Uncomfortable poking 200€ sunglasses into the top of your helmet and hoping they stay put as you ride along? Well, does KOO have just the gadget for you! The new Koo Billy is a tiny plastic clip that attaches to your stem or handlebar with a rubber O-ring, offering an easy-to-reach and secure place to stash your sunglasses on hot climbs, especially helpful if your new super safe helmet isn’t sunglasses-friendly.
Koo Billy clip-on, stem-mounted sunglasses mount
When this first popped across my desk, my immediate response was… “but why?” followed by “I hope it doesn’t cost much money, since most riders already tuck shades into their helmets“. There’s no denying that this is a weird little object. I personally don’t like the idea of rubber banding things to my stem, either. Yet, I have Garmin & Bryton mounts that do the same, as well as Campy EPS & Shimano Di2 bikes with controllers strapped to the stem. My biggest obstacle to the Billy might just be that there isn’t much free real estate on my own handlebars.
But to be honest, I like to ride with prescription sunglasses, so I’m not the best opinion here, so I showed my wife… and she thought it was a great idea. Apparently she doesn’t really like sticking her sunglasses into her helmet, and then not being able to see them there – i.e. never sure they were placed properly or that they didn’t fall out. She tucks them in a pocket (or a Camelbak on the mountain bike) which means they end up with dirty lenses too.
So maybe there is some merit to this gadget.
Tech details
What more is there to say about the new Billy. It is a tiny ~4g plastic clip, rubber pad & O-ring combo that you attach to your bike. The sample we got doesn’t secure the rubber pad that makes Billy grippy to the plastic clip itself. I feel like I might lose it down the line, but Koo does include two in the pack.
You can put it on your bar or stem, or anywhere else easy to access. It works with most framed sunglasses, which the clip snaps over to hold securely. (Completely frameless glasses won’t stay in place, but you can probably clip any type of frame on most shades.)
The Billy sells for $24 /20€, which is a lot for the simple piece of injection molded plastic that it is. But that’s probably a small price to pay for not losing your expensive sunglasses, or damaging them in a jersey pocket. The little thing takes just seconds to install or remove, and is officially rated only for low-speed riding on the road, but we found it to be quite secure on a few different pairs of glasses. Get it now from KOO dealers worldwide.
