Mobile Technology

Soap MP3 player makes cycling good, clean fun

Soap MP3 player makes cycling good, clean fun
The Soap MP3 player and Sports Bike Audio unit are great accessories for cyclists
The Soap MP3 player and Sports Bike Audio unit are great accessories for cyclists
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The Soap MP3 player and Sports Bike Audio unit are great accessories for cyclists
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The Soap MP3 player and Sports Bike Audio unit are great accessories for cyclists
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View gallery - 34 images

For cycling enthusiasts, this MP3 player from Korean manufacturers, Soap, is one of the most versatile we’ve seen. It weighs just 30g, has 2GB of memory, clips into a Soap beanie (with built-in headphones) for personal listening or via ear-buds under a helmet. It even attaches to a Soap bike headlight/speaker box for sharing your tunes (even though it’s directed at the rider). At only 1cm wide and 5cm in diameter, it doesn’t take up much space either.

Download your music onto it via USB 2.0 and you’ll see why we were impressed by this clever Soap music player when we spotted it at iRex in Japan recently. There’s even a Bluetooth module that lets you listen wirelessly through your preferred headphones and the Li-ion battery provides around eight hours of listening pleasure.

The Sports Bike Audio unit attaches to the handle bars and has two 20W speakers that should be loud enough to drown out your grunts and groans as you power along under your own steam and is also probably a safer option than headphones for city cycling. The built-in headlight is no under-performer either, with two 1W LED beams making sure you don’t get lost in the dark.

Pricing and availability still to be confirmed on this model.

View gallery - 34 images
2 comments
2 comments
Gary Ares
The SOAP unit looks like a great idea. Hopefully the unit is made of solid materials, is waterproof (better be, mounted on the HBs), removable so it can quickly go onto different bikes, or maybe taken inside for the night. Though the post doesn\'t mention battery power for the lights, hopefully they\'re AA\'s so they can easily be recharged. I definitely like the idea of the Bluetooth option so I can ride with the tunes playing in my right ear, while I listen to traffic stuff with the left ear (it\'s crazy to wear buds in both ears!).
Finally, my hat is off to the person who decided to model the SOAP on one of the world\'s finest bicycles, the incredible SEVEN Cycles mountain bike, made of Titanium and carbon fiber. If the SOAP can survive a 1 hour ride on the SEVEN with a real competent rider, then it\'ll get my vote - the SEVEN already does!!!
Please visit my electric bike & light electric vehicle (scooter) blog at; http://velorep.com/velochef
w.y. Jang
i found soap\'s home page. http://www.playsoap.co.kr site include korean text.
i saw this model at the seoul bike show 2009. it has light weight, bright LED light, powerful sound... it worked by 1500mA Li-ion rechargeable battery, so it has 6hours more runtime when playing music using light..
manufacturer said, soap bike player passed durability test under tough enviroment. but, imo it\'s not for hard mtb riding... it is for park riding...