Motorcycles are safer to ride than ever before, with the safest motorcycles to ride offering features like anti-lock braking systems (ABS) and traction control. Honda and Yamaha have exhibited concept versions of self-balancing motorcycles, and West Coast-based Lit Motors is taking preorders on a gyro-stabilized motorcycle for two with a fully enclosed cabin. Dainese, a company headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, makes a motorcycle jacket with built-in airbags based on the ones used in MotoGP racing; the Smart Jacket retails for $699.
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Among more affordable motorcycle safety accessories is the Brake Free helmet light, which picked up large investments from Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban on a Season 12 episode of “Shark Tank.” Brake Free was worth more than $2.5 million as of last spring, and helmets are in stock on the Brake Free website with options of white or black and USB-C or micro USB charging. The reviews on Brake Free’s website are overwhelmingly positive, but what have users said in other forums?
The Brake Free helmet light has stellar customer ratings
The white micro USB Brake Free light has an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars from 107 reviewers on BrakeFree’s site, with 104 giving it 4 or 5 stars. Michelle R. gave it 5, raving: “This does EXACTLY what it’s supposed to!!! Stays lit while riding, and gets brighter (with different cycle options) when engine braking or if the brakes are pulled. I feel a whole lot safer when riding now!” The three buyers who ranked it 3 stars mentioned its weight and issues with charging it, but they were solidly in the minority.
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There’s only one review for the white USB-C model, but the black version shares the mini-USB version’s average rating of 4.9 stars with a bigger sampling of 1,347 buyers. Nearly 1,200 of them awarded it 5 stars, and 152 gave it 4. Three customers rated it 3 stars and nobody has scored it lower.
Brake Free doesn’t sell its products on Amazon, so there aren’t any reviews there to examine, but 14 out of the 16 buyers from Lamonster Garage gave it 5 stars out of 5, and the other two awarded it 4. James R Boyer rated it 5 and wrote, “It was easy to install, charging is a breeze, the battery life is amazing, and it really catches people’s attention, which is great! … This product is incredible!”
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Redditors love the Brake Free light as well
There has been plenty of conversation about the Brake Free helmet light on the r/motorcycles subreddit, and it’s been in line with the feedback on the Brake Free and Lamonster Garage websites. We found three threads started by users looking for opinions on the light, and one started by u/yamaslama had more than 1,100 upvotes and almost 600 comments as of this writing. u/reverymouthbitters noted that it was brighter than their motorcycle’s own brake light and that other motorists seem to give them extra space. “Maybe they think I’m a cop or something,” they added. “Don’t care, I’ll take it. Unless you’re wearing the cheapest or most expensive helmets you won’t notice the weight at all.”
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u/TheDeadestCow wrote, “I have this and I bought one for my son. It works great and goes on even when you’re engine braking. It’s just a phenomenal device that just works.” That was enough to convince u/FoodieDood that the Brake Free helmet light was a good idea. “Ok the engine braking part sells it for me,” they wrote. u/GuvmentCheese wrote, “It’s a fantastic product, and worth every penny in my opinion.” u/swimswith turtles wrote simply, “Love mine!! I particularly like that it will illuminate during engine breaking [sic] when my traditional break light would not be signaling a slow down.”
