[Aussie]

Thought id share some experience here after spending a fair bit of time and cash over the last few years using, trialling bluetooth helmet solutions.

Now let me start with saying that i'm not looking for the purists to come along and tell me of the dangers regarding distraction, not being able to hear ambulances etc. I'm a grown up and ive read all the press on this and have spent some years now using the technology. The line share of my biking where I use this technology is on long hall runs to Cork, Mayo or indeed a couple of days touring, that said as I use the bike for work a lot I need to be contactable on the phone, if I can't be then its back to the cage.

So, where to start??? well I suppose with the first bit of kit.

Spyball Hello Biker

The first unit I bought was Spyballs Hello Biker, apart from having a pretty gay sounding name the unit was cheap and easy to install. The bluetooth unit itself sticks on the back of the helmet and is only slightly smaller than a ciggarette pack, it comes with 2 speakers and a selection of microphones to match either flip front, open or full face lids. For flip or open lids the mic is on a flexible boom and for full face it is a stick on type. I paid €130 for this some 3 years ago as it was the first time id seen anything of the sort and I got the money back off the company as they had a policy of paying to have car kits installed, I explained that this would be my car kit and they parted with the cash.

So how good / bad was it, well as I said above it comes complete with 2 speakers, I dont know why as its only capable of reproducing sound in mono, yes it comes through both earpieces but mono nonetheless, the stick on mic in the full face worked quite well but I was always disappointed with the boom mic, they only work when facing one way and had a habit of twisting the wrong was as you put on or removed the lid. Pairing it with a mobile is relatively easy, pairing it with another unit on the pillions helmet was a fecking nightmare and even when you did get it done if you didnt turn them on / off in a specific sequence they would lock up and the only way to reset them was to plug them back into mains power, not great when you stop for fuel in Abbeyleix on the way to Cork.

Dianese Bluetooth Helmet D-Nect

Much like the Spyball the Dinese was a crime of opportunity, I was in bikeworld and the lid was down at half price due to being showroom stock, even at half price it was €380!!! Once again the lid has 2 speakers, factory fitted microphone and the nicety of it all was the kit was fully embedded into the lid with a single button on the left side to turn the unit on, answer a call, adjust volume etc. Far superior in sound quality for both speaking and listening than the Spyball I was able to have a conversation and speeds that shouldnt be mentioned here and was regularly surprised by people not knowing that I was on the bike. 2 speakers produced mono sound again.

Scala Rider

I was actually given this by a mate of mine, whilst the bluetooth in the Dinese was very good I never really liked the lid itself, the lining was very hard and the size is quite odd, its very tight around the collar but once you get it on your head floats around inside it, if you buy a smaller one you can't get your head through the collar of the helment, but anyways the Scala rider is a single earpiece with a boom mic that clamps nicely onto the side of the helmet. The sound quality was superior to anything id tried previously and I must admitt i liked having one ear free to hear what was going on or to be able to have a conversation with another biker at a set of traffic lights. Overall i believe these to be cheap and simple and a very good piece of kit for getting the job done

Scala Rider FM

So impressed with the Scala Rider I looked at the Scala Rider FM, why, well it has MP3 connectivity, you can plug your MP3 player straight into it via a line cable, in addition to this it has the FM radio which is very handy for getting on the bike and going to work in the morning. I should have said earlier but on all these devices I was streaming music to the headset via bluetooth over my phone which is great as its your own mp3 music collection but you have to star the player on your phone, star the music, pair the bluetooth etc everytime you get on the bike, it only takes a couple of seconds but that can be the difference between being behind Kido or haing Jay46 in the way ;-) As per the original this was a great piece of kit at a reasonable price, finally 2 speakers that worked in stereo for the radio although sadly not over bluetooth, theres a newer bluetooth protocal called A2DP that the device must have in order to playback bluetooth in stereo. The other big let down was whilst you could plug your MP3 player straight in you couldnt use any of the controls on the headset, couldnt even adjust the volume!! so when you turned your Ipod on and set the volume that was what you were stuck with for the trip. As did all of the above the headset was clever enough to stop playing music when a call came in but this was the first unit I tried that actually resumed the music connection after the call hung up.

