By now I am sure you will have all heard of the wonder that is Kickstarter. A crowdfunding website that allows everyday people to fund other everyday people’s dreams. Or at least that’s how I see it.

Kickstarter describe themselves as ‘helping artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers, and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality’, and you know what, who can argue with that!

It is therefore with great interest and much enthusiasm that I have been looking out for projects that I can help fund which would be of interest to me, whilst also trying to remember those other cool projects where perhaps I couldn’t support at the time but want to revisit in the future once they achieve their targets and come to market.

Of course these days most of us need to hold on to our hard earned cash and so it’s not always possible to get actively involved in these kind of ventures. But just in case you want an idea of some new innovative, funky, or just downright sexy products, here is my run down of one live project, one I didn’t fund but loved, and two I splashed the cash on (whilst these last 3 have finished, all gut funded so I am sure products will be available soon).

1.HEXLOX, Kickstarter launch 16th March 2016 (current)

HEXLOX describe themselves as ‘a German based innovation company focusing on solving challenges within the bicycle industry’ and it seems to me like they might have lived up to their word with their first product also called HEXLOX.

Worried about some thieving little sods stealing your saddle whilst enjoying that 2nd piece of cake, or concerned about your wheels whilst your bike is left in the station bike racks? Well, worry no more. HEXLOX secures these and more; in fact for €45 you can get a full security set for the aforementioned wheels, saddle and your stem and forks too.

HEXLOX can turn any existing bolt into a security bolt using your own personal key. It is a seriously cool product and is apparently equally secure with not even the Berlin Lock picking society (I was amazed such a society existed!) managing to break it.

There are still a few early bird offers available, but having been live f0r just 6 days they have already more than doubled their funding target; so get over to Kickstarter quick!!

2. Bike Gab

Ok so BikeGab is the one that got away for me. The prices were a bit high for me to back the project at the time (not highly priced I hasten to add, just didn’t have the spare cash at the time), but man do I love the look of it.

Quite simply, it is a ‘portable hand made leather frame bag for your bicycle’ that can be very neatly turned in to a cross body bag too. But what a nice looking one!!

Don’t want it as a bike frame bag? Don’t worry, just keep it as a crossbody bag and vice versa. It features an internal phone pocket, a back pocket for quick access and enough internal space to fit all your essentials.

Yes I missed out on it, but I will certainly look out for it once the Kickstarter backers have all been rewarded as this is a simple, versatile, yet great looking bag for all those commuting needs.

3. Queen of the Mountains

This project was the 2nd project I put my money where my mouth was and backed. Yes I only took the ‘Gents and non-cyclists’ option (Mrs Rouleuer is still not able to find much cycling time at the moment so decided against going for a kit reward) but I am pleased I was able to play an (albeit small, £20) part in getting this project funded.

Queen of the Mountains are a ‘New British performance cycling apparel brand. Designed by women, for women’.

With some of the leading companies still focusing on the ‘shrink it and pink it’ mindset for ladies bikewear (not that I am saying there is anything wrong with Pink by the way), it is refreshing to see such a fantastic and stylishly designed set of kit specifically made with women in mind.

Each piece of apparel is designed with a woman’s physique in mind, but also with a key focus on style, functionality and performance. The sheer amount of kit is also fantastic, race jersey, classic jersey, shorts, and base layer to name but a few.

I would certainly urge all of the ladies out there to keep an eye out for this new British brand. I have a feeling you won’t be disappointed.

4. BeeLine

This was the project that actually introduced me to Kickstarter and was the 1st project I backed. Both myself and Mrs Rouleur loved the simple yet effective idea.

BeeLine describe their product as ‘a stripped back, intuitive, navigation device designed to put the cycling masses back in control of their journey’ and there is not much more to say than that.

Simply select your journey destination via a free app and the stripped back navigation system points you in the general direction of your destination, keeping you updated with the distance to go, leaving you free to explore those side roads that you have always thought about heading down. Need to go via somewhere else? No problem the designers have built in a waypoint function.

If you don’t need the navigation element it displays speed and distance travelled and can even display the time. It fits on all range of bikes and can be simply detached and attached to your keys, so you don’t even need to worry about it being stolen!

I love, love, love this product and cannot wait to receive mine in the summer.

So there you have it, a description of a few Kickstarter projects aimed at us cyclists. I urge you to check them all out via the links provided and certainly consider parting with a little cash whether that be on active projects or once these products become more widely available.

 

All images taken from the corresponding Kickstarter project pages.