Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

TECH NEWS

Lumo launch clothing and bag with in-built LEDs + video

Urban cycling range seeks funding on Kickstarter

British startup brand Lumo is launching a range of city cycling clothing with in-built LEDs. You can get hold of the items by pledging cash on the Kickstarter crowd-funding website and hoping that the project reaches its £50,000 goal.

One of the key items in the range is the Herne Hill Harrington. It is designed for everyday wear and features subtle bike-friendly features like a slightly dropped tail, stretch in the shoulders, and inner cuffs to keep cold air from getting inside. It is made from cotton gabardine with a Schoeller 3XDRY treatment to add resistance to water and stains.

There is a line of white LEDs in the front placket and a row of red LEDs in the hem seam at the back. These aren't noticeable in daylight but they shine when you turn them on at night. Lumo reckon the LEDs are visible from over 400 metres away in dark conditions.

Fourteen LEDs are used for each light strip, running for between two and six hours (depending on the setting used) from a USB rechargeable battery pack. The LEDs are waterproof and machine washable. The battery measures just 75mm x 30mm x 22mm.

There are 50 Herne Hill Harringtons available for those pledging £165. If you’re not among the first 50, you need to pledge £210. This assumes Lumo achieve their full target amount. As ever with Kickstarter, the full target has to be achieved for them to receive any money.

“City cyclists don’t just dress for the journey, we dress for the destination too,” says co-founder Doug Bairner. “Until now high quality cycling wear has largely been targeted at weekend warriors. We want to change that and make beautiful garments that are designed for city riding and living.

 

“Our mission is to help as many people as possible to experience the realisation that cycling is the most sustainable and satisfying way of getting from A to B. That’s why we’re also pledging to donate 10% of our profits annually to projects and charities that help to get people onto bikes. Cycling shouldn’t be a privilege, it should be an accessible mode of transport for everyone.”

The Bermondsey Backpack is made from waxed cotton canvas with a tarpaulin lining. It comes with a row of red LEDs towards the bottom of the back and white LEDs on the straps.

The first 50 backers can secure one by pledging £125 rather than the £145 that later backers will need to pledge.

A polo shirt with a reflective collar strip and a cap that uses reflective yarn are also available for lower pledges.

If pledges reach £100,000, Lumo will also produce the water resistant and wind resistant Regents Parka in both men’s and women’s cuts. Like the Herne Hill Harrington, it comes with white LEDs in the front placket and red ones in the back seam.

 

The delivery of all products is scheduled for next June.

The Lumo project runs on Kickstarter until 15 January.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

7 comments

Avatar
mcm4to | 9 years ago
0 likes

I like the look of it. Would consider one.

Avatar
jacknorell | 9 years ago
0 likes

Nice looking clothing, but not sure they've thought through the features quite as well as they could.

Take a look at the Beta Brand stuff, really quite nice, and about same price once delivered. A friend over in the States has their jacket and loves it.

Anyway, if this shows up in the shops, I'd check it out.

Avatar
Accessibility f... | 9 years ago
0 likes

Not convinced. Retroreflective strips are simpler, cheaper and far more effective at highlighting a cyclist on the road. And their claim that their LEDs are "much more visible" than regular lights is certainly not true unless they define a regular light as something costing £1.99 from Asda.

Designers once again trying to solve problems that don't exist.

Avatar
bobinski | 9 years ago
0 likes

I like the back pack. I sometimes hang a fibre flare from the bottom of my Rapha back pack. Flops around but not quite ready to sew another attaching point to the top. It works really well though.
I would like to see some reflective on this and jacket though, nice and discrete ala Rapha as they do on their Jackets and bag for greater effectiveness. You cannot just rely on the inbuilt lights especially if you lose charge.

Avatar
Urban_Manc | 9 years ago
0 likes

They need to use high intensity LED lights with a detachable USB battery pack, the lights they're demonstrating look less bright than good reflective material !

Ignore the above I've just watched the video  1 , still room for improvement, maybe a larger block of lights, certainly for the rear facing lights .

Avatar
EddyBerckx | 9 years ago
0 likes

I do like what they're doing but it's pretty expensive for lights that dont look bright enough (in the pics) for me, but good luck to them anyway.

Avatar
Airzound | 9 years ago
0 likes

It is my experience that any electrical item and water do not mix, especially a bike light and a washing machine with detergent in it. What's wrong with fitting good old fashioned lights to your bike which is actually required by law, as opposed to having them on your clothing, rucksack, etc, but not on your bike?

I shouldn't imagine they'd last very long. They'd not withstand being washed everyday for several years to get your monies worth.

I like the bit "Cycling accessible to all" - £165 for the jacket which is expensive and £125 for the rucksack which is mega expensive given you can put a very bright £5.99 Smart rear light on your bike or even your rucksack and have it facing the sky.

I won't be investing. I am out.

Latest Comments