Nolan Ncom

Ummm, WOW what a piece of kit, unfortunately only designed to fit Nolan helmets but this is the best bit of kit ive tried yet. Full stereo and choice between fixed or book mic's you have to install it yourself but the Nolan helmets marked with the Ncom badge are designed to take them, that said the manual said 30 minutes to install and it took me nearly 2 and a half hours. The sound for both speaking and listening is superb with the Music sreaming in stereo via bluetooth A2DP its as good as any pair of headphones ive ever tried it also comes with line in and out jacks for connection of MP3 players, GPS, another lid as intercomm etc. I dont think theres anything that Ive thought of yet that I can plug this into. But the BIG win on this is something called AVRC protocol, what is it? the headset is able to function as a remote control to devices that you connect it to, instead of pairing the helmet, launching the player on the phone starting the track, adjusting the volume etc all i have to do is turn it on and hold down a button to launch the mp3 player on my blackberry. Similarly i can pause the music and adjust the volume on the move. A truly wonderous piece of kit but it should be at the price of it, in excess of £200 and also requiring a Nolan NCOM lid you're not going to set yourself up with one of these for much less than €400

Overall I think the Scala's are a good investment, they now have an A2DP stereo model available but one thing to watch out for its that if you want to use them as an intercom then both Scala units must be exactly the same, you can't pair a Scala Rider with a Scala Rider FM, the best way to check is to make sure that the colour of the buttons on both headsets is the same.

Anyways, thats it really just thought id share incase anyone was thinking of investing or needed the technology, the only caviat that id add is that this technology changes all the time, it probably changed in the time it took me to write this so check, check and check again on what devices are available and feel free to PM me if I can offer any advice.

[Iforgot]

Nice one Aussie .. great review ... plenty to choose from there ... was looking into the Ncom system as it fits my Xlite according to the manual. Just have to decide now is it worth it, as I like the fact that no-one can contact me on the bike

[Stormbringer]

Good stuff Aussie. I have Ncom lid my self and was thinking of investing in the bluetooth thingy. Food for thought.

[Titchp]

Brilliant post Aussie but when i am on the bike I would prefer not to be contactable. However in the future if things change I'll ask you for your advice.

Again great post/

[Darkcloud]

Great post there aussie...plenty of food for thought

[Shinwacker]

Nice one Aussie, but like so many I use to bike to get away from calls, so no blue tooth for me. Great review there. One question though. How much more weight does this add to the helmet? My brother got a Nolan a year or so ago and never used it as the lid was just too heavy for him.

Shins

[The Mex]

Excellent post Aussie!!

I was looking at getting a bluetooth lid a few years back but couldn't get enough good info on the web....


Maybe sometine next year.... Till then, if I'm on the bike, I'm not answering the phone!!

[KaosTheory]

Great post aussie, I'm sure it'll answer a few peeps questions.

Topic now stickied.

Kaos

[jay46]

jesus what ya want a phone thingy while on your bike ! sure ya might aswell just get a bmw.

[Alan]

Interesting reading Aussie, some money spend there - I was trying to sort this lot too, but ended up buying an Autocom that connects to the Zumo GPS which then connects via bluetooth to the phone, music wise it's great, phone wish you can take a call but would really need to pull-in to have a conversation, I also had to have comms with pillion, my son normally, just to make sure he was okay, or simple things like "hold-on" when I was going to over-take or similar, I have a Nolan N103 and might invest in that system as it sounds like the one to go for!

Cheers for the review

[relaxed]

Interesting review.

