Update #23: Product, Shipping, Awards, and more!

Hey guys! Hope you’re well. We’ve got a ton of updates for you, so let’s get right to it!

Product Updates:

USB charger

There’s been some curiosity over why we’ve chosen a magnetic cable over a microUSB charging cable. We considered this extensively before making a decision, and we wanted to share with you why we went in this direction.

Essentially it was to allow us to attain better water and splash resistance: Our original beta design used a micro USB plug and we found its protection against splash to be inadequate given the rainy environments we can often suddenly find themselves in while out riding. This new design is a much better shield against water splash, and allows you to ride in the rain and snow with confidence that your helmet will not get damaged.

The tradeoff is your helmet not being compatible with standard microUSB cables that you probably already have lying around your home for various phones/electronic devices. But keep in mind that your helmet in its nature is significantly more exposed to the elements than most of your electronic devices. This necessitates its own solution, and that is why we’ve gone with a magnetic cable that allows the helmet to have no open ports that would be susceptible to water ingress.

Brake Light / Automatic Warning Light

See it in action!

We have been working on improving the brake light function for some time now and we’re finally ready to provide you with a detailed update. A central difficulty has been finding a balance in sensitivity. Sensitive enough to catch most changes in speed, but not so sensitive that it activates at every vibration. We made a few changes and improvements from what we had in the beta unit:

First: We moved the motion sensor from the helmet to the remote.

Given how often your head moves independently of the motion of your bike, we came to realize that it does not really make sense to have the motion sensor in the helmet. Integrating the motion sensor in the remote makes it less prone to error.

Second: We’ve made it possible for you to adjust the sensitivity of the motion sensor through the app.

If you find that the warning light is too sensitive and coming on too often you can adjust it accordingly to suit your ride.

Third: We’ve made it possible to turn the feature on and off.

Using the brake light feature does come at a cost. It drains the battery of the remote much faster, and depending on how frequently the brake light is activated on your helmet, it also reduces the battery life of your helmet. You might also find that for your ride the brake light feature is not all that useful to you. If that is the case, you can easily turn the feature on and off with just the helmet (no app involvement required).

We’ve come a long way with this feature, and we think it’s ready for public release. At the same time we want to be transparent about the fact that we are still smoothing out some of its kinks, and it is not perfect yet. As such we are releasing the feature in “beta” mode only, and the helmets ship out with the brake light feature default setting to OFF because we think that the most responsible way to handle a beta feature is as an opt-in system. We also think it’s best that all riders set up the brake light to their own preference and style!

Shipping and Delivery

Delivery timeline

We are happy to announce that we were able to start shipping in August (albeit in small numbers), and so far 70 helmets have been delivered to backers! Some of you have been wondering why you have not received a pre-shipping survey yet: as we are shipping helmets in batches, we are sending surveys in batches as well. Don’t worry, yours is coming!

Our first large batch of several hundred helmets ship out at the beginning of October, and as this timeline progresses we will ramp up production to send larger and larger numbers of helmets out over the rest of October and November.

We understand that this may be both exciting and surprising: Many of you were expecting your helmets to have shipped by August, and we offer our sincere apologies for the delay. It is important to us that we send you only the best we can offer, although we regret that it has taken this long. We greatly appreciate your understanding, and it is only because of your patience that we have reached this point of achievement.

It is small consolation, but to make up for this unanticipated delay we are throwing in 2 extra freebies for everyone:

  • One extra Lumos charging cable. Every helmet comes with one cable as standard, and extra cables are $12.90 each, but now we will provide everyone with a second additional charging cable free of charge!

Note: We made this decision only recently and some of you who have filled in your survey have already paid extra for additional charging cables. If you did so already we will be refunding you for that charging cable. You should see that processed in about 2 - 3 weeks.

  • A water resistant Lumos Backpack Cover.

We thought this would be a great companion accessory to your helmet. Rain can come suddenly and unexpectedly, and with this Lumos Backpack Cover you can protect your backpack from rain AND enhance your visibility. The Lumos Backpack Cover will usually sell for $14.90 but we’re also throwing this in for you free of charge!

Lastly: Awards!

We were in Germany last week attending Eurobike, the world’s largest bike trade fair, and were surprised and deeply honored to be awarded their Best Gear of the Show Eurobike Gold Award! In their own words, “Among the winners are twelve products that the expert panel not only regards as outstandingly made but also have the potential to redefine the state of the art within the industry. Consequently, these products have been allocated a Gold Award, distinguishing them as the creme de la creme".

As a very young company completely new to the scene, we were psyched!

And as if that was not enough, around the same time last week it was announced that we’ve been named one of the Designs of the Year by the London Design Museum! It looks like the refined design encouraged by our beta testers and you guys has paid off!

We couldn’t have come this far without you. Your generous support, participation, and feedback have all been part of what has helped us make this product, and as we enter the homestretch of this journey we ask that you lend us just a little more of your patience. We’re nearly there, and we’re thrilled to be sharing the tangible result of everyone’s contribution to this project soon. We hope you’re as excited as we are!

 

Eu-wen, Jeff, and the entire Lumos Helmet team

41 comments

Thank you for the update. I am looking forward in receiving my lumos helmet and feeling safe during riding in the dark.

Frank Waller October 04, 2016

As a new cyclist, and not knowing the Do’s & Don’ts yet, I am HONORED to be part of this outstanding movement and achievement in cycle safety. I have BRAGGED to many of my cycle friends and they are just as excited to see my new gear as I am. Keep up the amazing work. Congratulations on the award! (Not surprised though) :)

Ron October 04, 2016

I am so excited to be on the cutting edge of helmet technology! Thank you for the extra goodies! I am really looking forward to this!

