Bicycles

Kilo glow-bike ups cycling safety when the sun goes down

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The Kilo GLOW from Pure Fix Cycles
What other road users can expect to see of the Kilo GLOW from Pure Fix
The Kilo GLOW as seen in the daytime
The Kilo GLOW from Pure Fix Cycles
The Kilo Glow basking in the sun
At its heart the Kilo GLOW is an ordinary urban bicycle
The phosphorus paint-job should make the Kilo GLOW stand out in the daytime as well as at night
The Kilo GLOW from Pure Fix Cycles
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The best ideas are often, but not always, the simplest ones. So while there are many ways in which a cyclist can make themselves visible to motorists and pedestrians at night-time - these LED systems that light up your rims, for instance - perhaps all that is needed is a frame that glows in the dark. Bike manufacturer Pure Fix Cycles believes so and is introducing the GLOW series, of which The Kilo is the first.

The Kilo GLOW is a standard bike with one very clear difference: its frame is covered in glow-in-the-dark paint which will be visible after dark. Pure Fix states that an hour of daytime sunlight will make the frame glow for an hour or more once the moon has taken up residence in the sky. This means anyone heading out after the sun has already set may be out of luck, but those already cycling when day turns to night get a little extra time safer from being unsighted by other road users.

This bike comes in a range of sizes from 47cm to 61cm, with plenty of customization options available. Prices start from US$399. If you're not in the market for a new bike then buying your own glow-in-the-dark paint to give your existing frame a new phosphorus sheen could be a viable alternative.

What other road users can expect to see of the Kilo GLOW from Pure Fix

While riding a bike with a glow-in-the-dark frame may make you more visible to others, it obviously won't help you find the way to your destination. In this regard the LED by LITE may be a better option, fulfilling the need for a lighting system that illuminates the way while still adding visibility to your velocipede of choice.

Source: Pure Fix Cycles via Inhabitat

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4 comments
wle
usually that kind of paint fades in small number of sun exposure hours would be good too to know if it has radium or some other radioactive stuff, like what killed watch-dial painters in ww1
Radium Girls From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Radium Girls were female factory workers who contracted radiation poisoning from painting watch dials with glow-in-the-dark paint at the United States Radium factory in Orange, New Jersey around 1917. The women, who had been told the paint was harmless, ingested deadly amounts of radium by licking their paintbrushes to sharpen them; some also painted their fingernails and teeth with the glowing substance.
Five of the women challenged their employer in a case that established the right of individual workers who contract occupational diseases to sue their employers.
wle
Walt Stawicki
paint available in modest sizes through any gun catalog- it is used for cheap night sights.
Ozuzi
Nice theory, but my understanding is that most bike accidents are when they're hit from behind. So only the two rear vertical struts would be visible
Todd Edelman
Please, everyone, just use not much more than the minimum lighting and reflection that is required by law in the area you live in.