I've only tried one of these, the Scala Rider. Works as Aussie says. I only use it for the phone, not music or rdaio, so one earpiece isn't a disadvantage for me. Noise cancelling technology is very good for the boom mic. You have to check before buying that the boom is long enough for your lid; apparently some flip front and open face lids need a longer boom. I bought mine in Bikeworld about 3 years ago and it's been no trouble apart from someone else breaking the clip that holds it to the helmet. Fixed with 5 minute Araldite and piece of brass shim stock, and fine again now. It's a bit vulnerable to careless handling of the lid. I also repaired the boom where it exits the main housing after the piece of plastic that locates the end cracked.

Battery life is good for me on standby. I don't know how long you can talk on it but I don't talk much when riding as I find it very distracting. I need to be contactable, like Aussie, and if I didn't have it I'd have to use the car for work all the time.

I'm not complaining about this level of damage; it's had a lot of use (handling, not talking).

Advantage for me is that I find it hard to get helmets to fit to my satisfaction so I'm not tied to one brand of lid. Anyway, I already had the lid (Shoei Synchrotec II) and didn't feel like buying another. I had to carve away a little bit of the expanded polystyrene foam behind the earpiece, but apart from that it was easy to install and set up.

[Aussie]

Iforgot, on Dec 28 2009, 09:45 AM, said:

Nice one Aussie .. great review ... plenty to choose from there ... was looking into the Ncom system as it fits my Xlite according to the manual. Just have to decide now is it worth it, as I like the fact that no-one can contact me on the bike

Yeah just got the Xlite myself theyve released a new bluetooth kit for it, great lid!

Titchp, on Dec 28 2009, 11:43 AM, said:

Brilliant post Aussie but when i am on the bike I would prefer not to be contactable. However in the future if things change I'll ask you for your advice.

Again great post/

Its not about preferring to be contactable, its being able to be contacted for work so I can use the bike and claim my mileage for work. Phones have an off button on them!!!

I wouldnt have gotten out at all over the last 6 months if I wasnt in a position for Mrs Aus to call me when she went into labour, had problems with a new baby etc, nothing says you have to take a call, the technology is just as relevant to gps and music

Shinwacker, on Dec 28 2009, 01:00 PM, said:

Nice one Aussie, but like so many I use to bike to get away from calls, so no blue tooth for me. Great review there. One question though. How much more weight does this add to the helmet? My brother got a Nolan a year or so ago and never used it as the lid was just too heavy for him.

Shins

About the same weight as a standard nokia phone I gues Shins, I never really noticed it, the Spyball was a little heavy as was the Dinese lid but I never noticed the Scalas and the new Xlite lid is so light you just about have to ad weight to it to stop it floating away

jay46, on Dec 28 2009, 02:09 PM, said:

jesus what ya want a phone thingy while on your bike ! sure ya might aswell just get a bmw.

Its a Mercedes!!!!

[STefan]

Very nice Aussie great review as Shins i am quiet happy not to be annoyed by the phone

[Jonners]

Good review Aussie. I use the scala for the sat nav and find it good, also the scala is handy as I use a couple of different helmets and can swop the scala from lid to lid

[pcr1000]

Great post Aussie, excellent review. Now why are'nt you returning my calls, what do ya mean you're not receiving them. Got it, great bluetooh, cheap phone

[eamon]

Good Review Aussie.

I find phone conversations or music too distracting on the bike but I use a Startcom1 unit to connect me to a pillion.

I've got a bluetooth module on the Starcom1 that allows me eavesdrop on my Garamin Zumo. Frankly, the sound quality on the Starcom (an analog model) is just OK. At anything over 80kph I can't make out what's being said (by the missus or the Zumo). That is partially the fault of my helmet, an Arai RX7. At 100kph the wind noise is enough to hurt my ears if I'm not wearing earplugs. While being able to hear what is being said at high speed would be nice, it's not essential. Any noise from the Zumo is a reminder to look at the screen. It's only important to be heard by a pillion when about to take off - anything else is a bonus/distraction.

