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review
£12.99
VERDICT:
Smart looking, cheap emergency back-up light with an innovative mount
Weight:
31g
Contact:
www.upgradebikes.co.uk
At road.cc every product is thoroughly tested for as long as it takes to get a proper insight into how well it works. Our reviewers are experienced cyclists that we trust to be objective. While we strive to ensure that opinions expressed are backed up by facts, reviews are by their nature an informed opinion, not a definitive verdict. We don't intentionally try to break anything (except locks) but we do try to look for weak points in any design. The overall score is not just an average of the other scores: it reflects both a product's function and value – with value determined by how a product compares with items of similar spec, quality, and price.
What the road.cc scores meanGood scores are more common than bad, because fortunately good products are more common than bad.
- Exceptional
- Excellent
- Very Good
- Good
- Quite good
- Average
- Not so good
- Poor
- Bad
- Appalling
Lezyne's Femto Drive rear LED is a neat little 'emergency be seen' light combining a machined alloy body and versatile bracket that fits to seatpins, clothes, bags, anything you can think of really that can be attached to with either a band fitting or a clip.
The overall length is only 25mm and comes in a range of anodised colours which do look pretty cool on your bike. The Femto is easy to fit and remove in seconds which makes it ideal for bikes that are locked up in public.
The lens itself is the button, ideal if you need to turn it on or off with thick winter gloves on. Push and hold to turn on and you get a choice of five modes ranging from constant through various flashing modes and one which they call 'orbing' where the light fades before going back to full without actually going off.
Burn times are pretty good with 30 hours for constant and 60 for the others from two CR2032 watch style batteries. In testing though I'd change the batteries a good ten hours before that as unlike rechargeable lithium batteries these fade as they start to run out.
The Femto is classed as water resistant and there were no real issues with moisture getting in. On one very soggy ride without mudguards the Lezyne did keep working but once turned off it wouldn't turn on again until it had dried out.
At only 7 lumens its not something I'd want to use as my solo lighting source as its not bright enough to stand out against street lighting and car tail lights but out on the dark lanes things are a better as the various flashing modes are quite conspicuous. The fact that you can get the Femto online for about £8.50 though means you could deck yourself and your bike out like a Christmas tree for minimal expense.
The Femto is up against plenty of opposition at this price point, most notable are Cat-Eye's Nima and the Izone Pulse, both very similar in their outputs and burn times. You can get the Knog Strobe though for very similar money and that knocks out a whopping 25 lumens with longer burn times than the Femto from the same CR2032 batteries.
On the whole the Femto is best used as an additional/emergency light due to its minimal output especially if you ride in lit up areas. The battery life is pretty average against some of its rivals but they are quick and easy to change so you could easily carry a couple of spares with you.
On the plus side the machined body looks smart and makes a change to the plastic normally found at this price. The range of seven colours also allows you to add a bit of bling to your bike. The dual purpose bracket also makes fitting the Femto to clothing, bags easy and is probably what the Lezyne is best used for.
Verdict
Smart looking, cheap emergency back-up light with an innovative mount.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Lezyne Femto Drive LED - Rear light
Size tested: Silver - Rear Light
Tell us what the light is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
The Femto is part of Lezyne's Sport line up which is a step down from their big lumen lights its more intended as a back-up emergency style offering. It does okay at this but the low 7 lumen output means it doesn't really stand out in highly lit areas.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?
CNC'c aluminium body
Water resistant
Uses 2x CR2032 batteries
Clip & band on bracket
Rate the light for quality of construction:
7/10
Feels a bit flimsy but then it does only cost around a tenner.
Rate the light for design and ease of use. How simple was the light to use?
9/10
Its a neat design with some clever touches. The range of colour options makes coordination with your bike a must.
Rate the light for the design and usability of the clamping system/s
8/10
Clip it to clothes or bags or wrap the band around the seatpost - your choice.
Rate the light for waterproofing. How did it stand up to the elements?
7/10
It kept working in the wet although it did conk out once the button was pressed and needed drying out before it started up again.
