Riding a Bicycle Around The City at Night Can Be a Perilous Pastime

Riding a bicycle around the city at night can be a perilous pastime with traditional bike lights providing a rather dim reminder of a cyclist's presence on the roads. But a new prototype light system called Revolights could soon make life in the cycle lane a good deal safer and leave bike enthusiasts beaming. The wheel-mounted LED lights not only provide greater illumination of the rider's path, say its San Francisco-based creators, but also make a bike far more visible from the front, back and the side. When stationary, as their promotional video shows, the lights flash in a simple sequence. But as soon as you start peddling they form a solid arc of white and red light. Revolights shed new light on road safety This dazzling effect is created with the aid of a magnet (attached to the fork) and an algorithm. Together, they measure the wheel speed and tell the lights when and where to flash. The system is powered by a rechargeable lithium battery housed in the wheel hub. Revolights' founders -- inventor Kent Frankovich, Adam Pettler and Jim Houk -- are using the online fundraising platform Kickstarter in a bid to turn their eye-catching patent pending prototype into a finished product. Backers pledging $200 or more will receive the finalized design prior to its public release which is scheduled to take place in spring 2012. Source: edition.cnn.com