LED Light on back side of helmet pointed down
 

Someone suggested that I wear my hiking LED light strapped to my helmet with the light on the back side and pointed down to illuminate my hi viz clothing. Anyone do this?

I sit upright on my hybrid, and the light does shine downward, and not into the eyes of someone who's behind. Probably not so good for those who use drop down bars. Btw, I've got a Nutcase helmet with a smooth surface, so it's easy to strap the light on. I'm looking forward to trying it out tomorrow a.m.

I've never heard of this. Isn't the purpose of high-vis clothing so that the headlights from cars will light you up?

Personally, I would take that hiking light and point it forward. Then you have a way to get motorists' attention when they decide they "didn't see you" and make a pullout from a side street in front of you.

Pardon the grumpy old man talking....but the kind of people who will hit you are the kind of people that would hit you even if you have the sun attached to your helmet and pointing down. What I'm saying is, you need to be seen, but that protects you from responsible drivers, not the drunk, texting, or otherwise distracted drivers.

Good day :)

I've thought about setting a light up so it shines onto me. Of course I would also have lights in the front and back shine into the road ahead and behind. I have not seen it done in the wild though.

I would think the light would be at the wrong angle to reflect into their view.

wrong angle to reflect back to them. It would however make you a little more recognizable as a cyclist as sometimes you see a little light floating in a sea of darkness from some riders. This is why I started using two reflective leg bands as they bob up and down and combined with the lights and reflective vest i hope to register as "cyclist". I saw one guy ride by with the leg bands and it sold me on them.

If you have reflectors on your pedals, that's probably already taken care of.

Eggbeaters have little real estate for reflectives.

I tried it, and it was OK, but in the end I turned the white LED to the front of the helmet . That will help me see my immediate surroundings and be seen. I also hooked a red tail light blinky on the back of the helmet by the front LED's strap.

So now I've got a forward white LED headlight on my bike and helmet, and red LEDs tail light on my bike and helmet. I think this will work well.

I sewed some large reflective patches to the back of my cycling shoes. A friend who drove up behind us one night commented that they were the first thing he saw even though we were also using pretty bright taillights (PBSF).

Bell make a $17 one piece combo light that straps onto your helmet. 3 white LEDs up front, 2 red LEDs behind. Target + Amazon carry it. Uses 2x CR2032 batteries. I'm going to try it this week if I need a helmet light.

Thanks for the tip.

I think this is would be a better idea than the leg bands because you'd never forget these. There is also reflective tape with adhesive backing and iron on type (the stuff I've seen needs to reach 250 deg F to set which makes me wonder if it's just hot glue).

Though with leg bands, you get all around visibility rather than just a narrow angle so that would be a trade off.

You're welcome. I looked it up, it's a Bell Beacon.

http://www.amazon.com/Bell-Beacon-He.../dp/B004J2F2VM

I got it for $17 + tax while perusing Target the other day. I haven't opened it yet though. It will probably will be used later in the week though.

Now,there are red LED battery lights made for helmets, they are on a pivot,
so self level as you move your head up/down.

That would be a great idea if they actually self-leveled. They don't. Whenever I see someone with one of those, it is rocking up and down, spending most of it's time pointing somewhere other than at the traffic behind the rider. Add in the fact that it will quite often be between blinks as it passes through level, and you end up with a light that sends only a very occasional brief flash back at traffic. Whenever I come up behind someone who is using one of these, I usually don't even see it until I am very close (and have already seen the cyclist anyway).

My commuting shoes have reflective material on the back already (New Balance, not sure of the number). I combine this with reflectors on the pedals, ankle straps, a PB Superflash on the back of my helmet, and radbot on the rack.

Wow. That thing looks huge!

I run a tactical flashlight on top of the helmet using a TwoFish , generally in flashing mode when I'm in traffic (with regular lights on the bars) but I switch to steady when I'm on MUP or such to allow me to point light where I need it. I also run a blinky on the back of my helmet, which I've cludged quite successfully with rubber bands. It vibrates some, but it points where I need it most of the time, I think?

Mine did too, but the patches that I sewed on are huge in comparison and far more effective. I also added some patches to my bags (which also came with much less effective reflective stripes) and helmet. But I think the shoes are the most effective location both due to the movement and location down low where following headlights light them up more.

I just got a pair of Ergon pedals, big reflectors are a feature ,
integrated, not an add on. :thumb:

I love this stuff
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000TK5T8O

I have iron-on strips on my pants (stripe around the ankles) and several of my jerserys. Works well and holds up to repeated washing.

It's actually pretty small, maybe 2-3 inches in diameter. There's a few user pics on amazon to show the size proportion.