The Lezyne Micro Drive front and rear lights are neat, sleek, and compact in design and although bright, they’re perhaps best suited for commuting where lights are needed to be seen rather than needed to light your way.

These Micro Drive lights from Lezyne are wonderfully compact and light so easily transportable. The attachment is “snap fit” you can simply attach it on to any (and all) of your bikes.  The bracket’s versatility means that you can alternate between bikes, effortlessly remove at the end of a commute, no scratching the frame which is a massive plus point for me, and no sticky out plastic bits that catch on your legs as you cycle as my previous set did.

They easily slot onto their mounts and stay in place; all the plus points are in the functionality and size. Small and powerful. They also happen to look great, and don’t look ugly on or clog up the handlebar or seatpost.

This also means that these lights are small and light enough to stick in your back pocket if you happen to be going out on a weekend ride, you’re out longer than you anticipate or it gets dark early; you’re in a chain gang and need a rear light, or you get caught out in unexpected British Weather and want to be more visible.

I recently used the lights during a torrential downpour, I add by way of note this was the wettest that I have ever been on a bike. The micro lights drew attention to my presence on the road, shined enough on the ground to aid in my ability to identify potholes, debris, and the contours of the road, that can often get lost in inclement conditions.

The manufacturers say that the lights feature a “Side Visibility design that increases user safety”. The lights have two semi circular ridges cut out of the side of the light, that beams the light outwards 180 degrees. In real terms the lights are bright. They are bright enough for people to shield their eyes from, if mistakenly left on while wheeling your bike along a path, and bright enough to give me confidence that they will be seen.

There are 6 setting modes. These apparently offer different lights settings for different times of day/types of conditions and help to conserve the running life of the light. I only use two modes, on/off and flashing; these work very well.

A few minor points of contention about this Lezyne light set come in what the manufacturers call the “intelligent power indicator button”. This is a multi purpose LED button that indicates battery life and is also the on/off function setting/changer switch. Apart from green, obviously “fully charged” and red “you need to plug your light in pronto” indicators, determining how “charged” the light is according to the colours can be problematic.

I have had the rear LED show RED and I left the light on the “flashing” setting for 3 whole days before the charge ran out. The front light indicator goes from green to red very quickly, and runs out of charge in approximately 2.5 hours of usage on the high flash setting, this is as per advertised. You need to remember to charge the unit regularly.

The light is charged via a USB that is housed inside the casing. No leads. This is rather convenient as it means  you can charge the light in the office, or while out and about if you have access to a USB plug in.

According to the manufacturer, the Lezyne Micro Device lights are supposed to charge in 3 hours, it is difficult to see if the light is charged via the colour indicator however because it plugs in upside down! I’ve been caught out on a return commute a couple of times and needed to wait for a 10 minute ‘get me home’ charge.

Verdict

The Lezyne Micro Device lights at around £70 are a fair price for a set of quality rechargeable commuting lights. Great for urban conditions, these lights come with all the trimmings of the Lezyne brand, slick, and nicely put together. Getting into the habit of remembering to charge the battery might be a chore, technically a fault of the user though not the light.

Pros

– Lightweight and easily detachable to put on and take off bike
– Sleek, clean design means no snagging
– No wires to lose to charge, simple USB device

Cons

– Difficult to ascertain whether the light is fully charged

Colours: Silver or Black
Price: RRP £69.99
More information: Lezyne

What Lezyne says about their Micro Device LED front and rear lights

The Lezyne Micro Drive Front features a lightweight and sturdy CNC-machined aluminium body with a “Side Visibility” design that allows 180 degrees of visibility and increases user safety. Constant Lumens power management drives the LED at a bright 200 lm, and the Intelligent Power Indicator button allows the user to check the power level at any time.

The Composite Matrix end cap conceals an integrated USB stick for convenient cable-free recharging of the Li-ion battery (non-replaceable). The light easily attaches to a wide range of handlebar diameters via a snap-fit Composite Matrix mount that is secured with a multi-position, silicon rubber strap for tool-less installation. It is available as a single front LED, and as a front/rear pair (Micro Drive Front and Rear).