Two summers ago my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting friends in Switzerland. The country is so expensive that I took home only two souvenirs: white Assos socks and a pair of Lezyne tyre levers. I assumed Lezyne was a European company. It was in this Swiss bike shop and I’d never seen the brand in an American store, ever. “Ewwww, exotic Swiss tire levers, I can afford these.” The levers were white “composite matrix” with a natty neoprene sleeve but really I bought them because I could fit them in my luggage and they were affordable ($4 US). Switzerland wisely (for them) never joined the EU but the Swiss franc makes buying swag painful. As a side note, the Assos socks are really well made. They look a tad less white now but have retained their essential Assos sock essence in every other respect.
Two years on and these levers have earned and kept the coveted number one position in my mobile rear pocket man-sachel. They are superior levers. Their hook design works better than levers made by Park, Pedros or King. I haven’t tried the Mavics Bretto has revered. I don’t know what the “composite matrix” is but it is strong as hell. Should it be so hard, designing an effective tyre lever? These are like medical instruments. Nurse, Lezyne tyre lever please. The thinness and specific curve of the bead hook makes these the levers used atop Mt Velomis.
Michelin tyres and Campagnolo rims (my favorite pairing) are at opposite ends of the clincher fit tolerances. They are wicked tight, harder to get off and on than the recently abandoned tubeless Hutchinsons. No other levers so easily get under the Michelin bead and take the horrible strain like these Lezynes do.
Sitting on the edge of the road in Kuala Lumpur, sweat pouring down your face as you bend to the task of switching inner-tubes, the sounds of snapping stalks from the jungle getting closer. Do you want the best tyre levers in your sweaty trembly hands? For you tubular riders, these might be excellent for husking that punctured tyre off the rim. At 26 grams, it would not be a bad bet. Hell, if you have to defend yourself against the enraged Malaysian monkey, a mini-pump in one hand and an unbreakable Lezyne medical instrument in the other might work out for you.
There, I’ve gone and done it. I’ve written an article singing the praises of a tyre lever and I can’t stop spelling tyre with a “y”. It’s what we do here. We obsess.
Disclaimer: Velominati has a friendly relationship with Lezyne and we have received some very well designed and well executed products of theirs, as have Keepers Tour riders from the 2012 Belgian love-fest. As I stated at the begining of this post, I bought these tyre tools when I didn’t know the first thing about the company. I admit that I was so impressed by their tyre levers I was inclined to try more of their products but my dirty Schleck love for these levers is not influenced by our relationship with Lezyne.
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I have a pair of the sexy forged aluminum ones. In order to keep pockets clear AND to comply with Rule 29, my levers are discreetly attached via Velcro under my Selle San Marco Aspide saddle (I only have 1 road bike, so moving them from bike to bike isn't a concern of mine). Never have budged and I rarely need them. They work so well, I'm not even sure if I have other levers outside of my MTB, much less where they may be ....
@Tartan1749
I was going to ask about the alloy levers since everything else Lezyne makes out of aluminum is just plain gorgeous. I've never been a huge fan of my ParkTool levers - they don't seem to be easy to get fitted under the tire bead - always slipping off. I've heard good things about Pedros, but I may give the Lezyne levers a try although, like everything else I seem to like, none of my LBSs stock them.
@VeloVita REI carries Lezyne, and I actually got my set of ebay for a few bucks less than retail, all in. Amazon is also another choice.
@Tartan1749 yeah, I know they're available online (there are no REIs near me) which admittedly, contrary to Rule #58, is where I do much of my bike-related purchasing. I'd love to find a local shop willing to cater to the discerning rider, but sadly I've yet to. The best I can do is the shop where I got Bike #1, but its an hour away and I'm not going to drive two hours to pick up tire levers.
That neoprene sleve makes them. I still use Park, and while durable, I find the hook portion of them to be of less-than-perfect design
@Gianni Im gonna guess "composite matrix" is just a marketing device. Matrix generally refers to the resin used to bind fabric to make them stiff, such as Carbon fiber and fiberglass. the more matrix:fabric ratio the stiffer.
I have a few sets of the Park tools levers and always found it a pain in the ass to remove Conti tires from the Mavic wheels. I just thought it was that wheel/tire combo, but maybe its the levers. I may need to track down some of these bad boys.
I have the aluminum and the plastic ones. While the aluminum is beautiful, the plastic are what I carry with me.
Aluminum doesn't slide well on aluminum rims when trying to remove the tire. The plastic slides nicely and the pointed edge is easy to pry the bead off with.
while i agree that these are indeed great levers, i actually prefer the pedro's ones. usually, i can get a tire on and off a rim with my hands. but when i can't, i definitely prefer the beefiness of the pedro's lever over the miniscule lezyne or awkward park ones. however, the pedro's are annoyingly large. and while i don't *need* a tire lever in general, it does make life easier. so i leave the pedro's levers at the shop bench and throw a single lezyne composite lever into the ride tool kit and that, so far, has done the trick. it's almost invisible, it's so small and light; while still keeping up to the task. and for that, i agree, they are great levers.
@Gianni: You are not a pom, thank goodness. Perhaps your state flag is causing a bit of confusion in that dept. It is "tire."
That said, these are excellent levers, although when I need to change a clincher I can usually get my Vittorias on/off a rim without resorting to a lever.
@Dallas
There are some Park levers in my shop and I can't figure out why they designed them so. They just can't get under a tyre bead easily. They make bike tools, ffs, they should work better.