At first glance, this little doodad seems like a straight-to-SkyMall throwaway gadget. But I think the Bikeman is actually quite a handy device. First, it’s got a light on the front, so your handlebars aren’t going to look like some sort of sensor array with all the junk on ‘em. Second, it’s easily removable, so you can take it with you if you’re parking in the rain or somewhere shady. Third, it’s a good replacement for a regular mp3 player, since headphones block out very important noises like cars coming up, sirens, and so on.

Unfortunately, it does look pretty nerdy.

At only 2.3W, you’re not going to be blown out of the stirrups by this thing, but the speaker is directional so you’re getting the full force, such as it is. It’ll run for 10 hours of play time (more, I assume, if you just use the light) and mercifully can be charged via USB while you’re filling up its 2GB of internal memory with songs.

At $130 it’s a bit of an expensive toy, but if you really like to listen while you ride and don’t want to endanger your life by wearing headphones.

[via Technabob]