CIO - Battery Free Bike Light

About this project

CIO is a battery-free bike light, designed to meet the demands of modern transportation and developed to be self-powered in the simplest way possible.

CIO is integrated with ReeMount™, a straightforward and secure wire system that makes mounting the lights faster and easier than ever before. The wire is made from coated stainless steel, minimizing the risk of breakage or theft.

If the bike stops momentarily, the ReePower™ backup system automatically continues to supply power, keeping you safe even when stopping at traffic lights. CIO will carry on flashing for two minutes and then automatically turn off. CIO is intuitive and highly integrated, with no buttons or switches on the bike light. All you have to do is ride, and never again worry whether your lights are on or off.

When investing in a CIO bike light, you never have to worry about batteries again, nor should you worry about the maintenance of the product, since the CIO bike lights require minimal care. CIO has a bright flash, and the ReePower™ feature keeps you safe at a standstill. CIO has gone though climatic tests which have proven that it's waterproof and solid in harsh environments. Furthermore, CIO is eco-friendly, due to the reduction in pollution through use of a magnetic system instead of batteries.

For more than a decade, Reelight have been helping cyclists around the world feel safe on the road. This has been possible thanks to our ground-breaking invention of induction bike lights, where the light is powered by magnets that are placed on the spokes of your bike. The vision was to eliminate the use of batteries, thus removing the risk of them running flat and making you vulnerable in traffic.

Based on a large scale research study* with over 4,000 participating cyclists, we have proven that our induction lights reduce the probability of accidents by 19% when counting all accidents, and 47% for accidents with more than one involved party. Furthermore, 85% of our induction light users have expressed that they felt safer while riding in traffic.

* [Madsen, J. C. O., Andersen, T., & Lahrmann, H. S. (2013). Safety effects of permanent running lights for bicycles: A controlled experiment. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 50, 820- 829]

The main reason for this large reduction in accidents was down to the fact that the lights were always on when riding, both night and day. This is referred to as 'daytime running lights' (DRL) – a term that's well known in the automotive industry. Many countries require the use of DRL in cars, as it is proven to drastically reduce the number of accidents experienced by drivers on the road.

DRL dynamo lights by Reelight have become the standard in Denmark, and today are mounted on 1/3 of all bikes there. The lights have been well tested and proven effective, but now it's time for us to take the concept to the next level.

CIO is the synthesis of advanced technology and design. We have been working hard on upgrading our technology, as we wanted to reduce the size of the magnet module while increasing the power output. What used to be two 12 centimeter / 4.7 inches magnet modules, mounted on each wheel, is now just one small, coin-sized magnet. By upgrading this technology we were able to get approximately six times the output using the smaller magnets.

The main goal for the CIO project was to reinvent the mounting as we believe that the best bike lights are the ones you can mount on your own in just a few minutes. Our solution is called ReeMount™ and is currently patent pending. We are very proud of this solution, as it is highly adaptable and can be mounted by using the key included in the package.

As we have already been testing the lights for a while, we are already far in the process of getting them on the market. We are almost ready to approve the production molds and start a small pilot production. Early test mold samples and a user test showed great results, and we are currently in the process of adjusting minor corrections.

We think now is the right time to ask for your support as we feel confident that this product is going to be amazing!

The design of CIO is unlike any other bike light ever seen before. We combined what we learned from our previous Kickstarter product NEO, and turned CIO into a compact, sturdy and integrated bike light. The design is focused around the ball-joint, which allows for full adjustability. Through the ball-joint runs a nylon coated, stainless steel wire, which is used to fasten the light around the bike frame. The wire is incredibly strong and helps to ensure that the light stays on the bike and does not get stolen.

Our small design team have dedicated all their time in the design process of CIO. Today a big challenge is that there are various bike types. This makes it harder to develop a bike light that is appropriate for all bikes.

Because of this challenge, we have been in close contact with bike dealers, who's expertise we have benefited greatly from. By making a lot of tests and prototypes the design team have been able to design a bike light that can be mounted on most bikes in a few minutes.

