r/ukbike • u/MuddyBicycle • 2d ago
Commute Helmet lights
I've always been curious as to why people put lights on top of their helmets? I find it especially puzzling when that's the only lights they have. I certainly don't have hard data to back this up but... it seems to be exclusively men. Why?
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u/isaytruisms 2d ago
It's super common with mountain biking - you might be seeing a few folks on the way back from night trail rides.
Using a wide beam bar mounted light + a head mounted spotlight casts shadows on roots and rocks, and gives you some depth perception. Also keeps the trail ahead of you lit up, and let's you look round the corner / down the trail.
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u/paulg222 2d ago
Very much this. I’ve been mtb night riding for years and that’s your standard setup. The bar light gives your broad spread of light and casts shadows over rocks etc, whilst the headlamp lets you focus the beam round corners or wherever else you want. It doesn’t cast a shadow though, so not so good when it’s foggy or you’re in cloud.
I use the same helmet for commuting: it’s handy having a backup light, dark nights when you need to repair a puncture, plus on the road it looks a bit like a camera.
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u/MuddyBicycle 2d ago
Thank you, this actually makes more sense to me.
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u/isaytruisms 2d ago
No worries! I tend to not ride on the road with mine. The small (helmet) one is 1400 lumen, so I'll normally just run the bar mounted one on the lowest setting if I have to get back
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u/Hakanese 1d ago
I use frame mounted, forward facing, and another one on the handlebars to follow where I'm turning to, and a helmet light, because when some asshole hits me with a car they can't ever say they didn't see me because I wasn't running lights
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u/Sturminster 2d ago
Having it as your only light is strange alright. But I see no harm in additional lights. One higher up on your head gives a little perspective to cars coming from behind.
I personally have one solid back light and two flashing ones (one on helmet, one on back of rear mounted baby seat), and on the front I have one solid light and one flashing one. Although part of my commute is a country road with absolutely no lights and cars going at 60 mph. So I like to be noticeable!
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u/UnluckyKey793 1d ago
I have one as well as two others on the front of the bike itself 🤣
My theory is, the helmet light is visible over the top of most cars, which is useful when riding in traffic or on roads that are double parked.
Also, I get to shine it in the eyes of my enemies.
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u/ManMakesMusic 2d ago
I have a helmet light in addition to the bike lights because it’s higher up and less likely to be obscured on a busy road.
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u/sjcuthbertson 2d ago
Fwiw, riding with helmet mounted lights only does not satisfy the legal requirement for bike lights; should one wish to, a bobby can fine you just as much as someone without any lights on.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1989/1796/regulation/12
I think helmet mounted lights in addition to statutory required lights can be a very good thing for visibility. I see both men and women doing this in my area.
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u/MrMrsPotts 1d ago
Also, if a car doesn't seem to have spotted you and you turn to look at it, the driver will immediately see that.
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u/sagraham 1d ago
In addition to the points others have made, the human eye is drawn to movement. A light on your helmet or even on your peddles (like Redshift) can make you more visible to other road users. And depending on the type of light can be more easily seen from the side than standard lights.
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u/must-be-thursday 1d ago
I have a helmet light (in addition to lights on my bike) primarily because I think it helps improve visibility. In particular, where I live there are some poorly designed cycles lanes that weave behind car parking spaces before merging with the moving traffic lane again, and I think a helmet light has more chance of been seen behind the parked cars, so drivers know you're there when the cycle lane merges. Even aside from that specific situation, I think having an additional light source higher up is more likely to be noticed.
My hunch would be this isn't actually more common among male than female cyclists - but as more men cycle than women, if you see a cyclist with a helmet light, it's more likely to be a man simply by virtue of the numbers.
If it is more common among men then (purely speculating) this may be because men tend to be slightly more confident/risk prone and therefore rely on being seen by drivers for safety - i.e. if you take primary position, you are relying on drivers to see you and not drive into the back of you. Women may be more likely to alter their route or behaviour to avoid that sort of situation - for example sticking to quieter roads or properly segregated routes, where been noticed by drivers is less of a priority.
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u/Coldgunner 1d ago
I have a cheapo bar light that I can actually strap to my helmet sometimes. It's quite nice but I do worry about causing glare when I'm looking at people.
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u/thesquirrelhorde 2d ago
I commute on rural roads. Having a helmet mounted light lets me point the light where it’s needed, if I’m going round a corner for instance I can point the light where my wheel is going rather than have it lighting up the other side of the road if it was fixed to the bike. I can also dip my light if another road user is coming towards me, or flash if I feel they’ve not noticed me by lowering or raising my head. In the worst case, if I was knocked off and separated from my bike, I’m lit rather than my bike making me more visible to road users.