Rate the light for battery life. How long did it last? How long did it take to recharge?
7/10
Non-rechargable Cr2032 batteries offer a decent life, 30hrs constant/60hrs flash but will start to fade long before they actually run out.
Rate the light for performance:
7/10
Rate the light for durability:
7/10
Rate the light for weight, if applicable:
8/10
Rate the light for value:
7/10
Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose
As a back up, get you home light it'll do the job. Keep an eye on the batteries though.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the light
The smart design and colour options.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light
The weak total light output.
Did you enjoy using the light? Yes.
Would you consider buying the light? No.
Would you recommend the light to a friend? Yes.
About the tester
Age: 35 Height: 180cm Weight: 76kg
I usually ride: Whatever needs testing or Genesis Flyer, fixed of course! My best bike is: Kinesis T2 with full Centaur Red
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Every day I would class myself as: Expert
I regularly do the following types of riding: time trialling, commuting, club rides, sportives, fixed/singlespeed,
Since writing his first bike review for road.cc back in early 2009 senior product reviewer Stu has tested more than a thousand pieces of kit, and hundreds of bikes.
With an HND in mechanical engineering and previous roles as a CNC programmer/machinist, draughtsman and development engineer (working in new product design) Stu understands what it takes to bring a product to market. A mix of that knowledge combined with his love of road and gravel cycling puts him in the ideal position to put the latest kit through its paces.
He first made the switch to road cycling in 1999, primarily for fitness, but it didn’t take long for his competitive side to take over which led to around ten years as a time triallist and some pretty decent results. These days though riding is more about escapism, keeping the weight off and just enjoying the fact that he gets to ride the latest technology as part of his day job.
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Add new comment
15 comments
I like this light but I attach it to the back of my helmet. The clip works well on the rear strap. Clearly, it does a better job there as I've not had a problem with it at all.
One very wet winter and mine are still going strong. Can't say the same for two sets of Knog frogs that kept turning on in my bag and running down the battery and the rubber straps split. These Lezynes are quality.
I like innovation - standards have their place of course but not for lights surely.
Water proofing ok for me, but tricky to change batteries as is easy to cross threads when putting unit back together
Button lens seems like it will seize up if dirt gets in from the rear wheel where it is the direct line of fire.
Wouldn’t it make sense to put the switch at the back out of the way of spray and keep the lens that is in the line of fire very well sealed with no moving parts?
Button lens seems like it will seize up if dirt gets in from the rear wheel where it is the direct line of fire.
Wouldn’t it make sense to put the switch at the back out of the way of spray and keep the lens that is in the line of fire very well sealed with no moving parts?
I have to agree with Velo Alex. I had one that lasted half a ride. Swapped it and that went as well a week later. There's also a guy in our club who also had his fail.
AL
Had one for 18 months or so, never had an issue even in the last few months with all the rain, cracking little light!
I advise everyone to avoid these lights, even as a back-up or supplementary light.
The water resistance is pitiful (I've had 3 drown in the space of a year) and when they're not drowning from rain (not road spray), they're too sensitive to vibration on anything less than good roads with an annoying habit of turning off.
After the 4th exchange from my local store and them admitting they get a lot returned I gave up with them entirely.
Great price, neat design, awful light.
I've got the earlier version which doesn't have the clip mount, this change is a good idea as the rubber strap is a bit limiting.
Good little light, have had one for a few months now, for the mount, it's a nice idea, as you can use it as a clip-on or band-on which is angled for a seatpost fitting.
I have a couple of these which I use as secondary/emergency light. Nice little light, good value for money.
Confused by the rating for the Knog stated as 25 lumen above. The Knog website says 2.5 but Evans says 25. Which is correct?
Do you know what, instead of an "innovative mount" how about all lights having a standard mount, so we don't have to keep changing lights when the mount breaks or is lost, or if we want to swap lights between bikes without engineering work.
^This. An ISO standard mount for all lamps front and rear.
Yup, an internationally agreed standard, like there is for headsets and bottom brackets and hub spacing and dropouts and stuff.