My sister and I recently purchased the Sena Bikom 20. We got them set up and took them out for our first ride. Initially everything was working great and we were pleased with how well they worked, until they didn't. About 20 minutes into the ride, they stopped communicating. We fiddled with them and got it going again. She likes to listen to music while she rides and we were able to chat at the same time. At some point during the ride, her music continued to work but realized she was no longer connected to me. We couldn't figure it out and she just rode without music the remainder of the time. I've been scouring the internet and found some resources with needing to go into the app and select audio multitasking. There is no option in the app. Then I found some info that you cannot use both at the same time, however it was working initially. These weren't cheap so I'm wondering if the helmets would have been a better buy or maybe they seem to have the same issues?
Sena Bikom questions
- Thread starter Charites
- Start date
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
I have the older Sena X1 helmets and with those, you can't listen to music while communicating. I'm not sure about the newer R1 or M1 helmets though.
Even though they work well for communicating, I don't care much for the Sena helmets, and much prefer to use my Giro MIPS rated helmet instead. I'm thinking of switching to the Bikoms but like you, I'm concerned about the performance. I don't listen to music while communicating but I've heard other complaints about them cutting out, even at close range. They are also not compatible with many other Sena products.
Even though they work well for communicating, I don't care much for the Sena helmets, and much prefer to use my Giro MIPS rated helmet instead. I'm thinking of switching to the Bikoms but like you, I'm concerned about the performance. I don't listen to music while communicating but I've heard other complaints about them cutting out, even at close range. They are also not compatible with many other Sena products.
Thank you for the reply. I feel exactly the same. I have nice helmets already that fit well, so I went with the Bikom route. I have seen online where someone was told by Sena themselves the Bikcom does not work with their helmets at all but it actually does. However only if it's the EVO series which are the newer helmets they carry. Doesn't provide much confidence if their support is giving wrong info.
I have a few gripes so far. Their support website and forums definitely lack any kind of solid direction, which led me here. In terms of use, with communicating only, I am fairly impressed because it was windy on our ride and there was no wind noise and I could hear quite clearly. We did lose connection once when we became separated a bit far from each other but quickly reconnected on its own which I assume because we were back within range. My second gripe our riding path went by a highway and we experienced a lot of frequency interruptions. We could hear other people talking so it was definitely picking up other frequencies, possible from car bluetooth? Once we moved away from the freeway, it was just us again. Lastly (so far), the Bikom comes with two helmet strap pieces. One meant for thicker straps, the other for thinner straps. All of my helmets have thick straps, it was a hassle putting it on and I figured I would just order extras and put them on every helmet. Nope. Apparently out of all the spare parts they sell, these clips are not one of them. Lose the piece? You have to buy a whole new Bikom just for that small plastic piece. This alone makes me think about returning it.
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