Hornster: World’s loudest bicycle horn is louder than Concorde
City cyclists who battle to get themselves noticed on the roads can now buy the ultimate deterrent against inattentive truck drivers; a bicycle equipped with a horn that is louder than Concorde.
At close quarters the Hornster bicycle emits 178 decibels; a level of sound so powerful that if used in anger it could deafen any motorist who veered too close.
To give you an idea of how loud the Hornster really is, consider that, from 3 feet away, the Hornster's trio of Airchime KH3A locomotive air horns are louder a gun blast (about 140 dB), an F14 Tomcat at takeoff (130 dB), a commercial truck horn (110 dB), and rush hour traffic in downtown London (78 dB).
The Hornster bicycle was developed by the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) to highlight the dangers that cyclists face on city roads. Trucks are involved in over half of cyclist fatalities that occur in London.
The
triple air horn fitted to the bicycle is an Airchime KH3A from an American locomotive, which has been adapted to run off a scuba diving cylinder.
The Hornster is so powerful that at a distance of 100ft it is far louder than a standard truck horn and more than noisy enough for a cyclist to make themselves heard above the din of the urban jungle.
The Hornster is the brainchild of Yannick Read, whose previous work includes the flamethrower-equipped BOND bike and the world’s smallest caravan ( QTvan ). He said: “The same quietness that makes bicycles such a civilised way of getting around makes them vulnerable to inattentive motorists – the Hornster is a wake-up call for drivers who don’t pay attention to bikes.”
The Hornster goes on sale today for £4,995.
