent whack of output (certainly more than we had when we first started night riding ten years ago) and we found it the beam ideal for riding on unlit roads when using the most powerful setting, although the battery life is limiting for extended rides.
We’ve also found the Super Drive to pump out enough light for off-ride night riding, providing your sticking to a reasonable speed on familiar trails. However, the launch of Lezyne’s helmet mount (available separately for £16.99) means it can be combined with a more powerful bar-mounted beam, making the Super Drive the ideal filler light for those spots, particularly corners, that the fixed main beam can’t reach.
All that makes the Lezyne Super Drive a smartly designed torch good for those who want a commuting light powerful enough for occasional on and off-road night riding.
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