If you're going out on a bike ride directly from your home, your house keys are just one more thing you have to bring along and stuff in a pocket. The Doormate offers an alternative (for cyclists with garages), as it's a bike-mounted garage door remote.
Manufactured by US startup 12Speed, the Doormate is being offered in two versions.
The original, simply called the Doormate, replaces one of the bar-end plugs on a road bike's handlebars. By pressing the device's single button, users can wirelessly open a paired motorized garage door from a distance of up to 50 ft (15 m).
Power is provided by a replaceable A27 alkaline battery, which should be good for one year of typical use. The whole device is claimed to tip the scales at 16 g (0.5 oz), and is IP65 water-resistant – that means it can withstand jets of water from any angle.
Mountain bikers will be more interested in the other model, the Doormate 2. It mounts in place of the bike's existing stem cap or on the handlebars like a bell, and has two buttons which can be programmed to open two different doors.
Its range is a bit shorter at 30 ft (9 m), and its 23-g (0.8-oz) weight is slightly heftier. Another difference is its use of a replaceable CR2032 lithium-ion coin cell battery, which is still rated for a year of use.
According to a report on BikeRadar, both versions are compatible with 85% of garage doors in the US, Mexico, Canada and New Zealand. They're also both priced at US$39.99, and are available via the company website.
