LEZYNE Micro Drive Pro 800XL Light

Product Information

There are eight settings in total, which gives you plenty of versatility for balancing battery life against output, and I wouldn't real cull any of them – well, maybe the Pulse – but I would definitely change the way you access them to make the light more user-friendly. I've had one of these in heavy use for three years now. It performs the same as when new. The battery is still good for 90 minutes or so on full blast, and four hours on low. Typically I use the ultra-low setting near dusk when you begin to need visibility but you can still safely see where you are going. Then after dark I use race mode, on this one with the remote wired toggle button. The system has proven to be a 10 for reliability, and once you figure out the operating scheme, it has become second nature. Finally, the new Lezyne Strip Pro Alert Drive is the rear light in this trio of bike lights from Lezyne. This advanced LED rear bicycle light features a new “Alert” technology to warn following vehicles that you are braking – when decelerating, the light will turn solid like a brake light and then provide a distinct flash pattern once stopped to alert riders or vehicles from behind. Overdrive is perfectly sufficient for speeds around 20-22mph; anything slower and I was happy with Blast's 400 lumens. Annoyingly, though, Blast sits between six others in the normal cycle of modes rather than in the Race Mode. Economy, which offers 150 lumens for 19 hours, partners Overdrive in Race Mode. It does offer 10 hours more than 2018's Lite Drive model, but it's just not powerful enough to facilitate riding at higher speeds.

Flashing-wise, there is a DayFlash which pumps out the full 1,000lm for 7.5hrs, which grabs plenty of attention when riding in the sunshine or filtering during daylight, though it is way too antisocial to use during darkness.

Boost is still plenty bright enough to see where you are going on wide main roads with cats-eyes and the like, plus the Enduro will, too, at a push.

The button used to switch the light on and off also displays the battery life. Green for above 50%, amber for 10-50%, red for below 10% and eventually red flashing for less than 5%. It's an idiot-proof system that works for the recharging too.

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There are seven light modes ranging from 70 lumens for Daytime Flash modes, to 30 lumens on the standard modes, down to 5 lumens on Economy. Lezyne also claim 180 degree visibility with cutouts on the sides of the faceplate, but the amount of light thrown out immediately from the edges is pretty underwhelming. I didn't use Economy or Femto much, but it is nice to know they are there, should you start to run out of battery.

With plenty of options and plenty of light, Lezyne's Micro Drive rear light does well in the visibility stakes, but a few design quirks mark it down. The trio of lights that I have on test from Lezyne is comprised of the Lezyne Micro Helmet Drive Pro 800XL, the Lezyne Lite Drive 1000XL headlight and the new Lezyne Strip Pro Alert Drive rear light. I have been consistently impressed by the individual performance of all three lights, as well as how well they work together in tandem to increase your visibility and provide superb illumination of the trail or road ahead. It's worth pointing out that the light can be twisted on its mount; it's a very stiff movement, no float whatsoever. It means you can mount it on certain helmets if you wish. Once it's on though, there's over 8cm of metal poking out from your seatpost. Being this long means it can act like a cantilever; the whole thing can be pushed out of alignment, and mounting it just a few millimetres off centre can easily impact the angle which the light actually points. This problem is amplified by the fairly narrow beam and enclosed faceplate.When on you can cycle through the modes or a five second press when the light is off activates the Overdrive mode which reduces the options to just two. Overdrive is the Micro Drive Pro 800XL operating at its full capacity, 800 lumens (who'd have guessed); this will burn for 1 hour 45 minutes, a whopping 30 per cent increase on its predecessor's run-time in the same mode. I've made use of this for the darkest of lanes but rarely had it on for the duration of a ride. I prefer the 400-lumen Blast mode, which is enough on familiar roads (plus, knowing I have four hours to play with is more comforting). The cradle for attaching the light takes a bit of getting used to (maybe 2 uses?) just make sure you snap it right into the vey end and away you go. I have never had mine come loose despite coming off the bike last winter. As for removing it? Just push down on the light whilst holding the cradle with the other hand and it releases with ease - perfect if you want to take it off during the cafe stop. Also, this model will fast-charge if your USB power supply and cable are compatible. That's handy for charging up at an office, or during a rando ride, plug it in and charge it while you take a meal break. It will also charge while in use if you bring an external battery and cable. That's only necessary if you're riding all night.