World's loudest bicycle horn

The cycle commuter behind the world’s loudest commercially-available bicycle horn stands to make an estimated £1 million from The Hornit this year — despite the idea being turned down on Dragons’ Den last month.

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Tom de Pelet designed the 140dB Hornit after years of cycle commuting. He told London newspaper The Standard: “I had so many near-misses while commuting and Ironman-training on London’s streets, and one frustration kept popping up: if a driver hasn’t noticed me and I’m in danger, I need something to make them see me.”

“Being in the Den was a mixture of fear, terror and enjoyment,” he said. “You put your life and soul into your business and the programme has the potential to turn it and you into object of ridicule in a few moments. But with hindsight, the outcome of my encounter with the Dragons could not have been better."

Win a Hornit

We have one 140dB Hornit bike horn to give away. Leave a message at the bottom of the page and we will pick a name at random on Friday 20 March.

Making a noise for cyclists: The Hornster

The Hornster bicycle holds the Guinness World Record for loudest bike horn. We developed it to highlight the dangers that cyclists face on city roads from heavy lorries. At close quarters, the Hornster bicycle emits a level of sound so powerful that if used in anger it could deafen any motorist who veered too close. The bike was not built to go on sale, or to injure any road user, but as a protest; a way of highlighting the inequality between motorists and vulnerable road users.

A spokesperson for the ETA said: “The same quietness that makes bicycles such a civilised way of getting around makes them vulnerable to inattentive motorists – we built the Hornster as a wake-up call for drivers who don’t pay attention to bikes.”

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. Watch the Hornster on Youtube

https://youtu.be/XTQSWtK65PE

The ethical choice

The ETA was established in 1990 as an ethical provider of green, reliable travel services. Over 30 years on, we continue to offer cycle insurance , breakdown cover and mobility scooter insurance while putting concern for the environment at the heart of all we do.

The Good Shopping Guide judges us to be the UK’s most ethical provider.

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