Lezyne Helmet Lite Drive 1200+ LED has eight LEDs, delivering a broad 1,200 lumenbeam, 60-hour runtime, USB-C port, coupled with 2A+ fast charging, allows rapid recharging.
- Price: £90.00
- From: Upgrade Bikes
- SQUIRREL_TEXT_13041035
- Tested by: Hannah for 3 months
This helmet light is less than half than half the price of the roughly equivalent Exposure Lights Axis Mk10 – and about the same price as a Magicshine Allty 1500 (once you’ve accounted for the Garmin-style helmet mount), which has a brighter but much more focussed beam than the Lezyne 1200. The Lezyne feels well made with its aluminium casing, and the GoPro style mount means you may well find your helmet has a compatible attachment ready and waiting. I like the fact that it comes in simple packaging, doesn’t come with a stack of mount options you’ll probably never use, and you don’t get a charging cable. It uses a standard USB-C so you can use one you already have.
The Velcro mount that is included with the light might not be compatible with your particular helmet’s vent pattern. Ideally you need a fairly central pair of vents to thread the strap through – this is quite a fiddle, and with modern MIPS liners sitting too close to the helmet, I found I had to strap over the MIPS liner (MIPS advises against attaching anything that’s not been designed into the helmet, but especially cautions against anything that interferes with the movement of the MIPS layer). The mount is not a quick thing to fix in place – the Velcro needs careful positioning to stop it snagging your hair. All in all, it’s better to have a helmet with it fitted, leave it on, and bring the whole helmet and light to the charging point. The weight of the light – it’s about twice as heavy as an Axis, and still a chunk more than the Allty – is noticeable enough that during the day I’d not choose to ride with it attached. If you don’t already have a second helmet, the price of this light might then be a false economy.
The diffused beam of light is OK – good even if you have to use it on its own – but I found it could be drowned out by a much more powerful bar mounted light, even on the max 1200 Overdrive setting. I’d say it adds more to your ride when paired more evenly with a similarly powered bar light, but I do prefer something that is a little narrower and more piercing for when you want to look ahead through the trees. You only get two hours of Overdrive, so I recommend using the ‘Race’ setting to eliminate all the flashing and inbetween options. This lets you do your easy sections in Eco mode, boost it up to Overdrive for the trickier stuff, and head straight back to Eco again. Just don’t forget to make the switch or you’ll likely run out of light before you get home. The flashing options are all just a bit much so close to your eyes – for a helmet specific light they feel superfluous.
Overall
Not quite as satisfyingly fit-and-ride as Lezyne’s bar mounted range, it’s nonetheless a useful amount of light at an attainable price.
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Review Info
| Brand: | Lezyne |
| Product: | Helmet Lite Drive 1200+ LED |
| From: | Upgrade Bikes |
| Price: | £90.00 |
| Tested: | by Hannah for 3 months |
