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Kickstarter Roundup – Commuter Cyclist Edition

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Zackees-turn-signal-gloves-closeup

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

Companion-bike-rack-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

Bicla-bike-bags-three-different

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.

Bicla-bike-bags-off-bike

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JoeNomad
JoeNomad
10 years ago

From my experience, the majority of road bike riders signal turns by pointing their arms straight out and not as shown in the video. The turn signals on the Zackees gloves need to point the same direction as the fingers. Also on a side note, I am not a fan of having the velco closure on the underside of the glove, as it usually grabs on the handlebar tape.

DGWW
DGWW
10 years ago

I totally agree regarding the arrow orientation.

Mike C
Mike C
10 years ago

Agree with commenters above: In order to get the arrow orientation correct for a left hand turn, you have to hold your arm in a position indicating a right hand turn…

Mario
Mario
10 years ago

Arrow Points the wrong way

bikeboi
bikeboi
10 years ago

…how would he know that? he clearly says the inspiration came from fashion industry, not the biking. if only he’d spend less time enjoying his hipster self and did more actual street riding…

Tim McCorkle
Tim McCorkle
10 years ago

Nice Idea… The Handsignals were codified Back around 1900 so we shold stic to them…. Now why is It NONE of th Glove manufacturers seem to Have Noticed The availability of Reflective Fabrics…. HMMM One has an 1/8 inch Bit of reflective Piping on ONE model of their Gloves…
How about they checkout The PT safety Belt situation in our Military for a Clew! at $50 or More for a Pair They should also Scrape the Paint off any Car within 3 feet of the bike!

Tim McCorkle
Tim McCorkle
10 years ago

Hand signals are codified By Law… as we were taught in first Grade… I’m sure My search was incomplete But why is that I Have only Found ONE pair of gloves on the Market with reflective Materials? and That is only some 1/8 inch Piping… Take a Gander at “PT belts” in the military… The tech is There… For 50 Bucks a Pair, Bike gloves should BE Highly reflective over a LARGE percentage of their Surface, If we included Carbide Bits, we could Take the Paint off those Cars that Get ithin our safe zone.

Chase jaster
Chase jaster
9 years ago

Ok. Please let me clarify as an American bike rider who lives in Germany. The US and Canada are pretty much the only two countries the current orientation of the arrows would work with. I was taught this when I was in school in Both countries. Europe, along with the rest of the world just casually points in the direction you are going, no holding your arm up like you are in a protest to make a turn. So if there was a second version made where the arrow pointed toward the knuckles, this could be a globally marketable product. No disrespect, just a global biker!
-Chase. Bamberg, Deutschland

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