Brakefree discount

I just ordered a brakefree unit today. I ordered it through Amazon. The price was $159. The good thing was the shipping is supposed to be less than 48 hours.!


I have been using a cheap $15 rechargeable battery powered helmet mounted light but it has no brake light feature. It’s just steady on or rhythmically blinking. It does not get brighter when you decelerate.

I was hit from behind three weeks ago and my bike totaled— that helmet-mounted light had not been working at the time because the battery died. It has a runtime of less than half of the Brakefree from what I am told.

I am told that brakefree has a much longer battery life than that cheap thing that I had .
 
Last edited:
I like that when you decelerate the unit lights up before you tap the
Brakes. These units are of good quality and function. I have two, all my helmets have the attachment clip and last all day rides. - I’ve even recommended they work on a mini unit for bicycle helmets.
 
Received it, installed it, and ran an extra piece of tape, clear packaging tape, across the back of it because I don’t trust such a large unit to be securely held (at speed) with little more than one square inch of double sided spongy soft tape.IMG_0099.jpegIMG_0097.jpeg
 
JohnK said:
I like that when you decelerate the unit lights up before you tap the
Brakes.
Click to expand...

The brake free unit is a wireless brake light. It's equivalent to a CHMSL only not directly connected to the brakes.

In CA vehicles can be equipped with a deceleration warning light. This is a device activating one or tow amber lamps that give an indication of rate of deceleration and is not a brake light. The two most prominent requirements are 1) red or amber lights 2) operate only during deceleration and 3) indicate rate of deceleration. This is what the Cyberlite did.

The granddaddy of all these non-brake connected lights is the c.1980 Voevodsky Cyberlite. It's decelerometer five mercury switches mounted at five different angles on a PCB that activated two bulbs through an amber lens. Each switch responded to a degree of acceleration. The quicker the vehicle slowed the faster the two bulbs flashed. It was a brilliant bit of kit. I had one on my car and my bike.

It's decelerometer was crude by today's tech but still superior to what's used in today's lights. Ok that's not fair. Today's lights are indeed brake lights and not deceleration warning lights.

Unfortunately it didn't catch on. Once its value was established the Center High-Mounted Stop Lamp became law. This pretty much put Voevodsky out of business.

And there hasn't been another light like it that I've seen. The STS Smart Brake Light module is just like the Brake Free and similar lights. Calling their switches 'decelerometers' is generous even if technically accurate IMNSHO. They're On/Off switches for a fixed rate flashing light(s). A ball and spring.

I once thought a helmet mounted brake light was a big much. No more even though I haven't been in a rear end collision. The Brake Free seems a little gaudy to me but maybe designers thought its shape would be more eye-catching.

Were someone to make a Cyberlite-equal for helmets I'd have one in a heartbeat. No one needs to tell me what I know — that extra lights don't guarantee there will be no more rear end T/Cs. That lights flashing or otherwise don't mean a thing if a driver/rider isn't looking in their direction. We all know this. But more often than not the CHMSL and by extension a wireless brake or deceleration warning light can and do prevent T/Cs.
 
I have an older Cosmo Connected light I’ve used for the past few years - it was cheaper than the BrakeFree when I got it at $79, but unfortunately is no longer available (they do have it for bicycle helmets though). I’ll use it til it stops working, then likely get a BrakeFree. Any extra visibility is worth it.
 
I used the BrakeFree "on" for 9 hours of riding, ALL in the dark, yesterday.
When I plugged it in at the hotel, I expected to need to charge it overnight.
By the time I was ready for bed and lights-out, the light pattern had changed to let me know it was "fully charged."
That was probably only 1.5 hours.
So, it looks like you could recharge this device at a restaurant as you have a dine-in meal.

(ps: my brakefree was still working fine after nine hours. I have not yet discovered when it runs out of battery power.)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom