Bike To Bike Communication
- Thread starter 6zfshdb
- Start date
draver
Active Member
I finally got my two Lectric XP ebikes and we are planning a ride today. The last trial of the R1 helmets went well, but I have recently been wondering about using cellular as an intercom? If you are riding around town with a decent cell signal, using one good earbud might be an alternative to the helmet intercom. Practically everyone these days has unlimited, or at least generous cell minutes available, so why not just make a call and keep the line open? My Apple Earpod Pros will certainly sound better than the Sena speakers and with better range and good noise cancelling besides. I'm with T-Mobile and I believe they allow calls to last 4 hours, but that might not be a hard limit. I also imagine using a bandaid or small piece of tape to keep from losing my earpod. multiple riders could even conference call.
Has anyone ever tried this?
Has anyone ever tried this?
TMH
Well-Known Member
Can't directly answer your question as I haven't tried the cell phone route of on bike communication. But we have found our R1's work pretty darned well while riding.
The biggest pain to us (especially for my wife) with the R1's, however, is setting them up and the 'button press' menus. She always seems to press the wrong button and somehow winds up listening to some crazy radio station instead of turning on the intercom. For that reason I have recently ordered a pair of R1 Evo CS's off Amazon. I know that I will appreciate being able to use a phone app to set them up, and hopefully my wife will like the voice command feature. And we'll just have to see how the speakers mounted lower on the straps work.
If you do ultimately choose to go the cell route for communications, I really don't suggest using an ear bud. You don't always realize how much information your brain can process for situational awareness due to the stereo nature of hearing. I would instead suggest using a pair of the bluetooth bone conduction headphones, which allow you to hear but don't actually cover either ear. Get an inexpensive pair on Amazon to try and see if they work for you. They start maybe around $35. I have used some inexpensive ones just to listen to some music while riding and they worked pretty well.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Yes, my wife and I tried using cell phones to communicate while riding. The biggest issue we had was cell phone coverage. Many of the trails we ride have little or no signal. Of course this will vary with the location and type of riding you do. As noted above, for safety reasons, DO NOT obstruct your hearing with in ear devices. These can limit hearing signals from other riders as well as traffic noise.
draver
Active Member
We set up our R1's to intercom before the ride begins and just leave all the buttons alone. I find I can turn mine on, then hers and they work fine until the ride is over. They claim a 12 hour battery life, so no need to turn them off even for a stop. Or you could just turn yours off while stopped and then reconnect when you start back up, leaving hers alone. I suppose if you needed to adjust the volume for your wife, maybe try doing it at a red light or safe spot.
The Apple AirPod Pro models have a mode called "Transparency" that uses the mic to pick up and convey ambient sounds to the earpiece. You can hear your surroundings normally in that mode while still connected. They also work fine with only one in use, leaving an open ear. Additionally, they have a noise cancelling option, so with only one in use you can hear well on the other side.
As they say, "The Proof of The Pudding" but it seems like cellular should work, at least in the city. We both have dual sim phones so both Verizon and T-Mobile simultaneously for coverage. I will try my little experiment soon. Thanks for the suggestions.
The Apple AirPod Pro models have a mode called "Transparency" that uses the mic to pick up and convey ambient sounds to the earpiece. You can hear your surroundings normally in that mode while still connected. They also work fine with only one in use, leaving an open ear. Additionally, they have a noise cancelling option, so with only one in use you can hear well on the other side.
As they say, "The Proof of The Pudding" but it seems like cellular should work, at least in the city. We both have dual sim phones so both Verizon and T-Mobile simultaneously for coverage. I will try my little experiment soon. Thanks for the suggestions.
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The Sena R1 Evos are pretty simple for entering intercom mode. You press 2 buttons to turn the helmet on. Then after it is booted up you press the center button to put it in intercom mode. That's it.
The voice commands are pretty worthless IMO, but you don't really need them.
