MYBELL Seeks To Improve Biker Safety

With cycling continuing to gain in popularity, it seems bike technology is ever expanding as well. Just within the past couple of months, I have read of improved bike helmets, bike locks, and more. It has never been safer to ride a bike, and if the MYBELL takes off, it will be soon be even safer. Riding a bike on a desolate back road is one thing, but riding on a busy New York City street is something entirely different. Actually, riding in the middle of NYC is just what inspired Peter Pottier to begin developing the MYBELL. He was almost struck while riding, and decided it was time to stand up for bikers everywhere.

A New Bicycle Bell For A New Generation

Basically, what Pottier and co. have done is they have drastically improved the age-old bicycle bell. Inside of an annoying dinging sound, though, it now allows you to program a custom MP3 file to blast. For instance, if you are riding down a busy street and some car (or even pedestrian) isn’t paying any attention and is about to run into you, you can blast Beat It by Michael Jackson, or maybe even more appropriately, Get Back by the Beatles.

MYBELL plays back sound at 96dB – the average bell can only reach 70 dB. On top of the sound, MYBELL also features LED lights to help pedestrians and motorists see you better in the dark.

MYBELL has yet to enter its crowdfunding stage, but we can bet it won’t be too long before it makes its debut. MYBELL has recently placed at the top or near the top at several tech challenges. You can view all of the details on the MYBELL website.

While I am all for improving biker safety, it seems bikers will have to have Spider-Sense reflexes in order to push the button to activate the lights and sound before they are struck by a car or a person. And what happens if a vehicle has their radio blasting near full volume with the windows up? Nevertheless, this could be a very good item for serious bikers to purchase.

The MYBELL is being designed to fit on many different handlebar sizes.

[Image via MYBELL]

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/11/08/mybell-hands-on/