Cheryl Caves September 15, 2016

Your changes were smart thinking, I look forward to being a part of the Lumos movement. Congratulations on the award. Thank you for the freebies.

Larry Morales September 13, 2016

Congratulations Lumos Helmet Team. Excited to get my helmet soon, to be the first one to use here in UAE. It will make a big impact and impression to the cycling enthusiast here.

felix sabiniano September 13, 2016

Thanks for the update and the freebies. Hope to receive my helmets soon!!!

Lucy Pacific

Lucy September 13, 2016

Woo Hoo! Can’t wait for mine.

cathy K September 13, 2016

LUMOS Fighting!!

Korean September 13, 2016

Just like Tom Ngo i also have a concern about moving the brake sensor to the remote.
I am also a outliner in the usage of the helmet because I drive a handcycle. For me the directions lights are verry useful because I cannot stick my hand out while I cycle. But I can place the remote on my crank and then I can show my direction without letting go my cranks. Only in my case the brake functionality must then be disabled because de remote will detect al sort of movements and will not function.

A nice solution would be that there can be chosen between a brake sensor in de helmet or remote. But I understand that this is not making in the helmet affordable.

Just like Tom I wanted to mention this and a am not complaining. I am verry excited about the product and cannot wait to use it especially now the days are getting shorter and I must cycle in the dark.

Keep on doing the good work, hope to receive my helmet soon.

KBar September 13, 2016

Hello Lumos – getting excited to get the product. My only thought at this time would be to offer the helmet in other colors eventually – my preference being the bright green-yellow that is highly visible during the day. More feedback to come when I receive the helet. Best regards, Cliff

Clifford September 13, 2016

I am eagerly awaiting my helmet which I backed some time ago. My question is as an early adopter do I get a discount if I purchase a second helmet for my husband or daughter? I am awaiting mine, hopefully in October ship so I can evaluate fit and function

Nancy Fisher September 13, 2016

Thank you for your news. Waiting for my Lumos. Good job

Jose D Alcantud September 13, 2016

Well done pps! Can’t wait now, looking forward to getting the helmet-of course, quite understand the delay,it’s a kickstarter, so no problem. :-)

Jonathan September 12, 2016

Congrats on the award. That is an honor for a new company. Thanks for the improvements!

Gary Zawilinski September 12, 2016

Good job! As already asked you, is it possible to put on the helmet an electric whistle – high pitch/frequency, so it can be heard and, at the same time, being directional. Very, very often in our crowdy and noisy cities is really important to be heard!

Giuseppe Marchiori September 12, 2016

AS A MEMBER OF ONE THE LARGEST SOUTH FLORIDA BICYCLE CLUB THE EVERGLADES BICYCLE CLUB THAT JUST TURNED 40 Y/O I WOULD LIKE AND I AM SO EXCITED TO BE THE FIRST ONE PERHAPS IN MIAMI WITH THE HELMET. I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IT AND CONGRATS ON A GREAT AWARD AND IF YOU COME TO MIAMI PLEASE CONTACT US WE ARE VERY SAFE CONSCIOUS HERE .

henri milner barouh September 12, 2016

Congrats on the awards and thank you for the update. You made a great job.

Ettore September 12, 2016

I#m a Android user-but on my friends IOS app i dont get the sensitive buttons.Helemt is paired and us the latest firmwire version.

Congrat for the award. Great!

Andre September 12, 2016

I cannot wait. My last helmet of 10 years, is on its last legs. After reading this update, i feel that there had been a lot of thought put into the helmet. Putting the sensory device within the turn signal button mechanism is probably the absolute best place for it. I do have a concern though, as I ride early mornings on a triathlon bike, and especially favor being in the aero position most of the time. I was planning on mounting the turn signaling buttons on one of my aero grips. Will the device work for me in this situation? Being the device will be mounted in-line with path of travel rather than the typical perpendicular (or close to) mounting? Also any update on Android app?

Overall I’m highly eager to receive a helmet. So is my wife…as she gets concerned that i get my training rides in at 3:30 for hours on end.

Thank you

Bryan Wienczkowski September 12, 2016

Thanks for the update and congrats on the award. I am really excited to receive my helmet and so are a lot of my friends. They want to see it and see what it looks like on me.

Also I am a cycle responder for St. John ambulance I have been talking about my new helmet on order and again my offer in charge is also very interested. As being a cycle responder. Responder img to emergency calls. Safety is paramount for us. I think you could have a call in the future from out chief officer.

Good luck in London for the awards

ANDI September 12, 2016

Fantastic news congrats and I am so very exited looking forward to receiving my helmet Thank you for all the updates until the dispatched date Thank You

Tracy Waring September 12, 2016

I have been using my Lumos helme now for I couple of months. I have noticed that motorists pay more attention to the helmet lights than to the bicycle lights.

Tomas Gimenez September 12, 2016

Congratulations to the awards! Great to hear about all the develpment being done! Any news about an Android app?

Björn September 12, 2016

Congratulations to both awards you deserve them, this helmet is the start of a new era in bike wear. A revolution in bike wear in my opinion. Great job guys!

Roger Bullen September 12, 2016

Congratulations to the team with the awards .first of many
Am so looking foreward to the day i get my lumos helmet.welldone the team

John Hewing September 12, 2016

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