Helmet-Mounted Bicycle Lights

Reader Simon contacted us with a helmet-light hack.  I am all for visibility on the roads and his solution looks interesting.  Back in the day I did use some Velcro to secure a SL-LC100 Cateye light to my helmet, but I got tired of replacing the watch-like battery.  All of my lights now use AA or AAA batteries and I buy rechargeable batteries which for me is much better than buying disposables.  Anyway . . . Simon states:

I solved a safety issue by mounting my bicycle lights on top of my helmet. My pair of Planet Bike Spock bicycle lights do an okay job of providing flashing safety light, but they’re definitely on the lower side of the brightness spectrum (and the white light is absolutely not a headlight, only a safety light).

His full hack is described on his Web site, along with lots more pictures.  Thanks Simon!  Do you have a light hack?  Let us know.

Comments

[chris]

that bolt will embed itself into the wearer's skull if it hits the ground directly

[Skip]

Yes I was just going to say the same thing. I see folks with all kinds of stuff hooked to their helments and I just wonder if they gave it any thought as to what would happen in a crash.

[Duncan Watson]

I use sporks as well but I find the velcro they come with work fine to attach to a regular highly vented road bike helmet. I disagree with the author of the hack's assertion that low lights don't do anything. I mount a light on my left wheel stay which about the height of my rear hub. It does wonders for helping produce more distance. Also any lights that can shine off the ground provide a nice ground level glow that really stands out.

I am a big believer in lights low, medium and high.

[John Romeo Alpha]

Lights low, medium, high and flashy, don't forget. First thought I had was also the bolt into skull thing. I found 3M dual lock for attaching stuff to other stuff, including flashy lights to helmets. Better than bolts.

[Johnny]

+1 on Bolt-Through-Head. In Maryland, anything like a spike on your helmet (motorcyclists, etc.) is illegal because it would just drive through your skull. Looks really nice, though. I wonder if one could achieve the same effect with zip-ties?

[Low]

Good idea in theory but sand or cut off that bolt. or even easier just use a shorter bolt and your good to go.

[simon yuen]

Hi this is Simon, the author of the Helmet Lights Hack. I really appreciate all your feedback and safety concern.

In my defense the bolt was a placeholder while I still put it through the miles on my daily commute, testing how well it withstood typical riding conditions (vibration, wind, all the other stuff). A month has gone by and it’s worked so well that I sort of forgot about it. Whoops.

Anyways, it would be naive of me to ignore the wisdom or crowds, so I cut off the excess bolt threads and filed it down. In the future I still would like to replace it with another type of fastener, something with a little better finish quality than a nut and bolt. A rivet or screw post are the two that come to mind as of now. The updated project can be seen here:

http://simonyuen.wordpress.com/helmet-mounted-bicycle-lights/

Thanks again everyone for your advice and a very big thanks to Matt for featuring my project. Keep up the great work all and hack away.

Regards,

Simon

[College Term Papers]

really appreciating .... the posts really good ..

[Term Papers]

Good idea in theory but sand or cut off that bolt. or even easier just use a shorter bolt and your good to go

[biker helmets]

It s a good idea,
Thanks for the Idea

[Bicycle Light]

i really liked your blog. you have given very interesting information, a nice post. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[Doc Watson]

Good safety idea, but surely any penetration of the surface of the helmet by any form of bolt will affect it's overall structure, and reduce it's protection in the event of an accident?