Roundup: Weird & wonderful racks, lights, bags, helmets, aliens and things to keep you aero

With several of us also being fans (or wanting to as midlife approaches, anyway) of motorized two wheel transportation alongside our bicycles, finding ways to combine the two always catches our eyes. This rack from 2×2 Cycles lets you take along a couple bikes, a skateboard and your bags.

Throttle past the break to see it and a whole lot more random things…

The 2×2 Cycles motorcycle bike rack runs just $298 and works with standard QR and 15mm thru front axles, and they can adapt it to fit fat bike and Lefty front axles, too. It includes LED brake and running lights and is DOT approved.

This moto had a two-bike set up, which might require a pair of mounts.

Banjo Brothers had an assortment of bike packing, touring and commuter bags alongside a few new backpacks. Some are waterproof, some aren’t, giving you various options depending on needs.

Frame bags fit under the top tube and come in small, medium and large (shown).

The Metro backpack gets an update…

…and a new canvas line line that includes smaller on-bike bags as well.

Kitbrix comes from the UK and USA and offers a different kind of bag. The boxy compartments have internal sleeve pockets for small bits and water resistant lining to store clothes, helmets, shoes, etc., whether they’re fresh or wet and muddy. The trick feature is that they zip together to form larger packs, and carry handles snap between them to make it manageable when carrying two, three, four or more. Available in a variety of colors and patterns for £42 each.

The Aerobar Edge is a GPS tracking device connected to a pressure sensor that fits under the elbow pad on a set of aero bars. That lets it track when you’re in the aero position…

…for how long and combine that data with other metrics from cadence and power sensors elsewhere on your bike.

The result is a dataset showing how long you were in the aero position, where, when and what the resulting speed, cadence, power and other outputs were during those times. By comparing one ride to another, you can see how much more efficient you are in the aero position, and when it makes more sense to get out of it.

If there were ever any doubt about how geeky triathletes can be, this erases it.

Another gadget aimed at triathletes and swimmers (or just the excessively sweaty) is the Garmin HRM-Swim (blue, $99) heart rate strap made of a waterproof, non-slip material. The black HRM-Tri ($129) is similar, but with a softer band and a sensor that also tracks running dynamics like cadence, vertical oscillation and ground contact time.

Both store up to 20 hours of HR and sync with a compatible Garmin watch or cycling computer once you’re out of the water.

Limar’s known for making insanely light helmets, having claimed the “world’s lightest” moniker for their road lids several years in a row (like here and here). But in this day and age, weight’s only half the story. It’s gotta be aero, right?

The new Limar 007 is their answer to aero road helmets. At 320g it’s not the lightest helmet out there, but pretty good for a full shell piece with padding, three-way adjustable rear retention mech and extended protection behind the ears.

Deep channels in the EPS foam help move air from the three front vents to the rear. Retail is €220.

The Ultralight+ is still the World’s Lightest as far as they’re concerned, with an EN approval for a 175g size medium helmet. That’s with a full suite of features like bug netting, in-molded shell, three-way adjust rear and a full set of antimicrobial pads:

Note the webbing straps and their minimalist fabric design. It comes with a removable visor, too, and retails for €180.

Since 4iiii started shipping their tiny power meter in January, they’ve made software updates that improved accuracy and battery life, all of which are free OTA updates for owners. They’re offering a single leg unit for $399, just send in your crank arm. They might be offering new crank arms with it pre-installed in the future since they had a public beta program that offered them already, and they say they’re working on a few new products for the near future.

With a similar sounding name, 4id was on hand at Interbike showing off their glowing Power Wrapz for cyclists, runners or anyone else looking for a unique way to add more visibility.

The bands themselves aren’t stretchy, but they come with stretch straps to hook them to your handlebar, seatpost, backpack, helmet, or whatever.

Interlock debuted their seatpost cable lock in 2013, and now they’ve got a handlebar with a massive integrated U-lock.

Designed not just to let you fit it around almost any common street pole or bike rack, the lock also makes riding your bike without it a dicey proposition…particularly in a frantic escape if you catch them in the act. Assuming they can brake the lock, that is. If memory serves, this one’s a prototype, more on it as it’s developed.

Like your existing handlebar just fine? Check out our hands-on coverage of the seatpost cable lock here.

If locks aren’t protection enough, you can always find a menacing looking robot made out of bike parts to scare folks off.

Or two, as displayed in light brand Owleye’s booth.