visibility in dark commute

[NadiaMac]

Apologies if this has been covered recently, but I've been riding in in the dark in the am, and once the time changes, will be riding home in the dark in the pm. I have a primarily urban commute and I've noticed that cars pulling out of driveways don't see me even though I can see them-- I think my handlebar-mounted light is blocked by parked cars. I want to get a helmet mounted light to increase the chance that this type of vehicle will see me coming. Any suggestions on a helmet-mountable light (brand, and how to mount)?

Ideally, it is something that's easy to take on and off since I won't use it for weekend daytime rides (just for the commute).
thanks!

[Catrin]

Whatever light you decide upon, make certain you know how long the battery will last before you purchase it. I've the Stella Vis 360 helmet light that I use - but the charge really only lasts about 55 minutes. It is USB chargable and comes with a large red flasher for the back of your helmet. It is very easy to put on/take off your helmet.

Bottom line, if your commute is under 1 hour this wouldn't be a bad choice. If it is longer, then you would need to use one of the lower light settings to conserve the charge and I wouldn't be comfortable with that. It is bright enough at the highest setting, but not so bright that I would be comfortable using it in the country away from ambient lighting. There is lighting on the side of the front light as well, which helps to increase side-visibility.

[soprano]

Do you have drop bars? I do, and I find that the brake hoods block the line of sight between my headlight and cars coming up on side streets. I supplement my big main headlight with a little blinking Spok light on the drop of my right handlebar and way fewer cars pull out in front of me.

Or you can do a helmet light. I recently bought a new headlight, and while I was shopping around I noticed that most of the headlight manufacturers seem to be making a helmet mount these days. Sometimes it's included with the light and sometimes you buy it separately.

[ZenBiker]

I have a helmet mounted light that I love. Three out of the 4 employees in my office who ride to work this time of year use the same kind. It was made by GeoManGear but when I went to get a link for this message, I discovered they went out of business over the summer, which is really too bad. So all I can do is echo the advice to find a nice, bright, rechargeable light for your helmet. It lets you make "eye contact" with any driver that you think might be overlooking you - and gets an instant response!

The one I use is pretty heavy, and a little bit of a hassle to take on and off. In fact the light unit plugs into a battery pack that you carry in a pocket, so there's a cord running up my back and into my helmet. Not exactly elegant but worth it for the long battery life and brightness it produces. I put it on an older helmet, one that still has useful life in it but that I opted to replace with a better vented one for summer use. So instead of taking the light on and off, I just switch helmets for weekend rides.

edited to add: I also use these for side visibility - and because they're fun: http://www.rei.com/product/774213/ni...ke-wheel-light

[Jones]

When I put a blinking light on the front of my bike I realized I became much more visible to cars. Far fewer close calls. I use this light to see http://www.rei.com/product/826129/ni...750-bike-light and this light to be scene http://www.rei.com/product/843467/ni...350-bike-light. I never realized how much money I had invested in bike lights. Yikes.

[ZenBiker]

After discovering GeoMan Gear was out of business (see earlier post) I looked around and found that the light I bought from them is basically a Magicshine light like this one:
http://magicshineusa.com/products/li...men-bike-light

The specs on mine are very similar. The battery will operate 180 minutes at the highest brightness setting. I like how the power button on the light changes color to show how much charge you have left, and the brightness and span of light thrown. Like I said earlier it is kind of heavy and you deal with a separate battery pack and cord. But it's a lot of light for the money and can be mounted on a helmet or handlebars.

[Giulianna23]

I got this one on ebay...I love it...the actual light has about 7 differet settings and the laser lines has the normal solid setting and blinking setting as well.

[JermainePeter]

Apologies if this has been covered recently, but I've been riding in in the dark in the am, and once the time changes, will be riding home in the dark in the pm. I have a primarily urban commute and I've noticed that cars pulling out of driveways don't see me even though I can see them-- I think my handlebar-mounted led lighting is blocked by parked cars. I want to get a helmet mounted light to increase the chance that this type of vehicle will see me coming. Any suggestions on a helmet-mountable light (brand, and how to mount)?

Ideally, it is something that's easy to take on and off since I won't use it for weekend daytime rides (just for the commute).
thanks!

Hello friend were you able to get helmet light with long lasting battery.. I am just facing same problem and I like your thought of using helmet lig
Waiting for reply thanks in advance