Interbike Communications

[TrevlynJ]

I've been thinking a bit lately (yes, I had to have a lie down afterwards, thank you for your concern) about the Tuesday and Friday night rides, specifically how to keep things nice and tight whilst riding, especially with a group of four or more bikes.

Last Tuesday nights ride was a good example. Brad led, I was second in the pack, and then there was Stampy and finally Cat. After a short period of time we were stopped at a set of lights, and Brad commented that he couldn't see anyone behind me, due to the awesomeness of the R1's headlights. I then dropped back to the rear of the pack (except for that one corner we all know and love) until we stopped again for an update.

It occurred to me later that things could have been made simpler if there were communications between the lead rider and the sweeper whilst riding. I've done a bit of trawling on the Net, and I've read a bit about the Scala Rider Intercom unit. Has anyone else out there used bike intercoms? If so, how did it go, what problems did you encounter, what brands could you recommend.

I'm also interested in hearing the Forum members thoughts on bike comms. Is it a good idea, or am I just going through another gadget phase?

[wizard]

Gadget phase

[Brad]

+1 with Wizman. I love a chat, but when I am riding I am quite happy to concentrate on what's going on around me... we just need to work on our communications... more to the point, on Tuesday night, I wanted to point out that I was relying on you guys to keep it tight with the bike behind, which really should be the norm but I keep forgetting to bring it up.

Having said that, there is a Blueant device, blue tooth to your phone or to another headset. You get mobile connectivity when you are on your own and bike-bike connectivity over the bluetooth data connection when you have a buddy.

[TrevlynJ]

...I love a chat...

Would never have guessed that.

[Brad]

Would never have guessed that.

Yes, it's more of that 'time and place' thing, aye.