jbw57

Anyone have any experience with bike to bike 2-way radios (communication).....looking for something with an ear piece and or headset to fit in the helmet. I will be using it to talk with the wife when on our rides, its difficult always looking back trying to hear or talking to her. I ran across this Homepage - Terrano it seems like a nice unit but would like to know if there are others to consider.....thanks.

Retro Grouch 

"Tandem Talk". maybe? Try Tandems East website.

I used to have a wireless 2-way set that I acquired by trading for something else, but we never used it. I have no idea what it's range is. Eventually I threw it out during one of my (rare) shop cleaning sprees.

rumrunn6

Wifey & I used to use an inexpensive Radio Shack set where the earpiece picked up our voices thru our skulls. it had volume settings & voice activation sensitivity settings. found them quite useful. recently found a new set at a yard sale that was never used. never know what you'll find at a yard sale!

mccornwall

A cheap pair of FRS talkies would do it...and better brands have headsets available. Wind noise will likely make VOX (voice-activated transmit) unusable. If you get FRS/GMRS talkies be sure to only use the FRS channels unless you get a GMRS license. I hold both a ham and a GMRS license. Thanks.

jbw57

Thanks for the responses everyone.....I have found several walkie talkies that I could add the ear & mouth piece to them but I would need to run the wire most likely underneath my shirt and clip the walkie talkie on my belt (waste band).....was hoping to avoid that route if all possible. The Terrano unit receiver is small and attaches to the top of your helmet then small patch cables attach to the ear & mouth piece....so there are no wires needed to route on the body, its voice activated and they have covered several other things too. The Terrano appears to be a nice unit but I'm surprised not to see more of that type on the market considering how popular cycling is. Anyway your input is most welcome, thanks!

mccornwall

Awful expensive for Bluetooth. And don't drop your riding partner or you'll fall out of range. Thanks for making me aware of these...interesting.

jbw57

Terrano claims distances of 1650 feet which I agree doesn't seem a whole lot but I doubt my riding partner (wife) would be falling back that far.

u235

Last thing I want to do while riding or touring is talk to someone else

I ride alone and love it. That being said. Any cheap VOX family radioset would work with or without headphones. I have some that were marketed for use on dogs I got on clearance a few years ago (no idea what they were thinking with that concept). They are actually very small and could easily adaptable and mounted for bike or human body use. I used them once for a ATV outing at Hatfield & McCoy in WV before. The VOX option didn't work for those though. Any $30 or under solution will not be as convienent as a purposely built bike/helmet setup but would work. I guess it depends on how much you are talking.

mccornwall

I don't see how Bluetooth will go 1650 feet. If I get 30-50 feet away from a Bluetooth speaker it drops. Try them and see I guess.

jbw57

I appreciate and understand the one's that would rather just ride and not have conversations when riding but in my situation my wife is my riding partner so if I ignore her too much it could be a rocky road (no pun) as they say a happy wife is a happy life

jbw57

I will contact Terrano today and see if they have a return policy.....I know the walkie talkie with head set will work and much longer distances etc....but was hoping to avoid wires routed on the body and or bike. I'm not concerned so much about the cost (with in reason). Really surprised to have so very few to choose from.

jbw57

Also found this company https://www.vertixglobal.com/collections/velo

fietsbob

marine band transcievers in a pocket size, were brought with us to keep in touch at some of the big anti war protests in the big city,

turned on every 15 minutes for a couple minutes to save batteries, so you needed a watch to know what time it was..


Obviously the team pro riders have what you are describing.. I cant tell you where they got theirs, teams have websites , you could ask them..

Milton Keynes

I have carried my small ham radio HT along on some rides, but the local VHF repeaters aren't very active any more so I usually end up not talking to anyone. But talking bike-to-bike would be just fine with a decent FRS radio.

I have an earbud/microphone which goes in one ear and leaves the other free which works pretty well, but I also have a hand mike which seems to work OK as well as long as it's not too windy.

welshTerrier2

I just read about an app you can get for your phone called "Zello Walkie Talkie". No idea whether it's any good but maybe worth exploring.

jbw57

That's what I'm thinking (the team pro riders) could be the info I need.....so far I've only have found two manufactures but sure there are more, just need to do a bit more digging. Thanks for your reply.

The walkie talkie and head set is an option but would like to avoid the wire routing and such.

jbw57

I did consider doing something with the phone and app but ideally the other options are more suited for my needs.....so far I have found two manufactures that offer what I'm looking for and sure I will find more. Thanks.

jbw57

After doing some research I decided to go with the Vertix.....I had sent an email earlier today and within an hour I had a call from them, I asked many questions and they were very generous with there time answering all my questions. The model Phillip from Vertix recommended is the (casual bikers S series) so I took his recommendation. Looking forward getting the unit installed. If anyone is interested I can report back with my findings on how they perform.

roogie

I used some Cobra FRS radios with an open face headset that I had in my motorcycle helmet, it had speakers and a push to talk button that let me pocket the radio. Worked well for me.

https://www.amazon.com/Midland-AVPH1.../dp/B000C9I14Q

roog

dragonfly271

I'm joining the game late--- but your thread is exactly the problem my husband and I have. I'm just not as fast as I used to be, and he tries to pull, but can't hear me when I'm wheezing. lol. So what did you think of the vertix??