Lezyne Classic Drive 500

Tell us what the light is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?

Lezyne says: 'The Classic Drive is a new model with classic Lezyne styling. Its machined aluminum cylindrical construction is sleek, compact and lightweight. It features a single LED with up to 500 lumens and disruptive Daytime Flash mode. It has eight output modes and boasts up to 40 hours of runtime. Cutouts for side visibility increase safety, and its versatile strap mounts securely to most handlebars on the market. It comes in two colors (Black, Silver) and is micro-USB rechargeable.'

I was curious to see how powerful the Lezyne Classic Drive 500 would be, given its relatively small form factor and light weight, as it is only 8cm long. I wondered how useful the swivel mount would be and was looking forward to trying it on various handlebars and helmets.

Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the light?

Max Lumens: 500 lumens.

Max Runtime: 40 hours.

Recharge Time: 3 hours.

Weight: 95g.

Colours: Matte Black/Gloss Silver.

IPX7 waterproof rating - meaning able to submerge for 30 minutes in water at a depth of one metre (although Lezyne recommends not doing this)

Blast - 500 lumens, 1 hour, 30 mins

Enduro - 200 lumens, 3 hours, ,45 mins

Economy - 100 lumens, 8 hours

Femto - 15 lumens, 40 hours

Flash 1 - 50 lumens, 28 hours, 30 mins

Flash 2 - 50 lumens, 28 hours, 30 mins

Pulse - 50 lumens, 31 hours

Dayflash - 500 lumens, 11 hours

The Classic Drive 500 is a straightforward aluminium cylindrical design, with a single rubber button to turn the light on and off, which also shows the battery level and charging status.

There is a Micro USB socket at the back of the light, covered by a small rubber bung, which is held in place behind two tabs on the alloy case. The tabs are a nice touch, and prevent the bung popping open.

The battery is non-replaceable.

The Classic 500 is straightforward to use: hold the single button down for two seconds to turn on, press the button once to cycle through each of the eight modes, and hold down for two seconds to turn off. It's nice to see a memory function feature, so the light turns on in the mode last used.

The single hook and strap fits to either handlebars or helmets and holds the light in place well. Although there are five "rungs" on the strap, I only ever used the last two for most handlebars and helmets.

The swivel mount works really well. It has just the right amount of stiffness and stays put where it's pointed; it's not going to accidentally flop around and point where you don't want it.

The Classic Drive 500 is IPX7 rated, meaning it should stand up to being submerged in 1 metre of water for up to 30 minutes (which Lezyne specifically doesn't recommend doing). A few rides out in the rain and sticking it under a running tap, I had no problems. Lezyne is quite specific about making sure the charging port is definitely in place during use to prevent water ingress.

I found the battery life very good on all modes. Using the full-fat 500-lumen Blast mode would flatten the battery in just over the 1 hour 30 minutes quoted time. For general road riding I used a mix of the other modes, my preferred ones being Flash 1 and Economy.

Flash 1 has a quoted 28 hour run-time, with Economy lasting 8 hours, so using a mixture of the two I didn't bring the "red to recharge" light on during a week of riding. Charging time is approximately 3 hours from flat.

I felt the Classic Drive 500 worked particularly well as a helmet-mounted secondary light, using the flashing modes, as it gives a great mix of visibility, along with battery life. There is also a super-bright Day Flash, which still goes for 11 hours, although I would be a bit worried about dazzling other road users. There are some low power battery-sipping modes as well, which work well on cyclepaths; the Femto and Pulse modes were good for this.

I really liked the swivel mount; it's also good when cycling with others, when having chat riding side by side you can point it away from their faces while having a conversation.

With the alloy casing, it can withstand plenty of knocks. The rubber strap does always use the last two rungs, but Lezyne sells replacement straps for a fiver should it wear out, and it can be changed easily with an Allen key.

At 98g it's fine for mounting on a helmet, and on a handlebar it's not noticeable.

Around the same price as similar lights of similar output, which can be bar or helmet mounted, but its weight and run-times add value.

Tell us how the light performed overall when used for its designed purpose

Given its size, its quite impressive levels of brightness, and its ability to fit helmets, bars and fork legs, plus very good run-times, it performs well.

Tell us what you particularly liked about the light

The compact size; that it's multi-purpose and works well on helmets and handlebars; battery life on most of the modes is very good; and the swivel mount works really well.

Tell us what you particularly disliked about the light

The 'squidgy' on/off button is a bit hard to press with gloves on – a more tactile feeling button would be an improvement. The Micro USB connection is looking a bit old hat these days.

How does the price compare to that of similar products in the market, including ones recently tested on road.cc?

Shaun really liked the Ravemen LR500S, which is also helmet mountable and has a similar compact and high quality construction, although not quite such a range of modes as the Lezyne, and at 117g, is a fair bit heavier. It's now £39.99.

The Vel 500, also £40, comes in lighter than the Lezyne at 62g, and has a similar compact design, and rotating mount. Jamie did find the battery run-times fell a tad short of those advertised, though.

Use this box to explain your overall score

A compact and lightweight light that works well on helmets, bars and even fork legs, with useful modes, good run-times and a swivel mount. The squidgy feeling button takes some of the shine off, but overall it's a very good light.