A British invention that mirrors sci-fi fantasy has landed a huge sales boost from the forthcoming Hollywood blockbuster TRON:Legacy.
Cyglo tyres are embedded with LED lights that glow with kenetic energy to produce a halo of light as cyclists ride along in the dark.
The tyres were invented as a safety device by James Tristram and perfected in years of toil in the back bedroom of his Liverpool home.
But they bear an uncanny resemblance to the glowing wheels of the futuristic bike ridden by Jeff Bridges in the 1982 Disney sci-fi hit TRON.
And with the sequel TRON:Legacy set to be the big Christmas hit of 2010 it has delivered a huge sales boost to Cyglo tyres which are just being put on the market.
Word is spreading like wildfire on the internet among TRON fans wanting their own piece of the action and the Cyglo website is innundated with hits.
Liverpool-born James, 47, said: "People started talking about our Cyglo tyre and the film together and fans from all over the world want to know more.
"I never intented any connection with TRON. I'd never even seen the orginal, but the new film has given us a great and unexpected boost.
"I'm getting messages from all over the world enquiring about Cyglo tryes including some written in Japanese script that I'm having to get translated.
"My message is all about road safety and increasing the visibility of cyclists. If Cyglo saves one life, thats all I've ever wanted.
"So if the film helps it becomes fashionable, and more people benefit from the safety aspect, so much the better."
James revealed that he got the idea for Cyglo when he was motoring in his car and narrrowly avoided knocking a cyclist off his bike in the dark.
James recalled: "I was driving in Liverpool on a horrible, dark, wet and windy, night. From nowhere a cyclist appeared in front of me and I nearly drove straight into him.
"I got an ice-cold feeling of shock, thinking of the tragedy that I so narrowly avoided.
"After a while my mind started ticking. I thought that there should be lights on the bike that could be seen from all angles.
"I began thinking how LEDs can be powered by kenetic engergy and that was the start of the process that led to Cyglo."
James spent more than a decade working to test and refine the Cyglo design at his home in Edge Hill, Liverpool.
Entrepreneur Dominic Killinger invested in Cyglo and has partnered with James to register world patents and to establish a factory in South Heath, Buckinghamshire.
James added: "I've got lots of other ideas I'm working on. Some are for road safety, others to help pensioners around the home, and some to improve maritime safety.
"I like the idea of safety inventions. I like helping people."
James Tristram, Liverpool around 1 year, 8 months ago