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TECH NEWS
BYB Tech Focus light two ridersA 5000 lumen bike light that weighs just 49g is crowdfunding on Kickstarter
Usually when we report on a luminous cycling product that is crowdfunding on Kickstarter or Indiegogo, it involves some sort of indicator or safety features that extend way beyond just lighting... and while BYB Tech's new Focus One light promises a ton of smart features and a beam that can pump out a massive 5000 lumen flash, less is more as the unit weighs a mere 49g.
> Find the best bike light for you: the road.cc beam comparison engine 2022
The Italian tech company are making some big claims here, and the device appears to be aimed mostly at road riders; although as shown in the video on the Kickstarter page, we see an electric mountain bike rider connect the light to his e-bike system for unlimited charge.
Lines include "be seen like a car!" and "we believe that bicycles deserve to be more visible on the road." Whether any amount of lighting or safety features are enough to prevent cyclists suffering the many collisions caused by dangerous motorists each year is another subject entirely; but the aim appears to be to give cyclists the option of deploying a high beam flash to alert potentially distracted drivers of their presence.
BYB Tech says Focus One is the "world's smallest 5000 lumens bike light" rather than the smallest out there (that would be something like the Bookman Block at a mere 13g) but we've not seen anything with this much beam strength in such a small package. The 5000 lumen claim is referring to the Focus One's ultra high-beam flash mode, that can be triggered by a small button on the unit itself or via the handlebar remote. You can use it up to 500 times on a single charge if you've set it to the max power; of course that means there's an app for the light, which allows you to customise modes and the strength of the beam.
The light can also be used with a steady state beacon constantly flashing for up to 20 hours at a time, and as a regular steady light in 'low-beam light' mode. We're not told exactly how many lumens this kicks out, but on a higher setting BYB Tech says "with the maximum intensity is possible to go for a night ride in the woods too."
Obviously multiple 5000 lumen flashes at night isn't going to make you hugely popular with oncoming traffic, but BYB Tech says a tilt sensor accessed via the app can tell you how dazzling or not your beam is going to be, help you find the right angle and "make Focus compliant to StVO rules" [lights that conform to German traffic regulations to avoid dazzling].
BYB Tech's founder Enrico Rodella also told us: "The light is totally personalizable and you can set the light power from (basically) zero to 5000 lumens (only in high-beam and beacon mode)."
The 49g weight is for the unit itself, not including the mounts or remote trigger. BYB Tech offers a number of mounting options, including a GoPro mount so you can attach it underneath your GPS, and also a quarter-turn option that is "compatible with most existing mounts." BYB Tech has also shared 3D models of the mounts as open-source files for users to create their own ideal solution.
Other features include the e-bike compatibility and a rear light mode should your main rear light run out. The claimed run time is up to 20 hours on flash and up to six hours in low-beam mode, and recharge time is just 15 minutes.
> Where are they now? 13 of the best, worst and wackiest cycling crowdfunders
This isn't BYB Tech's first Kickstarter rodeo, with the brand first taking to the crowdfunding platform for its telemetry system for mountain bikes and motocross. Claimed to be a world first, the system is made up of an accelerometer and gyroscope working with GPS to track the performance of your bike's components on the go, so you can identify issues and tweak them. It's tech that pros already had access to, mostly to monitor the performance of their suspension, but BYB Tech packaged this into a product regular consumers could buy too. It's not cheap at well over £1,000, but the Kickstarter was a success and the product is now on version 2.0.
If the Focus One sounds like the bike light for you, then there are still super earlybird backing options on the Kickstarter to save 50% on the eventual retail price of €249 (~£207). A backing of €125 (~£105) gets you a single Focus One unit, and you can get two for €229 (~£232). The crowdfunder will run until 25th April, with £2,104 pledged of the £16,599 target at the time of writing.
Check out the crowdfunding page here. All the usual Kickstarter rules and regulations apply which can be found here.
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.
Latest Comments
- perce 16 min 33 sec ago
I bet the Telegraph could find a negative angle to this story.
- Simon E 18 min 20 sec ago
I'm not lying and you're still spouting complete bollocks....
- Backladder 1 hour 14 min ago
I'd have to say that my old Shimano dura-ace compatible with Look delta cleats are the best, just retired them after about 35 years, not because...
- dubwise 1 hour 37 min ago
Who knows, Sunak doesn't seem to be very bright. Denying things he said, which are recorded and reported, shows there isn't much between the ears.
- Rendel Harris 1 hour 39 min ago
And surely Wiggo would always be welcome?
- Spangly Shiny 2 hours 23 min ago
I wonder whether, should there be a trial of a cyclist, that there will be a requirement stipulating all jurors should be cyclists? After all a...
- Mr Hoopdriver 3 hours 41 min ago
Does anybody else feel like crying sometimes
- ktache 7 hours 2 min ago
Well at least you can make sure that the bikes are still there by glancing up.
