There’s a reason that Topeak’s MiniRocket iGlow bike bump won a 2013 Red Dot Design Award: the transparent barrel encases a internal optical fiber that turns a small red LED into a brilliantly-visible glowing safety strip. And at just 67 grams, it adds minimal weight to your bike’s frame, so it’s easy to always keep on hand. A pair of watch-sized batteries powers it continuously for up to 50 hours on its brightest setting, and 100 hours when dimmed.
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Now that New York has finally joined the rest of the world with a city-wide bike rental program, users are finding great ways to further improve the service. Including Adafruit’s Becky Stern who retrofitted a run-of-the-mill bike helmet with a wicked LED light show and a handy indicator that lets riders find the nearest Citi Bike station—ensuring they always get their ride back on time.
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Tartu, Estonia-based startup Velodroom leverages tech to solve a problem any bike commuter can sympathize with – how to add lights to your ride that are convenient to use and require absolutely nothing from the rider besides a simple installation. The Velodroom light borrows some tricks from tech available in any smartphone to give the Velodroom a mind of its own, with some very useful consequences.
The Velodroom’s tricks are mostly about automating repetitive actions that are normally done manually on most bike lights, including powering on and off, activating brake lights and adapting brightness to current lighting conditions. It does all that while conserving battery via an auto shut-off mechanism that activates the light only when motion is detected, and it has an internal battery with 4x the energy capacity of two AAA batteries, which is rechargeable via USB.
Essentially this makes Velodroom a more-or-less fix and forget solution to bike lighting woes, with the added benefit that it actually flares when you start braking, the same way a car’s rear lights do, which is bound to increase safety and visibility at night, especially for riders negotiating traffic in busy urban locations. Plus the variable light levels based on sensors should ensure the battery lasts as long as possible: Velodroom is targeting three months usage on average, or over 100 hours of continuous power when turned on at full brightness.
Velodroom is the product of a team that includes Sven Sellik, Andri Laidre, Indrek Rebane, Tavvi Hein and Mihkel Heidelberg, who between them combine extensive experience in product design, electronics, programming and the science of sensors. The startup team wants to eventually reinvent more types of bike accessories, and move the market in general to more hassle-free products and designs, but is starting with the bike light since it’s a near-perfect demonstration of how readily available tech can improve a biker’s life right now.
The Kickstarter project has two weeks left in its funding cycle, and is looking for £34,600 (around $54,000 U.S.). Pre-orders for backers start at £35 ($55 U.S.), and shipments should start as early as September 2013 if the startup sticks to its initial targets. Should everything work out according to plan, it’ll be great to see where Velodroom goes next with its high-tech approach to cycling accessories.
Children are impossible to please, no matter now many Lunchables you ply them with. But even the most ungrateful tykes will appreciate getting one of Mores stunning Petitpierre kids bikes crafted from carbon fiber so they’re easier to ride and maneuver.
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Colin Furze, maniac maker of maniac things like the maniac 50mph baby carriage
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OK, so none of us probably have any use for a flying bike, but it’s alright to want one. It’s perfectly natural. So just let the wild envy wash over you as this Frankenstein machine takes flight.
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Technologically bent cyclists have their choice of advanced bicycles these days, but it’s a little hard to justify getting a specialized vehicle if your existing two-wheeler still functions just fine. However, swap your bike’s handlebars with one of these handsome aluminum ones from Helios and all of a sudden your beloved ride is equipped with a 500-lumen headlight, a pair of rear-facing RGB LED indicators, Bluetooth 4.0 for smartphone communications and, yes, even a built-in GPS. Join us after the break as we give you a brief tour of the Helios Bars and how it’s well worth its $200 price point.
Gallery: Helios Bars at Maker Faire 2013
Source: Helios
When’s the last time you really felt like a badass on a bicycle? Probably when your training wheels came off around the age of six. Well, fortunately for you, bike and oversized object enthusiast Richie Tremble has figured out a way to feel that sense of wobbly danger once again: a 14.5-foot, towering beach cruiser he calls the StoopidTall Tall Bike. More »
Ever gone for a long bike ride in unfamiliar territory? Probably used your phone’s GPS to help navigate, right? Convenient. However, that also makes running out of juice more than just a small annoyance. Siva Cycle’s Atom might just solve that, and a host of other battery issues for the tech-bound biker. More »
Your average motorist is more used to sharing the road with other vehicles than cyclists. So instead of just relying on your arms to safely signal an upcoming turn, consider these $42 turn signal gloves which let both cyclists and motorists alike know where you’re headed. More »
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