Project Flock Headlight Review

 

Hi

A few years ago I bought a Project Flock headlight and have used it ever since. This review was previously only available to OzHPV members, and I'm now dragging it out into the public internet. Following the quoted Huff article I'll comment on its long term use. Regards Steve Nurse

From Huff, September 2024:

"This is a review of the Project Flock tail light, which was designed in Australia. The company is run by business and life partners Tim Ottaway and Marie Penny, who saw safety as a major barrier preventing more people from riding bikes. The light’s headline feature is its “Biomotion” flash mode which on upright bikes lights up the rider’s legs while riding. The IPX6 rating (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_code ) is more impressive for me, it should resist water sprayed in powerful jets.

 Project Flock has had stands at several bike shows in Melbourne over the years including Hand Made Bike Shows. They were at this year’s event too (now called “Spoken”) only they now had actual lights to sell. In line with almost everything else at these bike shows the lights are expensive (about $130) however I feel I have put mine to good use and will have it for several years, so was happy with the price.

 The light comes in thoroughly modern packaging, that is without a set of instructions. You need to scan a QR code with a smart phone to get the PDF instructions. Once I’d done this the instructions were easy to read on my phone, but if you had no smartphone there would be no instructions either!

 I decided to mount the light on my helmet along with my spare front light, mirror, visor, and  backup tail light. With this good rear light on my helmet, I have now started replacing the rear tail lights on my bikes with reflectors. This means I don't have to keep up with the state of charge of rear lights on multiple bikes – it’s hard enough keeping the tyres pumped up!

 Twisting the light through 90 degrees removes it from its bracket, and a range of mounts is available for the light including mounts for saddle rails, seatposts, and panniers. However what comes as standard is the multi - seatpost mount which is a set of heavy duty moulded elastic bands. One of the standard mounts has kept the light securely attached to my helmet. The Blinky light occasionally falls off when knocked, but the Flock has always stayed in place, so the mounting seems good.

The controls on the light are particularly easy to use. When you press the on button, a set of green battery indicator LEDs lights up. Then, release the "on" button and the light starts flashing in the last mode you had it set to. Switching off is just the reverse. Press and release the switch and the charge indicators light up again before the light switches off.

 Short presses of the button switch the light between the flash modes. Of these, Eco flash is the least bright and longest lasting with a claimed 100 plus hours run time. However I generally use the day flash mode which is said to last for 12 hours. The brightest flash mode is Biomotion which only lasts 4 hours. With a backup blinky light I feel confident that I won't run out of charge on my rear lights. I recommend this light and although it's expensive I feel it has improved my nighttime visibility so is worth it.

 Project Flock Website: https://projectflock.cc "

Update October 2026

 

Current helmet setup includes reliable accessories, the Flock Taillight, homemade ear covers, and a combined visor and mirror with an inbuilt emergency blinky light.

Experience has borne out my initial good opinion of the Flock light, and after 2 years of constant use there has only been one problem with the lights and that was that one was stolen - I replaced it almost immediately using the store locator section of their website. I try to use the Flock light (and hi vis jacket) all the time while riding as I ride a recumbent which is potentially less visible than upright bikes. The Project Flock light is reliable enough that I have stopped carrying the extra blinky light on my helmet and rely just on the Flock light. Most of my bike use is for short trips around the city these days so I can't recommend the lights for use in torturous situations such as multi-day Audax rides - not because they might not be good, but just because I haven't tested them.

So my only extra recommendation is to carefully stash your helmet when riding with the Flock light attached.  

 

Chiltern Photos

 Hi

A few weeks ago I was riding with OzHPV friends in Chiltern. I haven't reported on that in my blog yet, but meanwhile my report on that weekend has been published on the OzHPV site here. So rather than rehash, I thought I would publish most of the photos I took of Gordon's extraordinary motoring Museum. It is related to the Chiltern Garage in town and some sites such as this very informative one still list the garage as a museum. 

