Categories
Cycling

Bike Sunglass Holding Device is a glasses clip for a cycling trip

Sunglass holding  88023a77da60540c8775d9323a67c8af_large[1]Whether you are a triathlon addict or just someone who loves cycling for exercise, there are some days when sunglasses are beyond necessary, they are mandatory! There’s little that’s more challenging than trying to make your way through a competition, or even down the street when the sun is blazing right into your eyes. Bike Sunglass Holding Device gives you an easy and convenient place to dock your sunglasses until you need them. The easy to install item is also designed to be positioned for the least amount of aerodynamic drag. For $50, a backer gets a complete product with an expected delivery of August 2014.  If this seems interesting, you may also want to check out the Trigger Bell Campaign.

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Cycling

Trigger Bell puts your ringer closer to your finger

TriggerBellThere’s nothing like a leisurely ride through the neighborhood on a gorgeous day — that is, until someone who isn’t watching where they are going steps out in front of you. Not the first bike bell to ring in its debut via Kickstarter, the Trigger Bell gives you quick access to your bell to warn distracted pedestrians to mind their steps. Bike handlebars must be between 22 and 36 millimeters. For £8, backers get the colored brass version, or for £13 your color choice to match your bike. Expected delivery is July 2014.

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Cycling Furniture Organization

Shelfie turns your bike into a wallflower

Shelfie   0eda655a115ebcaba9e2dc03329897e2_large[1]Perhaps one of the best forms of exercise is riding a bike. For enthusiasts who shun the basement or garage as places to store their bikes, or space is simply limited, Shelfie offers a unit that lets your two-wheeled companion just conveniently hang around. Designed by a professional biker, the bike rack unit lets you hang your bike by the seat, which significantly reduces paint scratches and kinked wires. The units will be injection molded out of a high quality plastic in the US. For $125 a backer gets a complete product with an expected delivery of October 2014.

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Cycling Personal Transportation

Horizon all-terrain electric trike accommodates wide range of riders, high fun factor

editors-choiceThe Premise. Paraplegics, quadriplegics and other disabled people are less mobile than the rest of us not necessarily because of their disabilities, but because there aren’t enough creative modes of transportation made for them. Designers need to think outside of the box more to accommodate the needs of everyone.

The Product. The Horizon Electric Bike is an electrically powered all-terrain trike that has three different riding modes. Power either comes solely from electricity, from pedaling and electricity or from hand power and electricity. That being said, the bike comes with different customization options. The rider can choose between foot pedals, hand pedals or a foot tray and standard handles or tri-pin handles depending on hand mobility. Horizon’s three wheels makes balancing a non-issue. Also, the seat of the trike is reclined, making it a comfortable ride for anyone, and rises for easier mounting and dismounting. The handles can be removed for possible side entry if necessary.

The Pitch. The Horizon’s Kickstarter campaign features a heartwarming video with testimonials from people of various physical capabilities who love using the bike. One of the men, Chris, suffered from a broken neck at the age of 17 and loves using the Horizon bike because it allows him to enjoy cycling again. The video does a great job of showing how the bike can be enjoyed by people of all different physical states. Horizon hopes to raise $100,000 in its 30 day campaign.

The Perks. One Horizon trike goes for $7,950 with an estimated delivery date of December 2014. Each trike is completely customizable, giving backers the choice of which handles and pedals they’d like to use as well as options for engraving.

The Potential. The Horizon Electric Bike is cool for a number of reasons. Its creators really thought about accessibility in the bike from the custom pedals and handles to the built-in ease of entry and exit. The bike also comes with a decent amount of power and speed behind it. Best of all, it’s accessible for the physically disabled, but can also be used by everyone. There is truly nothing else out there quite like it. The price tag may be a bit high, but the versatility the Horizon offers can’t be ignored.

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Automotive Cycling

Five Questions for RightPSI

Backerjack asked John Milanovich a few questions about his crowdfunded tire pressure indicator, RightPSI

What does RightPSI do and how does it do it?

RightPSI is a tire cap that turns orange when your tire is low, black when not, and yellow if overfilled. You unscrew the cap to your valve stem and screw ours on. You then fill through ours and it changes color when you fill it so you can use it as a gauge. Low tire pressure impacts how a car, motorcycle or bike handles and breaks which directly affects safety. For bikes and motorcycles, it impacts fuel efficiency and pollutants.

There seem to be a number of inexpensive color-coded tire pressure monitor valve caps on the market. What makes RightPSI different

RightPSI is the only cap that you can fill through and acts as a gauge. Also, you can see ours from 20 feet away.

The product won a Popular Science award in 2011. Why has it taken so long to get to the crowdfunding stage?

RightPSI

While I knew about Kickstarter and Indiegogo, we were working on our manufacturing process.  We had a two-year time there where we were working to find the right person to supply our plastic parts. I had explored Chinese and European suppliers for these parts, but ended up with a US supplier and consultant. I started seriously reviewing Kickstarter a year ago and we launched a failed Kickstarter in December. We learned a lot from it, and relaunched Feb 15.

