Angelo Donofrio

If you could change one thing to make your commute run smoother, what would it be?

Whats the biggest pain in the butt on that daily ride?



Im a product designer and a cycling lover, and im looking to design and make a product that can make life easier for us eco warriors.



Any feedback is much appreciated

cycle_maven

Fear. Fear of speeding 2-ton chunks of iron with drunken cell-phone users at the controls. If you can solve that with a handy product, I'll buy a dozen. Just today I saw a one-car accident take out a mailbox encased in stone at 40 MPH on a 25 MPH suburban side-street. Stopped to help the drunken kid staunch the bleeding on his forehead. I'm just glad I wasn't there 30 seconds earlier.

Bluish Green

The biggest recurring pains-in-butt on my daily commute are unnecessary 4-way STOP sign intersections and potholes.

As far as a product that would help us with commutes, there is an idea we have discussed here. When the sun is low in the sky, it can be difficult to see the roadway, because most regular bike helmets do not have adequate sun visors. I wear sunglasses, but it is the low sun coming in just over the top of the sunglasses that is the problem. I don't want to add a baseball hat or other hat visor because it is one more thing to make me sweat more. I rigged up a homemade piece of tape that sits atop my sunglasses that blocks out the low sun, but it is an ugly homemade solution. If there were a plastic piece that could clip on to the top of the sunglasses and give just a one inch sun block, and be easily removeable, I would buy a couple immediately. You can do a search for "Sun In My Eyes" for a thread here where we discussed this.

Commodus

Cars. Design away the cars, please.

cycle_maven

Ya know, on second thought, a nice thing to have would be some sort of ear protection so the wind noise is attenuated but you can still hear the cars. There have been a couple of types of these invented -one goes on the helmet strap and interrupts the flow, and the other is just a foam ear cover- the first doesn't work that well and the second is hot and muffles everything. Not my #1 gripe, but would be a handy device.

genec

There ya go.... figure out how to make drivers avoid cyclists and you can laugh all the way to the bank.

AlabamaCommuter

Stoplights. I wish there was a bicycle-only overpass through every intersection.

sternzeit

If you can get rid of the wind I'm a buyer.

RichardGlover

When marketing whatever it is you decide to market, don't assume that everybody who commutes is an 'eco warrior'. There are a lot of different reasons people commute; eco-warriors just happen to be the most self-righteous and vocal sub-group.

chefisaac

There is a helmet coming to market that has sunglasses built in that slide over your eyes and slide back within the helmet. It is essentially once piece. I love the idea. The price is a little high but I love the idea.

Like the idea of the clip too.

Notso_fastLane

My biggest problem can't be solved with any kind of item. Good luck, though. If I think anything that isn't already available, I'll post my ideas.

chefisaac

This is a real tough question. As I try to find a suggest, I am looking at my bike trying to figure it out and thinking about the commute. One thing that I think would be great is more of a bomb proof tire and what I mean by that is a city slick tire that has a lot more rubber on it so it would protect from glass and such.

Just my two cents.

I would also add more of a bomb proof locking system as well.

One more: I own a RoadID and I love the company. I suggested the idea of GPS tracker like device that the buyer can install anywhere on or in their bike. I am not sure how this would work but the idea would be to be able to track your bike anywhere if it got stolen. Again, only a suggestion.

Leo H.

My number one issue, unfortunately for you, is road cleanliness. The roadsides in the community I ride primarily have been left to a contract company to sweep, in theory, once every 30 days. I'm going to a council meeting to find out how, or if this is the case. I don't believe it, based on what I see, but then 30 days is a long time to remember when the sweeper last passed. Glass, accident debris, miscellaneous construction debris in the meantime, tough beans, there's no mechanism to clean things off schedule, it's there until the sweeperman get's around to it. This is for all roadsides, bike laned or not.

Adding insult to aggravation, the local bike advocates don't seem to find this an issue worth their time. If it doesn't revolve around bike lanes or bike lane funding, fuggedabowdit.

As for stop sign annoyance, I recommend roundabouts. If your area has them, attend public meetings and speak out in support of them. If not, start talking about them in future public comment opportunities. This also solves the bike triggering traffic signals or no issue.

Leo H.

May be another horn, as loud or louder than Air Zounds? Not that they have a bad product, but I don't see why we can't have as many loud horn options as we have ringy-dingy bell options.

I don't know if I'm an eco-warrior. More of a 'hope the oil companies choke on themselves and die' warrior.

no motor?

My top 10 list goes to at least 11.

CharlieFree

I love the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires; never had a flat in all sorts of city riding in two years. https://www.schwalbetires.com/node/1323. I have the 700c x 25 version.

dramiscram

+1

chefisaac

i have heard good and bad about those tires and others. thanks for the opinion though.

Angelo Donofrio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67DfSoxRts0

Angelo Donofrio

There has been a miniature gps tracking system that simply slots into the seatpost of your bicycle with plastic tabs to prevent anyone removing it. you register your details with your local police force, and you are "protected".
i am unsure of how efficient they are at recovering bicycles.

Andy_K 

Definitely this. The cars are a pain sometimes, but the wind is more consistently awful.

As for something that's likely fixable, I'd say that my biggest complaint is that my wet clothes don't dry unless I put them on display during the day, and no one wants to see the business side of my chamois when they drop by my cubicle. The office provides lockers, but they have no ventilation.

Angelo Donofrio

the clip is a great idea. simple solutions to problems are often the best. It could also help you focus as i have slightly impaired eyesight and any fast moving objects around my field of view often distract me.

the one piece helmet also sounds great. does it have the ability to change lenses too? if you flip them up on a hot day do they fog up faster than if they were resting on your nose? Perhaps the if you use hair products they could ruin the coating on the lenses?

do you guys consider the brand of sunglasses a fashion statement or any pair will do?

chefisaac

it should be something the owner can use.

Andy_K 

Anything you can do about wind and fog on my prescription glasses?

apollored

Weather.

If it can only rain or snow when no one is commuting, esp on bikes life would be easier