Solution for bike-to-bike communication?

[MLB]

Amazon has the Sena X1 in Grey and Medium sized only for $168 versus $349 for the other colors and sizes. Out of stock but you can order for future delivery. My least favorite of the colors but then that's why they're almost half off.
https://www.amazon.com/Sena-Smart-C...e=UTF8&qid=1515874159&sr=8-4&keywords=Sena+X1

 

[antboy]

I know this is an old thread, but small walkie talkies with ear pieces work for me. I don't use headphones to take calls/listen to music while riding.

I've got a pair of Midland T77VP5's that came in a kit with a charging station, and wired earpiece/mics for about $110 CDN, with a PTT button on the cord. Constantly open VOX works well too, and I've had them work from up to 3km away.

The much slimmer Retevis RT22's (and cheaper) work well, but I liked the larger display on the Midlands.

 

[Ron49]

Another resurrection of an old thread, but wanted to report that we bought a pair of Sena R1 helmets last fall and we're very happy with them. No push-to-talk, just on all the time and work very well for us and we're almost always fairly close.

 

[Browneye]

I would just turn hers off. LOL

 

[HLM]

No, the Terrano units deal with wind noise SUPER well, virtually eliminating it.

This is apparently one of the best options out there. Expensive but proven and deals with wind noise fairly well.
https://www.amazon.com/Terrano-X-Helmet-mounted-Headset--mobile-Communication/dp/B00ZNJUA3A/

 

[Stoneyrun]

https://discord.gg/KDk4nJxxbz made this discord server for ebike riding comms. I have not tested it at all though. Might work. It's free.

 

[Bitmugger]

We just bought some Motorola T200 FRS radios for cycling. I'll report back how they work. Any specific concerns people want answered?

My use case is my son and I are routinely biking 30km+ on roads and want to be able to communicate. We typically space out about 200m-500m and just want basic occasional communications. Our concerns are:
1) T200 are not waterproof but seem resistant to a splash at least
2) Battery life
3) Wind noise
4) Real world distances they work over

My experience with FRS radios in the 90's is they are very spotty on how far apart you can get, I hope these modern Motorola's allow at least 1km on the roads, that would be more than enough for us 95% of the time. If it can go 2-3km then that would cover breakdowns. At the 2-3km mark even if ANY part of the musical signal tone makes it through then that would be adequate to have the lead rider stop and double back.

Note: The T200 doesn't support VOX but we wanted PTT (Push to talk) anyway not constant communication

 

[antboy]

We just bought some Motorola T200 FRS radios for cycling. I'll report back how they work. Any specific concerns people want answered?

My use case is my son and I are routinely biking 30km+ on roads and want to be able to communicate. We typically space out about 200m-500m and just want basic occasional communications. Our concerns are:
1) T200 are not waterproof but seem resistant to a splash at least
2) Battery life
3) Wind noise
4) Real world distances they work over

My experience with FRS radios in the 90's is they are very spotty on how far apart you can get, I hope these modern Motorola's allow at least 1km on the roads, that would be more than enough for us 95% of the time. If it can go 2-3km then that would cover breakdowns. At the 2-3km mark even if ANY part of the musical signal tone makes it through then that would be adequate to have the lead rider stop and double back.

Note: The T200 doesn't support VOX but we wanted PTT (Push to talk) anyway not constant communication

I can't speak to the Motorola specifically, but my Midland T71s with up to 38 mile range are good for over 3km in an urban environment.

The furthest I've put them to the test was about 3.5km IIRC, riding Toronto's paths in the west end. There were some tall buildings around, but none directly between us. Otherwise it was wooded and fairly flat, but there were also two bridges between us... the Gardiner Expressway and the Humber Bay bridge.

I'd say about 2/3rd of the dialogue came through, ish.

Wind noise is annoying, but it also depends on whether you're using a headset, or just using the walkie.

 

[soyabean]

I love how this information has been lost between generations/millenials

All you need is any radio (walkie talkie) that supports a "remote speaker microphone". No, you won't find it at a best buy.

