Gearfuse

Trust me, I know how important it is to see all of your surroundings when you’re biking. When I was 12 I was hit by a drunk driver. I can only think of what might have happened if I had been able to see what was going on around me. Would I have been able to avoid the hit?

The Nike Hindsight concept glasses give bikers an extra 25% visual range on each side of their peripheral vision. That’s a few extra feet that can literally save your life. The extra angle helps riders see traffic approaching from different angles. It sucks getting hit by a car. Really. You should do everything in your power to avoid it.

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Brady Clark and Mykle Hansen made this nifty DIY speed vest for bikers that displays a light-up readout of the wearer’s speed. The vest works thanks to an Arduino open source computer, wheel speed sensor, nine-volt battery, and electroluminescent display. Hansen and Clark describe the speed vest as a “bicycle safety device and advocacy tool.” I don’t really see how this vest does all that. It does manage to make the wearer look like a tool though. I can’t imagine anyone actually wearing this, but the work these guys did to make it happen is still very impressive.

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Horseback riding can be a dangerous hobby. One slip and your brain could be splattered over different area codes. No worries though, because scientists at the Royal Institute of Technology and Karolinska Institute have development a helmet that is said to reduce head and brain trauma due to spills by 40%. The helmet was inspired by nature to create the Multi-directional Impact Protection System or MIPS for short.

Simulating the brain’s own protection system, MIPS is based on a dual-layer structure that releases and compensates the rotation of the brain in the event of sudden impact.  This means you’re less likely to have your head pop off due to an awful bail. Unfortunately for bikers, this helmet only comes in a jockey design, for now.

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