An advantage of a Starcom1 (or an Autocom) unit is that batteries are not required. I've a few questions:

• How do people find the battery life on the various Helmet mounted bluetooth kits?
  
• And what type of batteries are used?
  
• Are they rechargeable?
  
• Has anyone used a Starcom1 Digital unit?

[sutty]

I got a set of Motorola S805 DJ earphones a few years ago. See a review here. I got them for 3 reasons, The first one was the battery life of 17 hours. Which after a number of years I can tell you they will do a playback of 17hours. One charge used to do me for a week when driving in and out of work up in Leixlip earlier in the year. The second reason was the "A2DP", I had at the time a phone with a little hacking could also support this. The third reason was that the earphones can detach from the large pods and the head band it-self. Meaning with a little modding to the ear peace in a RX7, they would fit in nicely. (The section you need to mod, is detachable and can be replaced)


So anyway, they at the time where one of the only headsets that could do "A2DP" and could fit into a motorbike helmet. So I fitted them in a few minutes and have used them alot since. Mainly on out of city drives. As well as hooking up to my laptop and a GPS that was on an other phone. They have always worked. Better on the laptop as it had a very powerful bluetooth radio. I get great sound off them. So good, I can put in earplugs and still hear sounding traffic as the earphones never touch your ears.

I answered a call once with the helmet on and I could be heard clearly by Laura. While I was not driving at the time and you have no control over the answering, you can set most phones to auto answer after a few rings. Just never bothered to my-self as I dont care who rings me while I am driving... its what voice messages are for


Anyway, fantastic sound and battery life. With about a 20-30ft range before you get braking up. One of the best buys for the bike I have ever done. (BTW they are still used today.. thats around 3 years in total with not one issue)

[Aussie]

eamon, on Dec 28 2009, 11:57 PM, said:

Good Review Aussie.


An advantage of a Starcom1 (or an Autocom) unit is that batteries are not required. I've a few questions:

• How do people find the battery life on the various Helmet mounted bluetooth kits?
  
• And what type of batteries are used?
  
• Are they rechargeable?
  
• Has anyone used a Starcom1 Digital unit?

Battery life is very good, usually charge the lid once a week and have done a full days touring with it, charged it overnight then off again, the phone will usually go flat before the headset

They seem to use different batteries, theyre rechargeable, the Lithium Polymer ones a great as theyre so light

Havent tried the Starcom and wont be for a while :-)

[Aussie]

New from Scala, seems to have pretty much everything

Scala Rider G4 Bluetooth Communication System (Single Unit)


Product Information


Scala Rider take Bluetooth motorcycle communications to the next level with the G4 being one of the most advanced universal Bluetooth systems available to date.


All of the electronics are contained within the box, including battery, which clamps or sticks to the side of your helmet. The buttons are raised and easy to find with a positive click so you can feel what you're doing but all commands are confirmed with tones inside the speakers and the system even speaks to you to tell you what you're connected to!

Wired and Wireless connection options are available, a 3.5mm stereo jack can be found on the helmet bracket, a mini USB socket behind a cover on the Bluetooth unit and the Scala Rider G4 uses Bluetooth2 for wireless communications to most other Bluetooth devices. Wired connection options include an MP3 player or similar device (coiled 3.5mm jack lead included), the PC for charging by USB or updating the system firmware (USB lead included) and mains charging (Mains adaptor included).

The Scala Rider G4 can be used as a Rider/Passenger Intercom, Bike to Bike or can be used for 3-way conference calling with a range up to 1 mile - it is the first Bluetooth system to do this (aeriel needs to be extended). At the same time, stay connected to your mobile phone or sat nav while you're listening to music. Of course you don't have to be doing all of this at once, but you can!


Music can be connected by wire or by Bluetooth depending on your player. The Scala Rider G4 uses Bluetooth A2DP for better quality sound (in fact without A2DP I wouldn't bother listening to music through a Bluetooth connection!) and this also means that you can control your MP3 player directly from the helmet. In addition to this, there is an FM Radio with RDS function built into the system.

