Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
dragoninnovation.com
Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
1–10 of 47 posts
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#2Don't make me waste minutes of my time watching vague videos before i can actually find out what it is. Give me a technical drawing first, or at the very least have the decency and courtesy to have your video display what it does, accurately, in the first ten seconds instead of making me watch someone pump their bike.
Also, holy shit, blinking backlights are a massive danger source. They may be nice when you're riding on a narrow country road with nothing at all for miles but you, your bike, and a psycho car driver; however when you're in a city, on a bike path, and there's a person behind you, your blinking light will rob them of the ability to effectively concentrate on the surroundings because your blinking light will keep drawing their attention. And don't try to tell me you'll switch it off/set it to no-blink when you switch from riding on the road to riding on a bike path. You'll be too lazy to. I'd be too lazy to.
In effect this project is badly marketing a thing that will increase traffic danger.
I'd actually like this if it wasn't for the latter point.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#3There's so little focus on the front component, that I still have no idea if it could be worthwhile to me. Seems like there's lights that show how far behind you the nearest car is? But that's a total guess - what I could gather from a few glimpses at the design; and this is the main selling point.
Almost the entire video talks about the rear censor/blinking light. I could care less about the light, those cost $5 and don't need to be intelligent at all. The video definitely needs to be redone to showcase why exactly anyone would want to spend $200 on this.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#4Will this trigger radar detectors? That could be a major unintended benefit if so.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#5There's so little focus on the front component, that I still have no idea if it could be worthwhile to me. Seems like there's lights that show how far behind you the nearest car is? But that's a total guess - what I could gather from a few glimpses at the design; and this is the main selling point. Almost the entire video talks about the rear censor/blinking light. I could care less about the light, those cost $5 and…
The second and third video show more details.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#6Don't make me waste minutes of my time watching vague videos before i can actually find out what it is. Give me a technical drawing first, or at the very least have the decency and courtesy to have your video display what it does, accurately, in the first ten seconds instead of making me watch someone pump their bike. Also, holy shit, blinking backlights are a massive danger source. They may be nice when you're ridin…
I don't think this is very useful for cycling in cities anyways. It's perfect
for road cyclists, though.
* In cities, I always expect cars to be behind me, and cars expect cyclists
* There is more protection from wind in cities, so the chance that I can hear those cars is higher. Outside the city it's more dangerous. When going downhill at more than 50 km/h, or on a flat stretch with side winds, the chance that I can hear cars behind me is close to zero.
* The speed limit in cities is lower
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#7Don't make me waste minutes of my time watching vague videos before i can actually find out what it is. Give me a technical drawing first, or at the very least have the decency and courtesy to have your video display what it does, accurately, in the first ten seconds instead of making me watch someone pump their bike. Also, holy shit, blinking backlights are a massive danger source. They may be nice when you're ridin…
It seems to me this product attempts to address the exact scenario you are talking about:
It blinks more intensively when cars are approaching (road riding) and much less so when their are none nearby (bike path).
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#8I think this product would be well served by alerting the user about car distance through some channel other than visual. When biking all visual attention should be focused forward, and the extra information sensed by this device could be delivered through some form of haptic feedback.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#9Don't make me waste minutes of my time watching vague videos before i can actually find out what it is. Give me a technical drawing first, or at the very least have the decency and courtesy to have your video display what it does, accurately, in the first ten seconds instead of making me watch someone pump their bike. Also, holy shit, blinking backlights are a massive danger source. They may be nice when you're ridin…
I don't think this is very useful for cycling in cities anyways. It's perfect for road cyclists, though. * In cities, I always expect cars to be behind me, and cars expect cyclists * There is more protection from wind in cities, so the chance that I can hear those cars is higher. Outside the city it's more dangerous. When going downhill at more than 50 km/h, or on a flat stretch with side winds, the chance that I can…
>There is more protection from wind in cities
The opposite can also be true.
Re: Backtracker: Radar sixth sense for cyclists
#10Excellent hands-on review with photos and video:
http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2014/07/hands-on-backtracker-rada...