by Bruno Rios
The first time I saw a Lumos product I thought "Hey! That's a cool idea!" It was the Lumos Kickstart model that one of our regular riders wore for our Wednesday night rides. This was in the summer of 2017.
It boasted a solid build with integrated tail and headlights, and most spectacularly: turn signals on command. The cyclist in question liked the helmet: "makes me feel safer when riding at night, especially in a city like Houston." But complained about a few things: it was heavy, turn signals were finicky, and didn't activate easily when used with smart features like gestures. But the biggest complaint was battery life. It just wasn't up to par to last all day for commuting. Worked fine for a 20-mile ride on Wednesday evenings but not much longer than that.
Then, one day in May 2020, I saw a new Kickstarter campaign from Lumos promoting a new version of their "smart" helmets. Needless to say, I had a lot of time on my hands due to the very recent emergency state we had going on in the United States due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Not only was I having to stay home for extended periods of time and avoid contact with anyone - like everybody else - but my cycling habits were changing dramatically.
I had to stop leading rides from our local bike shop - shoutout to our partners at Blue Line Bike Lab, the best bike shop ever - but I was starting to ride longer and longer on solo rides in the deserted streets of Houston. It was an incredible experience. Here is, just for reference, a picture from one of those rides where I could stand in the middle of the street to take a picture of my bike in the heart of Downtown:
More and more often I was coming back home at night. Even with a lot less traffic, I felt vulnerable on the street. This is a common occurrence: we love to ride bikes and we feel we have to put our lives on the line to do it on our streets.
So, back to that Kickstarter campaign. The Lumos Ultra just looked cool, it just did. Part of me was thinking "look, it's just a gimmick." And even with the helmet in my hands I still feel like that sometimes. Nevertheless, I pulled the trigger on June 5th, 2020, and "pledged" the money for the helmet. The cost was, at the time, $109 for the MIPS version. Just for reference, at that time, I was backer #9204 out of the 24,941 that supported the campaign around the world (by mid-July 2020).
Then, the waiting game started. Yes, the pandemic upended everything, and our friends at Lumos were not the exception. I waited and waited and waited. The original campaign was incredibly optimistic: mass production in October, start shipping in November. The reality was that it took way longer.
I received my Lumos Ultra First Edition on July 12, 2021, well over a year after the start of the crowdfunding campaign. And I have been using it ever since. I purchased the upgrade for MIPS, an upgraded remote for turn signals which adds breaking lights when slowing down, and a pair of reflective cycling gloves from Lumos.
Overall opinion: It's a good helmet for the price and the added technology and visibility it provides.
Lumos Ultra First Edition - Rough Weather Color (Unique to the First Edition)
Pros:
Adds visibility, especially at night in busy city streets (LEDs are way better in person than what you can see through videos.)
Turn signals are useful for leading group rides.
Looks awesome! Definitely turns some heads.
Added sense of security when riding solo.
Easy integration and useful smartphone app.
10+ Hours Battery Life.
Cons:
It's not as heavy as its predecessor, but still noticeable (370 grams).
The fit could be improved. It's a bit uncomfortable, especially for long periods of time.
Doesn't replace other lights and gestures.
Drivers see the body of cyclists, not the head.
I would definitely recommend anyone who rides often in city streets to purchase a Lumos Ultra. It is a good helmet that could be improved and provides the same amount of protection as any other competitor in its price range. You still have to gesture when turning, both with arm gestures and communicate verbally with other riders. Still, I believe the added protection and visibility are there for a very accessible price.
The question is, is it a gimmick? Sometimes my answer is still yes, it is a gimmick that looks cool. But the reality of the vast majority of our communities in the US and other car-centric countries is that any improvement, as minor as it might be, is welcome. We have lost a sense of risk when we go out there, day after day. Any measure of safety that helps us get back home is a measure worth taking. The Lumos Ultra is one of those measures and it looks awesome!