A 3D printed prototype of the CIO bike light

CIO fits almost every bike, thanks to ReeMount™, which adapts to any geometry. ReeMount™ is a new and innovative mounting solution that consists of a flexible wire, made out of coated stainless steel. Due to its flexibility, the wire is appropriate for most bikes on the market, which makes CIO a solution for everyone.

The lights are designed to be mounted on the left side of the bike.

The CIO bike light is designed to be user friendly. Mounting the CIO onto your bike requires no tools other than the included coin for measurement and the key for tightening, locking, and anti-theft protection.

The first step when mounting the CIO bike light is to place the magnet onto one of the spokes. It should be placed no further than 15 centimeters / 6 inches below the top of the tyre. Step two is to place the lights on to the fork and the seat stay. The lights should be placed parallel to the magnets. To fasten the lights, use the key. The distance between the magnet and the light module can be found by applying the included coin in between the two modules.

Great manufacturers are needed to make the CIO dream come true. The lights will be manufactured in China by our close collaboration partner, who specialises in bike lights.

The bike light itself is made out of carbon reinforced ABS, which is durable and can resist bad weather as well as being impact resistant. We chose this material because we find it very important that the CIO bike light can be used in all environments all over the globe. Furthermore, the material is very strong so that the function of it will be intact even if a fall should occur.

The generator is an important part of the bike light, since it generates the power in CIO. The generator consists of a rotating magnet, and a thin wire that makes up the coil. The winding of the coil is a crucial part of the process, since it determines how well the generator performs. Therefore, the winding must be done with exactness. The video below shows how the coil is made. The coil is twisted using a CNC coil-winding machine, which assures consistency and accuracy on each coil.

The final mold is based on the first test molds and is currently being fine-tuned before the final approval and pilot production. The electronics inside the bike light have been developed and tested for a longer period of time and the final adjustments on the programming part is almost done. Additionally, we are running a pilot production on approximately 500 lights before we start producing for Kickstarter. This is done to reinsure that both the process and the quality is at its best.

Reelight is a Danish bike light company with a clear goal to make people safe in traffic and thereby save lives. At the same time we try to be as eco-friendly as possible. Our dedication and passion for making high quality bike lights to our users are what drives the company.

The company was established in 2003 after our CEO walked the streets of Copenhagen and noticed the lack of lights on peoples bikes. He saw how vulnerable it made them. Right there, he decided that he would make sure that people were visible in traffic at all times. He started collaborating with people who had knowledge in this field and after a lot of hard work the magnetic bike light that never dies was born.

Through the years the magnetic bike lights have been developed, and we are always working on making them even better. Today we are so far in the process that we have introduced you to the newest member in the family, the CIO bike light. We hope and believe that all our hard work will end in a success and that we can contribute to make cyclists even safer.

Reelight is a Danish manufacturer of bike lights. Our patented, battery-free bike lights generate their own eco-friendly power by means of magnets mounted on the spokes and a small generator integrated in the lights. Reelights are always on, making cyclists visible day and night in all kinds of weather. In less than 10 years Reelight has gained dominant market shares in Denmark and our bike lights are further exported to most European countries, USA and Australia. In late 2015 Reelight was on Kickstarter for the first time with NEO - a powerfull battery light, which was successfully funded.

We expect the CIO bike lights to be shipped from Hong Kong. All backers must be aware that taxes will appear corresponding to the tax rules in the country the order is ordered and shipped to. Since we have no influence on the taxes we will not be able to guide or answer questions regarding the tax rules in your specific country.

We are collaborating with BackerKit to make sure that the delivery information is on point when the Rewards are being shipped. Additionally, BackerKit will allow you to add extra products to your reward at a very fair price when the campaign ends.

Since we reached our goal on 250,000 DKK pretty fast, we decided to make a stretch goal. The stretch goal is to reach 650,000 DKK. If we reach this goal we will give an extra set of magnets to each pair of CIO bike lights. The extra magnet will make the flashing light more powerful, especially when riding at a low speed.

You will have to check the legal requirements on bike lights in your specific country to see if the CIO bike lights are allowed. In some countries a flashing bike light, like CIO, is not legal to use on its own. However, the CIO bike light can always be used in connection with another bike light that is steady and heighten the safety of the cyclist.