October 31, 2007 5:42 AM PDT

Speaking through spokes on bikes

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: Everything USB)

As cyclists continue to assert their equal rights on the road, their gadgets are trying to keep up with car technology as well--whether they be MP3 players, GPS devices, phones, speakers, or even heart monitors. But until now, one crucial element has been missing: LED messages.

Japan's Digital Cowboy (we love that name) is about to remedy that, however, with something called "Lex" that attaches to the bicycle's spokes. Just download a message from the computer through a USB connection and, according to Everything USB, "as the bike wheel spins down the road, you are able to read the message in the blur of light created by the Lex." If you want to be really clever, you can program it to display Japanese characters as well.

The next bike invention is obvious: an cycling emoticon.

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been available for a while, in a cruder form...;)
by zed October 31, 2007 10:40 AM PDT
http://www.ladyada.net/make/spokepov/
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