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.