Richard Barnes would like us all to lighten up—especially if we’re in the habit of bike riding after dusk. When MIT braniac Dave Hock first approached Barnes about marketing Hokey Spokes—a bike lighting system designed to make post-dark pedaling less potentially treacherous—Barnes immediately spotted the brilliance in the inventor’s product. So Barnes eventually bought Hokey Spokes from Barnes, and after some impressive sales both here and abroad (each light sells for $29.99), Barnes is unveiling Hokey Spokes right here at Toy Fair 2010. That makes Barnes a bona fide TF newbie—which gave me enough of a reason to swing by his booth to chitchat about how his award-winning product is saving lives.
Michelle Burford: So tell me, Richard—what’s so great about Hokey Spokes?
Richard Barnes: Hokey Spokes was conceived and built as a bicycle safety light---to provide protection to the rider from the right and the left. It has 16 LED lights, and it is pre-programmed to display changing graphic patterns every 10 seconds. We manufactured the first bunch of Hokey Spokes in 2001. The product relies on the persistence of vision: It has a strobe-light effect.
MB: What prompted the idea for the product?
RB: Dave Hock, an MIT graduate and a very bright may, originally came up with the idea. He’s an avid cyclist, and he was aware of the safety issues that come up when you ride at night.
MB: What size wheel does Hokey Spokes fit on?
RB: The wheels must be at least 24-inch wheels or larger.
MB: What is your bestselling light color?
RB: They come in seven colors, and 35 percent of our sales are for the rainbow lights. We think that’s because people can’t make up their minds about which color to choose! You can use school colors. We sell a lot of red, white, and blues to military bases.
MB: Can Hokey Spokes be mounted on other products, aside from bikes?
RB: Yes—we also put them on wheelchairs. Again, it provides safety when someone is crossing the street. One woman put Hokey Spokes on the wheelchair of her 7-year-old son, and she told us that kids were coming up and talking to him! Hokey Spokes became a conversation starter: “Those are neat lights. Where’d you get them?” A lot of times, people in wheelchairs are invisible. Other don’t talk to them, they’re not at eye level. So Hokey Spokes brings them some attention.
MB: Have any lives actually been saved as a result of Hokey Spokes?
RB: One woman reported that she had a close encounter while she was biking: She was almost nailed by an SUV. She says that Hokey Spokes saved her from an accident.
MB: Has your product sold well?
RB: Yes—and 40 percent of our sales are overseas, with a heavy concentration in Europe. We have dealers on every continent now. We even recently got a call from the Togo Islands!
MB: Anything else interesting you can tell me about Hokey Spokes?
RB: It came in second place at the World Exhibit of Innovation Research and New Technologies in Brussels. The first place spot was claimed by a robot that disarmed bombs, so we thought second place was a pretty good finish!
MB: Hokey Spokes isn’t really a toy. So why are you exhibiting at the Toy Fair?
RB: Because the product is fun! Customers constantly report to us that when others spot them with Hokey Spokes, they stop them and ask, “What are those called and where do you get ‘em?” Cars will even stop and pull them over! So when we send out an order for Hokey Spokes, we also include our business cards for our customers to pass out. We’ve had several customers contact us and say, “I’ve run out! Send me more!” When my wife and I rode our bikes through a resort area in Missouri, some kids left a basketball court to chase us down the street. They were yelling, “Come back here! What are those! We want them!” All you have to do is put Hokey Spokes on your bike and ride down the road—you’ll start hearing comments from those passing on the sidewalk. It’s just a good, sound product.
For more information on Hokey Spokes, go to Booth 5154 or visit www.hokeyspokes.com
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