Articles
Contrail Turns Your Bike into a Paintbrush
The Contrail bike accessory draws colorful lines of chalking fluid on asphalt behind your bike-producing some literal street art and promoting safety.
11.01.10
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When the Brooklyn-based designers Pepin Gelardi and Teresa Herrmann entered a competition to design a bike accessory that would draw new cyclists, they began by examining the reasons people avoided riding. “The number one barrier to entry was that people felt unsafe and outnumbered by cars,” Gelardi says. “We wanted to create a device that proved to potential cyclists that a community exists.”
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Gelardi and Herrmann are currently fundraising to make Contrail publicly available. For the pair, its conceptual purpose is augmented by practical possibilities: As a safety device for groups, as a way to stamp the road on fundraising rides, and more. “The path [at Opportunity Green] sparked a lot of creative discussion,” Herrmann says. “‘This would be great for my kid's tricycle ride’ or ‘This would be great to lead a marathon with!’”
An up-close look at the device.
Here's the final product.
Learn how you can support Contrail at its Kickstarter page.