Hasta La Gadget!

It might look blessedly cable free, but things could get messy, fast

Cyclist? Incorrigible gadget freak? Do you still — miraculously — have space on your handlebars to clamp one more widget? Then I have just the thing for you, you bearded freak, only you’re going to have to make some friends if you want to use it: The HIOD One cycling communicator.

The HIOD One is a Bluetooth communication setup for up to five cyclists, and it looks to be a real pain to use. The communication part looks great: you can talk to one person at a time, up to 400 meters (1,300 feet) away via Bluetooth (Bluetooth 4.0, presumably). You can also use it to listen to music, and to talk on the phone.

But then we get to the practicalities. First, and most sensibly, is the bar-mounted head unit with a high-contrast OLED display. This is the control center. Then, there’s a wireless voice unit, clipped to wrist or chest or even helmet. And by wireless I mean wireless until you plug in the mic and the earphone, which you’ll need to actually use it.

For some, this will kill the deal right away. A lot of people don’t like to ride with headphones for reasons of safety. For me, a single earpiece drives me crazy with its asymmetry.

If you manage your cables properly, though, this is a nice hi-tech alternative to walkie-talkies. On the other hand, for anything but ultra-lightly equipped road racing, you might as well just buy some cheap walkie talkies, right?

The HIOD will eventually go on sale when the company has managed to find some dealers to sell it.

HIOD One product page [HIOD Sports via Andrew Liszewski]

See Also:

• Airdrives: Bike Headphones That Won't Kill You