A Bike Taillight that Goes Beyond Mere Taillighting (Video)

Meet David. Tim Lord ran into him at the 2014 Maker Faire Bay Area. He didn't have a display, and he wasn't obviously trying to sell anything or promote a Kickstarter campaign. He was just walking around with a panel full of LEDs that he wears as a backpack while riding his bike, which beats the heck out of regular bike taillights, even the blinky flashy ones a lot of us have these days. So good on you, David. This is your three minutes of Slashdot fame -- and please note, people, that you can now fast-forward through any preroll ads longer than 30 seconds, so you won't get bombed with multi-minute ads to watch a three minute Slashdot video. (Alternate video link)

Comments

seems bulky

[epyT-R]

Seems a bit big and bulky for a bicycle rider, where every ounce counts.

Re:seems bulky

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems a bit big and bulky for a bicycle racer, where every ounce counts.

Fixed that for you. For us non-racers, a few extra pounds isn't a big deal, especially when you're already carrying a backpack with a laptop or books or groceries or whatever.

Re:seems bulky

[R3d M3rcury]

Define "Long Distance"?

Heck, I always have a backpack on when I ride. It has spare tubes, tools, extra water, phone, etc. When I bike to work, it also has a soda, office keys, and some clothes for when I get to work.

The ride to work is 15 miles. I wouldn't call that "long distance." But I've done 60 mile rides with the backpack and no problems. I'm doing a 100 mile ride in a few weeks and I'll definitely have the backpack.

C'mon--toughen up! :^D

Re:seems bulky

[mellon]

Do people actually ride bicycles long distances with a backpacks on? Haven't y'all heard of panniers?

Drunk drivers

[fizzer06]

They are attracted to flashing lights and will home in on this like a June bug to a porch light. Having said that, it looked very well done.

Re:Drunk drivers

[NoKaOi]

Not just drunk drivers. Any driver can be easily distracted. A driver who is distracted from other things going on around them is also very dangerous to you, even if you're the source of their distraction. The goal should be maximum visibility without distraction, not maximum visibility caused by maximum distraction. Pong, smiley faces, and the occasional word? Yeah, that's meant to be distracting.

That's the 1980's tech version.

[pecosdave]

You could get an old laptop display, or even a tablet, be it Android or iProduct and beat this thing in every way. But you can't see a tablet well in the sunlight? I think it's obvious from this video you can't see that thing in the daylight either.

I'm not knocking the guys ability or talents, but he invented the light display AFTER the Jumbotron came out.

I'm a cyclist, I think things like Monkey lights are incredibly awesome, I think the new inner rim lights are great, but this isn't on point.

Re:That's the 1980's tech version.

[NoKaOi]

Okay... but you don't really need lights in the day... you have the sun.

I disagree. A blinking red taillight that is visible in the daytime does help cars notice you (without distracting them like this thing would). In the daytime there's not so much the issue of not being seen by the driver's eyes, but there is of being noticed by their brain.

Smaller, lighter

[YrWrstNtmr]

Build it into the flexible backpack, instead of a hard flat panel. Oh wait, now I have to have that particular backpack all the time, instead of something attached to he bike.
I get it...more lights are not a bad thing. But I'm not going to ride around being a billboard. I just want people to see me and not hit me.

Re:Already got something better...

[mellon]

I have something better too. It's called an imperial walker. STOMP