Helmet-mounted 3rd brake light

[newbert]

I'm curious how these "IndieGoGo" campaigns are supposed to work. Someone posted to this thread that he "ordered" one of the BrakeFree lights. How is that possible, if they're not available yet? What happens if they never go into production?

Maybe it's just me, but I'd rather wait and see if they're successful before ordering one. :dontknow:

 

[bhern]

Quick update on BrakeFree (the helmet-mounted braking/deceleration light crowdfunded through IndieGogo). The project is overdue ("Shocked! Shocked, I tell you!"), but the latest update came today and has some long-awaited good news: the final product should ship in April. For those of you scoring at home, that's about 18 months late.

Despite the delays, I'm enthusiastic about what is coming out. Part of my enthusiasm is because my only other choice is bitterness and disappointment over the delay, but the footage shared of the final testing before tooling began was very encouraging. To summarize:

1) The light sensitivity appears to be pretty well dialed in -- it basically nails all braking actions, and does a good job on downshift deceleration (engine braking). The default intent is to avoid false positives to ensure the light is a trustworthy warning. It is wireless/disconnected -- i.e., not wired into your brakes or engine -- so it's doing all of this in a self-contained way. It is not affected by the wearer's head motion (e.g., shifting left and right to view traffic/potential hazards, bobbing up and down when the right song is playing, etc.).

1a) That said, they are going to be including the ability to adjust sensitivity in the final version.

2) The light is very nice and bright, even in full sunshine. It will be noticed, but obviously that much more so at night.

3) The light has a mount that is stuck on the helmet (as opposed to being stuck directly on the helmet), so people will simply purchase an extra mount so that the light can be shifted to the passenger's helmet when riding two-up.

4) Testers reported that the weight was not an issue -- "hardly noticed" was the most common observation.

5) Someone asked, "Why invest in something like this before it's been proven?" Part of it is just the fun of participating in the process, but mostly it's due to being able to get a successful product at a sub-market price. The buyer/investor rewards are typically a good deal for products that make it to the market.

Looking forward to posting my own video when it arrives in 3 months time!

 

[viperryder]

Third Eye InView

There is another vendor out there that has a similar product. I ordered one and found out that the unit has to be tied into the Can-Bus system. Talked with the vendor and at present they have not installed any on any Spyders. There is a lady in New York that is going to have one installed, but not yet. Told vendor I was not confident tying into the Can-Bus, as it is very sensitive to any other electrical interference. Well keep up to dat as they inform me.

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Great minds think alike. I also had this thought and ordered an additional mounting for the wife's helmet so when riding two up it's only being used on the one helmet. The additional cost was only ten bucks. (Due for release in Nov 2018)

i too think it might be annoying to passenger but if able to buy 1 & put on passenger helmet when my wife is on would be a problem solver.

 

[Road-Kill]

Gimmicky at best.
Considering the tiny percent of MC accidents are rear-end collisions this product seems pointless.
Considering most accidents occur during daylight hours this adds yet another argument to being even more pointless.
If I plan on riding at night I ride with a reflector vest, its simple, has no failure rate, cheap, storable and if I'm hit by a car they'll easily find my mangled body.

 

[jaherbst]

Check out the Apple Store they sell one also!

Jack

 

[jaherbst]

Gimmicky at best.
Considering the tiny percent of MC accidents are rear-end collisions this product seems pointless.
Considering most accidents occur during daylight hours this adds yet another argument to being even more pointless.
If I plan on riding at night I ride with a reflector vest, its simple, has no failure rate, cheap, storable and if I'm hit by a car they'll easily find my mangled body.

Hope your name does not prove to be true! Be careful out there. Contrary to your statement there are a lot of fatal rear end accidents both on MC and Spyder's.

Jack

 

[ofdave]

Hope your name does not prove to be true! Be careful out there. Contrary to your statement there are a lot of fatal rear end accidents both on MC and Spyder's.

Jack

have to agree with Jack

got rear ended about 9 years ago and was off the bike for 7 months.
I'm a big mirror use advocate but the guy changed lanes and hit me.
It's possible a helmet light would have prevented the whole thing.


It's a higher percentage than you realize.

 

[juscuz]

I'm one of many early investors in this project and have waited some time for this product to release but glad testing and more modifications have and are still being done to improve the unit.

