Here’s three little items that might be of interest to you:

Jaybird Freedom Bluetooth Earbuds

The Jaybird Freedom are sports specific earbuds that are so sweet you’ll use them all the time. They come with three sizes of ear hooks that do a remarkably good job of keeping the earbuds in place. Between the cushions and their light weight, the Jaybird stays put while you jog, mosh, do Angus Young impressions… There are start/stop, volume up/down, and next/previous track controls on the right earpiece so that you won’t have to reach for your iPod or phone.

They’re well built and sealed, warrantied for life against sweat damage. I put in one Grabsch-worthy trainer ride with them, and they were none the worse for wear. 

Sound quality is on par with Apple’s in-ear headphones (not the crappy free ones), though they don’t shield ambient noise as well. I never listen to music while riding, but I tried them briefly (BRIEFLY!) on a ride and was relieved I could still hear cars approaching. On the trainer, however, I wished for better isolation.

The only negative on these earbuds is the mic. Audio from the mic was slightly muddled under good conditions. Add ambient noise and calls became incomprehensible. Still, it’s a small price to pay to be done with tangled cords.

Blade Buddy

As a bald cyclist, I blow through razor cartridges at an alarming rate. I can dull a cartridge in three shaves or less, to the point where I get unbearable nicks and razor burn. With the exorbitant price of replacement blades, things get expensive quick. When I heard about the $20 Blade Buddy, I really hoped it was not another ‘As Seen on TV’ sham(wow).

The Blade Buddy is a silicone pad – you run the blade over it 20 times before each shave. It’s probably more like a knife steel than a sharpening stone in that it aligns the blade rather than sharpens it. In any case it works wonders. I started using it with a dull cartridge, and have been on the same cartridge since. That’s over 20 shaves from a cartridge that I was about to throw out, with no end in sight. The blade’s not as buttery as a brand new cartridge, but there’s no razor burn either.

Ass Saver

The Ass Saver is a sweet little plastic fender that clips onto saddle rails. When conditions are dry you can fold it up and tuck it under the saddle. You can check out how it works in the video on their homepage. It’s not quite long enough to keep your back dry, but it’s certainly long enough to merit its cheeky (pun alert!) moniker. For $8, you can’t go wrong. Plus, it’s just clever as hell.