Colors are nice and all, but why not have some kind of Bluetooth alert that lets your smartphone know when your pressure is low?

We may have a version 2.0 that does that! We have some initial design work for it. However, our current version is getting a lot of interest and we think in some instances it is preferable. We have had a lot of response from locations where they say we don’t want anything with a battery. We think there is a market for both and we are excited to get this first analog version out.

What have been some of the best product suggestions you’ve gotten from the crowdfunding community?

A lot of people have mentioned the smartphone idea. One suggested that it could light up upon touching so you could check your tires in the dark. Also, people have suggested markets I did not explore prior. A guy emailed me saying, I love your product; I am in a wheelchair and this would make my life easier. I had not thought about that before, but since then I have had other people in wheelchairs e-mail me. That is very exciting to me.

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Cycling

Fietsklik lets you snap accessories onto your bike

FietsklikWhen it comes to bikes, the Dutch are most certainly the experts. Fietsklik, a new product hailing from Amsterdam, is a platform to affix to the back of your bike. It’s unique structure allows you to attach or click different accessories to it such as several different types of bags, crates and child seats. Fietsklik fits on most bikes and makes cycling all the more versatile. A full viewing of this bike tool’s accessories can be found on the Web site, along with a lot of information in Dutch. For $99, backers can get one of two basic packages of the platform itself along with a crate or any bag of choice with an estimated delivery date of July 2014. Fietsklik is looking for $40,000 during its-57-day campaign12.

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Cycling Personal Transportation Travel

ShareRoller turns clunky sharebikes into speedy e-cruisers

The Premise. In major cities around the world, bike-sharing programs are popping up allowing residents or tourists to borrow a bike and get where they’re going more quickly, but what if making use of this program involved less physical exertion and more fun?

The Product. The ShareRoller is a smaller motor that attaches to any bike or scooter whether it’s borrowed or not and allows riders to enjoy a smoother ride with motored assistance or no pedaling at all. The motor is designed to allow for 12 miles of range and offers 1 HP to get some speed going. The motor includes LED headlights to add visibility while riding in the dark, and also has a USB port to charge phones or tablets while commuting.

The Pitch. Inventor Jeff Guida shows off his love for sharebikes in his native New York City and demonstrates how a ShareRoller can speed up the heavier shared bikes. The product supports New York’s Citibike program, but also similar products in many other cities. With plenty of example photos on how to attach the motor and a convincing video, it’s easy to tell how much passion has gone into the development of this device. Guida and his team need $100,000 for injection moulding and to set up assembly facilities for the ShareRoller.

The Perks. Kickstarter supporters can get a ShareRoller for a pledge of $995, saving a whole $350 off the retail launch price, and should be riding in style by June of this year. An extended range battery which will add an extra eight miles of powered riding is available at the $1,295 tier, and New York City residents can get a beta ShareRoller in April for $1,995, which will be swapped out for the production model when it becomes available.

The Potential. The ShareRoller is a cleverly designed fantastic idea for urbanites who have access to bike shares or can commute using bikes or scooters easily, but there are some hurdles to overcome. First, the price point is steep for what it offers, meaning that making owning a ShareRoller economical involves a lot of two-wheeled commuting. Second, the weight of the device at between 6-7 pounds, plus an additional half pound for the extended range battery, is a little heavy unless there’s no walking to be done from the bike to the destination. There’s also the question of whether using the ShareRoller will be legal in the cities that offer the bikes it suports. This could be used by cities themselves to offer bike shares for people who are unable to propel themselves on a bicycle, but for the average consumer the ShareRoller still has a ways to go before becoming a crucial accessory.

Categories
Cycling

Revolights present a longer, safer bicycle taillight

The Premise. As the eco-movement continues to grow, cyclists become more an more numerous, opting to travel in an environmentally-friendly way instead of using their cars all the time. The only problem is that the safety-movement hasn’t really stepped up to this new influx of cyclists. As a result, drivers and cyclists in the U.S. are still not very adept at sharing the road, which can result in accidents.

The Product. Revolights offers up one more way to improve the safety of cyclists and drivers alike. Instead of dinky blinky lights that most cyclists use, Revolights are long lights that act as the front and back fender to a bike. This current campaign is only for the taillight. If the bike already has fenders, there is a special mount that can be used to attach the arc light to the fender. By detecting the rotating speed of the wheel, an additional brake light is activated when the cyclist’s speed slows suddenly. The Revolights arc light comes with different modes, blinking or not, with a red taillight. The arc light runs on a battery that has eight hours of life and charges in a USB port.

