Connected Bikes

These days everything is connected and customized. We do not have the courage to go off the grid...ever. Even if we decide to go out for a nice bike ride, there are plenty of mobile applications that can be right there with you. If you decide to ditch your phone, you can use you bike to gather data about that bike ride. It isn't so leisurely and enjoyable anymore, is it? The Toronto-based Vanhawks crew went whole hog and put all of the “connected” functionality that the Helios bars have into a badass, heck of a good-looking bike. And they took “the internet of bikes” theme quite a bit further than Gibbs did, though he still has one thing on them -- his Helios bars have blinking directional lights, a safety feature we’re surprised the Valour doesn’t seem to have. Designed to make urban bike commuting safer, the Valour does, however, warn riders of dangers lurking in their blind spots. The bike’s mesh network, ultrasonic haptic feedback sensors detect nearby vehicles. When riders veer too close to traffic, the sensors trigger the handlebars to vibrate, another industry “first” the bike’s designers claim they boast the bragging rights to. What do you think of this bike?