Most bike lights shine primarily forward or backward, with some side visibility thrown in as a bonus. The Orb MKII, on the other hand, is specifically designed to make cyclists more visible from the sides … and it takes the form of a fully functional water bottle.
Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, the Orb MKII was designed by British cyclist Andrew Phillips. He previously brought us the Droid, a theft-resistant headlight that replaces the faceplate on a bike’s existing handlebar stem.
The Orb MKII fits in a standard frame-mounted bottle cage, and has a 650-ml HDPE (high-density polyethylene) main body combined with an ABS lid. Four orange OSRAM LEDs in an electronics module on the underside of that lid put out a combined 80 lumens, causing the whole bottle body to glow – Phillips tells us that the setup works equally well with or without water.
Dispatches From The Front 