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wheeler mainTech company Tespack claim to have made “the world’s first smart cycling backpack”
It feels like barely a week goes by without another indicating cycling product launching on crowdfunding websites... and the Wheeler is the latest to add to that roll call, although features such as solar energy production and black box recording make it look like a pretty impressive bit of kit.
We reckon the ‘world’s first smart cycling backpack’ claim is somewhat far-fetched with many similar products having featured on this website previously (see our recent article on the Pix backpack here); although smarter than the competition it might just be. There are two versions of the Wheeler, the standard version that can be attached to a rear rack and used as a backpack and the Wheeler Side, with a pannier design. The Wheeler backpack has an automatic SOS system and integrated LED indicators that can be controlled with your phone or their remote control system. The app also has route mapping and weather info included.
Another nifty feature is the 7W solar panel, allowing you to create energy that can be used to charge devices on the go (you can also upgrade to a 42W panel). It also incorporates black box technology, à la aeroplanes, that in the event of a collision can record the time of the incident, the impact and track your location, which could prove useful for an insurance claim.
Tespack specialise in battery packs and solar energy products, which feature through their outdoor and commuter-focussed ranges. They already sell numerous of backpacks and messenger bags, with Wheeler being their first cycle-specific product, and they were voted the best energy startup in the EU by the European Commission last year.
The Wheeler will be crowdfunding on Indiegogo soon with a 50% discount on the eventual RRP; we’ll update when we find out the launch date and prices, for now head over to Tespack’s website for more info.
Arriving at road.cc in 2017 via 220 Triathlon Magazine, Jack dipped his toe in most jobs on the site and over at eBikeTips before being named the new editor of road.cc in 2020, much to his surprise. His cycling life began during his students days, when he cobbled together a few hundred quid off the back of a hard winter selling hats (long story) and bought his first road bike - a Trek 1.1 that was quickly relegated to winter steed, before it was sadly pinched a few years later. Creatively replacing it with a Trek 1.2, Jack mostly rides this bike around local cycle paths nowadays, but when he wants to get the racer out and be competitive his preferred events are time trials, sportives, triathlons and pogo sticking - the latter being another long story.
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3 comments
They could have made it look a bit less like something a pensioner would take to a National Trust tearoom.
So I visited the website just for the lolz as those of us down with the kidz say...
APP Included! it was keen to shout out. Great! I've always thought my panniers were missing an app
Not too much detail on the poduct itself, until I spotted the tiny print 'download our one pager' so I did:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XLfRcbTyfODEhSQ9DHadyqO796HUlwQh/view
"CYCLING HAS NEVER BEEN SAFER THAN THIS"
Oh really? The panniers project a magical force field that deflects close passing vehicles, left hooks etc?
"With LED indicators you can show the direction you are turning and when you are braking"
Ah but do they integrate with the Brighter Bikes lights I saw on Dragons Den? And will drivers pay the slightest bit of attention to them anyway?
I'm out.
Yes I find this kind of promotion little to do with cycling - although they try hard to link to it.
It does the usual thing of pandering to and reinforcing the paranoid and neurotic thoughts about safety that many have, concerning actually going in the outside world with nothing but clothes on. Thus reducing through fear their potential customer base.
It then compounds this by suggesting that contrary to research concerning cycling accidents - (despite cycling being one of the very safest outdoor activities you can undertake) - that the particular gimmick they have on offer; indicators, will have a measurable effect on the safety of this very safe activity.
It claims that the idea of carrying a battery that you can charge your phone etc. from is unique and that the idea of topping this up from photoelectric is also unique, of course absolutely not so.
It is then implied that you could happily keep charged your laptop, tablet etc by using this kit. In fact you would find that on a good day if you put the 7W solar panel in the most ideal position from dawn to dusk and don't use your sat. nav. to much, on a reasonably alright day you stand a chance of keeping your phone charged.
It also suggests that you need an out of control (largely) internet security threatening "app" to use it, when your browser with it's security set as you desire with an appropriate book mark, can acheive the same thing just as quickly.
So many things wrong with that advertising article - nice to know about new things though .