Holy crap. This new bike light looks like it’s part of a six shooter. With its six LEDs, it is a bit reminiscent of futuristic laser gun. That in turn, reminds me of this cool short story I read once. Taking place in a future Earth, people have taken to strapping laser guns to their hip, and like the old west, would challenge others to duals if insulted. Needless to say, it resulted in a very polite society, with a lot of “please” and “thank yous,” since being an asshole to someone meant you’d have to gun them down, or getting a hole burned in your chest. Could you imagine that? The best part is that those that make the habit of driving with their cell phone, and cutting us off on our bikes would be required to actually pay attention while driving, lest you burn a hole in their tire and proceed challenge them to a dual to the death. Run my cousin down while he’s on a train ride? I challenge you!
But I digress. Back to this really cool looking light. It’s called the Defender by Kickstarter funded Gotham Bicycle Industries, and unlike the light I forgot at home this morning because I misplaced it the other night when I came home, (after a few cocktails at happy hour) is designed to lock onto your handlebars in order to keep dirt bag thieves from ganking it off your bike. To keep it secured, a proprietary screwdriver (included) is needed to install and remove the light from your bars, and the batteries are secured with a tiny allen bolt. Constructed of aluminum for durability, and probably because all bike shit CNC machined from a block of metal is cool, (ok, it looks like it is technically cast aluminum, but whatever) it is also water proof, so it will still work, even after getting rained on.
Output on production units is estimated to be between 40-60 lumens – which isn’t too shabby for a “be seen” style of blinky. It’s powered by 3 AA batteries, so replacing them isn’t a big deal. Pricing is expected to run around $50. -via Cool Material
