Rider to rider communication

[Jed]

Can anyone recommend a good system for rider to rider communication? We have tried a couple of (cheapish)bluetooth and radio based systems but none with any great success. They seem to work reasonably well while we can see each other (when we don't really need it) but barely at all when we can't (when we do need it!). I am interested in other people's experience with these systems as the marketing blurb always says their system is fantastic.

[Elliott_Carr]

this may not be very useful but last year me and a mate of mine used are phones and a pair of apple earphones with the mic built into it, we both had unlimited minutes on are contract. it worked well until we got up to speed and then the wind noise kicked in. Any way not much help but that's my experance :)

[bobf279]

I had quite a lot of success with the cardo scala q2 while my son was learning to ride

[Jed]

Thanks for the replies so far; we have considered using our mobile phones but this can work out to be very expensive when in Europe. What was the Scala rider like in terms of range and clarity? We tried a bluetooth system but range was pretty poor, that said it was a cheapo as we were too tight to cough up for the scala system!

[ro]

Wolverine and I have used the Scala G4 successfully on many rides. Sound quality is excellent and adequately loud, provided you get the microphone and speakers positioned correctly - and that really is critical, otherwise speech can be drowned by wind noise or too quiet even at maximum volume. When set up correctly though it is very good indeed - I have spoken to people on the phone who had no idea I was riding at the time.

Range might possibly be as good as the claimed mile under ideal circumstances (i.e. in open country), but in a built-up area, it quickly degrades once you lose line of sight... good enough for going round a corner or two, but not much hope beyond that. The Scalas can link through bluetooth-capable phones as well though, so I guess you could fall back to that if you get beyond direct bluetooth range.

A nice feature we've used is that each unit can link to two other Scalas (which needn't be G4s), so you can have two riders and two passengers all able to speak to each other at once.

One negative point: after more than a year of daily use, one of the speakers became unreliable and I had to replace the base unit; the other set is now also suffering the same problem. so I guess it's a common fault. Fortunately you can buy the base unit separately and there is a choice of replacements: I switched from the original boom mic version (which needed re-adjusting every time I put on the helmet) to a wired type which is always stuck on the chin bar of my Shoei in the perfect position.

I think the only way you're going to get better radio range is with PMR. I've never fancied that because of the need to have a wire going from the radio to the helmet, but there are now some models with a bluetooth link (e.g. http://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/two-way-radio/two-way-radios/midland-g8---bluetooth), so using one of those and a cheaper bluetooth helmet headset might be attractive (if you don't mind the deficiencies of PMR: sharing a limited set of channels with everyone else and having to take it in turns to speak).

[Jed]

Thanks for info on Scala system I nearly bought this but was put off by the price and uncertainty over performance, but reliability issues aside you seem to find it works well which is encouraging. Thanks also for the link as spookily enough my last conversation with my riding friend was about the option of using a bluetooth headset with a PMR system. I will look into this further.

[robwillshar]

Hi Jed, In exactly the same situation, a mate has just passed and we want to start organising trips away. What did you go for in the end? There is so much choice! Cheers

[DC]

I had quite a lot of success with the cardo scala q2 while my son was learning to ride

Same as that found it pretty good gear :cool:

[cerruti]

Me and Oldfatboy have the Scala G9s and we love them. Its true that they arent too great in a built up area and you get seperated from your buddy (as in, a couple of large buildings between you!), but in general we havent had any problems at all and the range is pretty good.