10 Ingenious Bike Hacks

Price: $85

Nothing says "I'm not from around these parts" like dismounting to look at your electronic map (we trust none of you are looking at your device while cruising). It can be dangerous, too. Eliminate the stopping and starting with this succinct Hammerhead device that coordinates with your GPS-enabled smartphone. The directions on your phone are translated into simple sets of flashing lights which tell you when to turn and which direction. The unit is mounted on your handlebars, within your peripheral vision.

Price: $103

Sometimes you just want to ride your bike to a fancy event, fold up your helmet upon arrival, stick it into your clutch, and bound elegantly up the stairs and into the waiting crowd. Now you can: The Overade foldable helmet folds to one-third its original volume.

Price: $129

This ingenious one-version-fits-all GPS system is fantastic for of all types of cyclists. As an antitheft device, BikeSpike alerts you if someone walks off with your wheels. As a safety device, it can send notifications to compatriots if it detects that you've been in a crash. Additionally, parents can use it to see their children's most frequented routes—if you want to become that kind of helicopter parent.

Price: Free

Thanks to the power of the sharing economy, you can ride your bike through a new city, or an undiscovered part of your own, like a boss. This newly launched maps system accumulates rider comments and tips to guide you safely through the streets. Currently available in 16 North American cities.

Price: TBA, probably between $750-$1000

Danes love to bike—36 percent of Copenhagen residents cycle daily. While that figure is impressive, it has remained flat over the last decade. In an effort to become even more bike-friendly, the city joined with a team from MIT's SENSEable City Lab. The result: a system that uses smartphone tech to harness cycling power for riders to use when they need it most—say, going up a hill—via a wheel-integrated motor. The effort, which won a James Dyson award in 2010, is finally available commercially through affiliated Cambridge startup Superpedestrian. Also new to the market and doing pretty much the same thing: FlyKly's Smart Wheel, which claims to not have patent overlap with Copenhagen Wheel.

Price: Starting at $45

Short of banging on the side of a car with your fist (we do not recommend this), it can be hard to get motorists' attention over the din of traffic. No longer. This earsplitting combination dual horn and light is both obnoxious and effective—just the right mix to get vehicles to steer clear. Orp can resound at 96 decibels—the human voice shouting tops out around 80 dB.

Price: TBA, around $75

More than three-quarters of U.K. bike accidents take place when a motorist turns into and cuts off a cyclist who's forging straight ahead. Emily Brooke wanted to eliminate the dangers of a vehicle's blind spot via a safety light that projects onto the road 5 meters ahead of a bike. This is not a new concept, but her design has some key advantages. First, the color: The human eye is more sensitive to the shorter wavelength of green light than to those produced on the red end of the spectrum. Second: Blaze also acts as a traditional bike light. Third, the light senses when it has been disengaged from its bracket, so the power won't drain while it's in your bag.

Price: $600

You can't fix your hair when you're dead. Stay alive and avoid helmet hair with this collaboration from two Swedish industrial designers: a zip-up collar that uses batteries and sensors to unfurl a space-age personal airbag around your noggin during a collision. That you can only use it once is a bit of a moot point: you're supposed to replace any bike helmet after a crash. The price tag is daunting, but consider the collective savings at the neurosurgeon's and the salon.

Price: $895, includes shipping

Want your spokes to display a GIF of a dancing baby? Look no further. While not a substitute for front and rear headlights, this awesome bike-wheel-display system couldn't possibly go unnoticed. Choose from a set of preloaded custom animations or download your own artwork.

Price: Not for sale

You had us at "flying."