Reflective bike will light up at night to keep riders safe

Cycling at night can put riders in danger, so most place sets of reflectors and lights on their bikes to make sure that drivers know where they are. Now one company in San Francisco has an idea to make bikes even more noticeable in the dark: by making their entire body reflective. On Kickstarter, Mission Bicycle Company is trying to raise funds to create Lumen, a bike that’s gray by day but glows bright white when a car or anything else shines some light on it. The bike’s frame and rims are coated with “hundreds of thousands” of retroreflective spheres, which send light that hits them directly back to where they came from. The reflection is apparently visible up to 1,000 feet away.

Mission Bicycle believes that Lumen will be the first commercially available retroreflective bike, and it plans to start shipping some of them out as rewards beginning in July. It’s looking to raise $15,000 for the project, and it’s already almost two-thirds of the way there. Backers can receive a single-speed city bike for $1,245 or an eight speed for $1,595. Those who know their way around a bike may instead want to opt for a less expensive option, receiving just a frame and fork for $499. It’s a surprisingly stylish bike for how functional its coating is, and it’s a smart way to address a recurring problem. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to put a light on it too.