Lezyne Super Drive LED Front Light

I've been combining Lezyne Super Drive with other high-powered and helmet lighting for regular nocturnal blasting. It's another of the super-commuter plus lamps with plenty of presence and reasonable round town economy but don't just save it for suburbia-liberate those 450 lumens for some serious open road training.

On paper, the Super Drive is good enough for scorching along the singletrack at close to thirty mph but in practice, this calls for backup from a helmet mounted flood beam. Run times are pretty good relative to its power and the 3.7V Li-on cell coupled with the intelligent system automatically drops to the lowest, flashing mode to conserve energy when the battery reaches a certain point as it runs down. Back in civilisation, you can pop it on charge with either a USB or wall adaptor and be ready to go again in four hours, although a fully charged spare battery slips effortlessly into a jersey pocket for extended playtimes.

CNC machined aluminium casings offer better durability and heat dispersion than their resin counterparts while the Super Drive incorporates a shroud to shield the riders' eyes from the retina burning glare. A super bright CRE Led and sophisticated parabolic reflector are the driving forces behind this. Parabolic reflectors have been used in car headlamps for some time since they eliminate the risk of aberrations-imperfections that distort the beam's quality, thus giving a distorted view of conditions. 450, 300 and 150 lumens (High, medium and low respectively) are particularly impressive from a system measuring 11cm long with its power source stowed inside the body. The composite brackets offered in standard and oversized are a little dull by comparison, albeit perfectly serviceable and allow the beam to be swivelled on the fly.

Irrespective of setting, the Super Drive certainly lives up to its name, burning through the darkness, allowing those deliciously deserted rural roads to be navigated as fast as you want to go. Depending on the positioning it will give a clear account of every road imperfection, so you can avoid potholes, glass, road kill and similar hazards. Speaking of which, a young rabbit and I weaved an interesting tango on a sweeping descent but mercifully he found a bolthole and I remained upright. Even the most myopic of main-beam motorists dipped their lights at three to four hundred yards.

I also tried Cobbling together a makeshift helmet mount but that proved too powerful, dazzling oncoming traffic, that said Lezyne will be introducing a helmet mount to fit all three of their lights in December with a SRP of £16.99 and it would certainly be a useful addition to your lighting options particularly if you want to go off road. I found the 150 lumens just right for built up areas, capturing people's attention without inducing a trance like state, being lost in the hustle and bustle or denting economy. Medium seems optimum for steady training runs and speeds to around 24 mph remain very realistic thanks to pin-sharp projection and user-friendly switch.

Anything to count against it as a commuter light? Well, peripheral illumination in the sense of side windows doesn't really exist and although the shroud's design allows some to bleed out I'd be inclined to back it up with a blinky just to be sure and to be technically street legal. It is a puzzle why so few manufacturers of this sort of high powered light don't include side illumination fair enough it might not be a legal requirement in other countries but surely cyclists in other parts of the word are still at risk from being hit from the side. That said this is a fantastic commuter light that will serve as very much more than that too.

Verdict

Blistering output relative to its size and the perfect companion for short to medium haul road duties...I'm almost tempted to buy two and enjoy the lanes at 900 lumens!