Orp Smart Horn

Being a cyclist has many benefits, it is an environmentally and economically better way to travel, you get your daily exercise and 9 out of 10 people look amazing in Lycra. The downsides include sweat patches, helmet hair and the way you can become invisible to other road users.

To help you be seen and heard the Orp Smart Horn is the world’s first combination dual-tone bike horn and beacon light, built into a flexible and weatherproof casing. The trouble with some bike bells or horns is they can sound a bit aggressive if you are coming up behind a pedestrian walking in the cycle lane, as irritating as it is you don’t want to scare the life out of them. Thankfully the Orp Smart Horn has two different horns, a friendly little chime that sounds like a traditional bike bell, this says hey friend, I see you there, maybe you could move out of the cycle lane, the second bell has a lot more urgency about it, a harsh horn that says, OI! look where you are going you *insert favourite insult here*.

The friendly little chime is 76dB, loud enough to draw attention without scaring the bejesus out of them, it is active with the little flick up on the ‘Wail Tail’ button. The horn requires a bit more pressure to activate, the Wail Tail is pushed down this time, kicking out at a whopping 96dB, that’s somewhere between a car horn and an elephant according to the Orp sound scale, at the same time the LEDs are activated, helping you to be seen. The Orp Smart Horn comes in some questionably named colours, Asphalt Black, Wail Blue, Safety Cone Orange, Aorta Red, Pink, Frostbyte, Snot Green and Glorp (I’m saving that last one for my first born).

The Orp stretches to fit handlebar diameters 26-33mm, a shim is included for thinner bar diameters, it is quick and easy to attach and can be removed when you leave your bike locked up or it’s time for a recharge. The battery will last up to three hours with lights in Constant-On mode and 11 hours in Slow Strobe, the lights can be switched off entirely to conserve the battery life. The lights can be adjusted through the different modes via the top button, power up or down as well as selecting slow strobe, fast strobe and constant-on, the two lights produce 70 lumens each (boost to 87 lumens), bright enough for visibility but you would need an additional light for night riding.
There are also two additional modes: Anti Bear Mode (ABM) automatically strobes the friendly sound and Anti Dooring Mode (ADM) strobes the Loud Sound.

Use ABM on forest trails to let the local fauna know you’re there. Use ADM when you are stuck between slow traffic and an endless line of parked cars. Parked cars that may unexpectedly throw open a car door in your path. When ADM is on drivers have a better chance of hearing your approach. That said, both modes may get you punched in the face if used in the wrong circumstance.

The Orp Smart Horn holds well in position and does a great job at alerting people to your presence, the only time it gets a little tricky is if you have drop handle bars and cannot release a hand from the brake to activate the horn, the Remorp remote switch can be attached to avoid this, with an additional cost of $15. There is no way other road users will miss you with this bright and loud horn, a functional way to keep you safer on the road. RRP £50

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