BWare

On the list of things that are cool, and/or better than they used to be:

• Bike radar – there are those who dismiss it, and those that have tried it. Game changer.
• An affordable head’s up bike display (HUD) – goes with the previous. Not having to look down to see the radar or stats is also a game changer, for me. To the point where I almost won’t ride if the battery is dead. Almost. I don’t know what I’ll do when this dies, as Garmin discontinued it, and none of the other solutions are remotely affordable or give me any hope they’ll be around in five years.
• Suspensions for road bikes – Next thing that will make me buy a new road bike will be an on-the-fly-adjustable suspension like Isospeed. Do you hear me, Trek? Stiff for climbs, soft for the crappy surfaces, changed without stopping?
• DI2? – I really want electronic shifting, but not enough (yet) to spend an extra $1.5k on a bike for it. Or more realistically, $6.5k for it, cause it would involve a new bike, and the new old bike would probably rotate down to being the backup bike. Is electronic shifting a game changer worth buying a new bike for?
• Home coffee makers – no more Mr. Coffee. There are really good machines that make a good enough cup without having to be a pourover obsessive.
• Radar detectors – I’ve always had one, but the V1 is just head and shoulders above the old Escort. It’s not going to help you with a laser, but nothing will.
• Music players – I hated having to choose which music would be on my 5 (10, 20, 50) GB iPod. Now it all goes on the 512GB iPhone, along with podcasts and movies, with room to spare.

Previously. Previouslier. Previouslier-er.