See.Sense has launched three new lights, the 700 lumen Beam front light and the updated ICON2 front and rear light, using Kickstarter and they’ve smashed past their funding goal, with a staggering £50,000 raised with 27 days to go.
The new Beam is the company’s brightest ever light, with a single LED producing 700 lumens to help you see where you’re going. It has a claimed 30-hour runtime and weighs just 100g. It’s recharged via micro USB and it has a low battery mode that reduces the output to hopefully ensure you won’t be left in the dark.
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Like the original ICON, the new Beam is able to automatically adjust its brightness depending on the speed and the surrounding light levels. For example, it’ll increase the brightness when going downhill, or conserve battery life when riding in urban areas.
The ICON2 is an update of the company’s original and very clever ICON light - it can automatically adjust its brightness based on speed and braking forces - available in front and rear versions, with 400 and 300 lumens respectively.
The new ICON2 is brighter with a longer runtime than the original and uses two different types of LEDs to provide visibility up to 3km away with a 270-degree range of side visibility.
The lights even pack ANT+ so you can pair them with compatible cycling computers. There’s also the See.Sense smartphone app that lets you do neat things like customising the brightness and flash pattern, check the battery level, get theft alerts and send crash notifications to an emergency contact.
As mentioned, the new lights were launched on Kickstarter where they smashed their funding goal within just seven hours, and at the time of writing £51,032 has been pledged. With 27 days remaining it’s likely the total raised will be much higher, far exceeding the £30,000 initial target.
You can still pre-order the lights until 20th December with early bird discounts starting at 45% off the eventual RRP of the lights. You can buy the lights as a set or individually.
“Launching both BEAM and ICON2 is a sign of how far See.Sense has come as a company, and how committed we are to making cycling better for everyone,” says CEO Philip McAleese.
“We’re not content creating just another bike light. Instead, we’re developing intelligent products that benefit cyclists, our roads, and our environment. All with the aim to get more people cycling more often.”
Check them out here www.kickstarter.com
David has worked on the road.cc tech team since July 2012. Previously he was editor of Bikemagic.com and before that staff writer at RCUK. He's a seasoned cyclist of all disciplines, from road to mountain biking, touring to cyclo-cross, he only wishes he had time to ride them all. He's mildly competitive, though he'll never admit it, and is a frequent road racer but is too lazy to do really well. He currently resides in the Cotswolds.