Helmet with built-in blinkie
 

My wife the other day bought my son a helmet with a red blinkie built right into the back of it -- brilliant!

Why has it taken the industry this long to think of this? Or if it's been around, why have I never seen it before? I've been following BF/commuting for a while now, and read countless threads about lighting, and never heard anybody say "get one of those helmets with the red blinkie already in it"

Only made in Kids sizes?

B&M makes a Battery powered 4 LED light set you put the LEDs in the back Vent holes s of your helmet,

that to be Prudent you replace every 3~4 years , anyhow. .. so will transfer the light kit , then..

But if its a Kid's Helmet , they will beat it up , Lose or Outgrow it ,
and the clever Light will Go With it.

What's wrong with having the tail light on the seatbag or seatpost? Sometimes I just clip a blinkie to a back pocket of my jersey -- that works too.

There's nothing wrong with seatbat or seatpost or jersey or rack; or attaching a light to your helmet even, which a lot of people do. But why bother attaching a light to a helmet if you can have one built in? It's such a cleaner solution.

Just like there's nothing wrong with reflectors attached to spokes, but isn't it better to have tires with reflective sidewalls?

i think a blinkie on a helmet in addition to the bike would provide for greater visibility. Assuming the battery or light could be replaced i think it would be a great idea. even as a biker i find myself having difficulty seeing one single blinker on a seatpost at night when i drive

Today was pouring rain so I put my rain cover over my helmet which means that an integrated or attached light would either be hidden or prevent me from putting the cover on it.

You've obviously never heard of Lazer helmets before? They've been incorporating rear lights in some of their helmets for years. Relative new player in that space is Torch.

No, never heard of them, which is why I'm surprised

But you have other blinkies as well, right? Even if you would normally attach a blinkie to a helmet, you wouldn't be able to attach a blinkie on top of a rain cover, so that's not an extra problem.

I've had a Catlike Urban helmet for a couple of years now with a built in blinkie/steady light (see below).
Can't say it's very bright, but I've been told by other cyclists that it did get their attention, so I believe that cars should notice it too.
Although I would seriously advise on having AT LEAST one more light since it's relatively easy to accidentally turn it off; I ride with two additional lights, a steady dyno driven light built into the rear rack, and a 1/2 watt flashing hi-powered unit just below the seat.



http://www.giant-russia.ru/published...res/urban2.jpg

Yes, I have a blinkie on the back of my rear rack and one on the back of my hydration pack. Actually, my helmet cover does have a loop for a blinkie on the back but my "spare" blinkies are rather heavy and I wouldn't want to get a sore neck with one of those blinkies on the cover.

The problem is that there are so many theories on what a good blinkie should be, there's no blinkie you could build in to a helmet that would satisfy everyone.

I do like a blinkie strap on the helmet, but I doubt very many helmet makers are willing to put a GOOD blinkie (Cygolite Hotshot or Serfas Shield level) into a helmet.

From where I'm sitting the red rear LED blinkie is the easiest light to make effective, long-lasting, small, and cheap. For purists that need just that one special GOOD blinkie, there will always be helmets without blinkies, or hey, use both, one more light can't hurt, can it?

But I guess that's just because I have a different theory on good blinkies. My theory is, there may be ways to make a blinkie excellent, I don't think there's a way to make it bad. Or at least I've never seen a blinkie cheap enough or chinese enough to not still be effective.

I put a 9$ blinky on my helmet with a nylon tie wrap plus one my rear rack.

Wouldn't you just rather pay $10 more for your helmet? I would

I have a set of Blackburn Fleas on my one helmet for running around town. The rear is attached to the adjusting strap,so my helmet cover doesn't block it. Only downside is the white front doesn't last very long(4-4.5hrs max),but then it is easy to recharge if you've got access to a USB port.

I may when I need to replace my helmet. When you already have a good helmet it's cheaper to strap the blinkie on.

FYI, the helmet in question is a Bell Dart (Adult), and it was $25.99 at our local Costco, but I can't find any info online at the moment about it. The light is integrated into the adjustable headstrap.

I don't think multi-purpose congolmerations are typically as good as single-purpose tool. It's like a swiss army knife. Sometimes it is really nice to have one on hand, but if you know you will need a pair of scissors, you should bring a pair of scissors.

+1 on the Fleas.

I've got a Bell Muni helmet, which has a clip on the visor for the front light and a loop on the back for the rear. It also has blinkies built into the strap, but they aren't very bright and the batteries don't last very long. I just wish I could recharge the Fleas without taking them off the helmet.

I use Flea front and rear on the newer Blackburn Muni helmet. They did away with the built-in strap light and just use attachments for the Flea front on the visor and rear on a small rear strap. Works fine. Front flea is amazingly bright for its size and weight (weighs nothing really) but the rear blinkie is not very robust or bright. Good in a pinch after dark but worthless in daylight.

But you wouldnt if the blinky is not the one you want.

Case in point.... I am picky about what lights (front and tail) that I use and would not consider a helmet like this because it would not come with the blinky I want. So attaching it with zip ties makes it easy to put on and take off plus you put whatever blinky you want on it.

What happens when you sun turns his head to look elsewhere? No visibility from the rear as most blinkies have limited visibility from large angles. I think a blink on the helmet and one on the seat is a good idea.

I agree, the first blinkie should NOT be on the helmet. I run one on my helmet but it's secondary to give a higher viewpoint. I can't aim it as accurately as I can one on the bike, and I can't keep it pointed in the right direction at all times.

Bell started selling helmets with a taillight mount about 10 years ago in 2004. First the Metro model, which was expensive, replaced by the Citi for half the price. Now they sell the Muni with 2 built-in tail lights.

I prefer the option of mounting my own taillight rather than one chosen by the helmet maker.

You can attach a taillight to any helmet with plastic tie straps, wire, string and/or duct tape, which is what I did before I bought my first Citi helmet in 2005.

As others have mentioned, the helmet tail light should be considered a secondary light only, with a solidly fixed primary light aimed directly rearwards for best effect. Obviously the helmet light is at many times pointed up or sideways, not rearwards to intercepting traffic.