Dan Gore was biking down a steep street in Spokane, Wash., about to make a right turn with cars approaching, when the need for an easily actuated bike turn signal struck him. “Removing a hand from the brake lever to wave a right turn felt unsafe,” Dan explains. It was that epiphany that led him down a 10-year path to create a one-of-a-kind, fully-featured bicycle lighting and signaling system. What became Gore Bike Signals, uses smart technology to achieve effective animated turn signaling packaged in two light-weight units that are radio linked and touch activated. The system’s group ride mode and a police-light model for law enforcement, he says, distinguishes the product from any other.
Of the many factors that result in bicycle-automobile collisions, visibility and change of direction top the list. “I designed this signaling and lighting system to save my ass and it does,” says Dan, who has been bike commuting around the Spokane area through all seasons and all types of weather for 40 years. “When drivers see that animated arrow signal, they get it and yield.”
As well as being a hardcore bike commuter, Dan, who recently retired from a career in product engineering, is an avid mountain and gravel bike rider with a passion for getting others to bike commute more for work or other errands. “I really want bikers to be safe and get out of their cars and try riding more,” he explains. “If a turn signal makes them feel safer on city streets, hopefully that can be part of the solution.”
A 50 Year Quest for the Perfect Bike Signal
People have been trying to create a bike signal product for 50 years, says Dan, and some of those less-than-perfect attempts created a bad perception of bike signals with many cyclists and bike industry professionals. “I designed mine to be a complete system with a good headlight, turn signals, a brake light, and even a group ride mode where the lead rider’s signaling triggers the following riders’ units to signal automatically.” The reception from cyclists as well as law enforcement and airport security who have tried it has been super positive, says Dan. “When I started using my signal to turn or change lanes, it came to me instinctively because of driver’s ed, and everyone who has ridden with my signal system says the same thing.”
Unfortunately for riders reading this who may already be pulling out their credit card to buy one, Gore Bike Signals only exist as a prototype. All that’s needed to make Dan’s technology available to consumers, he says, is the right partner. “The Gore Bike Signals working prototype holds great potential for the right bike industry partner that picks it up,” he says. “All of the engineering documentation necessary to make custom and adaptive modifications comes with it. There is not any one configuration we could have produced in quantity that would meet the many particular needs of the market. Color, size, mounting, actuation, and the many software options are left to the product engineers who wish to work with us.”
To achieve his breakthrough technology, Dan worked with quite a few engineering groups and says that they are capable of engineering the changes and manufacturing the quantity of units that would be needed for versatile integration into e-powered or conventional bike frames. Dan says that his system will not only encourage more riders to use a bike, but that the unique safety light will distinguish the bicycle brand that incorporates it into their bikes or biking products in the crowded and competitive cycling market.
What Sets Gore Bike Signals Apart
The Gore Bike Signals system is incredibly well-thought out and designed, with a huge range of built-in features that simplify and enhance using the signals while riding. The system can be manufactured with three ways to allow riders to turn on the signals or brake light to work with a range of handlebar and frame types, including on board touch points on the front and back signal units; a motorcycle-style button switch that is connected to the front unit and mounts to the handlebars; or remote touch points that can be mounted where the rider can quickly touch one or the other while maintaining control of the bike.
In describing his development process, Dan proudly credits Spokane’s high-tech industry for all of the design and manufacturing resources he needed to solve the hard problems and design the solutions into the working prototypes. Should a client specify any modifications, Gore Bike Signals can quickly turn a new working unit, and if a quantity needs to be manufactured, Dan can do much of it locally too.
Both the front and the rear units of the prototype provide tabs for a ladder style band to wrap around the handlebar or the seat post for dependable and shock-mounted installation. The rear unit can be attached to virtually any object that provides a loop or post. The elastic bands that wrap the bar keep the unit tight in its cradle.
The headlamp is comparable to the brightest conventional headlamps available, and the tail light on the rear signal unit is lit from 15 high brightness ruby-red LEDs. The user can select among several eye-catching patterns that no vehicle will fail to notice. The front and rear units are digitally linked with a radio protocol to form a peer-to-peer network that is engineered to be proprietary and safe from hacking.
Dan says the technology holds tremendous promise to manufacture the police version of his signal system that includes all the regular features of the turn signal and running lights, but with the addition of flashing blue and red patterns. In designing the police lighting, a mounted officer with the Spokane Police Dept provided technical and operational guidelines in order to make sure the system would comply with regulations.
Dan is actively seeking the right bike industry partner to work with him to make his smart signals widely available to cyclists, and we sure hope he succeeds. Learn more about Gore Bike Signals at their website or reach out to Dan Gore with inquiries here.
(Sponsored Article)
