Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ / Strip Drive 300+ LED Lights review

The Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ / Strip Drive 300+ LED Light Set is just one option in Lezyne’s dizzying range of bike lights. It combines mid-range power output and pricing with premium build quality and functionality. 

An excellent all-rounder rear light is combined with a modest 800-lumen CNC-machined front light, which offers great performance for shorter rides in urban environments as well as rides at either end of the day on unlit roads. 

Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ / Strip Drive 300+ LED Light Set design and features Katherine Moore

Starting at the front, the Micro Drive 800+ is a chunky but powerful CNC-machined aluminium front light. Economy, enduro and blast modes offer 100, 400 and 800 lumens respectively, with a corresponding battery life of 10, 3 or 2 hours respectively. There are also three flashing modes; day flash, femto and pulse, which offer a battery life between 10 and 35 hours.

On economy, day flash or femto modes, the front light can be used with a power pack. Otherwise, the light is recharged using a USB-C cable (not supplied) via a sealed port on the underside of the light. 

The rear light is also charged with a USB-C cable, and boasts seven modes, the brightest of which is a day flash mode producing up to 300 lumens. Depending on which mode you choose, your rear light should last between 5.5 and 32 hours on a full charge.

The lights weigh 133g and 77g front and rear, including mounts, and are rated waterproof to IPX7 standard.

Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ / Strip Drive 300+ LED Light Set performance Katherine Moore

The Lezyne lights are both easy to install on the bike. The front is twisted on its mount so that you can hook the integrated rubber strap over the front loop and then rotate the light to square it forwards, and the rear is easily attached to a range of differently shaped seatposts with the chunky provided rubber strap. The only way I could think to improve this system would be if the rear light’s rubber strap was integrated – as it stands, it’s easy to misplace the separate rubber band for the mount when the lights are stashed in bags or pockets.

The front light can also be mounted under an out-front computer mount by using a Lezyne GoPro LED Adapter (available separately, £4), which frees up some handlebar space and can give better performance without light bouncing off the computer itself.

The front light cycles through no fewer than six modes, offering something suitable for most situations, though I don’t tend to favour using the flashing modes much.

One of the best features of the light is the ‘race mode’. Hold the on/off button down for five seconds to trigger it, which then lets you toggle between just two modes: overdrive (800 lumens) and economy (100 lumens). It’s just like driving a car with high beams for full visibility and dipped beams to avoid dazzling traffic, or in my case, to save battery.

This function makes selecting the appropriate mode much easier, and you’re not left cycling through a huge number of flashing or low modes while trying to light your way on a technical descent. Making it so easy to switch into a lower lumen mode, I found that I used this much more frequently in group ride settings in order to save some battery.

In terms of power, I found 800 lumens up front to be sufficient for most dark riding on rural lanes at slower speeds, until it came to descending a faster road. Here, the reach of the light wasn’t as far as I would ideally like, and I slowed considerably to compensate. However, for dawn and dusk riding and more relaxed night riding, this light offered reasonable performance without the need to spend considerably more on more powerful, premium units. 

The amber battery warning light is another very handy feature, and very visible while riding. This lit up an hour into one of my rides, and was the result of me having used both the overdrive and economy settings on race mode during a dark group ride. While this panicked me a little at first, the fact that it meant I still had nearly an hour of riding to get home again was a fair warning and I did make it back even using the light on its brightest power setting. The amber light comes on at 50% battery level, red at 10%, and the indicator flashes red at 5%. 

If you’re planning longer night epics, you’ll need to look elsewhere for enhanced battery life options, but for quick pre- or post-work rides, the battery life will be sufficient.

The Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ and Strip Drive 300+ lights have a solid construction. They may not be the lightest, but they feel like they’ve been built to last, with the front light featuring a CNC machined outer while the rear is a mix of plastic for the wrap-around light face and a rubberised plastic. Both light units are rated waterproof to IPX7 standard, meaning you should be fine in even the heaviest downpours, as long as you make sure that the rubber caps of the charging ports are secured properly.

The rear light offers great visibility, especially thanks to the long strip design. For a shorter rider who often worries about whether the rear light is actually visible over the rear wheel, especially on steeper inclines, this gives better peace of mind. The red light also extends to the sides of the unit, giving enhanced lateral visibility, which is especially handy in busier urban environments. 

I really liked one of the rear light modes – Flash 1, giving 40 lumens – where the LEDs ‘danced’ to give a visible pattern that’s not too distracting for your fellow ride pals, but also saves battery life compared to a steady light mode.

In this mode, Lezyne claims an impressive 32-hour battery life, which could easily be a whole week or two of riding and commuting without having to worry about recharging between each ride. A red battery indicator LED in the corner of the light flashes when the light reaches 25% battery, so as long as you keep checking that, you should be fine. 

Available separately, the lights retail at £60 and £40 respectively, which means you save just £5 when you buy them as a set. Having said that, I would say that £95 feels like a good value price point for the combined performance of these two lights.

Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ / Strip Drive 300+ LED Light Set review summary

The Lezyne Micro Drive 800+ and Strip Drive 300+ LED light set strikes a good balance between quality and value. Sitting firmly in the middle of the company’s range, they offer better functionality and durability than budget lights, but don’t quite match premium options for brighter lumen outputs. For urban, dawn and dusk riding they’re ideal, but the front light doesn’t quite cut it when it comes to pacier riding on the darkest country lanes.