Really good (commercial grade) ones take care of things like wind noise and other backgrounds.

 

[Merle Nelson]

Sena M1 Evo is a way that I chose to go. They utilize "mesh technology" which is their form of automatically linking from comm to comm. Many other Sena comm systems will get disconnected and then you have to dink around with them to reconnect to someone you were just speaking to minutes before. (Pairs with their 30K and 50K motorcycle systems too.)

Oh also mesh tech can link up "basically an unlimited number of riders". Wheras the previous systems top out at four I believe.

 

[Alaskan]

Nancy and I use Terrano xt and really like them with its 3/4 mile conversation range and duplex communication, we can both talk and hear at the same time. Sound quality for music is quite good and the ear pieces sit outside your ear allowing outside noises in which is way safer than buds or ear covering units. The wind noise microphone is so well done that people on the other side of a call can't tell I am on a bike moving at 20+ mph. Spendy but the best I have and they are currently at 25% off on their website

 

[Merle Nelson]

At $439 for two right now that is not much more than Sena R1 Evo. They were $149 and $200 - I had to buy them at separate places to get correct size.


Edit : Turns out we have the M1 Evo. It connects automatically and allows for many units to pair.

 

[Lynne5]

We just bought some Motorola T200 FRS radios for cycling. I'll report back how they work. Any specific concerns people want answered?

My use case is my son and I are routinely biking 30km+ on roads and want to be able to communicate. We typically space out about 200m-500m and just want basic occasional communications. Our concerns are:
1) T200 are not waterproof but seem resistant to a splash at least
2) Battery life
3) Wind noise
4) Real world distances they work over

My experience with FRS radios in the 90's is they are very spotty on how far apart you can get, I hope these modern Motorola's allow at least 1km on the roads, that would be more than enough for us 95% of the time. If it can go 2-3km then that would cover breakdowns. At the 2-3km mark even if ANY part of the musical signal tone makes it through then that would be adequate to have the lead rider stop and double back.

Note: The T200 doesn't support VOX but we wanted PTT (Push to talk) anyway not constant communication

How did these work for you, specifically with wind noise? Thanks

 

[DiggyGun]

We use walkie-talkies, initially with a Bluetooth headset. However, that was difficult to use the small press to talk button on the earpiece whilst riding. Now we use plug in extension speaker / microphones, which are much easier to use.

 

[Bitmugger]

How did these work for you, specifically with wind noise? Thanks

Honestly they work "ok" but I do find them hard to hear, I think it's mainly wind noise between the speaker and my ears though, I feel it transmits fairly clearly. We thought we'd use them more but mounting them or wearing them seems to be a challenge and we haven't used them like I expected.

 

[Alaskan]

The Terrano set we use has awesome wind noise cancelation and duplex so there is no push to talk and we can both talk naturally, at once even good music and phone via Bluetooth. People can't tell I'm on a bike doing 20 MPH and we have a 3/4 mile talk range. Not cheap but head and shoulders above the competition.

 

[Merle Nelson]

I'm always surprised by how quick to complain about price some people are. If I want comms to communicate then workability under real world conditions is the starting point. After that if they could be had for $1.89 fine.

 

[Elkman]

For what it's worth the Terrano website e-store is providing a 25% discount so the price for a pair of the XT is $329 at this time.

 

[fooferdoggie]

I'm always surprised by how quick to complain about price some people are. If I want comms to communicate then workability under real world conditions is the starting point. After that if they could be had for $1.89 fine.

A couple of tin cans and bungle cord would work at that price.

 

[Merle Nelson]

There you go. Just right for some people.

We just came back from a ride and using our comm helmets. Nice to be able to relay interesting tidbits on the trail. Pot Hole! Bump! Big Stick!

Turns out we have the Sena M1 Evo. They have mesh technology which allows a near limitless number of riders to link up together. But my favorite part is they link up automatically once turned on. Whereas my older Sena systems I use for arb work are a continual struggle to connect and keep connected.