Lezyne Matrix Saddle Tagger

The Lezyne Matrix Saddle Tagger is easy to fit and protects an AirTag well, but is under the saddle really the best place for a security tag?

Note: this review focuses solely on the nuts and bolts of the Lezyne Matrix Saddle Tagger. For more on the broader notion of AirTags as security devices, see my review of the Lezyne Matrix Air Cage.

This thing here is a simple mount that holds an Apple AirTag under your seat, so you can use Apple's Find My network to track your bike if it gets stolen.

Getting your AirTag in is simple. You take out the screw, twist the halves one eighth of a turn, pop in the AirTag and reverse the process to close.

The Saddle Tagger then mounts under your seat with a T25 security bolt. The bolt has a tiny protrusion in the middle of so you need a 'security' bit to turn it, and Lezyne includes one. These bits are freely available (it turned out I already had one in my Wera Zyklop set), but they're an extra level of inconvenience for any thief.

Fitting can be fiddly. While saddle rail size and spacing is one of the few standards that almost the whole bike industry still honours, the Saddle Tagger doesn't leave much rail space for anything else you might want to hang under your saddle. I managed to fit a large saddle pack, but only because I tend to shove my saddles well back. If you wanted to mount, say, a light bracket or a clip for a bag system, you're going to struggle.

Once it's on, though, the Saddle Tagger just sits there. It's made of grown-up plastic so it doesn't impede the radio signals the AirTag uses, and the O-ring seal keeps out the wet.

However, it doesn't provide the best concealment. It sticks out of the back of your saddle unless you're able to mount it hard against the seatpost on a saddle that's set well back anyway, and since it doesn't do anything but hold an AirTag it seems likely to attract the attention of any tech-savvy thief.

I'd be much happier with Lezyne's Matrix Air Cage, which camouflages the Airtag and will hopefully slow down a thief long enough for you to recover the bike.

The Saddle Tagger would be better concealed if it fit under the nose of the saddle, like the Hinloopen Design AirTag mount does. Then again, the only saddle I could find that fitted was an old Brooks B17 with its flat rails.

Rivals

We've not reviewed any other under-saddle AirTag mounts, but you'll find loads of them on Amazon and eBay. Of widgets from bike brands, we like the look of Laut's £14.99 AirTag Saddle Mount, the very similar widget from Ninja Mount for £14.60, and the £29 luxury option from Hinloopen Design which can fit under the nose of your saddle as well as out the back, so it's very well concealed.

It's also worth looking at RaceWare's selection of 3D-printed mounts, which hide an AirTag inside mounts for other devices (such as the Cycliq Fly 6 camera or Garmin Varia) and cost £15 to £35. I'm surprised they don't do one that puts an AirTag inside an out-front Garmin GPS mount.

Conclusions

This holds and protects an AirTag well, but sticking out from under the saddle it's a bit too obviously a tracking device.

Who should buy it?

If your primary aim with an AirTag is to help your loved ones find your body if you fail to come home, then the Lezyne Matrix Saddle Tagger does the job. Given how obvious it is, though, I wouldn't use it as a security device.

Verdict

Nicely made AirTag mount, but too obviously a tracking device