Chiltern is near the main Melbourne to Sydney Highway, the Hume, and up till 1962 the Highway ran through the town. So there was great potential for a gathering of motoring memorabilia, and the Stevens family have accomplished that. Here are my photos.

 

 

Coleraine Pedalcars: promotion trip day 5

 

 

 

OzHPV embassy in Coleraine: promoting the OzHPV Challenge

Trisled Skyhawk rotomoulded pedal prix velomobile

Ta Da! The results.

Ace photographer Marlene

Ben from Trisled is given the Popemobile treatment in a safety car sponsored by Vickery Brothers, a local fertiliser supplier. Bec from Trisled did some of the presentations.

This one wasn't raced and I'm not sure it had the 4 wheels needed to qualify. It looks a bit like a Morgan

Some mobs like Grampians Gangster were just in it for fun.

What a ripper!

Balmoral College had 2 pedal prix hpv's this one multicoloured from lots of scrapes and old paint jobs.

#83 interior

Elite Class winners - they did the most laps overall

Possibly the most aero of all the cars, a very nice looking Trisled. Raced by an under17's team it was only 2 laps behind the overall winners.

After writing up the previous day's blog of my trip to promote the OzHPV Challenge in Coleraine, I headed out to the site of the Coleraine Pedalcars event by bike, looked around a bit, then walked back to the hotel and came back with my car, folding table, bike parts, flyers and gazebo. It had been wet and windy, and was still windy, and the first half hour of setup was rescuing gazebos which had blown away in the wind. It was a good way to get to know my neighbours. Fortunately the Wecycle Gazebo is a solid old girl and I was able to peg it down, and put it up with a bit of help and no dramas.

Unfortunately about this time, I realised I'd lost my phone, so that distracted me somewhat for the rest of the day! It didn't turn up and I ended up replacing it the next day. We are very welded to our devices! That aside, the day went well. Gradually teams of riders and families started setting up tents and Pedalcars along McConachie Street, and soon the place was buzzing. I'd met Pedalcar organisers Chris and Clare, and Trisled's Ben and Bec arrived, followed by my cousin Michael and his wife Rosemary, so I knew a few people there. I'd met ace photographer Marlene the day before as well.

With a camera as well as a phone I could keep on taking photos which was great. There were plenty of lively teams with Pedalcars varying from (Trisled) factory made to high end local factory made to shed made, and cute vintage. I was glad to have taken a photo of the results board, with that I could look at the car numbers in the photos and start to make sense of it all.

Late in the day when I was packing up, Jesse from team 23, (Odd Ball) tried out my bike and was quite impressed. It was a good day out. Coleraine is a small town and I saw half the people in town I'd met at the pub that night, they were there for the post race Pedalcar committee dinner. 

Jesse, successful test ride.

Back at the pub, the fake cow in the community centre can be seen through the drive-through bottleshop driveway.

Another view from the pub. The truck was stopped giving me time to take a few photos. The sheep did not appear too distressed and as Rosemary said "they only have one bad day".

 As a final note, here are some tips for not losing your phone / wallet / keys when riding a bicycle.

1. Never ride a recumbent bicycle! If you ride recumbent, normal pants and jacket pockets don't work, they are like an eject button for your beloved articles. If you have to ride a recumbent (ok, that's me), then try to do all of the below:

2. Try to wear a shirt with deep pockets. Its best if these can be buttoned up with a button or velcro at the top. These can stop phones slipping out at the top when you bend over.

3. Don't use pants pockets unless they are on the leg.

4. Jacket pockets that aren't high up must be zipped. If zips are broken or starting to get stuck in the fabric that surrounds them, replace or repair the zips or replace the jacket. 

5. Prioritise safety of self and articles over fashion, and don't (for example) turn a jacket or waistcoat inside out because it looks better if it compromises the safety of zips or pockets.

I think I broke most of these rules when I lost my phone on Saturday. Its actually not that hard to keep things safe.