Getting darker sooner round these parts.

What's a sweet helmet mounted light/headlamp?

Light and Motion Urban 850

Rather than using just one light, I find it simpler to attach lights for the road on the bike and one of these on the front of the helmet: Mini Head Lamp.

Light & Motion Vis 360 Plus

Light & Motion Vis Pro

Anything by Lupine.


-Tim-

I stay far away from helmet mounted lights on the road. its to easy to look up at on coming cars and shine a light directly into the drives eyes. Off road i use on in tandem with bar mounted lights.

That's exactly why I use a helmet light. When cars are about to turn in front of me I look right at the driver and the light shines in their face and finally see me and they don't hit me. I also use a dynamo front light as added protection. I own two Light and Motion Vis 360's.

I don't understand this fear of blinding car drivers. Only the very brightest and most expensive bike lights are as bright as a car and drivers are looking at tons of other cars.

L&M 360.
I went out at got one after seeing other bikers and noticing what a difference it made to have a light on the bike and the helmet.

I have one light on my helmet and two on my bars. I use cheap 18650 battery lights from china via ebay at less than 3 USB a light. They are bright.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Compact-150...72.m2749.l2649
I generally get the batteries from the garage at my place of work from out of old PC battery packs for free.

Ditto.

I will not hesitate to briefly flash a motorist who is about to hit me. Occasionally a motorists needs slightly more than a flash and I will give them a good shot with the light. The exit from McDonald's is the worst.

Between cell phones and touch screens in cars I'm actually very tired of motorists behavior and have little tolerance.


-Tim-

Mounted lights on a helmet that flashes always catches my attention when I’m driving.

I would never think purposely shining a light into an oncoming drivers face would make me more safe.

More than half o' the helmety lighters look me right in the face when I'm on my bike, which elicits a stream of invective, not that it does any good, for you are dumb af.

I could gaf what you do with your lights when I'm driving; I see you I see you I see you - I'm not the problem, and get that you need to be seen.

Lighting discussions on this forum reveal some of most illogical thinking and aggressive tactics I have ever been exposed to. "I'll shine a light in your face so you don't pull out of the parking lot in front of me!" It's crazy. Just slow down for half-a-second. It's really not that hard to avoid running into cars.

I confess that like -Tim- and blakclound I also sometimes use my helmet light to give cars that look like they are thinking of coming out in front of me a quick flash.

Is it so crazy and aggressive? I think it indicates that I am a not your average slow cyclist. I find that they do not come out.

If I had to slow down for half a second every time I see a car waiting to come out, I would have to go quite slowly. It is more difficult for me, a cyclist, to pick up speed again than it is for a car.

Several cars this year have refused to dip their headlights when driving towards me. It is like cycling into a night time sun. They get invective, and a "thank you" if they eventually dip.

So being impatient and not your average slow cyclist is your justification for shining a spotlight in drivers' faces? You realize that doesn't make you sound any more logical or less aggressive, right?

Agreed. Not smart to blind incoming drivers. That is why you don’t flash your high beams at incoming drivers.

OP [MENTION=411791]topslop1[/MENTION] didn't really ask how to use a helmet light or whether it's a good idea, and I'd give him the benefit of the doubt on not annoying drivers and other cyclists. So, what's a good light for the helmet?

Personally I'd advise to not go overboard with it. Super-bright lights need to be on the bike aimed down at the road, and helmet lights are good for being seen in traffic and lighting up the road/path otherwise. Therefore, just a generic 18650 LED mag light. I don't worry about the mounting either, in fact I throw those straps away or banish them to a drawer, and instead put a patch of Velcro on top of the helmet and on the light. You might be tempted to scoff at that, but I've never had it slip out of position let alone come off and it's not going to be a problem in a crash if that's a concern. I can put it on while riding without skipping a beat, having it aimed exactly how I want,
take it off in a second and nothing is left on the helmet but a discrete patch of velcro. Given that I ride in a more road-race position than sitting up, I can easily put in on the back of the helmet so that it's aimed right while riding, but up in the air when I'm stopped, which takes some kind of elaborate swiveling mount otherwise. Pretty much the ideal mount IMO.

Same, almost.

I use a patch of Velcro on the light, and then wrap a Velcro strap through a vent to both strap the light to the helmet as well as stick the light to the Velcro.

I prefer a small 18650 or AA light under 120 grams with a narrow, "throwy" beam.

Specifically, a light with a Cree XP-L Hi V3 LED. This type of LED throws a very long beam, which is important for not blinding other road users, because the light goes exactly where you point it. Additionally, you can see far in the distance if needed, important at high speed.

Eagletac makes various lights with this LED, and it's the only light that hasn't developed intermittent faults, common with other cheap lights.

https://eagletac.com/html/dx30lc2/specs.html

I would not call my generic 18650 mag light a spotlight. I think at the distances I am thinking of, the lumens from my light is little different from the dipped beam of an approaching car. I use the main beam of my car sometimes to indicate things to other road users (but generally the opposite - "you can come out").

It seems to me that while aggressive, to an extent, it is also self-defence. In order to get a flash from me ("shining a spot light in faces" does not quite frame the act) the driver will have needed to have been aggressive to the point of looking like they are about to come out. This in itself strikes me as being an aggressive act, and the flash of my light is my attempt at self-defence, since I want to stay alive.

But you are right, another way of staying alive would to ride slowly at night and be more patient, another thing that the drivers who get this treatment are not prepared to be. Is the onus upon me to non or less aggressive? I think I am happy with being less aggressive.

I could also travel in a large steel box with very powerful spotlights pointing out the front all the time. Bearing in my the size of my lights, and my lack of a steel box, I find myself to be less aggressive than the road users with whom I share the road. But I am not sure. I will have a go at looking at my mag light from a distance.

Thanks to @wphamilton for the velcro idea.I am using cable ties at the moment but I will try that.

I don't agree. Helmet mounted lights have their utility. I have a 300 lumens (but set on low so about 100 lumens) on my helmet and tilted downward so I can see which gears I'm in on my brifters. They do have their use. That's the light I use. Mounts very easily onto my helmet and is very light, Hardly notice it's there.

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01...?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

I use a Cateye 800 on my handlebar to light up the path though and if I want to get noticed, I simply wave my hand in front of my light or double press the button to put it on high.

Well, in order to reduce the glare made by myCatEye 800 to oncoming cars, I added a 'hood' made from aluminum that I bent to follow the shape of the light. It had an interesting side effect as you can see below. The reflection from the sides of the hood lights up the brifters. So no more need of a helmet mounted light for me



The hood also work really well. The cut off is much closer to what car lights looks like. Light output is at medium.

I'm not a fan of overly bright lights, but flashing your light at a driver coming from the side

to let them know that you are there is not illogical or aggressive in my book.

Slowing down for half-a-second might be OK if you're riding 4 mph on the sidewalk.

I find light pollution of the near field to adversely affect my night vision. My headlamp has settings for 5/10/20 lumens and I almost always use 5 lumens for this exact reason.

There may be better these days, but I have a Light & Motion Stella 300-

it has a small head & substantial battery pack that goes in jersey pocket or pack.

It stays on a helmet, & is mainly for mtn bike night rides-long run time- but use it on the road at night

sometimes too.

Well, light pollution for me is more predominant from incoming cars so being able to see the road and my brifters' needle is to me a plus