While Ars didn’t get a chance to test it in a real-world situation, the Smart Suction Go felt pretty solid; We cannot uproot it with just our hands.
Allen Sports also makes a related, albeit smaller, product, the Smart Suction Snap Camera Mount ($70), which, as the name suggests, is for the person who wants to mount a camera on the outside of their car, or perhaps on the bike, if somehow you have a bike that has a large enough solid, flat surface.
Finally, we were also very impressed by a newly available and simply designed bike tow rope made by the German company Kommit (“Komm mit mir” means “come with me”).
While this product ($65) has been around in Europe for six years and has won numerous industry and design awards, it is new to the US and is sold through a small subsidiary based in Boise, Idaho, Miles Wide.
The whole premise of a tow rope is usually for parents who may need to pull their children up a hill when they are unable or unwilling to climb on their own, or when even the lure of ice cream at the end is not enough.
“If your friend has an e-bike and he’s smoking you up a climb, you put it under his saddle, and it easily latches onto him, and you leave it under your saddle,” Miles Schwartz, head of Miles Wide, told Ars.
“It has a retractable rope that attaches to your stem, and so it can pull you up.”
The end of the cord attaches easily to the bike’s stem, but there’s an add-on product that makes this a little easier: a mini-bungee receiver.
While there are other similar bike tow ropes, the Komit maintains tension at all times, and its compact size, which fits in the palm of the hand, means it can always stay on the bike. At just 138 grams, or less than five ounces, a cyclist is unlikely to notice the extra volume.
These were some of the numerous things that caught our attention at the show. If you’ve found anything else that we’ve missed, let us know.
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