When dressing for cycling what are some of the things you think about; practicality? fashion? safety? What if I said that there is now a product on the market that combines all of these factors?
Lumo is a UK based start-up that specialises in creating practical, fashionable and safe cycling clothes. The company’s founders, Lucy and Doug, put their project to the innovation hungry people of Kickstarter and recently received all their funding and more.
Lumo’s main two products are a jacket and a messenger bag. So what makes them any different from any other take on cycling clothing? The main feature of the Lumo jacket and bag is that they both incorporate LED lighting. There is a strip of 10 LED lights in the handles and base of the bag and down the main seam of the jacket. Of course these need a power supply, and that fits discretely into the inside pocket of the jacket and the side of the bag. These power packs can be charged via micro USB in a couple of hours and will last for 14 hours of constant use.
The jackets are well tailored and have many features of a very high quality designer jacket. They are waterproof and have a soft and warm liner, with an added layer around each wrist to stop wind and rain going up your sleeve . They are very warm but without being too heavy and hot to wear once cycling.
With a capacity of 29 litres, the bag is very much as you would expect a messenger bag to be and like the jacket it’s waterproof. Yes these items come at a price, but they are something to use everyday to protect you from the most unwanted elements of cycling. There is less need for that cycle specific waterproof because this jacket will fit into any social situation and there is less need for numerous lights attached to you bike that one day you’re bound to forget or get stolen. After those that wisely invested through Kickstarter, Fully Charged are the first retailer in the UK to stock Lumo’s range, so why not come down and try the jacket on for size?