Remember the "Orp"? The quirky creation of local product/industrial design firm FUSE has just completed a successful Kickstarter campaign. We heard from Orp's creator and FUSE owner Toren Orzek that they've raised over $96,000, easily surpassing their goal of $90,000 with five days still to go.

The Orp was inspired by the tragic right-hook collisions that took the lives of Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek back in 2007. As designers and engineers often do, Toren and the crew at his central eastside studio went to work to create a loud bicycle horn that could be heard inside the cabin of a car. The 96 decibel horn is also a bright LED light and it's much smaller than other loud bicycle horns on the market. When we wrote about the Orp back in December, it had a sound that resembled a fire alarm. After hearing feedback that a more vehicle-like sound would be better, FUSE changed the sound to sound more like the "beep-beep" of a moped. (more...)

New gloves from Showers Pass
(Photo: Showers Pass)

(more...)

Portland-based industrial designer
Toren Orzeck and his "Orp" bike horn/light.
(Photo © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Many people ride with bike bells; but the truth is, in the midst of traffic they are not nearly loud enough to be heard inside the cabin of a car or truck. That's a problem that Toren Orzeck of Fuse, a product design firm located in southeast Portland, wanted to fix. "I'm not the best biker," he said when I met him at his shop back in September, "but I love to solve problems."

The "Orp" — which went live on Kickstarter today — is Orzeck's solution. Orzeck is a former designer for GE Plastics and Nike whose brain seems to never stop working. He started thinking about the bike horn idea after the tragic, right-hook deaths of Tracey Sparling and Brett Jarolimek in October 2007. He felt an even greater urgency to solve this problem when, in summer of 2008, the gas-price induced bike boom got him and his employees on their bikes.

"I thought, there's got to be a way to make bikes more visible — or maybe more hearable." (more...)

See it in Portland this weekend.

One of the most anticipated new bikes in years, the Faraday Porteur, is headed to Portland this weekend. The bike, which was discovered here on BikePortland when it debuted at the Oregon Manifest Design Challenge competition back in September, boasts a gorgeous design, detachable front rack, hub-powered lights, and a smartly integrated battery for electric assist.

Earlier this month the man behind the bike, Portland native and MIT grad Adam Vollmer announced he planned to mass-produce the bike. Vollmer went to Kickstarter in hopes of raising the $100,000 needed to get the production started. The project quickly reached that goal and now Vollmer and his crew have left the San Francisco Bay Area where the company was founded and are headed up to Portland.

I caught up with Vollmer via email to learn more about his Portland roots, the rise of Faraday, e-bike evangelism, and more...
(more...)

New from Cyclone.

Portland might have lost its namesake bike; but there are still plenty of products that owe their inspiration to our great city. Local parts distributor Cyclone Bicycle Supply recently launched a new line of locks under the PDX Lox brand name.

Cyclone's Inside Sales Manager Matt Case says there are four lock models (two u-locks, two cable locks) under the new label. The locks were developed in partnership with Kryptonite and they come with all the same theft protection warranties that company offers on their own popular line of locks. (Just like Kryptonite locks, Case says, once you've registered your bike and lock online, you can file a claim in the event of a theft and get up to $1,000 if your bike gets stolen.)

The PDX Lox u-locks come in two styles, the "Hood" ($32 MSRP) and the smaller "St. Helens" ($30)
(more...)

A one-piece, rain-proof bike suit.
(Photo: Bikesuit)

I don't do a lot of product coverage here on BikePortland; but a reader sent me a link to something the other day that really got my attention. It's called the "Bikesuit" and in a place like Portland where riding in the rain is a way of life, I thought it deserved your attention too.

The Bikesuit is a one-piece, head-to-toe bit of rainwear is meant to protect you from all the elements. It's made by The Smart Products Company, which is based in The Netherlands (same folks that brought us those Rainlegs chaps).

Here's more from the company: (more...)

Southeast Portland bike shop (and long-time BikePortland supporter!) Clever Cycles is no stranger to introducing innovative products from Europe to local bike lovers. But their latest idea might be their most awesome yet.

Perusing their latest email newsletter I came across this...

(more...)

Blinders blinked in fishbowls
as party-goers milled about.
(Photos © J. Maus/BikePortland)

Leave it to Portland to throw a party for a new bike light.

A sneak peek at Knog's new Blinder model attracted scores of bike shop owners and employees from around the region to a party in a cavernous art studio in northwest Portland Friday night. The shindig was hosted by Cyclone Bicycle Supply, a parts distributor based in Portland that supplies bike shops throughout the country.

Cyclone's Director of Sales, John Byfield, said the party served a dual role — to introduce the Blinder and to say 'thank you' to the hundreds of bike dealers he serves. With a full spread of finger foods, plenty of free beer, and a DJ, Byfield expected a healthy turnout from the over 200 shops he'd invited from throughout the Pacific Northwest. (more...)