 

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

Gimmicky at best.
Considering the tiny percent of MC accidents are rear-end collisions this product seems pointless.
Considering most accidents occur during daylight hours this adds yet another argument to being even more pointless.
If I plan on riding at night I ride with a reflector vest, its simple, has no failure rate, cheap, storable and if I'm hit by a car they'll easily find my mangled body.

It only takes 1 time to become roadkill

 

[Fire34]

There is one made in france I beleive, forgot the name but it was able to be mounted on the pillion or yours if riding alone. it was proven but not ditributed here yet.
Dave

 

[wyliec]

Gimmicky at best.
Considering the tiny percent of MC accidents are rear-end collisions this product seems pointless.
Considering most accidents occur during daylight hours this adds yet another argument to being even more pointless.
If I plan on riding at night I ride with a reflector vest, its simple, has no failure rate, cheap, storable and if I'm hit by a car they'll easily find my mangled body.

Road-Kill,

They work on the same concept as deer whistles.:roflblack:

 

[newbert]

.......1) The light sensitivity appears to be pretty well dialed in -- it basically nails all braking actions, and does a good job on downshift deceleration (engine braking). The default intent is to avoid false positives to ensure the light is a trustworthy warning. It is wireless/disconnected -- i.e., not wired into your brakes or engine -- so it's doing all of this in a self-contained way. It is not affected by the wearer's head motion (e.g., shifting left and right to view traffic/potential hazards, bobbing up and down when the right song is playing, etc.).

1a) That said, they are going to be including the ability to adjust sensitivity in the final version.......

.....Looking forward to posting my own video when it arrives in 3 months time!

Being a firm believer in making yourself as visible as possible (unlike some of the non-believers in this thread), I've had my eye on this product as well. However, I didn't invest because I also believe in having a final product to evaluate. I was particularly concerned about dialing in the sensitivity and the weight, so it's good to see that these issues may have been successfully addressed and that it's finally about to come to market.

Looking forward to seeing your video and hearing your thoughts on it.

 

[WisconsinDavid]

I don't ride often at night. Too many deer around the rural setting in which I live. If I am forced to, I have a GMAX helmet that has a light built into the back. It can be left on, blink, or be connected to a wireless sending unit that can be purchased. Since I don't ride in the nighttime often, if I do I just leave it solid or blinking to make myself more visible to others.

 

[Motorcycledave]

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note about the helmet light...
I have used them for years, both my wife and I have them on our helmets, they are worth every penny
they get every ones attention behind you. I have been flagged over by many folks wanting to know where I got them.
G MAX also has them built into their helmets and they also work great.
so here is a big Thumbs up from me...
Ride Safe
Dave
PS... Don't forget EVERYTHING is on sale here at MotorcycleDaves.

I have an RT, so the bike itself has a place to mount an accessory brake light higher up so it's more visible. But, I recently rode with a couple of

F3's and realized any accessory brake lights mounted on their bike wouldn't be high enough to have the visibility they should. Then, I looked a little more into the helmet-mounted brake light. This one is a recent startup that's getting some good press. Does anyone have any experience with it, or similar products?

 

[UtahPete]

Hi Everyone,
Just a quick note about the helmet light...
I have used them for years, both my wife and I have them on our helmets, they are worth every penny
they get every ones attention behind you. I have been flagged over by many folks wanting to know where I got them.
G MAX also has them built into their helmets and they also work great.
so here is a big Thumbs up from me...
Ride Safe
Dave
PS... Don't forget EVERYTHING is on sale here at MotorcycleDaves.

Dave, which brand and model do you have on your helmets? Probably not the Brake Free brand if you've been using them for a long time.

BTW, I got the package with the Sena10 and extra goodies. Thanks!

 

[LeftCoast]

Also would like to know what you are using Dave. I’m a big proponent of “riding ugly” with as much hi vis clashing color as possible but a helmet light would be a nice add although I have been known to put a flashing bike light on my helmet.

 

[UtahPete]

Also would like to know what you are using Dave. I’m a big proponent of “riding ugly” with as much hi vis clashing color as possible but a helmet light would be a nice add although I have been known to put a flashing bike light on my helmet.

You should go meet with Dave. He lives in Linden. Then, report back :thumbup:

 

[Motorcycledave]

can you call me?

If you have an iPhone we can do a face time and I will show it to you
Dave
PS my cell phone is 209-608-2141

 

[splais]

After seeing this thread I started doing some research. Low and behold I discovered that there were a half dozen or more companies making these helmet lights. Somebody needs to do a comparison test.