Volcanic eruption and the creation of bicycle lights

Hey, Speed ​​Buddies! Did you know that the bicycle is almost 200 years old? That's a long time in which the technology of bicycles and later also of bicycle lights has changed a lot!

It all starts with a volcano and an exciting story! In 1815 there was a volcanic eruption on an island called Tambora. This outbreak resulted in less sunlight around the world, leading to poorer harvests and major famines. There were also fewer horses because there was not enough feed. That's why Karl Drais came up with the idea of ​​inventing a vehicle powered by human power - the legendary running machine! The running machine can be viewed as the original form of the bicycle and did not yet have pedals.

As pedals came along and cycling became more popular, lighting also became more important. Around 1885 there were many oil lanterns that were specifically designed for use on bicycles. One of these lanterns was the Hub Lamp. It was hung on the axle of high-wheelers so that the sensitive lights were not too high above the ground and the driver did not get so much soot.

Electric lighting solutions were already available at the time, but the large carbide lamps that ran on gas were even more popular. Today these gas lamps are still used by speleologists. Back then they were the brightest light you could get.
In the 1920s, low-maintenance dynamo lighting was developed and replaced the complicated carbide lamps.

Modern bicycle lights have bright LED lights and can be recharged again and again using a USB port. This is environmentally friendly and uncomplicated. It's great to see how technology has developed and how we now have much better and safer bike lighting. How will bicycle lights develop in the future?

We noticed that products in the “bicycle light for children’s bikes” area had all been the same so far – black and functional. Children who love cycling deserve a bike light that not only works, but is also fun, colorful and encourages creativity. So we founded a company to develop the first creative bike light for children!

If you want to find out more, take a closer look at the creative bike light for children in our shop !