Powerful, wide-angle light with a ton of modes and a durable rubbery build for conventional seat post angles
Pros
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Lots of wide-angle power
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11 different pre-set modes
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Smart option for not much more
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Reasonable price
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Rubbery toughness
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Secure, angle correcting mounting
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Fat, grippy, replaceable wrap strap
Cons
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Won't work on vertical or super deep TT seat posts
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Relatively short full power run times
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Lezyne does three different versions of the five-LED Strip Drive series but if you’re happy selecting brightness levels yourself, then the most affordable option is still a great choice that provides powerful visibility through a wide angle with a vast range of flash modes. It’s a tough and weatherproof unit too, but how does it fare in a head to head against some of the best bike lights on the market?
Design and aesthetics
If you’re the sort of rider who has their phone in a big rubber brick and uses a rubberised building site radio because you broke all the normal ones, then you’re going to like the thick rubber wrap body of the Strip Drive.
The moulded wrap also includes the grip flanges for your seat post, while an angled and slotted base puts the light at the perfect angle for most road, gravel and mountain bikes (presuming your seat angle is in the low to mid-70 degrees). It won’t work quite so well if you’re running a near-vertical aero post on a time trial bike, but then the broad rubber ladder strap to secure the light probably won’t stretch far enough around the deep seatpost anyway.
It’ll reach far enough to wrap around most posts though and its depth, combined with the flat, grippy rubber design means it’ll hold the light really securely. Also, because it hooks on both ends rather than being built in, you can replace it if damaged.
The rubber cover for the Micro USB charge port at the base plugs in securely too, although it’s worth mucking it out after wet rides as you can get some grit and filth seeping in if you’re not running mudguards. It's IPX6 rated for waterproofness, and we’ve been using it in the infamously aquatic UK for over a year without any issues.
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The Lezyne Strip Drive rear light is a tough and weatherproof unit(Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
It's secured in place by a broad rubber ladder strap(Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
A line of five LED bulbs gives a punchy rear output of up to 150 lumens(Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
The moulded wrap includes grip flanges for your seat post...(Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
...while an angled and slotted base puts the light at the perfect angle(Image credit: Guy Kesteven)
Performance
The line of five LED bulbs gives a punchy rear output of up to 150 lumens but thanks to some really smart ridged lens work, you still get a good amount of light wrapping right around to the front quarter of the bike on either side. Presuming your legs aren’t in the way, there’s enough brightness to really stand out to drivers too, not just the usual 'well I suppose if you squint there is a kind of incidental light spill to the side' you get with most 'wide angle' lights.
Lezyne has really gone off the deep end with its pre-set mode menu too. There are three steady modes (from 45 to 3 lumens), six regular/irregular/scrolling/flash modes for night running (from 25 to 3 lumens) and then two day-flash modes (a blinding 150 or 100 lumens).
The Strip Drive gave us just under two hours and 20 minutes at maximum constant power in mild temperatures, which isn't that long but theoretically, it can stretch a limp one-LED-at-a-time wink out to 57 hours. In case you get confused by what life it's got left, there’s a small three step ‘battery remaining’ warning light on the side. This also tells you when it’s fully recharged, a process which takes about two hours from flat on a high-power USB plug.
If you want an extra element of tech/group ride safety, then the model up - the Strip Alert Drive - uses an accelerometer to detect braking and trigger a brighter, solid setting than whatever you were running, and then run an alert setting when you’re stopped before reverting to your previous setting when you roll off. That only costs a little extra too, which is impressive compared to most 'smart' lights nowadays.
You can also get a Pro version of the Strip Drive (£52.00 / $54.99) or the Pro Alert (£57.00 / $59.99) that takes max power up to a brutal 300 lumens to completely rule out any sorry-mate-I-didn’t-see-you excuses. What's more, you can also get it bundled with the 800 lumen Micro Drive 800XL Pro front light for £97.00 / $99.99.
Verdict
Lezyne’s rubbery Strip Drive is a bit bulky and heavy but the trade-off is a bombproof, securely fixed light (unless you’ve got a deep-section vertical TT post) that survives well in the worst conditions.
It throws out a powerful amount of light through a broad spread in a huge variety of attention-grabbing modes too.
Pricing is decent as well, and if you want the smart or properly blinding versions, they’re not much extra.
