Peter Clyde鈥檚 three-hour round-trip聽from Seattle to his day job in the Bellevue tech district isn鈥檛 smooth bike-path commuting. Rain, fog, snow, and choking traffic combine to make a hair-raising, often death-defying, trip.
To boost his visibility on the road, Clyde鈥攚ho holds an electrical engineering degree from Seattle Pacific University鈥攖ried all the top-of-the-line taillights from the industry鈥檚 biggest players, but he still felt vulnerable. Though they had plenty of wattage and state-of-the-art LED bulbs, all were too focused, like a flashlight, limiting their range of visibility. Others succumbed to constant exposure to moisture. Some ran through a charge far too quickly.
So, three years ago, the 23-year-old decided to invent his own bike light company, Orfos, a transliteration of the Greek and Hebrew words for light that 鈥渓oosely translates to 鈥榓 light to become light.鈥欌
鈥淚t took about six months to get from the idea to proof of concept,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hile the first prototype was fully functional as a safety light, the aesthetics, optical efficiency, and durability increased substantially with each revision.鈥
Clyde took cues from automotive illumination when designing the Orfos Flare, his first and still only product. With nine superefficient half-watt LEDs, the red light casts 300 lumens that match the intensity and light dispersion of a modern car鈥檚 taillight.
鈥淢y first night ride with the final prototype was an exhilarating feeling,鈥 Peter Clyde says. 鈥淚 actually felt equally safe as I did in my car. That鈥檚 when I knew they were finished.鈥
A reflective interior surrounds the LEDs to boost the beam鈥檚 range. The whole package is ensconced in a clear, low-viscosity-silicone case that鈥檚 as waterproof as a silicone spatula. (To test this, the Flares underwent extensive scuba trials at saltwater depths below 50 feet.) The light diffuses throughout the lenslike polycarbonate case and emits a muscular red 360-degree shroud behind a rider.
鈥淢y first night ride with the final prototype was an exhilarating feeling,鈥 Clyde says. 鈥淚 actually felt equally safe as I did in my car. That鈥檚 when I knew they were finished.鈥
Turns out, designing the world鈥檚 best rear cycling light was the easy part. Obtaining patents and funding was much more difficult. Clyde turned to Kickstarter for capital, with great success. Last November, at the end of Orfos鈥 30-day campaign, the company had raised $157,323, nearly 800 percent of its initial goal.
When commuting like the mailman, you trust a rear light with your life, and I see the Flare as the most important Monday-though-Friday piece of gear I own. I鈥檝e been running the red Flare (there鈥檚 also a white Flare for the handlebars) on my daily 25-mile commute since January. The unit looks utilitarian, industrial, and a little erector-set DIY, and at 112 grams mounted, it鈥檚 about the size and weight of a roll of quarters.
But it works damn well. The Flare mounts pretty much anywhere thanks to badass neodymium magnets that attach through your pack or via zip ties to your seatpost. And it鈥檚 eye-wateringly bright, with two steady modes (bright and brighter) and a strobe.
A 90-minute charge of the LiFePO4 lithium iron phosphate cell battery gives me 24 hours of run time on the low setting, even in temperatures below zero. (Battery drain in cold temperatures is one of the biggest issues I have with other manufacturers鈥 lights, which use cheaper lithium ion batteries.) The Flare鈥檚 battery lifespan is also three times longer than that of typical lithium ion models.
The Flare鈥檚 internal components aren鈥檛 cheap, and Orfos鈥 profit margins can鈥檛 compete with the already established players: The Flare sells for $119鈥攄ouble the price of most of its competitors.
But it may be the last rear light you ever need. And why wouldn鈥檛 you spend as much on your rear light as you do on a decent helmet? The Flare聽is available through the Orfos website and Amazon.