Please help. Need opinions on new bike safety product I'm developing.

DCSConcepts

Hi, I'm an inventor. I'm working on a safety product for cyclists that I'm trying to get licensed (to a major brand).

Since admittedly I'm not an avid cyclist, I'd like to ask road cyclists out there for their opinion. The feedback, good and bad, will help me create a better product. It'll also help increase the likelihood of getting a licensing deal and getting the product out there.

Please visit http://www.bikehalo.com/landing-page.

Clicking on the "Sign Up" button at the bottom will take you to a short survey, or please feel free to post your thoughts here.

I understand that this isn't a typical request, and apologize in advance to anyone that feels I'm spamming the group.

Thank you for your help,

Dave

cougie

That does look quite interesting.

There's also a Bike light called ding that has a downward beam as well as a forward facing one.

Are you going to use Indiegogo or Kickstarter to launch ?

lettingthedaysgoby

It's an interesting concept, good luck with it

pblakeney

Slightly different, but been done before.

term1te

A nice idea, and a good website. Although I'm sure I've seen similar ideas in the past, Blaze as has been said, and several that make a red 'light lane'.

mfin

A few things that instantly spring to mind, which might not be problems, but I guess if I think them, some others will too.

- dirt, it faces downwards in a place that bikes get dirty
- is bendy aluminium the best way to angle the mount?
- some downtubes have external cables, from the rendering, it looks like this would be an issue with the current mount (closeness of cables to tube, spacing, tube diameters differing for this too)
- bottle cages might be directly above the mount, could that restrict the ideal sweet spot mount position
- aesthetically having it there, I don't like it, but of course it has to be there
- aesthetically it looks a bit bulky, if it was smaller, more discreet, with more discreet mount it would help
- it looks from rendering that it will look even bulkier on bikes with thinner tubing
- build quality, something is telling me it is cheap plastic, would feel cheap, cheap switch etc

So most are to do with the mount etc

On the plus side, reaction to the pricing is that it sounds cheap, but I would guess that price could be doubled if it meant you could make it brighter, better, more premium.

As others have said, there have been other attempts, so you have to look at how successful or unsuccessful they have been, and think how consumers will see yours as different to either be more successful, or get more market share. Doing this without being precious about is not easy for some people.

DeVlaeminck

For me the possible benefit of this type of product would be preventing close passing by overtakers.

To that end I'm not sure if a halo is required rather than something that creates a lane next to the bike, I appreciate the halo does do that but something simpler and more elegant could equally do it and may already be on the market.

That said the price looks very reasonable and I'd be interested to see some real video footage of it working - if drivers reacted by giving bikes more room it's something I'd consider for a commute bike.

kingrollo

Having had an 'off' this work - due to a motorists not seeing , my 2 front lights, 2 rears lights, lights on my arms, and high viz jacket this is interesting.
One point though if you have a flashing ring all around you - haven't you effectively got a rear while light ? which wouldn't be legal.

imposter2.0

mfin wrote:

- is bendy aluminium the best way to angle the mount?

Definitely not. Also as others have said, there may be legality concerns around the issue of (effectively) showing a white light to the rear..

DCSConcepts

cougie wrote:

That does look quite interesting.

There's also a Bike light called ding that has a downward beam as well as a forward facing one.

Are you going to use Indiegogo or Kickstarter to launch ?

Thank you. Ideally, my goal is to license HALO to an existing manufacturer in the cycling market but maybe use KS or Indiegogo to prove market interest.

DCSConcepts

mfin wrote:

A few things that instantly spring to mind, which might not be problems, but I guess if I think them, some others will too.

