Unless you’re a cyclist that lives under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the Lumos helmet by now. This “Smart” bike helmet has built in lights, for improved safety and visibility. Up front, a row of white LEDs throws some light, and presents motorists with a visual cue of an oncoming “vehicle”. Out back, bright red LEDs do the same. And on the sides are amber LEDs, which are used as turn indicators. Thanks to the handlebar-mounted switch, you can activate them with ease. An app lets you monitor the battery, and change some settings. Yes, a cycling geek’s dream.
When my review Lumos arrived, I was pretty excited. And so was just about everyone I showed it to. If you want to start a conversation with a cyclist or tech junkie, the Lumos is ideal. Of course, how it works is the real question. After the unboxing, charging, and downloading the app, I mounted the switch, and was all set to go ride. Unfortunately, Utah weather had other plans. Normally, I can tolerate a little cold. But I prefer not to ride while it’s actually snowing. Or the roads are iced over. And not being fitted for a liner, I wasn’t too keen to test it when temps dropped below 30 degrees. So there was a delay between receipt and putting it to the test. At least I had time to perfect the fit.
If you’ve ridden a motorcycle, the bar-mounted switch should be familiar to you. It’s clearly marked with an L and R. For cyclists, there may be a learning curve when it comes to remembering to activate the turn signals. This is probably a good time to mention that you really need to go through all the features of the app. You’ll want to set your battery level notifications, and the beep frequency for the turn signals. Thoughtfully, Lumos even included a setup tutorial in the app. Anyway, it would have annoyed me to have it beep too often, or not often enough. So go through that.
During the day, the lights are visible, but not super bright. So Lumos reminds you to use hand signals day or night. From my experience, very few cyclists do this, so I don’t see it happening much with the helmet. More likely, we’re too busy trying to dodge motorists. But once the sun goes down a bit, or before it fully rises, the Lumos really shines. And that’s where we get to the heart of this review. Although I have no scientific proof, I feel like motorists gave me more room, or at least noticed me more, with the Lumos. While turn signals might seem like a novelty on a helmet, even a novelty will get attention. As it gets darker, you stand out more. And that’s the point of this helmet – visibility.
So, what do I like or not like? Well, fit is great thanks to the usual straps, plus a dial on the back. Together, they make it easy to get a snug but comfy fit. Also, there’s no question that I feel safer in traffic with it on. Thanks to the app, I can customize it, and also check the battery status. On the downside, I’m not sure I like having one proprietary cable to charge both the helmet and switch. Lose or break that, and the Lumos becomes just another helmet. Battery life isn’t bad, varying from 3 steady hours to 6 hours of flashing. But the helmet battery lost its charge after sitting for a while. So note that. Clever mounts for the switch let you remove it with a twist, leaving a plastic plate secured by heavy duty rubber bands.
Since I covered this in my initial review, I’m adding it to the end of this one. Powering the helmet on is done via a single switch on the back. From there, you can also set some lighting options. As for the LEDs, there are a total of 42. This breaks down to 10 in front, 16 in back, and 8 per side. Finding that balance of brightness, battery life, and weight was probably a challenge for the designers. But I think they did well. For most cyclists with a 30-45 commute, it’s going to be days between charges. Just don’t lose that cable.
For more info, including size and color options, along with current pricing, visit the Lumos website.
Brian
I’d like to thank Lumos for providing their helmet for this review. While we usually focus on gear that is fun or enhances performance in some way, this definitely fills an important role for cyclists. Because of that, I’m stoked to be able to not only review it, but share this review with other cyclists.