The Pitch. This campaign marks a third go at Kickstarter for Revolights, the Bay Area creators of which show off its product in a video featuring different cyclists riding around at night. It’s especially interesting to see how the brake light comes in when necessary. In addition, the video shows newer features that will be offered soon, including turn signals. Revolights hopes to raise $100,000 in its 54-day campaign.

The Perks. Backers can enjoy the Revolights Arc taillight for $69 at the early-bird price. Regularly priced, the taillight will go for $79 and the light which includes its own fender goes for $109. Reward tiers go up to $629 with an estimated delivery date of October 2014. Revolights talks about having stretch goals in the future for turn signals, but have not actually set them yet.

The Potential. Bike taillights as they exist now are easily mistaken for other things. Most bike headlights and taillights are mismatched, offering a huge headlight with an inadequately sized taillight. This large arced light is much safer because of its size and position partially outlining the wheel, signaling to drivers that they are approaching a bike. The closest product to Revolights right now is the Serfas Thunderbolt USB Taillight, simply because it charges with a USB, but compared to the arc light, the Thunderbolt looks much too small. All in all, while the price of Revolights is rather high, the safety that it offers is worth ponying up for.

Categories
Cycling Video

Blinking Fly6 bikecam lets tailing motorists know they’re being watched

The Premise. For those who bike to commute or just for fun, laws and convenience tie them to the same streets that cars speed down. Every intersection is an accident waiting to happen, every passing car might not notice the cyclist doing his best to move with traffic beside him. As a result, cyclists are constantly in fear of something much faster and heavier than they forcing them off the road.

The Product. The Fly6 is a combination LED taillight/HD camera that clips right to the seat post and can record the traffic behind for up to 5 hours. The philosophy behind this design is that it will alert motorists to cyclists, and at the same time let them know they are being recorded should they try to do anything dangerous or reckless. Every Fly6 comes with a USB-rechargeable lithium ion battery and an 8GB microSD card.

The Pitch. Introducing the Fly6 are Australian inventors Andrew Hagen and Kingsley Fiegert. Kingsley explains that the inspiration for the device came about when a car full of inconsiderate young people pulled up beside him in a motorcycle and shot him point blank with a slingshot, nearly causing him serious injury. Shocked by the incident, he forgot to take down the license plate number. A number of demonstrations are shown, illustrating the taillight strobe and the camera recording functions, as well as how the current model is waterproof. At the end, the two cleverly reveal that the entire video was shot using a Fly6, illustrating its quality. Andrew and Kingsley are asking for $95,000 AUD to finalize the design, streamline the software, patent the device, and more.

The Perks. $119 AUD ($15 AUD to ship outside of Australia) is all it takes to get a Fly6, delivered in May 2014. A special white model is available for slightly more. At the highest, $399 AUD tier,  backers will be shipped a prototype in March with free shipping, to test out and provide feedback before the finished product launches, which they will also receive.

The Potential. The Fly6 could be to cyclists what the insurance dashboard camera is for Russian motorists. Not only does it provide a real safety need, but it could lead to a new generation of viral videos as one of the promo videos hints.

Categories
Cycling Music Winter Sports

Jalapeño mixes beats to your extreme feats

editors-choiceThe Premise.  Your favorite music flows. You wipe your brow with the last dry spot on your shirt before bearing down for that last attempt at nailing this trick, lest the daylight and your body give out. Start your run, compress for the jump, pop, hit the air, and then the silence, the calm, that instant between bad idea and successful trick. Time and sound resume, and you can stop holding your breath. You stuck that! What could make this moment better? How about if your music was more than a backtrack to that trick? What if it was the unique score to that moment?

The Product. The Jalapeño, so named for its cubist resemblance to the spicy pepper, is meant to enhance the extreme sports experience by allowing your movement to remix music; essentially, shredding on a board or bike creates the effect of a DJ mixing.  Along with the accompanying Beat Farm smartphone software, it allows your jumps, spins and turns to slow, freeze, cross-fade between tracks, and pan audio between headphones.

The Pitch. A compact (under 3x2x1″), durable, weatherproof design and a seemingly sturdy mount make the Jalapeño viable across a wide range of applications from snowboarding, to BMXing to breakdancing. Its campaign includes multiple endorsements and three videos depicting testimonials, product demos, and brief explanations of operation, but little technical info about how it actually works. The only info about the creators is that they “first met at the University of Pennsylvania’s IPD graduate program.” In fact, technical development information is lacking overall. Not a campaign designed to appease techies, there are only two prototype development photos, and short, broad descriptions of the development state.

The Perks.  Early birds will pay $199 for essential equipment (Jalapeño, mount, software), and everyone else can expect to pay $239, or more, for packages that include extra swag like tees and hoodies.

The Potential.  This seems like a ton of fun. Who doesn’t want their own personal soundtrack enabling you to mix and remix.  Shredding to your own sounds looks like it will add a new element of fun to showing off, but the challenge will be in ensuring that the novelty doesn’t wear off.