Lezyne Macro Drive front light

The Macro Drive is part of Lezyne's Sport range of LED lights, the next level down from the performance high-output front lights and designed as more of an all-rounder.

The CNC-machined body has a smooth finish with a couple of cooling groves to dissipate heat plus the lens end has a couple of notches to allow some side visibility.

The LED, electronics, and rechargeable battery are all stored inside the main body which gives a compact overall size of just 100x30mm. Recharging is taken care of by removing the plastic cap at the rear and attaching the included USB cable. It charges using the same fitting as most smartphones (except Apple of course) which is ideal for the office if you already have USB cables for other multimedia devices.

Using the three constant modes you get between 2:15 and 8 hours of burn time for the 300 Blast / 200 Enduro / 100 Economy lumen outputs. You also get two flash options '' one fast, one slow '' and they share a 150 lumen output for 10 hours apiece.

Should you need a little more oomph though there is an Overdrive Race mode which you activate by holding the on/off button for five seconds (standard mode is two) to get 350 lumens for a two-hour burn. You also get to toggle with the Economy setting when in this mode.

Charge times are pretty quick as well, four hours from flat to full which you can cut to three hours if you use a wall adaptor with the 2 Amp charging cable. The on/off button flashes while charging and goes solid when full. In the other direction it becomes a fuel gauge going from green to amber at 50%, to red at 10% before flashing red for 'oh bugger' 5% mode.

Performance out on the road is pretty impressive, better than I expected to be perfectly honest as the single LED chucks out a good spread of light.

On unlit country lanes you get a decent amount of light from the front of your tyre which then increases in intensity right up to the main spot, a good ten to twelve feet ahead depending on how you've got it set up on the bars obviously.

The Macro Drive provides enough visibility on Overdrive mode to be able to see potholes and the like up to about 40km/h on dry roads but I wouldn't really want to be travelling any faster on unknown roads. As you'd expect the speeds drop as you go through the lower output modes but the Enduro is plenty bright enough on busy main roads with the majority of light to see by coming from other traffic.

In town is where the Macro Drive really comes into its own especially in the flash mode. The LED provides a very white light which stands out even in daylight above the sea of LED daytime running lights found on new cars come commute time. The faster of the two flashes provides the best visibility as you filter or enter roundabouts and the like. I'd prefer a pulse as found on Exposure lights as with flash there is always the risk on that micro second when you are unlit.

There are a couple of niggles, as always. The plastic bracket could do with some rubber between itself and the bars to stop it constantly rotating around them over bumpy road surfaces. It is easy to attach and remove though making it ideal for city commuters that have to leave their bikes in the open.

The other thing is that its quite easy to cross thread the plastic recharging cap and continued use could see it wear quite quickly. I'd need to charge it daily for example if I was to use it as a main light on my commute.

On the whole though the Macro Drive offers some decent performance for its fifty quid asking price pretty much matching my double-the-price Exposure Sirius everywhere except for overall finish and dare I say it quality. That's not to say the Lezyne is fragile, it comes with a 2 year warranty and it stood up well through the latest batch of storms.

The burn times were bang on 95% of the time and only then it was down to the temperature being pretty close to freezing.

The Macro Drive gives you the flexibility to ride around town or get out onto the unlit lanes should you need or want to. Not only does it have the power but a decent burn time to, a full charge easily fitting into the working day as well. Overall its an ideal light for the streetlit commuter or occasional night rider.

Verdict

Top performing city commuter light with a beam capable of lighting up the country lanes for a good price. The bracket will need a little bit of modification though.

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