Head/Helmet Light

[ol mike]

You think two high powered flashlights mounted on a helmet is ok/legal?
I have two Fenix lights about the size of a roll of quarters and have seen off-road riders use a similar set-up just not sure about street legal.

 

[Cpd419]

Doubt it. Depends on the state as well.

 

[dmonkey]

Why not mount them to the bike so they shine where the bike is going rather than where you're looking? I get the advantage for offroad riding, but on the street it could be disorientating to others to see a light beam darting around with head checks.

 

[ol mike]

I couldn't find anything in searching traffic laws that stated it would be illegal.
All I found was info on colored headlights and no white lights on the back side of vehicles. I just use them off-road.

 

[SneakyDingo]

In my state there's a law against dazzling oncoming drivers but it only applies to multibeam lighting. However in the spotlight law (RCW 46.37.180) it specifically dictates a generalized "don't blind other drivers" generality. The law's a bit weird with whether the rider is part of the vehicle or not, so while I'm sure you'd get a ticket for it, you might stand a fighting chance in court.

There's also a law about the angling of single beam lights. RCW 46.37.524 so you can't even really argue that you're obeying the spirit of the law if you're blinding someone with your chin guard lights.

That being said, on the strictest of strictest definitions, it appears to be legal.

Why not mount them to the bike so they shine where the bike is going rather than where you're looking? I get the advantage for offroad riding, but on the street it could be disorientating to others to see a light beam darting around with head checks.

No more so than a bicyclist with a helmet mounted light?

 

[dmonkey]

No more so than a bicyclist with a helmet mounted light?

Personally I wouldn't use a light like that on a bicycle helmet on the road with other vehicles present either. Directional lights that aren't aimed down appropriately can be a danger for the cyclist and oncoming vehicles. And the problem with aiming it down is that if it's attached to your head, you can get used to that and aim your head differently to illuminate what you want to look at. Have had plenty of them shine right into my eyes riding motorcycles at night on canyon roads that are popular for bicyclists, usually at the worst possible time of rounding a hairpin corner in switchbacks. I don't ride with my high beam on around other vehicles or around corners for the same reason.

I do wear a solid red light on the back of my bicycle helmet for visibility at night, though in recent years the only night cycling I've done has been large group rides (Critical Mass).

 

[Tex68w]

Some states, like Texas, have headlight height limit laws, this mostly applies to the super lifted trucks, think monster truck like. I have run helmet lights in the past for trail bikes but I rarely ride at night anymore and the more modern LED headlights have really made the need for a helmet mounted light nearly obsolete. I think you'd eventually run into an issue with running a helmet mounted light on the street, odds are some Karen would call you in or you would pass a bored cop looking for an excuse to pull someone over. But who knows, give it a shot and see what the outcome is. My suggestion is to run auxiliary lights on the bike itself should you need more light.

 

[SneakyDingo]

<bicycle helmet lights>

Typically a bicyclist's helmet light should be angled down anyway, giving the best illumination over ~40ft in front of the rider at best - about 1-2s travel distance. For MTB, I side more with the automotive side of things - impact to other riders is minimized by covering your lights, or depending on the situation one rider stops (usually the uphill rider, yes I know that's not the trail rules, but downhill will be gone in a jiffy if they're hustling).

What I don't like (and frequently have 3D printed little "hats" for to compensate against) is the beam has a poor spread pattern, which reflects (heh) your canyon riding experiences. This is also a problem with many of the helmet mounted lighting options, where the lighting will likely not have a beam pattern well suited to road use, with a sharp cutoff or a focused lens. If the beam pattern is more spot than wide, and it's mounted sufficiently high, you'd just dip your helmet slightly and avoid any issues. That'd work fine for me for sure, as I already do that - the newer LED lighting and beam angles that are common around here frequently are high intensity at eye level due to all the hills we have here.

 

[m in sc]

ive used some high output good quality mountain bike lights on a few of the vintage 6v bikes i have, and they have worked great, but i clamp them to the bars of the bike. zero issues riding in dead of night and def visible.

 

[George]

Due to my work, I have some knowledge about LED flashlights.
If they are advertised as Tactical, High-Powered, or Super Powerful flashlights, this type of flashlight is designed for stronger illumination, concentrated light, and farther distance. This means that it is very irritating to the eyes of oncoming drivers.
Of course, if you're not on the road, do what you want.