New SmartBikes Are Smart Enough to Help Prevent Their Own Theft

With SmartPhones and SmartCars and SmartHouses and SmartWatches, it was only a matter of time until the good ol’ fashioned bicycle picked up its IQ score and became a SmartBike. Helios Bars are a set of smart bike handles, with Bluetooth capabilities and GPS tracking, as well as a amplified lighting systems, a visual speedometer and rear LEDs that imitate a car’s indicators. The device comes from Helios, a San Fran based startup company with cycling safety at the heart of its entrepreneurial goals.

With a powerful headlight installed at the front that relies on your smartphone's light sensor, and indicator lights facing the rear that the cyclist can trigger upon turning, or program to indicate based on the cyclist's Google Maps route, the revolutionary handlebars have numerous smart features that will add to cycling safety and convenience. There is a visual speedometer with corresponding colour coding that communicates the speed the cyclist is going to both the rider and traffic surrounding them, ranging from red (0-10 mph) to blue (30-40 mph). And if you don't want everyone knowing that you've been cruising in the red zone for the duration of your ride then you can use the ambient lighting setting and choose whichever light colour your heart desires.

Because people suck and bikes tend to disappear from all over the place, the smart handles can be synced to a smartphone app that allows the rider to text in when their bike has been mysteriously disconnected from its tether. They will then receive a Google Maps link directing them straight to the bike’s location. The reserve battery in the smart handles is good for up to 15 days, meaning that if your ride-robber has the smarts to detach the main battery, you can still track them down using the spare.

I saved the coolest part for last. When your smartphone comes within a certain distance of your bike, its headlights automatically light up to greet you. How Transformers is that?