Lumos Bike Helmet | Best Bike Commuting Helmet

Lumos Bike Helmet Review:

I was gifted a Lumos Helmet by my fiancée for Christmas, and since last June when I started bike commuting she has always been thinking about my safety. Which is a good thing, because as of right now she still wants me around, and as we go through our married life I’ll use “bike safety thoughtfulness” as a gauge of the love she still has for me.

So, after unwrapping my gift and discovering Lumos for the first time, I quickly Googled the helmet to learn more. This helmet was brought to life from a Kickstarter campaign back in 2015 and backers raised over $800K. It retails for around $150-$199… depending on time of season and inventory levels.

Here are my initial thoughts:

Functionality is quite good, one button to turn on/off and to select one of the 3 modes (on, slow blink, fast blink). It remembers your selected mode from your previous ride, so you do not have to click through to get it to your preferred setting.
It has turn signals! What.. puts a smile on my face every time I turn on my “blinkers”.
It has a beta mode that flashes the rear lights to signal you are slowing down, it uses your phone’s accelerometer.
I think the price should hover more closely around $150 if not lower, $200 would be tight for the average commuter to justify. Durability and battery life will be the judge of the future price.
Overall design is okay, not the sharpest looking helmet but not the worst.
It weighs significantly heavier than your standard road helmet (2x the amount) at 450 grams (most of the weight is coming from the lithium battery).
Overall fit is okay, feels like it sits a little shallow on my head and it is a little wide for my taste, overall not bad.
Battery Life claims approx. 6 hours on flashing mode and 3 hours on solid mode. 3.7V 800mAh Lithium-Polymer Rechargeable Battery. (Tested – after wearing the helmet and using the flashing mode, the helmet’s battery lasted 5 hours and 50 minutes over 22 bike commutes that lasted around 15 minutes each.)
The Lumos Helmet will be my commuting helmet from now on. It is a joy to wear and use every time I commute through the city. I will still ride with front and rear lights, the helmet will add to my overall safety presence.

Next improvements that I think Lumos should incorporate in version 2.0:

Voice Activated (Left/Right Turn Blinkers, stopping).
Reduce the overall weight.
Front lights line move down to wrap around the head, to create a halo effect.
Brighter lights to allow better use during daytime use.
Place logos on both sides.
Add s, m and l sizes – will help with the overall fit.
Add another helmet design option to a more bucket style lid or enduro style, create the feel that your head is fully secured.
Make it easier to replace battery and broken LED strips.
Add ability to connect to GPS cycling computer for smart braking warning light system. Again, it currently it uses your phone’s accelerometer.