While Ars didn’t get to test it in a real-world situation, the Smart Suction Go felt very solid; we couldn’t dislodge 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 maybe a bike, if somehow you have a bike that has a large enough solid, flat surface.
Finally, we were also very taken with a newly available and simply designed bike tow rope made by a 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’s new in the US and is sold via a small accessories firm based in Boise, Idaho, Miles Wide.
The whole premise of a tow rope is usually for parents who might need to pull their kids up a hill when they’re unable or unwilling to make the climb on their own, or when even the lure of ice cream at the end isn’t enough.
“If your buddy’s got an e-bike and he’s smoking you on the climb, you put this underneath his saddle, and it easily straps up onto it, and you leave it underneath your saddle,” Miles Schwartz, the head of Miles Wide, told Ars.
“It’s got a retractable cord that attaches to your stem, and this way he can pull you up.”
The end of the cord attaches easily to a bike stem, but there is an add-on product that makes it a little easier: a mini-bungee receiver.
While there are other similar bike tow ropes, the Kommit retains tension at all times, and its compact size, which fits in the palm of the hand, means it can always stay on a bike. At only 138 grams, or under five ounces, a cyclist is unlikely to notice the added bulk.
These were just a few of the myriad items that caught our attention at the show. If you found anything else that we missed, let us know.