- dirt, it faces downwards in a place that bikes get dirty
- is bendy aluminium the best way to angle the mount?
- some downtubes have external cables, from the rendering, it looks like this would be an issue with the current mount (closeness of cables to tube, spacing, tube diameters differing for this too)
- bottle cages might be directly above the mount, could that restrict the ideal sweet spot mount position
- aesthetically having it there, I don't like it, but of course it has to be there
- aesthetically it looks a bit bulky, if it was smaller, more discreet, with more discreet mount it would help
- it looks from rendering that it will look even bulkier on bikes with thinner tubing
- build quality, something is telling me it is cheap plastic, would feel cheap, cheap switch etc

So most are to do with the mount etc

On the plus side, reaction to the pricing is that it sounds cheap, but I would guess that price could be doubled if it meant you could make it brighter, better, more premium.

As others have said, there have been other attempts, so you have to look at how successful or unsuccessful they have been, and think how consumers will see yours as different to either be more successful, or get more market share. Doing this without being precious about is not easy for some people.

Great thoughts and I agree. The smaller the better. Ideally it would be a machined aluminum housing, but you're right- that'll increase cost. As for the bendy aluminum, the design helps to reduce bulkiness and cost, but yes, I'm also looking into other methods. Thank you very much for your insight, truly appreciated.

DCSConcepts

Imposter wrote:

mfin wrote:

- is bendy aluminium the best way to angle the mount?

Definitely not. Also as others have said, there may be legality concerns around the issue of (effectively) showing a white light to the rear..

Interesting and helpful. If you look at the videos you'll note that the rear of the halo effect is blocked by the bike itself, meaning that the white light appears mostly on the sides of the rider. Also, I wonder that because it (the white light) is pointing down onto the ground and LED source is not visible, that because it is not pointed at the motorists its legality would not be an issue.

Others have suggested using a red light, but I have found that red is not nearly as noticeable as white. On the page I created for potential licensees, bikehalo.com, I posted a video comparing HALO to the Tern Vizy Light, which casts a red light. You can see that HALO's white light seems to be much more effective. Thoughts?

molteni_man

Looks v promising!! I can't remember seeing any information re charging the unit? Guessing USB but emphasis on this still would help. Charge time too Would be helpful for a commuter and what power is it putting out - looked pretty good re power. BW and good luck.
PS the sign up form online is not working- no confirmation to say I'd registered.

DCSConcepts

Molteni Man wrote:

Looks v promising!! I can't remember seeing any information re charging the unit? Guessing USB but emphasis on this still would help. Charge time too Would be helpful for a commuter and what power is it putting out - looked pretty good re power. BW and good luck.
PS the sign up form online is not working- no confirmation to say I'd registered.

Thank you. Did you fill out the survey on the next page. That's where you can sign up. Yes, it's USB rechargeable. I can't give you an accurate estimate of battery life yet as the board is very basic and not optimized for battery life. Thanks again- Dave

molteni_man

Hi again.
A couple more thoughts occurred to me as I did the washing up!
When you market fully think worth emphasising the ruggedness of the design and an indication of the waterproofness of it bearing in mind where it's going to be located.

DCSConcepts

Molteni Man wrote:

Hi again.
A couple more thoughts occurred to me as I did the washing up!
When you market fully think worth emphasising the ruggedness of the design and an indication of the waterproofness of it bearing in mind where it's going to be located.

Absolutely! Thank you (please sign up if you're OK doing so).

ZMC888

Great concept.
Some thoughts...
-I think the light would confuse some motorists and they'll wonder what it is from a distance.
-I think the light should be a more highly concentrated rearward red half ring or a 1.5 meter projection from the side of the bike. The front doesn't matter so much as you've already got eyes and lights that way concentrate on the side/and or rear.
-Your example photo with the mountain bike is awful, you need a better picture, it's worth using a professional photographer.
-Think about other mounting locations, under the seat might be better, as it's universal fit.

mfin

Interesting point made above. If you made a rear only version, red semi-circle, that mounted under the seat, that might work well. You could double it up as a rear light. Your market would be limited as people who use saddle bags couldn't use it, but would open up the market for other people who don't want or couldn't use the downtube one. I don't mean necessarily going back to the drawing board, just learning from this project and developing another version.