VeloCityLight

Seems like a reasonably good idea - http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/euanmackenzie/velocitylight-the-intelligent-speedometer-bike-lig

The blurb from the kickstarter:

VeloCityLight - The Project

*The idea behind the VeloCityLight is to make cycling safer. *It is a powerful rear LED light that displays your speed to drivers and makes you bright, distinct and visible on the road.

I’ve been cycling for over 40 years and cycle commuting for over 30. The team at 1partCarbon are all cyclists too. Over many years of cycling in traffic and open roads we’ve had our fair share of incidents with cars, buses and lorries.
The VeloCityLight shows approaching drivers the speed of the cyclist.
Drivers see the VeloCityLight and can associate the displayed speed with their own rate of travel. It’s a prod, a mental prompt to re-evaluate their own rate of travel and their subsequent actions. It's effect on drivers is fundamentally different from any other red light, A red light is just another red light. A colour remains an element in sensory memory, it's fleeting and passing. A number is a meaningful symbol that has to be processed, registered and stored in semantic memory. This is what makes the VeloCityLight something special.
Regardless of whether the cyclist is travelling at the speed limit or at a gentler pace, VeloCityLight gives the approaching car more information about the cyclist in the visual noise of traffic, day or night.

In practice, 99% of drivers will not work out what the number means. If it changes whilst they're glancing at it, you can probably count on it distracting them for another second.
0/10, would not bang.

Would be more awesome if it displayed whether I was on heat or not... Needs work...
#12mph #polopolopolo

I might want to cycle at over 100mph, needs to have 3 digit display.

Experiments in Speed - YouTube

This would be much more useful on a car.

Something that small on a moving object, potentially bumping about on poorly maintained streets is probably only going to be seen as another rear light. By the time the number becomes readable, the driver will already have had plenty of time to assess their speed against that of the cyclist and determined whether they think it's safe.

Even if a driver does clock that it's a number, I doubt they'll associate it with a rate of travel as there's no precendent for this information being displayed previously. It could quite easily be associated with something else, like a race number (precedent exists).

It's effect on drivers is fundamentally different from any other red light, A red light is just another red light. A colour remains an element in sensory memory, it's fleeting and passing. A number is a meaningful symbol that has to be processed, registered and stored in semantic memory. This is what makes the VeloCityLight something special.

I can't help that someone has read something in a psych textbook/journal or heard a theory somewhere and over thought it into a scenario where it isn't functional. Also, without a high volume of uptake with something like this, it'll fall outside of the realms of driver perception and expectation.

So where would you mount this?

The most visible position would presumably be occupied by your rear light.

motor driver's would've thought that's their speed since they are behind the bike. ha!

Surely wet/misty conditions any driver would need to be closer than is safe to be to actually read the number anyway. I think buying the best rear led light you can would be a better and safer way to spend your money.

That's just fucking useless.

Drivers see the VeloCityLight and can associate the displayed speed with their own rate of travel. It’s a prod, a mental prompt to re-evaluate their own rate of travel and their subsequent actions. It's effect on drivers is fundamentally different from any other red light, A red light is just another red light. A colour remains an element in sensory memory, it's fleeting and passing. A number is a meaningful symbol that has to be processed, registered and stored in semantic memory. This is what makes the VeloCityLight something special.

I wonder if they have bothered to test this theory. Sounds a bit fanciful to me.

A red light is just another red light.

Exactly.

I would set it to kmh and then tell people it's on mph. Cos I am sloooow.

I would would set it on mph and tell people it's kmh to make them feel slow.

Actually, the theory probably has some scientific merit in terms of sensory registration. just like different colours evoke different emotions etc etc. Saying that, I doubt it makes a difference in an outdoor, fact paced environment, unless the light was the size of a car itself.

Tacho and boost gauge or gtfo >>>

Bindun, more video here
[URL="http://mykle.com/msl/?p=10"][/URL]

I don't think this is a replacement light.

Bindun, more video here

Tuesday, October 11th 2011 at 1:00PM

Yeah so I can see it really took off...

Not a bad idea in some ways, if it makes motorists think twice about the need to overtake immediately.

You're assuming a lot there. Mainly that the motorist will clearly see and understand the numbers, then act in a reasonable manner.

You're assuming a lot there. Mainly that the motorist will clearly see and understand the numbers, then act in a reasonable manner.

I did say "if", so I'm really not assuming that it will make people act in a reasonable manner. The jacket does have "My speed" written above the numbers, which should make it clear what the numbers are.

Would be more awesome if it displayed whether I was on heat or not... Needs work...
#12mph #polopolopolo

You're postmenopausal, get used to it...

I'd rock one. On the handlebars for those post-pub mad spins home to confirm my awesome speed is really awesome. Garmins are shit in the dark.

Like hippy says though, it would be good to be able to see cadence and heart rate.

I'm going to email them now.

That's just fucking useless.

How about either providing some more useful/less sweary feedback, or not posting your vile, negative nonsense at all?