Tunebug Shake: Surround sound in your bike helmet

There’s nothing nicer than the open road and some seriously corny tunes to free the mind and relax the spirit, but bicyclists tend to miss out on this pleasure. They need to be constantly aware of the surrounding traffic, so headphones are not an option, and stick on bike speakers tend to provide tinny audio- when you can hear them at all, over the sounds of street. TuneBug aims to counter this problem with a rather innovative device, the TuneBug Shake, a speaker which attaches to the bike helmet for surround sound indulgence.

It does this by utilizing Surface sound technology, which let sound waves pass through any surface it’s attached too, making any surface a workable speaker. The TuneBug Shake connect to your MP3 player or mobile via Bluetooth (or a 3.5mm jack, should one be needed) and has a battery life of 5 hours. It comes packaged with a special strap and mount harness so you can secure it to your helmet, and will mean you get to spend your ride immersed with the likes of Bon Jovi and Aerosmith (my personal favourite riding accompaniments).

The TuneBug has a rubber moulded grip and is water resistant so should fit quite snugly on the head. I’m a bit concerned about the ‘resistant’ aspect however, as the UK is not well known for its beautiful weather and I’d like to think this device could hold up under the random torrential downpours we’re subjected to.

It also features a handy touch sensitive on/off switch as well as a volume control button, so you can easily tune in to the outside world. As it’s compatible with Bluetooth mobiles there would be potential for a future version that comes with an inline mic to allow you to make calls, but then you probably shouldn’t ride and chat, even if it’s hands free.

Pre-order price is $120 (approx £76)