- john_smith 7 hours 33 min ago
How much would a MotoGP bike cost? Presumably quite a lot too.
- LookAhead 8 hours 52 min ago
How many times now has Strava announced that they're finally going to do something about the integrity of the leaderboards, but then actually done...
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52 comments
Which, of course, is illegal:
https://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/other-stopping-procedures.html
Not correcting you, RC, simply pointing out the pointlessness of such a feature in a cycling light, if that were the intention behind its design.
I did also look at 'dipping the headlights' -- regardless of its legality or not, I still see a fair amount of people still do it.
Hello @Rich_cs
I'm Enrico the founder of this project.
Definitely, you got the point!
Cheers
Enrico
The German spec lights I have seen allow a wider and longer arc but are not supposed to dazzle. Useful on nsl roads with no street lights.
I am waiting for the exposure stvzo compliant lights to be certified and finally sold.
Big power for off-road downhill, dazzle free lower power to see the road and still be seen. Utility mountain biking perfection. (And gravel...)
My desire for the light will of course decline over the summer and increase again as autumn approaches.
My (admittedly limited) understanding of stvzo is that a light cannot be certified if it has modes that are not compliant. So to be certified, the light must not have any flashing modes and must not have any "full beam" modes.
There would be nothing to stop Exposure (or other brands) selling a light that has a mode which is compliant with the stvzo regs and also other (non-compliant) modes, but the light as a whole would not be certified.
Lupine make an 1800 lumen stvzo compliant (and certified) front light.
Exposure said they were doing quite well on certification but then COVID hit, when I asked when it would finally be available. I kind of wish they would sell the range, along with a certification applied for note. I'd buy one, more road friendly, but with off-road power, better in both ways than my present set up.
For me stvzo would be a nice add on, having a properly legal front light, but for me it would be the tech the light gives.
To some degree you can mitigate the harm caused by an unnecessarily bright light through careful positioning.
Alternatively you could just select a light (or even a mode) appropriate for what you need!
(Generic use of you - not directed at anyone specifically)
Hello @hirsute
I'm Enrico the founder of this project.
Yeah, we provide a live inclination angle thanks to an accelerometer.
Cheers
Enrico
The only use for a 5000 lumens flash that I can conceive of would be to announce my approach around a blind bend at night, much as would flash my car headlights if I were driving.
Hello @Rich_cs
I'm Enrico the founder of this project.
With Focus you'll not be blinded anymore.
Focus can't work steadily at @5000 lumens. You can flick your high-beam in specific situations (for example, a blind turn, a dangerous situation, etc...):
With Focus, people will use the light only if there's a danger.
Cheers
Enrico
Hi Enrico, I have good stvzo lights for constant use and have been looking for an additional main beam light. Can your light be used for a short period as a main beam able to light up the road (particularly at the bottom of a descent where the road rises and I'd like to see above the stvzo beam) as well as just a warning flash?
Hello ChasP,
yes! The light can emit a burst of 5000 lumens just for 5 seconds! Then, the light intensity automatically decreases. The light is very fast to cool down, that's means you can trigger the high beam more times. (let's say every 2/3 seconds).
We're progressing with the campaign, come visit us: https://www.bybtech.it/focus
Cheers
Enrico
It all sounds a little dubious, someones not run the numbers correctly. If it takes 15mins for a full charge from micro USB, this must mean that the battery itself is super small. Even 650mah batteries on Lezyne zecto drive lights take about 2hrs+ to charge from flat.
claims to have a dual core CPU -- but why would your light need one over a standard battery management circuit/chip?
Micro USB? In 2022?
why not? can't cope with having to check you have it in the right way?
Hello,
we are very open to feedbacks and improvements. We decided to swtich to USB-C. No problem at all. You can have a look at the updates here: https://www.bybtech.it/focus
Cheers
Enrico
Hello RoubaixCube,
I'm Enrico the founder of this project.
It's pretty simple. We're using high-discharge special batteries (derived from racing drones). They can supply an extremely high peak of current to provide the 5000 lumens beam. In the same way, they can be charged extremely fast without degrading them.
Others bike lights are using standard Lithium batteries which can basically be charged slowly (if you don't want to kill them).
Cheers
Enrico
If you're using special batteries from racing drones chances are they are lipo batteries? These are not meant to be charged unattended as they can be volatile and pose a fire risk. Probably worth considering.
Thanks for pointing it out. We absolutely know it! Safety is our first concern! We're using suitable batteries that can handle high input/output current without degrading and being dangerous.
You can have a deep look here: https://www.bybtech.it/focus
Cheers
Enrico
https://www.grepow.com/blog/high-discharge-rate-battery-vs-standard-disc...
as for the dual core CPU.. this light does much more than a normal bike light; have you looked at the kickstarter page?
Thanks! Actually, we find it very difficult to explain a totally new and never seen product!
We're doing our best to increase safety on the roads.
Cheers
Enrico
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