Kickstarter is an endless source of bike gadgetry, and this roundup provides plenty of commuter friendly options to make your ride safer, more social and better organized.
Above is the Zackees Turn Signal Glove. Fairly self-explanatory in purpose, the gloves feature USB-rechargeable batteries, a metal rivet contact switch between thumb and pointer finger, and automatically adjusting LED brightness to match the battery’s charge. They’re even washable, so no fears of any lack of water resistance.
More info on the Zackees, plus coverage of the Companion Bike Seat and some fine-looking Chilean bags, after the break…
Zackees Turn Signal Gloves
No matter how effective your taillight may be, if you’re on a dark section of road and need to signal a turn, the benefits of the Zackees gloves are clear. The Zackees appear to be a well-designed product, performing a useful function. Recognizing the impracticality or dorkiness of other attempts at turn-signaling products, the creators Zach Vorhies and Murat Ozkan have made a nice-looking glove which stands to increase your safety on dimly lit streets. Check out their Kickstarter page for a chance to help back them and get your hands in some Zackees.
Companion Bike Seat
Another potentially useful Kickstarter project which can double your cycling fun is the Companion Bike Seat. As much rear rack as bike seat, the Companion offers a way of toting a friend along for the ride and also includes a (six-pack friendly!) locking, watertight stash-box. The makers also claim the Companion Bike Seat is compatible with many pannier sets, so it still affords the advantages of a traditional rack. If you have the need for bringing someone else along on short trips (or are unusually sympathetic to hitchhikers), check out the Kickstarter page to help complete their second production run.
BICLA Bags
The snazzy BICLA bags are designed to look good and work well, both on and off the bike. The Polycordura canvas and leather bags come in four models: the 5-liter Kal, 10-liter Mul, and the 15-liter Yak and Buey. All convert to shoulder messenger-style bags except for the Buey which features integrated backpack-style straps.
The BICLA bags feature a roll-top design to keep the water out and handpolished metal buckles and joints for durability and style. The project is early in its funding stage and already almost halfway to its relatively modest funding goal. If you’re interested in a finely-fininshed, handmade bag representing something different from the store-boughts of all your buddies, check out BICLA’s Kickstarter page and send them some dough.
