Just in: Neonight electroluminescent lights

These new Neonight lights have just landed in the Road.cc office and we thought we’d give you a quick look before they go off for testing because they’re very different from the norm. They’re blue, electroluminescent and they attach to either side of a bike helmet.

We did spot them at the Core Bike Show earlier in the year, but this is the first time we've actually got the lights in.

Neonight say, “The lamps are basically double-sided doped phosphorous strips across which we pass an alternating current. The reciprocating electrons agitate the phosphor producing a blue-green band of light which is further expanded through a reflection and diffuser system that spreads and expands the area illuminated by the electroluminescence so that the product is 3-dimensional.”

Get that? Cool.

Neonight reckon that blue is the ideal colour to get you noticed at night. Why? Funny you should ask…

“During the day the eye relies entirely on cones. The peak spectral intensity of cones to colour is yellow… However, at night the eye goes through something called a Purkinje shift or dark adaptation. Cones shut down and we rely on rods to see. Rods respond best to blue light (blue/green to be exact).”

The Neonight system comprises two “lighting pods” that attach to your bike helmet via a magnetic bracket and they illuminate automatically once you’ve attached them. There’s also a single armband version.

The continuous runtime is over five hours, according to Neonight, with a green/red base light indicating how much juice you have left. They’re fully rechargeable via a computer USB cable in just over three hours.

Each cycle light unit consists of two light pods, two brackets (with adhesive backing strips for either conventional or solid helmets), a double USB lead and a carry case. The price for that lot is £59.99.

Legally, when riding at night you need a front-facing white light and a rear-facing red light. Clearly, these aren’t either – they’re intended to act as supplementary lighting to help you get noticed.

For more info go to www.extrauk.co.uk and look out for a review on Road.cc soon.