The Moskito is a smartwatch that can turn into a speedometer for your bike

The M O S KI T O (yes, that’s how the company spells it) smartwatch is an analog watch in the same vein as wearables like the Withings Activité or Skagen Hagen Connected. But it offers an interesting extra piece of functionality in its implementation: the Moskito is designed for biking, and the watch face pops out of the wristband to be mounted on your handlebars to serve as a speedometer.

The Moskito is designed for biking

The Moskito is a nicely made, well implemented solution for a specific audience of bikers who want quick access to quantitative data about their current trip. The watch twists right out of the wristband and screws into the handlebar mount in a matter of seconds, and switches from regular timepiece to speedometer at the push of a button, making the second hand show the current speed and the minute hand the total distance traveled. The watch also offers a chronograph mode for timing how long a ride has taken. And of course, the Moskito is capable of the usual smartwatch notification features through a secondary complication that can indicate when your connected phone has received a call, text, or other notification.

When it comes to the actual horological hardware, the Moskito meets the usual standards for a midrange quartz watch, offering the option of an aluminum or stainless steel case and mineral or sapphire glass, depending on which model you go with. The company claims that the quartz watch movement is also Swiss made but isn't specifying what model the Moskito uses. Moskito is claiming six to 24 months months of battery life off the rechargeable battery, which is an impressive number for a Bluetooth-connected device (if it holds up).

And while the design tends to lean more toward a utilitarian style with big, oversized numerals for indicating the current speed, the Moskito does look nice enough for everyday wear. The watch is also sold in two different versions: one that uses miles per hour for the speedometer markings, and one that uses kilometers per hour.

The Moskito is almost insanely expensive for what the watches offer

Unfortunately, when it comes to price, the Moskito is almost insanely expensive for what the watches offer. The cheapest option, the Fly model with a fabric strap, aluminum case, and mineral glass, costs 535 Swiss Francs, or around $528. The upgraded Fly Black edition upgrades that to a sapphire glass and black dial for 685 Swiss Francs (roughly $678). And the Classic model, which features a stainless steel case, sapphire glass, and leather band tops out at 735 Swiss Francs, or approximately $725, making this an extremely pricey option given the quartz mechanism. In comparison, standalone bike speedometers are relatively cheap, costing around $10–$15 for a cheap one. And while the Moskito certainly looks nicer than those cheaper options, I'm not sure it's worth the price (which is on par with some hand-wound automatic timepieces).

The Moskito is available to back on Kickstarter now for the aforementioned prices ranging between $528 to $725. And as always: Moskito is a first-time product from a first time company, so use the usual common sense when deciding whether to back it.