review – Blincc is headquartered in Singapore and focuses on bicycle safety. Originally launched on Kickstarter, they currently have two products; Blincclip and Blincc Hex. Both are super functional reflectors but have different applications.
What is it?
Both Blincc products are reflectors bike.Blincclip is designed to attach to your seat rails or attach to your helmet, belt loop or bag using the included cord. Blincc Hex is a collection of 4 long and 12 short reflective stickers that can be placed anywhere on your bike, but are probably most effective on your rims when rotated in the path of your car headlights to make them very visible .
What’s in the envelope?
For review, I received two sets of Blincclip with the addition of Blincc Hex products. I’m assuming it will ship in a similar package.
blind clip Includes: 1 Blincclip, 1 elastic band and 2 small round clear stickers (both shown on the right half of the photo)
Blincc hex Includes: 4 long and 12 short sticky reflectors and an information sheet
glasses
blind clip: 3M Diamond Grade Micro-Prism Reflector | 88 x 66 mm | Red at night, yellow by day
Blincc hex: 3M Reflective Stickers | L = 94 x 18 mm, Short = 51 x 18 mm
Design and Features
The Blincclip attaches easily to the seat rails of almost any bike, placing it above the static reflector mounted on the seatpost ring.
Unlike those static reflectors, the Blincclip’s design allows it to wiggle or wiggle with the rider’s movement and airflow, which causes it to appear to be actively blinking when light hits it.
Blincc Hex stickers can be applied to almost any surface you want to reflect light. Putting them on the rim of a bicycle wheel makes a bigger impression when in motion than on the frame of a bicycle.
Due to the flexibility of the durable sticker, more shapes can be wrapped around to create different reflection angles. Both Blincclip and Blinc Hex use 3M reflective material which does a great job of reflecting light back to the source.
set up
For the Blincclip, it’s easiest to clip it to the seat rails. Just push it into place. On this bike, I needed to slide the seat back a little to give the reflectors more wiggle room. Alternatively, you can use the included bungee cord or double-sided tape to attach it directly to a helmet or anything that helps with visibility. Here are some illustrations from Blincc showing where you can place it.
For the Blincc Hex, I put short stickers on the rims of my daughter’s bike. After cleaning the rims, I painted 4 on each wheel, offset from each other on opposite sides of the wheel.
This bike has roller brakes similar to drum or disc brakes in that all braking mechanisms and surfaces are centered on the wheel. Note that if your bike has rim brakes (where the brake pads are in contact with the rim near the tire), you’ll want to place the sticker where it won’t interfere with the brakes. The rim brakes look like some variation on the photo below, this aero rim definitely has plenty of room for a reflective sticker underneath the braking surface.
[Insert all relevant images]
Performance
If you regularly ride your bike on roads with other traffic, making you and your bike more visible is one of the best things you can do to improve your safety. Active lights, whether battery or generator powered, are great options, but they’re not cheap and either require charging or maintenance and add weight. Passive solutions, such as those included in your bike for legal reasons, work but are cheap, break or rattle.
This is where the Blincc solution comes in. Both are very cheap, easy to install, and offer more visibility than other solutions. In this video from their successful Kickstarter campaign, you can see the Blincclip hanging from the seat rails at work, with the yellow side facing out.
The hardest thing about installing Blincc Hex stickers on a bike wheel is cleaning the rim first. The fun part is deciding on the position and angle. The shape of the bike rim allows the sticker to reflect light at all the different angles that match its bend. This gif from their Kickstarter page shows how wrapping the stickers are and how visible they are under headlights.
what do I like
- Super easy to install
- Low cost but high safety factor
- Lightweight without rattling
- No need to charge or forget to charge
what would i change
final thoughts
Blincc’s products are a no-brainer for commuters or anyone who spends time biking in traffic. The wheel stickers look cool and are so lightweight that even serious cyclists would be hard-pressed to find lighter reflectors. The seat rail reflectors flashing while in motion is unique and closer to the driver’s eye level, should help with visibility.
price: $12 at Blincclip (was $9.50) | $15 at Blincc Hex (was $11)
where to buy: Blincc.co
source: This product sample is provided by Blincc
