An on-device AI light that signals your turns for you, a £600 (~R13 100) Kask TT lid built around Filippo Ganna, and a Chinese aero brand quietly landing in Britain — this week's cycling tech, fact-checked and priced.
Veloneer's AI light: breakthrough or risky autopilot?
The headline act in this week's tech roundup is Veloneer, a startup pitching what it calls the 'world's first intelligent 360° light and safety system.' The kit pairs a front unit (the Flare | AI 360 Ultra) with a rear Halo | AI 360, plus an optional speed/cadence sensor and a wireless remote.
The clever bit is an on-device AI + Sensor Fusion Core that Veloneer says reads your movement and the traffic around you to fire automatic turn signals, dim an anti-glare front beam for oncoming traffic, and flash a brake light under deceleration — all without a phone or cloud connection. It's StVZO-compliant, charges over USB-C and the front light doubles as a power bank. A Kickstarter is 'launching soon,' with early-backer pricing expected.
Veloneer Flare + Halo — by the numbers
Source: Veloneer
Kask Mistral 3.0: £600 (~R13 100) of marginal gains
Kask has joined the ultra-wide time-trial helmet arms race with the Mistral 3.0. The shell geometry and materials carry over from the previous Mistral; what's new is the Aero Pro Visor 3.0 — a 3D-printed nylon frame holding a polycarbonate lens, a claimed 70g, fixed by three lateral magnets. Its widened, almost cylindrical profile flares away from the face to smooth airflow and cut condensation.
Developed in CFD and validated in the wind tunnel with Filippo Ganna — who averaged a barely-believable 54.921 km/h over the 42 km Giro d'Italia ITT between Viareggio and Massa — the helmet is UCI-legal but sold in size Large only (59–62cm), and the new visor won't retrofit to the old Mistral. The helmet, including the clear visor, is £600 (~R13 100) (about €700 (~R13 100) / $800 (~R13 200)); a silver mirrored visor is roughly £350 (~R7 600) on top.
View data table
| Claimed saving | |
|---|---|
| 45 km/h | 6 W |
| 50 km/h | 8 W |
| 55 km/h | 11 W |
Kask Mistral 3.0 — the case for and against
- UCI-legal, so race-eligible
- Up to 11W claimed at 55 km/h over the old visor
- Lightweight 70g visor on three secure lateral magnets
- Bigger face offset reduces fogging without breaking laminar flow
- Built on Kask's proven, race-winning Mistral shell
- £600 (~R13 100) for the helmet, plus ~£350 (~R7 600) for the mirrored visor
- Size Large only (59–62cm) — no fit options
- New visor not compatible with the previous Mistral
- Gains only meaningful at very high speeds most riders never reach
Seka lands in the UK — and the rest of the workshop
China's Seka — a self-styled high-end brand — has appointed Kuga Sport as its exclusive UK and Ireland distributor. The flagship is the new Spear all-round road frameset, with Seka's WindEye seatstay shaping and wind-tunnel development at the Silverstone Sports Engineering Hub alongside the Aerocoach team. road.cc reports a frame as light as 685g; Seka's own site lists 775g for a medium (unpainted, ±30g) and claims a 6-watt drag reduction worth 15.27 seconds at the same power.
Elsewhere this week: Lazer's Blade KinetiCore road helmet lands at £89.99 (~R2 000) (shipping August) with the brand's TurnSys fit system and KinetiCore rotational-impact protection; and Newmen's Streem G.62 gravel wheels arrive at €1,690 (~R31 700) with carbon spokes (or €1,390 (~R26 100) with steel), a 1,530g claimed set weight and a 62mm depth.
What the launch coverage actually says
Independent verdicts from across the cycling press — follow each link for the full review.
Cautiously skeptical
“could end pretty badly in the event of a technical fault”
Read the full reviewBig claims, on-device
“instantly analyses your movements and traffic flow with no phone or cloud required”
Read the full reviewFast, but no silver bullet
“There isn't a helmet out there yet that's fast enough to close the gap between Ganna and his rivals”
Read the full reviewTap to vote — see how readers lean
Reader questions
What is the Veloneer AI bike light and how does it work? +
It's a front-and-rear set (Flare AI 360 Ultra plus Halo AI 360) with an on-device 'AI + Sensor Fusion Core.' Veloneer says it reads your motion and surrounding traffic to trigger automatic turn signals, dim an anti-glare beam and flash a brake light — without a phone or internet. A Kickstarter is due to launch, with an indicative bundle price around €310 (~R5 800).
How much is the Kask Mistral 3.0 and what do you get? +
The helmet, including the clear Aero Pro Visor 3.0, is £600 (~R13 100) (about €700 (~R13 100) / $800 (~R13 200)). A silver mirrored visor is roughly £350 (~R7 600) extra. It's UCI-legal but sold in size Large only (59–62cm), and the new visor isn't compatible with the previous Mistral.
Are the Kask watt-saving figures independently proven? +
No. The 6W (45 km/h), 8W (50 km/h) and 11W (55 km/h) numbers are Kask's own CFD and wind-tunnel figures versus the previous visor. Because aero gains scale steeply with speed, they're most relevant to elite time-triallists and fast triathletes — most riders will never hold 55 km/h.
Where can I buy Seka in the UK, and how light is the Spear? +
Seka's exclusive UK and Ireland distributor is Kuga Sport. road.cc cites a Spear frame as light as 685g; Seka's site lists 775g for a medium (unpainted, ±30g). It uses 'WindEye' seatstay shaping and was wind-tunnel tested at Silverstone with Aerocoach.
Camera AI lights — is Veloneer the only option? +
No. Rivals such as the Velo.AI Copilot ($399 (~R6 600)) and the upcoming Survue use a camera plus on-device AI to detect vehicles and record incidents, where Veloneer leans on motion-based signalling. Bikerumor notes camera units can cost roughly double a simple radar.
Sources & further reading
- Will this AI bike light prove a hit on Kickstarter? (original roundup) — road.cc
- New Kask Mistral 3.0 visor saves 11 watts — Rouleur
- Veloneer AI 360 lighting system — specs & Kickstarter — Veloneer
- Survue & Velo.AI bringing artificial intelligence to bike tail lights — Bikerumor
- Seka Bikes — official site (Spear, WindEye, models) — Seka
This week captures cycling tech's split personality: Veloneer wants software to make split-second safety calls for you, Kask wants £600 (~R13 100) for 11 watts only an Olympian will fully exploit, and Seka shows serious aero carbon no longer needs a European badge. For most South African riders the Kask is aspirational and the lights are import-only for now — but the Lazer Blade KinetiCore at £89.99 (~R2 000) is the genuinely sensible buy here. And as ever with crowdfunding: an AI that signals your turns is only as trustworthy as its worst false positive.
