Helmet lights mod (bodge!)

[Lowe]

As in the other bike lights thread, I've got some Electron LED rechargeable lights. With the clocks going back soon I thought I best get them out and give them a check over. All's well, but when looking at how I was going to mount them on the bike, I realised I would end up more than likely damaging my new carbon bars. Even though they're relatively cheap bars, I didn't fancy this so looked at how the lights might fit elsewhere. I wondered if they'd fit on my helmet, so had a look.

As it happened, the lights fit near enough perfectly into some of the main side vents. I pushed them in place, then cable tied them in place to make sure they wouldn't fall out. I've used releasable cable ties, so on a weekend when not riding in the dark I can remove them. The light switches also mount on the helmet well, and the cable runs stay within the other vent lines on the lid, leading down to the main battery which I'll put in the top pocket of my rucksack.

So, does it work? I put it all on earlier and had a good jump around to see if the lights would hold. So far so good. Once it went dark I wandered outside and the beam pattern isn't too bad. At very close and longer ranges there's a slight gap in the middle, but at medium distances the two converge nicely. Monday will be the real test when commuting, but so far so good.

Pics:

All fitted together:


Mickey Mouse?


Close range:


Another close ish range shot:


I didn't bother taking any at serious range since without flash and in pitch blackness the camera phone wasn't picking it up. Anyway you get the idea, feel free to mock.

[TAKTAK]

how snappable are the cable ties?...

i.e. in the unfortunate event that you are in an accident then you need the lights to brake away so the brain box doesn't dig into the ground and break your neck...

[Lowe]

Not much chance of a broken neck from these, any serious direct impact would knock them off. The cable tie's tight, but not that tight.

[TAKTAK]

Not much chance of a broken neck from these, any serious direct impact would knock them off. The cable tie's tight, but not that tight.

they just looked metallic to me TBH...

[megah0]

I'd be concerned about you blinding oncoming traffic tbh, those beams are going to be pretty high in a normal riding posture.

Just a thought

[Lowe]

they just looked metallic to me TBH...

The lamps are, but they're only held on by plastic cable ties.

I'd be concerned about you blinding oncoming traffic tbh, those beams are going to be pretty high in a normal riding posture.

Just a thought

True - it's a possibility if I actually turn my head and look directly at the car, but the lamps are angled down and with them being spot patterns rather than flood, it shouldn't be that bad. Of course if it is I'll remove them. It might work out in my favour - every bit of visibility helps when you're on a bike, and being at a higher level might make motorists more aware. Time will tell.

[megah0]

Why not use some pipe lagging insulation foam around your handlebars to protect them?

Cheap and cheerful!

[Lowe]

It'll still mark them, the last set of bars I had were alloy, and even with rubber around them they still got marked. It's also virtually impossible to get the brackets on without forcing them in place, hence why I thought about the helmet.

I used it last night, works well, but if anything it's pointing too low, only about 1m in front of the wheel. Ideal for commuting I guess, no chance of blinding people accidently, and it gets lots of attention in a good way, few people giggling when they see an illuminated Mickey Mouse coming the other way!

[Butcher]

Is it legal for the lights to be mounted on you not the bike?

I'm not sure blinding oncoming traffic is a good accident avoidance strategy either.

[Lowe]

Yup, quite common for people to wear lights rather than have them on the bike. At one point that was the only way of using blinking lights - to wear rather than attach.

As for blinding - not much chance when they're angled about a meter in front of my front wheel. I'd have to be looking up at nearly 45 degrees to lift them high enough to do that. Not gonna be doing that on the roads at 20mph...

[doll]

Take it you don't need my old helmet then!

There are loads of companies that do helmet mounted lights and they are perfectly legal...Lowe just likes the pikey look as...well...let's be honest.....he's a bit of a pikey!

But heres one of the best quality helmet mounted lights available.

[Lowe]

Take it you don't need my old helmet then!

There are loads of companies that do helmet mounted lights and they are perfectly legal...Lowe just likes the pikey look as...well...let's be honest.....he's a bit of a pikey!

But heres one of the best quality helmet mounted lights available.

Cheers for the offer - had totally forgot about releasable ties though so when I saw some in B&Q I snapped em up. £144 a tad much for a new lamp. £4.95 for a set of cable ties much more appropriate.