The new Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert combines Lezyne’s expertise in bike lights with an artificial intelligence tuned brake sensor. This is a bright and compact rear taillight with a multi-LED design that harnesses Lezyne Ai Alert brake-sensing technology for additional visibility. Retail price for the Saddle Ai Alert 250 is $74.99 which is $10 premium over the Saddle Drive 250 which has no brake sensor. The taillight puts out 250 lumen of output via 10 LEDs arranged in a radial pattern. Lezyne has specifically designed the taillight for saddle mounting with an aluminum cylindrical body that tucks underneath saddles and a metal saddle rail mount. A USB-C port is hidden between the body and the mount which helps the light achieve an impressive IPX7 water rating.
The Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert combines a well calibrated brake sensor with a premium aluminum cylindrical body that tucks underneath saddles.
| Retail Price | $74.99 |
| Rating | 8.6 / 10 |
| Measured Weight (in g) | 72 |
| Likes | + Premium quality with aluminum body and mostly metal saddle mount + Bright output with daytime visible flash + Concealed USB-C port under mount base and IPX7 rating |
| Dislikes | – Only has a saddle rail mount option which blocks saddlebags – Ai branding is a bit misleading as there is no active algorithm |
| Where to Buy (US) | Lezyne |
UNBOXING
The Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert 250 comes attached to a cardboard backing using simple twist ties and branding printed on the exterior. On the inner portion of the cardboard Lezyne has printed the mounting instructions directly onto it rather than printing a separate instruction manual. It’s a nice eco-friendly packaging design which doesn’t include any additional parts or even a USB-C charging cable.
MOUNTING
Lezyne has designed the Saddle Ai Alert Light to be exclusively mounted onto saddle rails with the included saddle mount. The mount is a combination of metal side brackets and a plastic center which can be tightened with the side bolts to compress from each side of the rail to secure the light in place. Torque for the T25 bolts is listed as 3-4 Nm and the mount can be used with 7mm and 7x9mm carbon rails along the flat section of a saddle rail. Lezyne does not offer a seat post mount for the light at this time so you’ll want to make sure this mount works with your bike’s setup. The light itself has a twist-on design that lets it lock into place with threads cut into the mount and body of light. There are arrow indicators on the mount and light to help align the mount and light with a standard clockwise to lock and counterclockwise to unlock orientations. Once the arrows are aligned you can pull the taillight off the mount if you want to charge it or to park the bike outdoors.
FIT & FINISH
Visually, the Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert 250 rear tail light has a compact cylindrical design that is optimized for saddle rail mounting. The light has an aluminum body that has been CNC machined with knurled rings for grip and a slight inward curve for a sleek appearance. It’s an attractive light with a premium look and feel that at first glance looks similar to more expensive Exposure bike taillights. Branding is limited to Lezyne on the left side of the light and Saddle Ai Alert on the other. The taillight has a metal body with raised rear rear lens and power button placed in the center. There is also an LED indicator on the left side of the light which is illuminated in different colors to show the battery status, Ai alert mode state and as a charging indicator.
The light has a two piece design with the twist-on mount and the main aluminum body. Once you separate the two pieces you can access the open USB-C port on the base of the light to recharge the light. The light has a fairly large 1100 mAh internal battery which helps it achieve long right times up to 60 hours in the most eco-friendly flash mode. Lezyne has incorporated 10 bright LEDs in a circular array into the Saddle Ai Alert taillight. The lens has a red color with curved design that helps the light archive 270 degree visibility. Each side of the lens also has a small extension to further improve side visibility. What’s unique about the taillight is that Lezyne illuminates the 10 LEDs in different patterns and intensities depending on which mode is active. The most interesting modes are the flash options which illuminate the LEDs in different patterns that create a highly irregular flash to ensure cars see you on the road.
USER INTERFACE
The Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert has a single button interface with the black rubber button placed in the center of the lens. A two second hold turns the light on and off while a single process cycles through the seven modes. The LED indicator on the side will illuminate green, yellow or red depending on the battery status. You can also enable or disable the brake sensing function by holding the light for five seconds. Doing a single press of the button also illuminates the LED blue when the Ai Alert mode is on or standard green when it is off. Although the colors can be slightly confusing, it’s nice to see an option to disable the Ai Alert mode for riders who want longer run times. With the Ai Alert mode on, the taillight automatically switches to a rapid 250 lumen flash brake light mode to help notify riders or cars behind you that you are slowing down.
LIGHT OUTPUT
Lezyne has programmed the Saddle Ai Alert 250 with seven output modes that includes two constant and five flash modes. There is a low and high constant mode with 10 lumens / 20 hr runtime and 80 lumens / 4 hr runtime respectively. In low mode eight LEDs are illuminated together while the high mode only illuminates the brighter center left and right LEDs. There is also a 50 lumen / 8 hr pulse mode that turns on all ten LEDs and gently ramps it up and down. Then there is a 50 lumen / 34 hr irregular flash mode that does an eye catching pattern of: left LED, right LED and then all LEDs. It’s one of our favorite modes as the irregular flash pattern helps ensure you are visible. Then there are two daytime flash modes, a high daytime flash (250 lumen / 15 hr) and a low daytime flash (125 lumen / 25 hr). These are bright modes with more complex irregular flash patterns to optimize daytime visibility.
Finally, there is an eco flash mode that Lezyne calls Femto which is 10 lumens but has the highest runtime of 60 hours. With the brake sensor enabled, the light will automatically switch to a 250 lumen fast flash pattern for a few seconds when braking is detected. Even with seven modes, all the output modes are easy to tell apart and mode memory ensures the light always turns on in the same mode it was shut off in. The compact size of the Saddle Ai Alert and the high mounting location on the saddle rail ensures the light is visible from short or long distances. Even the side visibility is good with side cutouts in the lens that ensure you are visible even at intersections.
Aside from the fact that you cannot use a saddlebag, we were impressed with the overall quality and brightness of the light. It’s visible in the day and night with a simple user interface and a nice illuminated status indicator which shows the current battery status. Although the simple lens design isn’t as slick as the Magicshine Seemee 300 or quite as focused as the Bontrager Flare RT, the ten LED ring design is effective and bright. The Ai optimized brake sensor is also well calibrated and has minimal false positives compared to other taillights we’ve reviewed. There are still some false positives as the taillight doesn’t really know when you are braking, but it’s pretty consistent at detecting slow downs and ignoring potholes or bumpy roads that can trigger the accelerometer sensor.
THE VERDICT
Overall, we found the Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert 250 taillight to be bright with a premium metal construction. Lezyne has gone with a compact cylindrical aluminum body and a saddle mount only strategy with the light to help it tuck underneath saddles. With 250 lumen of output and a variety of output modes to choose from, the Saddle Ai Alert is daytime visible from short or long distances. We were impressed with the attention to detail such as the knurling on the metal body and irregular flash patterns Lezyne has incorporated into the light. While we are not completely sold on brake sensor features in general, the Saddle Ai Alert’s Ai optimized brake sensor is well calibrated with minimal false positives. The main negatives for the taillight is that the saddle rail mounting means you can not use a saddlebag easily and that the Ai branding is a bit misleading as it is more “Ai optimized” than an active Ai taillight. That said, the Lezyne Saddle Ai Alert 250 is a powerful and well made bike taillight.
Disclaimer: The product for this review was provided by Lezyne. The views expressed on this website are solely those of the authors and are here to help people make an informed choice before a purchase. The authors or the blog itself does not get any monetary compensation from the product manufacturer or third-party websites/vendor links that are posted here.