Not another lighting thread!! This time, it’s helmet mounts

[mstone]

I use that as my second light, and love it. On the trails I just point it off to the right when approaching another user. Apart from being backup, it serves the same use you envision–highlighting stuff off to the sides. In urban use I don’t find that necessary, and typically have it set to flash or low. On the well lit/well traveled trails, it’s on low or off. On rural roads or dark/empty trails (e.g., the stretch from Vienna to Hunter Mill at 5:30 in the morning) it basically functions like the high beams in a car, to watch out for deer and such running in from the woods and is cranked all the way up.

[Orestes Munn]

I think helmet mounts are ridiculous and I can’t stand feeling of a weight on my head, but I recognize that many people love them. So let me say that one can learn to use them without being obnoxious.

I have spent a lot of time on sail boats at night, where everyone has a headlamp, most of which are powerful enough light up the top of the sails for trimming. They also have low and red settings. The first night or two each newbie manages to blind some dark adapted crewmate who is trying to do something important like steer the boat by the compass or find tiny lights far away. By the end of the race, this doesn’t happen any more, because people have learned to use the damn things properly. Of course, learning requires feedback in the form of outraged cursing and the occasional thrown object, but I guess you can get that on the trail, too.

[mstone]

@Orestes Munn 97818 wrote:

I think helmet mounts are ridiculous and I can’t stand feeling of a weight on my head

The vis360 is 130g for the front & back lights and the battery. Unless you spent serious money on your helmet, it’s not all that noticeable and slides off easily when not needed.

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 97819 wrote:

The vis360 is 130g for the front & back lights and the battery. Unless you spent serious money on your helmet, it’s not all that noticeable and slides off easily when not needed.

Might have to fall back on “they’re just too geeky”.

[mstone]

@Orestes Munn 97822 wrote:

Might have to fall back on “they’re just too geeky”.

Meh. If you’re biking to look cool, you’re probably confused.

[KLizotte]

I find a helmet mount to be invaluable when riding in the streets with cars; it also allows me to look further down the road for potholes, glass, etc. and light up scary dark places, like under bridges. It is also fantastically useful if you have to fix a mechanical problem at night.

I only use a handlebar light during the summer though since it gets dark so late.

I use an older version of the Exposure Joystick. Mine maxes out at 325 lumens on the high setting but I always have it on the low setting (don’t know what the lumen output is for that). It works very well and I don’t notice the weight but it does look quite dorky but I’d rather be a dork than dead.

[DismalScientist]

Of course, I use a flashlight tied to my helmet with a piece of inner tube. I wish to be even more dorky then wannabe Fred-dorks with their fancy, overpriced helmet mounts.

[Phatboing]

You’d have to pry my helmet lights off my cold dead head.

I’ve had a vis 360 for four years, and the only time I’ve found it wanting is during heavy snow or rain – it lights up all the precipitation in front of you, so it’s like riding with static noise. Other than that, no complaints. I keep em on for the entire winter – you get used to the weight pretty quick.

I also have an Exposure Joystick, but I’ve decided that it’s overkill for the WOD – I stick it on the helmet offroad, but use it on the handlebars otherwise.

Do what you want, try not to be obnoxious, but don’t compromise on being safe.

[jabberwocky]

I prefer a bar mount with a decently wide beam. My 800L has enough side throw to keep track of stuff immediately to the side of me and help in turns and such. My current setup is the 800L, usually on low or medium aimed down to give a lot of illumination immediately in front of and to the side of me, and a magicshine knockoff aimed further up for throw (since it has a much narrower beam).

I do run a helmet mount while riding in the woods, but thats because trails are much tighter and twistier than roads.

I also do run a helmet mount while cruising on the board of doom (electric longboard) at night, but thats only because theres nowhere to actually mount a usable light on the board itself.

[Orestes Munn]

@mstone 97825 wrote:

Meh. If you’re biking to look cool, you’re probably confused.

I don’t bike to look cool, but cycling looks cool when I do it.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Helmet and handlebars. Too many dark curves and drivers not paying attention for me to go without a helmet light that I can point where I need to see/get a driver’s attention.

[bobco85]

@Brendan von Buckingham 97852 wrote:

Helmet and handlebars. Too many dark curves and drivers not paying attention for me to go without a helmet light that I can point where I need to see/get a driver’s attention.

Exactly why I use the same set-up.

Black Diamond Icon headlamp attached to my helmet set to the 2 single-power LED’s (35 lumens) for general sight, Knog Beetle light (10 lumens) strapped to my handlebar and pointed at the ground about 5-10 feet in front of me. Only in situations where I cannot see very well (MVT at night is one due to the constant blinding due to vehicle headlights) will I use the 200 lumen quad-power LED on my helmet, and even then only temporarily because I do not want to waste the batteries.

[Slosurf]

I am in my first year commuting by bike. Started in May. The first 5 miles of my 25 mile ride are, with the change of seasons, in the dark and probably the most dangerous segment of the ride (the roads are narrow with no shoulder – Seneca and Estworthy in Darnestown, MD for those who are familiar). I have been using a couple Lezyne Zectos – one on my bike and one on my pack – to be seen. I had not been using a front light while commuting in the early AM until it started getting dark. Do any of you folks who navigate roads as opposed to trails use a front light during the daylight hours for visibility purposes?

I have been experimenting with front lights now that the first 45 minutes or so of my ride is in the dark. I bought a couple lights over the summer on Chainlove that are finally seeing use. I snatched a Lezyne DECA Drive one day last summer off of Chainlove that I am now using to see and be seen during the dark portion of my ride. I have had it set at 400 lumens and it works well. The other light I am using is a Light & Motion TAZ 1200, which I have set at medium (600 lumens) or low (400 lumens). Both do a nice job of helping me see potholes, branches, glass, etc. They also make me feel like oncoming cars will see me. I don’t encounter many riders this time of morning (and when I do they are on the other side of the road as opposed to close to me like they would be on a trail) but am I obnoxiously blinding cars at 400 or 600 lumens? I turn the front lights off when it gets light to save the battery. I also turn off one or both rear lights when I transition from MacArthur Blvd to the CCT, also to save battery life.

As a newbie rider in dark conditions, I hope I am not running afoul of unwritten rules of bike commuting. Let me know if I am.

[Author]

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