Category: News

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Transport for London (TfL), and Santander UK have today announced that all 11,500 Santander Cycles, will be fitted with Blaze Laserlights over time from early 2016. The Blaze Laserlights project the symbol of a bicycle shape six metres in front of the cycle, onto the ground, giving the cyclist a larger footprint on the road. This makes their presence known, alerts drivers to their approach and helps ensure they are seen when otherwise they might be invisible, for example when they are on the near side of a vehicle turning left. An integrated version of the Laserlight will be installed directly into the bike frame to ensure the image is projected at the ideal position for both cyclists, drivers and pedestrians. The Laserlights will only come on only when it is dark to save energy.

After a successful trial with overwhelmingly positive feedback and strong independent test results, the Laserlights will provide a bigger, brighter presence on the road and early warning of a cyclist’s proximity. The project is largely funded by Santander UK as part of the partnership with TfL.

Boris Johnson comments: ‘It’s fantastic that our Santander Cycles will be able to bring light to the dark side of the street with these nifty Blaze Laserlights. We’re always looking to develop new and innovative ways to help people cycle around the Capital more safely and these green lights will help all our cycle hire users to stay seen at night. I’m delighted that through this great partnership, we’re able to help improve safety and support the enterprise of another brilliant London start-up.’

Read the Cyclo review of the Blaze Laserlight here.

Headkayse is the latest cycling innovation to launch on crowdfunding site Indiegogo. Described as ‘a game changer in cycling helmets’ the Headkayse is foldable and aimed predominantly at commuters and cycle hire users. It also uses an innovative material, Enkayse, in its construction, which is claimed to be able to withstand multiple impacts without loss of performance, compared to the EPS used in more traditional cycling helmets.

HeadKayse is currently seeking £60,000 in crowdfunding for production on Indiegogo, with the campaign closing on December 20. If it meets its target, Headkayse will retail at £90 with a universal fit that adjusts and moulds in-use to every head shape and size from kids to adults. The fold system allows the user to reduce the size of the helmet to 50% of its original size, taking up just 2.5 litres of bag space.

Technical Director of Headkayse, George Fox, comments: ‘For the last 40 years, cycle helmets have been made from expanded polystyrene which is effectively thousands of small rigid air bubbles, which under a particular level of impact break compress to dampen the eventual impact with objects, providing sacrificial protection. EPS is stiff, brittle and permanently damaged on even small impacts – as recommended by the manufacturer the helmet should be replaced. But what if materials could provide protection without the sacrificial degradation – a multi-hit helmet? That’s what we have created, with a new material, Enkayse that achieves the very highest standards with repeatability and is foldable to boot.’

Further details of the HeadKayse campaign on Indiegogo.com and on headkayse.com