Velodroom's Smart Bicycle Light

[Indrek Rebane]

Announcing a Kickstarter project I have been working on during last year.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/velodroom/velodrooms-smart-bicycle-light

Bicycle light that switches on by itself when you go for a ride, adjusts to
ambient light level and flashes a bright stop-light while braking.

What do you think? (and yes, we can send one to Dave for teardown!)

[Stonent]

Why not have it charge automatically?

[tom66]

I built an automatic bike light for GCSE electronics.

However, as far as I am aware, automatic lights are not popular for one reason, and that is if the battery is dead or the light is faulty you will not know until it is dark when you are cycling, and by then it is too late.

[Indrek Rebane]

Why not have it charge automatically?

Has something to do with laws of physics.
Which method are you thinking about? Solar, wind or vibration?

[Indrek Rebane]

However, as far as I am aware, automatic lights are not popular for one reason, and that is if the battery is dead or the light is faulty you will not know until it is dark when you are cycling, and by then it is too late.

Unless your light tells you that batteries should be recharged when you finish a ride! 

[c4757p]

Why not have it charge automatically?

Has something to do with laws of physics.

It's a bike light. Stick a little DC motor against a tire and grab power off that.

That can also be your battery warning - even a small amount of tire rotation will give enough current to light up a "low battery" LED, so all you need is an LED.

[Indrek Rebane]

It's a bike light. Stick a little DC motor against a tire and grab power off that.

That sounds like a dynamo. Scary! Almost like a telegraph.

Seriously. Defeats the "any child can install it in 3 seconds" target.

[c4757p]

Then it might not be possible to both 1) do it right, and 2) make it "so easy a child can install it". You'll have to give up one of those goals. Guess which I'd go for.

Hey, I should write a book: "Multivariate Calculus: So Easy a Toddler Can Do It".

[Stonent]

It's a bike light. Stick a little DC motor against a tire and grab power off that.

That sounds like a dynamo. Scary! Almost like a telegraph.

Seriously. Defeats the "any child can install it in 3 seconds" target.

I'd rather just install it once and that's it. But that's me.

[Stonent]

Then it might not be possible to both 1) do it right, and 2) make it "so easy a child can install it". You'll have to give up one of those goals. Guess which I'd go for.

Hey, I should write a book: "Multivariate Calculus: So Easy a Toddler Can Do It".

I guess when you announce your project in a forum that leans towards bashing kickstarter projects....

   

[c4757p]

Nothing against the project, I'm just in a foul mood. I think the project might need a few changes, but what project doesn't? Either you have amazing foresight or you're a stubborn ass if you've never had to change specs partway through.

I don't think the forum leans towards bashing them, I think it leans towards posting ones that are particularly bashable. For the fun of it, I tend to suspect - we have a few amusing curmudgeons on here 

Anyone who can operate a bicycle can install a dynamo on the tire.

[Indrek Rebane]

I think the "Multivariate Calculus: So Easy a Toddler Can Do It" will not really work. In my experience you can not teach multivariate calculus before 4th grade! The continuity problems are hard to grasp to toddlers. Try "Second order non-linear differential equations" first. If this does not work, go for "Making money with Dirichlet function in 21 days for managers".

[Indrek Rebane]

Anyone who can operate a bicycle can install a dynamo on the tire.

You'd be surprised! Just go to a local bike repairs shop and ask.

Analogy: anyone who knows how to use "your_favourite_ECAD" knows how to design a non-resonating PSU.

[lgbeno]

I commend anyone who pours all of their work and passion into a project like this.  The whole point of kickstarter is to test an unproven market prior to committing to a huge manufacturing investment.  Ideas are very fragile when they start out, I say we let the kickstarter decide if this is a feasible product or not.

Nice work and good luck with the kickstarter!

[Stonent]

Perhaps as an accessory, a "so easy a child could do it" charger that runs off the tire that can be plugged into the same port as the "so easy a child could do it" light. Even better, if you could wire in some way that people could also charge their cell phone, but that's getting further away from the original project.