Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Review

Lezyne have built themselves a certain reputation for blending form and function into their designs. Not only do their products tend to look great, but rarely do they fall short in performance and innovation too. Like the USB-powered Zectro Pro Drive – a compact, dual purpose LED that serves as both backup illumination for bikepacking, and as a powerful safety light for ushering in the approach of winter…

The Zecto Drive Pro slots into Lezyne’s hybrid range – which means it acts as both a front and rear light. But what’s the point, you may wonder, given the need to ride with both lights at night? When it comes to bikepacking, it’s actually been surprisingly useful – I’ve either used it to supplement my headtorch when caught out on jeep tracks under the veil of darkness, or clipped to my seatpack when I’ve hit pavement at dusk, rushing into town for a resupply.

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  • Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Review

Mounting the Zecto Drive Pro is a breeze – the design incorporates both a stout clip and a removable rubber strap. Either way, it attaches speedily to my seat post, the loops on my backpack, the closure on my seatpack, my handlebars and even our child trailer. What’s more, no parts are left on the bike when it’s removed, making it quick to swap between steeds. Given my tendency to loose small accessories, I’m especially appreciative of how snuggly the band fits into place – even when the light’s floating around loose in my pack, the rubber band has never dislodged (though spares are available, just in case). In a similar vein, it’s also never accidentally turned itself on in my pack, a problem I’ve had with other lights in the past.

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  • Lezyne Zecto Drive Pro Review

Given that the Zecto’s a light designed for being seen, rather than for lighting your way, I’ve found it amply powerful across all its settings. In the ‘Blast’ setting, it’s even strong enough to help navigate non technical trails. Toggle through and there’s six modes to choose from, with a power indicator to show how much juice is in the tank. Lezyne say the indicator offers side visibility too, but honestly, that’s stretching its abilities a bit. In any case, there an economy mode (40 lumens, 3 hours 10 mins), Blast (80 lumens, 2 hours) and three flashing modes (40-80 lumens, 3 hours 45 mins to 5 hours) . Note that although the maximum advertised output is 160 lumens, this is reserved for a special daytime, flashing mode – offering a claimed 5 hours of use. Burn times aren’t spectacular, but at least the Zecto’s USB-powered – I’ve used my dynamo hub to charge mine, or my computer. The latter takes a couple of hours.

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And here’s the really nifty bit: hold the button down for 5 seconds, and the Zecto Pro Drive becomes a rear light – with one strong, red LED pumping out a claimed 40 lumens of light in daytime mode (6 hours 30), 20 lumens in flashing mode (5 hours) and 10 lumens in the constant, economy setting (5 hours 10 minutes).

Durability wise, it’s all good news. I’ve been running mine for a few months with no issues. Build quality is top notch; a mix of aluminium CNC’ed loveliness, and robust plastic. Seals seem to do the job too – mine has suffered from no water ingress, despite several deluges.

Worth pointing out is if don’t feel the dual functionality is useful to you, and you’d prefer to save some cash, the same Zecto shell is available as a dedicated front and rear light too. The Zecto Drive Front and the Zecto Drive Rear offer similar performance for less cost.

Wrap Up

Lezyne’s Zecto Drive Pro is a nifty little light that’s earned itself a spot in my top tube bag, and now joins me on all my trips. Given that I often find myself riding later than I’d planned, I love that it functions as both a front and rear light, depending on the situation. Being USB-powered, it’s super practical too. In fact, my only minor gripe is the lack of decent side visibility.

  • WEIGHT47g
  • PRICE $50 (£45)
  • PLACE OF MANUFACTURE China
  • CONTACT Lezyne

FILED IN (CATEGORIES & TAGS)

Bikepacking Gear

Accessories

bicycle-light  led  lezyne  

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