There’s no doubt that blinking bike lights draw attention to cyclists making it less likely you’ll hear the phrase “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”. With that in mind, there’s no harm in an extra bike light. Increasingly these days, I’m seeing them on bike helmets. One such helmet is the reasonably priced Design Headwear LED Cycle Helmet.
The company behind the Design Headwear LED Cycle Helmet recently got in touch with me, to see if I wanted to review the product. I said yes, and they sent it over.
Well, actually, I said yes, and they said what is your head size.
To find that out, I used a piece of string and measured just above my eyebrows and ears. I marked that point on the string and used a tape measure to get the number of centimetres.
The helmet comes in two sizes 58-62cm and 54-58cm. As I measure around 56cm I fall in the small/medium category.
Adjusting the helmet
The helmet can be adjusted from a dial on the rear. This makes for a tighter fit. Generally, you don’t want you helmet to be wobbling around, so it’s good to keep it fairly tight. I also adjusted the strap that comes beneath your chin.
Thanks to the comfortable Coolmax lining on the inside of the helmet, it feels very comfortable and your head should stay reasonably cool.
Additionally, this can be removed and washed, so your helmet will stay fresh even after many rides.
The bike light
The Design Headwear helmet has a bike light on the rear and a light that runs along the top of the helmet. This provides both side and front visibility.
Both the lights have to be on at the same time, but you can choose between a blinking mode and a constant light.
The light is bright enough to be seen and even during the daytime, there’s enough light to make it worthwhile leaving your light on.
A small button located on the rear bike light of the helmet allows you to turn the light on and off. It’s easy enough to reach around while the helmet is on and find this button.
Safety
As with most bike helmets, it features a roll cage design with full in mould construction which provides optimum strength, while remaining really light.
Replacing batteries
The helmet uses two AAA Alkaline batteries, which to replace you need to unscrew the cover of the light on the rear and place the new batteries in. This part is a bit of a pain and it would have been nice to see some kind of USB charging functionality, as is so common in bike lights these days. However, this would undoubtedly have bumped the price up. None the less, battery replacements will be infrequent.
Overall review
For £29.95 the Design Headwear LED Cycle Helmet provides plenty of value. Aside from being a sleek looking, light and comfortable bike helmet, the LED light is a great addition for extra visibility. The only downside I could find is having to replace batteries.
It is available from Gatehouse for £29.95
Good to see these lights becoming integrated – Its a bit of an issue getting led lights to fit at the right point if retrofitting your helmet with knog style lights.
TBH this is old news and I expect wearing 2 AAA batteries on your head make it pretty weighty and unecessary cumbersome.
I have a MET Crossover helmet – that cost £24.99 from Wiggle + cashback from TCB and it has a light built in that uses CR032 batteries.
It also has a removeable visor unlike this one by the looks of it.
Alternatively fit a Knog or similar knockoff or a Smart Mini.
Sorry to say but this is a poor article.
Ed your comment is just unnecessarily rude. You’re not paying to access this blog, I cannot see how it benefits you (or anyone) to comment like that. If you don’t think an article is of interest to you, don’t read it. It was clear from the title what it would be about.
And 2 x AAA batteries would be “pretty weighty”? Two batteries weigh 23g in total….how much do you think a helmet weighs?
Sorry to say but this is a poor comment.
This isn’t a poor article. The link says what it’s about and the article is about what the link says. It has photos, description and an opinion on the product, with it’s price and size options, etc. So from that article I’d say we can decide pretty much whether we like the product or not. This is a pretty standard article on a product. If it was my article I might have mentioned alternatives and put up links to my other articles on lights, but that doesn’t make it a poor article.
I think you’re getting your knickers in a twist Ed
Hannah – presumably you are paying to advertise on this blog – by sending Andreas your product.
I have just weighed 2 AAA batteries and they weigh 25 grams so you are wrong about that.
If you had any common sense you would realise that it wasn’t so much about the weight – even though a CR032 weighs just 3 grams. More about the fact that to accomodate such large batteries on a helmet must make it more bulky.
I have another MET helmet that weighs under 250 grams – so 10% on batteries is excessive. This doesn’t have a visor – Gatehouse charge £3.50 postage and no cashback.
Added to the fact that the pics on their (your)? site – confirm that this is a damn ugly lid.
“You’re not paying to access this blog,” – no cos who does pay to access a blog?
I think you need to grow up a little. It is my opinion and no one is forcing you to agree with it.
Unfortunately this lid looks only slightly more modern than a Tufftop – seeing that the company is a horse riding specialist, not surprising.
I will continue to buy from cycling specific companies such as Met and Giro.
Thanks anyway for getting so angry and sticking up for your company!
Your tone sounds very much like your an agent for Met cycle helmets !! Or a bit of a word bully.
I work for a software company and have absolutely nothing to do with Andreas, or the helmet manufacturer. Just another reader, just like you.
I’m not defending the helmet, do your worst – I wouldn’t buy it myself, as I am happy with my lights/helmet situation as it is. In fact, I got a Bern helmet for Christmas, which I am very pleased with. My Knog and Blackburn lights (as recommended on this blog) are USB charged and amazing, I would recommend them to anyone. I need a peak on a helmet for when it’s raining and this helmet would just let the rain batter my face.
I think it’s a shame you’ve commented on the quality of the article, rather than just sticking to commenting on the helmet, that is all.
“I think it’s a shame you’ve commented on the quality of the article, rather than just sticking to commenting on the helmet, that is all.”
Do you realise what you are saying?
“I’m not defending the helmet, do your worst – I wouldn’t buy it myself, as I am happy with my lights/helmet situation as it is. In fact, I got a Bern helmet for Christmas, which I am very pleased with. My Knog and Blackburn lights (as recommended on this blog) are USB charged and amazing, I would recommend them to anyone. I need a peak on a helmet for when it’s raining and this helmet would just let the rain batter my face.”
So what the hell has all this guff to do with the helmet in question – which I actually was on about?
Why does anyone care that you, “got a Bern helmet for Christmas”?
You have let your temper cloud the argument that you initially brought to this “free” blog.
BTW – it isn’t free as there are adverts and the guy has a shop. Working in software I’d have thought you would have understood that but apparently not.
Does Andreas even wear a lid? If he does would he wear this one over all the infinitely more well designed and slick lids available?
Maybe a response from him would clear this up instead of just being an ad for a terrible looking helmet – that according to their site doesn’t even have EEC safety standards!!
Ed – lay off old chap, no need for the aggressive tone, or for that matter the excessive pedantry.
Hannah, enjoy the Bern/Knog combo – a stylish and functional solution.
after seeing this pointless post and shameless advertising weaved silently into a post which looks like a normal post, i am not going to come to this site again, what a pos.
I have to say, when I cycle down the canal with a bright light on, people with reflective gear stand out much more than some of the puny lights out there. Wearing a light coloured top can make a big difference, and it is easier to work out the location of a large bright object as compared with a small point that an LED is.
seems like a decent price point for a helmet with a light included, not quite my cup of tea but for someone after a good entry level helmet, this seems like good deal and it comes with a light which is always a bonus!
A really great idea, but have a concern. I tend to ride with my head tilted forward, especially when battling a headwind. How visible will the light be if it is not parallel?
Helmet lights have never seemed like a great idea to me. Too many people use them as their sole light rather than an addition. Then because the light is higher off the ground they look further away to other traffic than they actually are, and if they turn their head the lights are not visible. Stick to steady, brigh (but not too bright) lights affixed to your bike, and back them up with a bit of high-viz.
Can not find the switch
The bike light looks great. A bike helmet is very necessary for your safety.