I’ve just managed to get my bicycle down to Brighton with the tiniest shred of hope that it’ll keep me fit if I use it to get around town. After several moments of fearing for my life as the growling engines of my motorised road companions flash past, I couldn’t help thinking of road safety and how my tiny self could be just a tad more visible to the onslaught of traffic. This got me thinking of a nifty pair of handlebars I came across. Helios Bars!

Helios Bars are a revolutionary set of handlebars that can be attached to any bicycle to increase the users’ visibility and change the way that we interact with our bikes. There are two designs that are both sleek giving any bike a comfortable and stylish feel.

Now whats so great about these smooth handlebars you might ask. Well, let me give you a brief break down on the features:

Lights

As any cyclist with common sense will tell you riding in the dark without lights is always a terrible idea. These CREE LEDs are rechargeable and can last up to 6 hours on the brightest setting! The light coverage itself creates a spread comparable to that of a car making these bad boys stick out on the road.

Not only does it claim the road with a powerful headlight, but on both designs, LEDs are integrated to the back of the handlebars not only as a tail light, but also to alert oncoming traffic of the speed of the bike. How? The rear LEDs follow a colour spectrum that reflect the speed of the rider by connecting the system wirelessly to your phone’s GPS.

0-10MPH                      10-20MPH                                20-30MPH                        30-40MPH

But thats not all! How many times have you misunderstood when a cyclist is turning? There are 2 RGB LEDs which you can activate as indicators! Lets face it, that could be a great solution to so many road accidents involving bikes!

Thats all great, but I would like to just point out that this is no substitute to normal red tail lights! Big jackets or generally your own body could cover these lights at any time! It only takes a second for an accident to happen.

Bluetooth

So now you got the safety features for a cyclist in the view of a pedestrian or motorist. The bluetooth feature is a simple one. These handlebars are smart, and  I don’t mean just plain clever! The rider can control light intensity, light colours, stats and other smart aspects with Helios Connect. This app radically changes the way we interact with our bikes through, what I must say is, my favourite feature. This feature allows you to determine where your bike is. When you walk towards your bike, the lights turn on and when you walk away they turn off automatically! Almost as if the bike is waiting for your return after a brief nap!

GPS Tracking

Now, the feeling I get when I leave my bike chained up in Brighton always gets me nervous and, without fail, every time I see it still where I left it, intact and with a front wheel I can’t help  but let out a sigh of relief! Helios Bars can be tracked on a GPS system so you can always have your bike on check from anywhere in the world. Even if stolen and the batteries removed, Helios has a back up plan! It can still be trackable within 15 days of the batteries being removed! Simply put in a pay-as-you-go Sim and SMS the handlebars to find its exact location!

So those are the basics of these smart handlebars! Definitely a product to keep your eye on if you are, indeed, a cyclist and care about your roadside companion as much as I do! Have a quick look at the kick starter promo  video (if you skip to about 1.30 it’s where he starts explaining the features) and witness the genius behind these elegant handlebars.