Bicycle Safety

I'm always on the lookout for new safety technology for my bicycle. It's the one area where I am more likely to shell out a few extra bucks as far as cycling gadgetry goes. Shave a few ounces off with some new clipless pedal? Um, no. But $44 for a durable, bright LED road flare? Yes, please.

I read about the the new device, intended to replace polluting, chemical emergency flares, in the Seattle P-I in May. Made by the PowerFlare company, it's a hockey puck-sized thing containing an array of LEDs, encased in a rubber cage. There's a video on the Powerflare site of one of them surviving being run over by a fire truck.

So what the heck, I ordered one. It arrived a few days later, and I zip-tied it to the inside-left of my Tubus rear rack. I used it on the glum, showery afternoon last week, and it performed well. Of course, the real test will be the first evening we go back to Standard Time (aka Seattle Night Time).

What's really great is the variety of modes, here's a video of two of them:



Powerflares come in CR123 lithium and rechargeable (if you by a six pack of them) versions.