We wanted to add some safety to bike commuting as the days keep getting shorter. Here is our $35 solution.

My wife tries to commute three times a week and the current bike lights were not cutting it. Reflective tape and a brighter head lamp did not seem like it would solve the visibility issue. We had seen her cousin make a sweet bike with some LED strip lights a few months earlier so we built on the idea of using strip lights to make a very visible bike with multicolored lights.

Parts:

5M (16.4ft) RGB LED Light Strip (5050) $12

Lithium-Polymer Battery 2200mAh $10.43 (or any other 12v battery if you are unfamiliar with Li-Po)

Voltage Monitor $2.77 (Optional, to make sure the battery stays happy)

Li-Po Battery Charger $7.45

Wire (1M) $0.99 (or any stranded small gauge wire you have on hand)

Quick Connect $3 (Optional)

Total: $35