Time certainly flies when you are working hard, having fun and riding bikes. The 17th of April 2022 marks nine (yes nine!) official years of See.Sense which is hard to believe. And as we approach those double figures next year, we thought we would take a look at See.Sense lighting technology over the years.

I feel privileged to have worked here at See.Sense for seven out of our nine years in business, and I have shared some incredible experiences with our team members, backers and customers over this time. I remember in the very early days of See.Sense, you could count our team members on one hand, we had a tiny (and very warm!) office but we had a working environment that felt like family which allowed us to develop cutting edge cycling tech products. 

It definitely goes without saying that we simply wouldn’t be where we are today without an amazing community of cyclists behind us. So we would like to say a huge and very genuine thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years in any way, whether you joined us nine years ago or indeed nine days ago.

Celebrating See.Sense Lights Through (Almost) A Decade

2013: See.Sense Original / 2.0

The first ever See.Sense light was launched on Kickstarter in 2013. It’s quirky design (I think I am allowed to say that?) was loved by many, but it was the intelligence and the memorable quote from Stuff who said ‘See.Sense makes other bike lights look dumb’ which marked the start of something big. 

To this day, we regularly recognise customer names from the original light placing orders now, but it was the excitement that we got when seeing a See.Sense light ‘out in the wild’ on someone's bike that really got us.

‘See.Sense Stories’ and the valuable support and feedback from local cycling clubs got our name out there, and for that we are forever grateful for customer like Neil:

2015: See.Sense ICON

Two years later we launched ICON in 2015: which is still being used by tens of thousands of keen cyclists across the world today. The breakthrough with the original ICON was the addition of Bluetooth technology (and a button!), which allowed everyone to customise their lights, receive crash & theft alerts, and help to make the roads they cycle on better.

ICON was used by some huge names (Chris Froome and Sean Kelly), both of which are massive stand out moments for us, and a huge testament to the hard work we put into our products. 

2017: See.Sense ACE

I think we can all agree that ACE was a real game changer to the market in 2018. With ACE, our team worked round the clock to bring See.Sense reactivity down to entry level pricing (which didn’t come without its challenges).

Raising £180k on Kickstarter in 30 days by 4,000 cyclists, we knew ACE was the start of something really special.

2019: See.Sense ICON2

Before we knew it, it was 2019 and the launch of ICON2 was coming up fast. ICON2 was (at the time) our most powerful light, ideal for longer rides on the weekend or with clubs. ICON2 further increased the brightness and runtime of ICON, combined with the more modern design and intelligence of our ACE light (it really is crammed with technology). 

One of our top moments for ICON2 has to be the 'Bike Off The Roof' video where we demonstrated how secure the new mount was…

2019: See.Sense BEAM

Our first ever ‘to see’ front light was launched alongside ICON2, also in 2019. BEAM & BEAM+ are intelligent front lights, designed to help you see the road ahead and perform uniquely to your ride, giving unparalleled situational awareness.

BEAM has now completed its first full season on the road, with many riders having more confidence on descents as well as enjoying new features such as ‘get me home mode’. 

2022: See.Sense ICON3 | Developed Totally By Cyclists

It’s not a massive surprise that the ICON range continued on with ICON3, which is our newest flagship light launching in 2022. With ICON3, we approached our community with a survey on some key design elements, including the mount, the flash rates, and the USB type.

We are proud to say that ICON3 is a product of the crowd and will help to attract attention faster to you than ever before on the road. Learn more about ICON3 here and join us on our next journey.

More Than Bike Lights

This article focuses on lighting, but you probably already know that See.Sense is so much more than market-leading cycle lights. Over the past nine years we’ve been on a mission to make micromobility better, using our patented AI-enabled sensor technology to deliver data insights that make every journey seen. See.Sense now conducts data insight projects in locations across the globe, providing cities, employers, fleet operators and public bodies with insights that unlock the power of active travel. 

Our projects, such as our Light Insight Trial in Victoria, Australia, are working towards improving cycling safety by predicting risk hotspots, highlighting potential collision areas, and identifying areas for potential infrastructure improvements. In our Coventry Smart Cycling project conducted in partnership with Transport for West Midlands, we’ve seen the real impact that our data can have in improving cycle safety, as locations identified through See.Sense data were selected for roadside Close Pass education campaigns run by the West Midlands Police and Fire departments. 

As we look to the future, we have so many more exciting things happening, including the beginning of further projects, and the launch of our Knowhere GPS bike tracker. 

Thank You

While See.Sense lights change over time - there is one thing that stays the same, and that’s our commitment to developing cutting edge cycling tech products as well as delivering the best support and customer service we can. We look forward to your continued support as we approach our tenth year in business, and hope that many new followers get behind us and join us on our adventure.