A new cycling accesory- Have your say!

Comment

Comment by Alex 4.0 on May 13, 2009 at 5:36pm

Yeah I almost caught myself, the 'big bad' businesses are often the first to roll out facilities (showers, change rooms, bike cages etc) for staff who ride to work, Tenix in William St and most of the banks being a good example. Pretend I didn't write the last three lines :) I guess what I was trying to say was, you could cover our bikes in blinkies and armour us all with kevlar, safety equipment only goes so far, at a certain point cyclists have to address the other factors on the road. And I'll have a chat to a friend at Cadbury Schweppes about some 'fund raiser' lollies ;)

Comment by ChrisS on May 13, 2009 at 5:03pm

As much as I generally agree with your points Alex, it's drawing a rather long bow to say every corporate is run by Bad People in Suits or every business has governance as clean as a mountain spring or every cycling product on the market has to have a impossibly broad scope to tick all the boxes to make it acceptable.

Modern life is full of comprises ... now where were we .... glove with a tilt switch ... something useful. Type in bicycle + cathode + light in google.

Comment by Alex 4.0 on May 13, 2009 at 3:42pm

What is it that you want? Is there something you've always thought would be great whilst riding?

How about a portable EMP to nuke the mobile phone handsets of people I see driving one-handed, yakking on the phone, while they should be concentrating on driving?

How about a bottle of jellybeans with 'Bike Pills' written on the side? A bit like a chill pill, with a twist ...

Sell or give them to motorists - they can pop one every time they see a cyclist sail past while they're stuck in traffic. (or if they see a cyclist run a red!) Parents could use them to encourage their kids, being ferried to and from school in their formative years, or on long trips, to develop the habit of looking out for cyclists for when they take up driving.

This would hopefully encourage a positive association and improved attitude to seeing cyclists on the road, as opposed to the negative reaction tacitly encouraged and perpetuated by a car-centric media and society. (Ever wondered why your daily newspaper has a 'Drive' section, and not a 'Ride' one?)

My point is that aggro on the road is a recognised concern that affects the uptake of cycling. This in turn keeps the road unsafe for existing cyclists. A sparkly glove or a new and improved blinky won't stop the car horns and 'litter assault' that cyclists face daily - but a 'psyop' like this, over time, might help.

On the label, you could even put the bylaws about cyclists being entitled to the entire lane ...

http://www.tncc.com.au/ There's the National Confectionery Company - here's the Cycling Promotion Fund, who might help with PR - http://www.cyclingpromotion.com.au ;)

Thanks for the inspiration :)

(I know this probably won't suit the model for your YA program - the 'ya' in the company name gave you away - but I found it salient that two of Young Achievers' principal national supporters are BHB Biliton, a resource company, and Channel 10, a commercial broadcaster, beholden to ratings and advertising revenue.)

Comment by Darren Ford on May 13, 2009 at 9:32am

Thanks guys, your input is much appreciated! At the moment, we're looking at utilizing a glove or possibly an arm warmer that will entail some form of illumination to enhance safety at night. We are undoubtedly going to manufacture something but it doesn't necessarily have to be this. So feel free to mention anything! Furthermore, we have a meeting tonight- we intend on running over the legal, technical, marketing and financial aspect of the product so i'll keep you posted. Keep the ideas flowing!

Comment by Cory on May 12, 2009 at 10:48pm

Darren, I think a guy had similar on The New Inventors last year. Automatically flashed when you were signalling a turn.

Comment by Jaeger on May 12, 2009 at 10:16pm

oh that truck horn would be so fantastic. I would pay hundreds of dollars if you could make something that is as loud as a truck horn but weighs only, say, 300 grams.

On a more serious note, there don't seem to be too many full finger-covering cycling gloves available that aren't alpine grade warm (and thick). I'm after something light that just reduces the wind-chill a bit but maintains nimble use of my hands.

Comment by ChrisS on May 12, 2009 at 9:36pm

How?

I was thinking the concept Darren is describing was more along the lines of a reflector or even having a tilt/mercury switch for indicating, to be seen by, not for seeing by.

Comment by skillsy on May 12, 2009 at 9:32pm

Good idea about the night gloves but could the gloves affect your night vision?

Comment by ChrisS on May 12, 2009 at 8:53pm

Get a Air Zound.

Comment by Dave Cole on May 12, 2009 at 8:47pm

I would like a battery powered truck horn mounted on my handlebars so I can "warn" drivers when they cut me off.

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