Mybell can make your scooter blare, or moo

The Mybell speaker and light systems straps
onto any bike or scooter.

BROOKLYN-BASED inventor Peter Pottier, who told Wheels he has family in Durban, is calling for backers of his Mybell, “a programmable horn and light designed to give your bike its own unique warning system by loading it with almost any sound file you like”.

The Mybell is fixed to the handlebars of any size bicycle or scooter with an adjustable strap. A built-in computer stores two user-selected sound files and a series of lighting patterns. Connecting Mybell to a computer via a USB cable enables the user to load the device with audio files in formats like MP3, WAV and Ogg.

This could be a truck horn, a lion’s roar or anything likely to make those nearby instantly aware of your presence.

The chosen sounds are emitted through a 96 decibel speaker and the pre-programmed lighting patterns through 110 lumen LED lights. In flashing mode, the Mybell’s LED’s shine at 45,8 Lux, compared to a normal LED bicycle light which shines at 27 LUX.

A recording of a siren blast on the Mybell speakers measured at 102,4 db, compared to a bicycle bell, which sounds at 74,9 db.

To change the volume on the Mybell, users operate the horn though a single button on top: a single tap plays the first digital file, a double tap plays the second. The developers designed Mybell this way to allow further flexibility.

A car abruptly turning into your path, for example, may require a louder warning than an elderly lady crossing the street up ahead. Holding the button down switches to Night On mode, bringing the LED lights into the mix which then pulse in accordance with the preset lighting pattern chosen by the user.

Measuring 65 x 80 x 83 mm and weighing 227 grams, Mybell is probably a little larger than the devices you’d usually strap to your handlebars, but the fact that it combines a horn and light might just end up saving some space.

It runs on a 2 000 mAh battery, with each four-hour charge providing around two days of use. Conveniently, it is charged via the same USB cable used to connect it to a computer.

The blinding Fenix lights up the road with 800 lumens, while the Hornster bicycle emits a deafening 178 decibels, letting everyone within several blocks know you’re in the area. The dual-tone ORP Smart Horn allows cyclists two warning options, but the customisable Mybell does appear to offer a new level of flexibility.

Pottier and his team are currently raising funds on Kickstarter for Mybell, where a pledge of US$99 (about R1 050) will put you in line for one of your own by February 2015.