Ring MyBell

If you’ve ever nearly ended up under an SUV or been doored by a sleepy minivan-driver, you’ll appreciate the MyBell. Designed by the folks at MyBell.co in Brooklyn, the $99 horn allows you to add up two digital audio files and multiple custom light patterns that will blast drivers with 105 decibels of noise and 110 lumens of light. The resulting cacophony should keep you out from under anyone’s wheels.

The team, Peter Pottier and Valentin Siderskiy, are avid cyclists. Siderskiy is an electrical engineer as well and they’ve hired Steve Remy to manage the mechanical engineering. They are in prototype stage right now but they aim to ship the horns to backers by February of next year. Early birds can get the street blasters for a $99 pledge.

“I set out to try and create a new audio signaling system, one which would be more effective than a traditional bell while simultaneously being friendlier than a popular alternative – the Air Horn,” said Pottier. “The customization feature dawned on me when I realized that sounds were relative to their surroundings – one sound might not have the same effect depending on different regions and cultures.” That’s the system lets you can drag the Ride of the Valkyries onto your device and scare passersby with a 100-decibel horn section. It connects to any bike or scooter with an easy-off latch system. Unlike the similarly cool Orp Horn, the audio and lights are both customizable so you can play the Knight Rider theme song with a slowly pulsing LED accompaniment.

Pottier knows the world needs this horn. He was recently hit by a car in Brooklyn and, had he had one of the prototypes on his bike, he would have been unharmed. Instead, he spent a little time in Brooklyn Hospital where they checked for broken bones. Luckily he’s OK, but without a signaling system, most city bikers are potential road meat.

Perhaps you could even add songs and sounds that could comment on others’ driving? Cee-Lo Green anyone?