There is a certain irony in that many bicycle lights are located far higher than those on an automobile, which means that it isn’t able to illuminate the road as well. But Kent Frankovich and Adam Pettler had a revolutionary idea: mount the bike light on the wheel, which in turn put it closer to the ground.
The pair launched a Kickstarter campaign, with the goal to reach $43,500 and eventually raised more than $215,000, and the end result is that cyclists can now buy the new Revolights.
http://youtu.be/T5pbpGwgmcw
The system is a bit more complex than the usual blinky light as it requires polypropylene-coated aluminum rings with eight 35-lumen LED lights to be mounted on each wheel. These can run for about four hours on a charge, and can provide 360 degrees of visibility of the rider. The forward-facing white lights illuminate the ground about eight to 10 feet ahead of the front wheel, while the rear-mounted red lights will alert cars and other cyclists of the rider’s presence.
The complete system does add about 1.5 pounds to the bike, which shouldn’t be an issue for most commuters. The electronics are reportedly fully sealed and coated, so these should stand up to the elements. Let the Revolights roll forward.