Bicycles

HelmMate secures your bike helmet and keeps your saddle dry

HelmMate secures your bike helmet and keeps your saddle dry
The HelmMate – it's like a helmet-storing umbrella for your saddle
The HelmMate – it's like a helmet-storing umbrella for your saddle
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When not in use, the HelmMate simply looks like a large-ish seat-mounted glasses case, which fastens onto the saddle rails with an Allen bolt
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When not in use, the HelmMate simply looks like a large-ish seat-mounted glasses case, which fastens onto the saddle rails with an Allen bolt
The HelmMate – it's like a helmet-storing umbrella for your saddle
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The HelmMate – it's like a helmet-storing umbrella for your saddle
The HelmMate in use
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The HelmMate in use
Park your bike and open the case up, and a water-repellant nylon cover can be pulled out from inside
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Park your bike and open the case up, and a water-repellant nylon cover can be pulled out from inside
The HelmMate remains relatively unobtrusive when not in use – as long as you weren't planning on mounting anything else underneath your saddle
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The HelmMate remains relatively unobtrusive when not in use – as long as you weren't planning on mounting anything else underneath your saddle
The HelmMate reportedly fits onto a wide variety of saddles
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The HelmMate reportedly fits onto a wide variety of saddles
A smaller, children's model is also available
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A smaller, children's model is also available
The cover rolls back up into the case when not needed
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The cover rolls back up into the case when not needed
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A new product known as the HelmMate is designed to take care of a couple of common bicycle commuters’ complaints – even if they’re relatively small ones. It lets cyclists stow their helmet on their parked bike instead of having to carry it around, plus it keeps the saddle from getting rained on.

When not in use, the HelmMate simply looks like a large-ish seat-mounted glasses case, which fastens onto the saddle rails with an Allen bolt.

Park your bike and open that case up, however, and a water-repellant nylon cover can be pulled out from inside. That cover remains attached to the case at one end, while its far end is pulled forward over the nose of the saddle – an adjustable elastic drawstring allows the cover’s edges to be snugged in beneath the saddle.

The HelmMate in use
The HelmMate in use

From there, you just undo the zipper that runs around the circumference of the cover, stick your helmet inside the upper storage area (so it’s sitting on the saddle), then zip it back up. A small combination padlock is included, which is used both to lock the HelmMate to the rails, and to lock the two zipper tabs together. For added security, users can also leave a bit of their helmet strap protruding, and run the lock through it too.

The product’s Danish designers point out that the cover is not 100 percent watertight, in order to allow its sweated-up contents to breathe a little. This means that it won’t keep the saddle bone dry in the event of an absolute downpour, but it should also keep the inside of the cover from smelling like a gym locker.

The HelmMate is priced at €39 (US$52) plus shipping, with a smaller version for children’s bikes going for €34. A demo video (which is in Danish) can be seen below – the demo itself starts about 30 seconds in.

Source: HelmMate

Helmmate - slip for bøvlet med din cykelhjelm - no helmet hassle!

View gallery - 8 images
5 comments
5 comments
Larry English
$52 for this thing!?
kidsandliz
Might be able to sell the thing as a seat cover (although not at that price) but to secure a helmet? I doubt locking zippers on a cloth case will keep anything safe from being stolen - even if you run the helmet strap through the lock. Scissors will take care of that in two seconds flat. Geesh.
Maelduin
At one-third the price, with free shipping, it *might* be worth buying.
duh3000
are we over-thinking this a little ?
tedly
Good thing I don't wear a helmet! I don't see the need to protect a useless plastic hat from the rain... if I'm just commuting of course. To each their own.