iPedal? Apple Files Patent for a "Smart Bike System"

Apple—a gadget-making company you may have heard of—has filed a patent for a "Smart Bicycle System." No, it doesn't look like Apple is building a bike itself. The patent suggests it's developing a system of bike-mounted sensors and software that can turn your iPhone or iPod into a sophisticated bike computer.

Gathering data from sensors on the forks, cranks, and elsewhere, the system could be used to track and display aspects of your ride like speed, distance, or climb; alert you when you fall below a certain pace or hit preset milestones; and map your rides. It's also designed to make it easy for cyclists in a group to share data and message each other while they're riding. This could really take off with the Critical Mass crowd.

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