The voice commands are pretty worthless IMO, but you don't really need them.
Bicyclista
Well-Known Member
This is an important point. The brain uses three cues to locate the source of sound: interaural time difference (ITD—the sound propagation time between the two ears), interaural level difference (ILD—the intensity difference between the two ears for the same sound), and the spectral composition of sound as "filtered" by the trunk, shoulders, head, and pinna. In short, without using both ears to listen to ambient sounds, you may not be able to tell whether a car is approaching from behind or from the side, for example.
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jbizzybiker
Member
first paragraph for us, no need to press once intercom on, fluid back-and-forth conversations.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Have you tried the Sena app Alan? It works very well with the older X1's and makes pairing much easier than using the buttons.
With the Evo helmets, there is no pairing. When you initially set them up, you pick the channel you want to use (there are 9 channels). After that you just turn them on (unless you are communicating with multiple groups and need to switch channels). From what I can tell, using the buttons is the only way to turn the helmet on. That is done by pressing the center and "+" buttons for 1 second. I don't think they have a "sleep" mode where you can turn them on/off with the app. Once they are booted up, you are supposed to be able to start the intercom session with the voice command "Hello Sena ... mesh intercom", but that command is not working in the current firmware. So you use the center button to start or stop the intercom feature. Interestingly, the voice command "Hello Sena ... stop intercom" does work!
One of the annoying things about the voice command feature is that when you are in intercom mode and give the "Hello Sena" alert to start a voice command session, everyone in your intercom group hears that alert and all the helmets go into voice command mode.
Yes, I did use the Sena app to do the initial setup, but haven't found a need to use it since. I am hoping Sena will issue a firmware update at some point to improve the voice command feature.
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6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
Thanks for the info.
I guess there are pro's and con's with the EVO's. The relatively simple intercom setup is still the main reason I'm considering the upgrade. The pairing process with the X1's is considerably more complicated, even using the app.
If my memory serves me correctly, it took Sena around 3 months from date of purchase to correct the firmware bugs. I bought them soon after their initial release. Perhaps with the popularity of the EVO's, the fix will be quicker.
You can purchase the older version of the livall smart helmet, the livall bh 60, from Swagtron or ebay for $50. I bought two. They both work fine but a little difficult to set up for me although directions were good. You charge, use their app on your phone and then pair helmet with phone and then helmet with controller. I have an older android phone. The main difference I see between older and newer model is the older model uses a mini usb charging port/cord and the newer one uses a magnetic cord connection. They make other models. Mine looks like a regular road bike helmet. You can control via your phone, the handlebar controller or buttons on the helmet. Very comfortable and adjustable. Communication, music, answer phone calls, sos feature and lights and turn signals on rear of helmet.
I wonder if the helmet strap speakers on the Sena R1 EVO CS eliminates this problem by preventing the microphone from picking up sound from the built in speakers. It appears to me that Sena has retired the R1 EVO with the built in speakers and replaced it with the R1 EVO CS with the speakers on the helmet strap.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
This could be since the R1 Evo's are listed as out of stock but the R1 Evo CS is now available.
The chin strap speakers are closer to the ear and farther from the mic which could eliminate the feedback issue. They may offer better sound quality as well. The down side however is they are no longer protected by the helmet shell and may be more susceptible to damage during handling, storage or heaven forbid, a spill.
As much as I wish that all the features worked as advertised, I am still happy with my R1 EVO helmets. The main reason I got them was for the intercom, and that works very well. Without trying them, I don't know if I would like the strap speakers as well as the built in speakers. But so far (with fingers firmly crossed), I am not all that motivated to upgrade to the CS version or to try to get Sena to replace my R1 Evo's.
jbizzybiker
Member
If so, I’m happy for new buyers but sad for those of us who bought the best at the moment b4 aware of new ones. we are talking just a couple weeks. always possible with tech. maybe can avoid cross-voice by issuing voice command on tailights b4 meshing?