Introducing the Clank Plank Light (beta). When ClankWorks first started, this was a kernel of an idea that we hoped to someday achieve. While other products have taken the forefront as of late, we slowly kept mulling over how to make a fender that also doubled as a rear light, minimizing the number of items on a bike, but still increasing visibility.

This fender takes our (now, after lots of learning and trial and error) extensive knowledge of laminated bamboo fibers and adds a flexible string of LEDs to the mix. We had grown tired of injection-molded lights, and strived to achieve something different. There was also a desire to keep this integration as minimal, in aesthetics, as possible. By keeping the light source a thin layer away from the surface, the fender maintains it’s beauty by day, but is now incredibly practical at night.

There are still lots of hurdles to overcome, and testing to be done, before this becomes a sold item. We also are looking for feedback to see if it is worth bringing to market. So if you like what you see here, and would want one within the next 6 months, please give us a shout. With this fully functional, weather-proof prototype, we can garner the information needed from the real world about how well this will work. Expect more photos as we work through that process.

(Credit: Denmark Tourism Bureau)

It takes only 15 stationary bikes to maintain a full brightness of the 700 LEDs which cover the 17 meter tall tree.  Impressive and though provoking, especially as the article at CNET then dives into the eco and global warming side aspect.

Not covered in the article is the interesting highlight this puts on technology and improvements in various related arenas. Bicycles and generators have been around for the past century, but very infrequently saw use as electrical generation machines. Only after improving generation and light yielding devices, can we fall back on a primitive form of mechanical energy.

We have toyed with the idea of occasionally powering either of our two belt driven items (Leo and the yet un-named drill press) via bicycle. In this thought process, the issue of power must be looked at, and whether to convert the bicycle to electricity, then power the existing motors, or instead adapt the belt system. When written like so, it seems almost obvious that the most efficient system would be to skip the electric middle man. So why don’t we more often?

Maybe the answer to energy consumption does not lie in hydrogen cars and LED lights. Everyday simplicities brought to mechanical tasks use thousands of kilowatts each day. So maybe we should all hop on our bikes next time we want to open one of those automated sliding doors.