Home > Clothing-Gear-Tools

HideMyBell goes behind the bar & off-road, plus new CoverMyBack light & fender

CloseTheGap's new mountain bike HideMyBell Insider GPS mount
10 Comments
Support us! Bikerumor may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article. Learn More

We know HideMyBell for their hidden bells. But even as they develop new bell/GPS mount solutions like the new mountain bike HideMyBell Insider, they’re also branching out under a new name – CloseTheGap. Their first non-bell product is a multi-purpose removable rear fender and tail light mount called CoverMyBack, to well… cover your back.

HideMyBell is now CloseTheGap

HideMyBell is now CloseTheGap

Product names from the designers at the recently renamed CloseTheGap come easy. Think up a new product. Name it for what it does.

And as success of their hidden bells has allowed them to branch out into other product ideas, the name needed a change too. There will still be plenty of hidden bells in their future (we hear a new one should surface in early 2019), but under the CloseTheGap name there will also be other cycling safety & comfort products, with a focus on clever, integrated design, and on products designed & manufactured in the Netherlands.

CloseTheGap’s new mountain bike HideMyBell Insider GPS mount

CloseTheGap's new mountain bike HideMyBell Insider GPS mount

First up is another bell & GPS mount combo. But this time the setup is intended for off-road use. So it tucks your cycling computer back behind the bar, over the stem. Then, it mounts the stealthy bell just to the left, with everything more protected from the occasional mountain bike impact. It also makes the setup both race and bikepacking friendly – the bell & GPS are tucked out-of-the-way of race numbers and handlebar bags.

CloseTheGap's new mountain bike HideMyBell Insider GPS mount

The 37€ ($50) HideMyBell Insider has a 35mm diameter clamp and includes a 31.8mm spacer so it will fit on any modern off-road bar. The Insider also uses a replaceable GPS adapter plate and includes mounts for Garmin, Wahoo, Polar, Bryton, Lezyne & Mio computers. Adding the bell is said to be just a 2g penalty over a similar mount, with the molded POM plastic Insider clocking in at 50g in total.

CloseTheGap’s new CoverMyBack integrated rear light mount & fender

CloseTheGap's new CoverMyBack integrated rear light mount & fender

As more cyclists ride even in daytime with flashing tail lights for additional visibility, CloseTheGap had the idea to create a universal bracket to mount a rear blinkie light higher, just under the saddle for a better line-of-sight to car drivers. Tucked up on the back of standard saddle rails, the CoverMyBack also does double duty as the mounting bracket for a small removable fender. There’s even the option to swap in an extra GoPro mount instead of the standard tail light bracket, which of course can be used for an action cam, or in fact a light or any other small accessory with that standard direct mount interface.

CloseTheGap's new CoverMyBack integrated rear light mount & fender

The simple 23€ CoverMyBack bracket works with essentially every rear light on the market. While it won’t work with every saddle, most standard round or 7x9mm oval rails will work. It just needs about 1cm of exposed rail, spaced up to 66mm wide. It certainly does provides a clean solution, especially for cyclists with aero shaped seatposts.

In addition to the light, the snap-on mini fender is an added plus, providing another type of coverage for your backside. The mounting clip for use with the fender is the main part, with the light mount removable. Then the GoPro mount can alternatively be installed in its place. The entire setup weighs about 65g, with the 29cm long, 7-9cm wide removable mudguard.

CloseTheGap's new CoverMyBack integrated rear light mount & fender

The CoverMyBack is in a pre-order phase right now, direct from the CloseTheGap online shop. (These are pre-production 3D printed parts. Final production parts will be molded plastic like the GPS mounts.) The made in the Netherlands production mount is expected to ship out to pore-order buyers in the first week of 2019. For US customers, a new distributer ESM bike has the current HideMyBells in stock and will have the fender/light mount in early 2019.

CloseTheGap.cc

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

10 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Colin M
5 years ago

Yeah because I want to reach for my stem when I need to ring my bell. Fail.

blahblahblah
blahblahblah
5 years ago
Reply to  Colin M

yeah “reach” because your stem is so far a way from your handlebar

jennthefenn
jennthefenn
5 years ago
Reply to  blahblahblah

You guys are funny… agree with blahblahblah though

b
b
5 years ago

What Colin said

JS
JS
5 years ago

Not sure about the light UNDER the mud guard so it still gets covered in mud.

Brian Simon
5 years ago
Reply to  JS

Agreed. for visibility & cleanliness, light should be above fender/mudguard, not underneath. They’re on the right track, but need a couple tweaks.

Hench
Hench
5 years ago

I’m thinking I’d rather use the built in accessory mount already part of the Fizik saddles in the pics, rather than adding another mount right below it.

Mathijs Wagenaar
5 years ago
Reply to  Hench

Hi Hench, thanks for your feedback. About the Fi’zi:k saddle ‘standard’ mount option: this Italian option is not really stable when you install a mudguard + rear light. So we designed a real stiff 12 mm width clamp that will eat a lot of saddle rails, not only the Fi’zi:k.

wojtek
wojtek
5 years ago

No good. Light covered by mud as mentioned, or by fender itself when something like a bus i approaching.
Neat idea but completely flawed. Could’ve been nice should they mount a fender under the light.

Tom
Tom
5 years ago

It sounds like production details haven’t been finalized, so I’d echo the comments about the light being better mounted above the fender.

Love the bell/gps mount for road, but for mtb, I want to trigger my bell without removing my hand from the grip.

Subscribe Now

Sign up to receive BikeRumor content direct to your inbox.