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TECH NEWS

Rear view cycling glasses launched on Kickstarter by Olympic track champ Callum Skinner

The new sunnies feature a small transparent mirrored section in the lens

The glasses feature lenses with a mirrored portion which they claim “enhances situational awareness” on the road and “will challenge the very way people cycle.”

Former Olympic team sprint champion Callum Skinner has launched a range of cycling sunglasses with reflective portions of the lenses that claim to be a “game-changer” for cyclists. The Kickstarter campaign is aiming to raise £30,000 with backers receiving a pair of sunglasses.

There will be three separate price tiers of Hindsight glasses:

  • Edge Sport: First Kickstarter Tier £129, rising to RRP £199 after the campaign
  • Edge Hemp: First Kickstarter tier £189, rising to RRP £299 after the campaign
  • Edge Hemp Core: first Kickstarter tier £209, rising to RRP £325 after the campaign
Hindsight Kickstarter 3

Hindsight CEO, Alex Macdonald, said that “the birth of Hindsight came from a situation with which many urban cyclists will be able to relate – having one near-miss too many with road traffic. As a regular cyclist, I was aware that knowing what was coming behind me would allow me to make smarter decisions; and so, Hindsight was born."

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The sunglasses feature a transparent mirror portion of the lens that is angled slightly. This, Hindsight claims, extends your peripheral vision, allowing you to look forwards and backwards more easily.

Hindsight Edit -1

Skinner says that the glasses were initially designed to combat the issues that urban cyclists face, but they “quickly realised that these glasses had applications in the sporting world.” An academic study, looking into the potential performance gains of the glasses is apparently on the way.

Writing on Hindsight’s LinkedIn page, they say that “while facing forwards, our revolutionary new glasses are stylistically and functionally integrated and fit seamlessly into a cyclist’s routine, thereby minimalising other counterparts and allowing for rearward viewing with just a minimal glance of the head (instead of turning your head to see behind you, which would impede the cyclists’ forward vision).”

Hindsight Edit -3

One of the issues surrounding cycles safety, Hindsight believes, is that “cyclists are the only group of road users that do not have an effective mechanism to see behind them.”

road.cc reviews - cycling sunglasses

Hindsight claims that their sunglasses help to keep your eyes on the road. Instead of looking back over the shoulder, which doing so for one second leads to seven meters travelled at 25kp/h, Hindsight says that a “quick glance” at the mirrored portion of the lens is all that is needed “to see immediately, what is going on behind you.”

Hindsight Kickstarter 2

The startup says that the Hindsight sunglasses “allow competitive cyclists and commuters to achieve vastly improved awareness of their surroundings, enabling them to make safer decisions in less time and with more information.”

The frame is set to be available in two different materials with a standard sport plastic and a hemp material available.​

​kickstarter.com/hindsight

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17 comments

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Yorky-M | 3 years ago
0 likes

OR if you have a kid you would have bought these for £3. jeepers lad, google it before you launch

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-Glasses-Mirror-Behind-Fillers/dp/B01A...

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RTB | 3 years ago
1 like

Double take on the first pic as it looked like a wigged-up Elton John.  They might want to rethink that bit of merch.

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RTB | 3 years ago
0 likes

Fugly.  Not sure this has properly been thought through nor the biz model stress tested but good luck to them. 

For a quarter of the touted price you could get some passably decent glasses from Planet X and a discrete bar end mirror.  For the same money you could get an integrated (Varia) radar tail light and a good chunk towards some top end shades.

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Milkfloat | 3 years ago
1 like

There have been hundreds of these 'look behind' or surveillance glasses on the market over the years, all rejected by cyclists.  What makes these special other than silly prices? 

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Dao | 3 years ago
0 likes

I want glasses that will stay on my face and stay in one piece. Not these overpriced gimmicks. forget the competitive side, the glasses aren't aero enough to convince the pro athletes they can afford to have one on their face xD.

 

I had normal glasses before that share the same profile, without the gimmick or price tag, and the amount of wind wrapping around the lens to blind me was nothing to sneeze at.

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ktache | 3 years ago
0 likes

Awful looking glasses, but then so many are, however I do get to post a link to the excellent AtWarWithTheMotorist's article on "Situational Awareness"

https://waronthemotorist.wordpress.com/2015/12/31/cyclists-need-more-sit...

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mdavidford | 3 years ago
1 like

Quote:

they “quickly realised that these glasses had applications in the sporting world.”

I can hear the UCI warming up their ban-stick now.

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kevvjj | 3 years ago
0 likes

They are the worst looking sunglasses I've seen for a very long time, and priced way out of my league. Even if they were £20 I still wouldn't dare put them on my face - just awful.

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joncomelately | 3 years ago
0 likes

I suspect these might also find a willing take-up in the population of secret lemonade drinkers...

I did have a pair of the R White's glasses as a lad, they took some getting used to!

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EddyBerckx | 3 years ago
0 likes

Christ those are ugly!!

Another point...when using cheap sunnies for work I'm often blinded by the sun (behind me) reflecting into my eyes due to the shape of the lens. That's just an unhappy accident on my cheap glasses...this is built in basically?

I had clicked on this thinking this was some type of smart glasses with a video feed projected onto part of the lens 🙂

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Kapelmuur | 3 years ago
0 likes

Years ago I read an article about Reg Harris and his coming 2nd in a British track championship while in his 50s.

He had been leading and claimed that his age had resulted in his neck being too stiff for him to look behind, so he didn't see his rival coming.

A shame he's not around to test these.

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Richard_pics | 3 years ago
3 likes

You'll want people to be behind you, so they cant see your face with those monstrosities on!

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Biggus-Dickkus | 3 years ago
1 like

I never fund anything on Kickstarter, or any start-up programme as so many never come to fruition, or are poorly executed, or are just a money making scam. 

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Richard_pics replied to Biggus-Dickkus | 3 years ago
0 likes

I backed See-Sense Ace, and was very happy with the results!

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Nepomucene | 3 years ago
1 like

“cyclists are the only group of road users that do not have an effective mechanism to see behind them.”

I feel so sorry for him. I was personally born with a neck and find it quite useful!

Glancing over my shoulder takes me less time than checking my computer and I don't really see the essential aspect of these. But hey, by all means, if you like them, go ahead. I'll pass...

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CygnusX1 | 3 years ago
0 likes

Quote:

One of the issues surrounding cycles safety, Hindsight believes, is that “cyclists are the only group of road users that do not have an effective mechanism to see behind them.”

Plenty of mirrors out there, from the DIY bottle cap solutions, bar end mirrors, helmet mounted. There's probably a Kickstarter rear view camera system out there too.

Here are just a few mirrors reviewed by road.cc:  https://road.cc/category/review-section/mirrors

I'm out but mainly because I think the designs are ugly and I have a tendency to break or lose sunnies so don't spend much on them.

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handlebarcam | 3 years ago
7 likes

Presumably not compatible with "big" hairstyles, as this early best tester has discovered:

//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Dame_Edna_%286959716988%29.jpg/480px-Dame_Edna_%286959716988%29.jpg)

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