Riding a bicycle with earbuds isn’t a good idea as it can drown out all the noise around you, which can be a problem especially in traffic. But for those long rides when a little music can help motivate there are some solutions. The Bipo is a bicycle helmet mount that holds earbuds in place but more importantly delivers music to the wearer without blocking outside noise.
The developers have brought the Bipo concept to Kickstarter. The concept is a novel one, where the music from Apple earbuds – the company specifically was designed for Apple products but could probably work with other models – is set into the air vent. The idea is that the sound disperses and loses its directionality thus can be heard in the background, which should be perfect for riding where you want to hear the world as well as the music. Video after the jump
There are plenty of waterproof headphones and even waterproof MP3 players available for swimmers, but what about those who just have to use their iPod device? The answer could be the Waterfi, a waterproofed iPod Shuffle. The latest version of the Watefi features dual layer waterproofing technology, which is basically covering an iPod Shuffle with a rubber insulator. This reportedly provides some shockproof along with making the device waterproof. This can keep the player watertight up to 100 feet.
There’s activity monitors, and then there’s apps that track your activity. But then what happens with all that data? Polar created Polar Beat, a next generation exercise training app. While other devices will sync up to the app, Polar recommends the new Polar H7 heart rate sensor, which is the first device from the company to use low energy Bluetooth Smart technology. 
With all the iPhone 5 news last week, a few Apple announcements and releases got buried. The iPod touch and iPod nano announcements got not quite as much press as the new phone. But one thing that slipped into iTunes (a new iTunes) without much notice was BikeGearsFree. The app lets you calculate cadence and miles per hour based on the size of your chainring and sprocket. 
We’ve seen a number of waterproof cases for the iPhone and iPad, and we’d suggest to users of those devices to seriously consider such aftermarket products. This week it was reported that Apple has gotten patent approval for a water-damage detection system. The patent reads:
There is no arguing that Apple is a very competitive company, and hardcore Apple users could be considered also a bit competitive, so it is no surprise that last week it was reported that Apple is developing a new fitness technology that could be the biggest thing in competitive workouts since the first time some guy yelled “bring it.”
A majority of bike shop are owned and staffed by knowledgeable and honest people, but have you ever walked into a bike shop and felt that you were being steered towards a particular bike or size that didn’t seem to fit right? Were you told that a certain model was not available in another color? If you have run into this before at a bike shop, the best option is to either walk out or find another sales person, but what do you do if that shop is the only one in town that is an authorized dealer for the brand of bike that you want? Another option is to arm yourself with knowledge, and Felt Bicycles is helping you do that – at least for its brand.
