If the bike light seems like a complete concept, a new California-based company called Lucnt is aiming to prove otherwise. Its first product, the Lucnt SRL1, appears at first like any other bicycle-worthy light: it’s small, rectangular, mounts to a seatpost and emits a bright, red-hued strobe. It’s weatherproof. It’s also notably lacking in buttons.
That’s because SRL1 is smarter; it attaches to its mounting point with a magnet strong enough to withstand the bumps encountered during a ride, and once it’s secure the light automatically activates — no buttons necessary. Remain motionless for 90 seconds, and the light turns off. Detach it from its mount, and the light turns off. Begin to ride, and the accelerometers inside the SRL1’s machined aluminum casing activate what may be the light’s hallmark function: the brightness of the light increases tenfold during a slow-down so that cars, motorcycles, other cyclists and anyone else in the rear know that the brakes have been applied.
It’s often said that good design creates a product that can be forgotten — not lost or left behind, but unnoticed. Products should enhance the individual tasks and actions that make up our lives, not add more steps to remember or buttons to push, and in this, the Lucnt SRL1 succeeds.
Tried and Tested
While Lucnt is currently backing its first production run on Kickstarter, we received an early test model of the SRL1 in order to ensure that the light functions as described.
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