Livall is back with new smart cycling helmets. With turning signals, camera, speakers, a mic, and now a heart rate monitor, the new road and mountain helmets more packed with tech than their predecessors in the Bling line, the BH60 and BH100. And by comparison Livall‘s new helmets are slimmer and sleeker.
Digital Trends put the Bling to the test in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation’s most bicycle-friendly cities. While it performed well, at over a pound (453 grams) it was too heavy for long rides. The Bling’s loud shine in the form of LED lights along its exterior also drew a few giggles from fellow Portlandians that saw it in action.
Both the BH81H and the MT1, Livall’s new road and mountain helmets respectively, have a more serious look about them: There are only lights along the back of the helmet as opposed to along the top and the black shell is more imposing than the Bling’s shiny white casing. The road helmet’s shape matches modern trends, doing away with the cool-looking but not aerodynamic rear portion of the previous model. It is worth mentioning there is also a children’s version, but it has none of the smart features that make Livall’s other Bling helmets so interesting.
So back to the adult gear: Removing the LEDs on the crown may have helped ditch some of the weight without significantly skimping on the design, shaving the road helmet down from 1.13 pounds to .71, or about 322 grams. That is still pretty heavy, but certainly more bearable than the first iteration helmet. Livall sponsored the Ning Xia Sports Lottery Livall Cycling Team at the Tour of Qinghai Lake 2016 to show off the svelteness of the design.
Buttons on the helmet control the speakers and music. Both helmets link to the Bling remote to control the turn signals. The remote can also control phone calls and the walkie-talkie feature.
With both the lights and music running, the road and mountain helmets should run between three to six hours on a charge. You can power it up via the Micro USB port.
Back Livall’s Indiegogo campaign for $119 for a mountain bike helmet, or $109 for a road helmet. The campaign nearly doubled its $50,000 goal and the company plans to deliver to backers in November.
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