Included in the box:


•Scala Rider G4 Bluetooth Unit

•Scala Rider G4 Headset

•Stick on bracket

•Clamp on bracket

•3.5mm Stereo music lead

•USB Charger/PC cable

•Mains adaptor

•Bluetooth unit fabric carry case

•Spare mike sponge and velcro pads

•User manual


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scala Rider G4 Technical Specs:



•Talk Time: up to 10 hours
•Standby: up to 7 days
•Charging time: 3 Hours
•Bluetooth Version 2.1 Class 1

Motorcycle Intercom


•4-Way (2 Drivers and 2 Passengers)
•3-Way (3 separate bikers)
•2-Way (rider to rider or rider to passenger)
•Mobile Phone Conference Mode (rider, passanger and outside caller)

GPS (requires headset profile)


•Compatible with most major Bluetooth GPS devices
•GPS voioce instructions override music, FM Radio and Intercom calls

Supported Mobile Phone Profiles and Functions


•Headset and Handsfree profiles
•A2DP/AVRCP profile for wireless streaming stereo from MP3 player or other A2DP device
•Voice Dial, Redial and Call Reject

•Conference mode between outside caller, rider and passenger

Built-in FM Radio


•87.5 MHz to 108 MHz FM Receiver
•RDS Functionality (adjusts to best frequencies according to zones)
•6-station memory with Search and Store functions
•Automatic radio muting for incoming calls

Firmware Update


•Firmware update ready directly from PC (requires Windows XP or Vista based PC)

MP3 / Music


•Wireless MP3 music (A2DP) or through cable connected MP3 player

Mechanical / Functional Features


•Fits virtually all helmets
•Quick release mechanism to detach Bluetooth unit from headset clamp
•Stick on bracket option included
•Two slim speakers to fit even tight helmets
•Multiple control buttons

Audio Features


•Multi-Lingual spoken status announcements
•Noise cancellation microphone
•AGC technology: automatic volume adjustment of audio signals according to riding speed and ambient noise
•VOX technology: accept or reject calls by voice commands

Charger


•110/240V 50/60Hz Universal Travel Charger
Charger unit uses USB cable that also serves as firmware download cable.

[IBF_Topcat]

I see AGV now do the BT,. AGV talk I think it's called

Aussie, on Apr 12 2010, 02:07 PM, said:

New from Scala, seems to have pretty much everything

Scala Rider G4 Bluetooth Communication System (Single Unit)


Product Information


Scala Rider take Bluetooth motorcycle communications to the next level with the G4 being one of the most advanced universal Bluetooth systems available to date.


All of the electronics are contained within the box, including battery, which clamps or sticks to the side of your helmet. The buttons are raised and easy to find with a positive click so you can feel what you're doing but all commands are confirmed with tones inside the speakers and the system even speaks to you to tell you what you're connected to!

Wired and Wireless connection options are available, a 3.5mm stereo jack can be found on the helmet bracket, a mini USB socket behind a cover on the Bluetooth unit and the Scala Rider G4 uses Bluetooth2 for wireless communications to most other Bluetooth devices. Wired connection options include an MP3 player or similar device (coiled 3.5mm jack lead included), the PC for charging by USB or updating the system firmware (USB lead included) and mains charging (Mains adaptor included).

The Scala Rider G4 can be used as a Rider/Passenger Intercom, Bike to Bike or can be used for 3-way conference calling with a range up to 1 mile - it is the first Bluetooth system to do this (aeriel needs to be extended). At the same time, stay connected to your mobile phone or sat nav while you're listening to music. Of course you don't have to be doing all of this at once, but you can!


Music can be connected by wire or by Bluetooth depending on your player. The Scala Rider G4 uses Bluetooth A2DP for better quality sound (in fact without A2DP I wouldn't bother listening to music through a Bluetooth connection!) and this also means that you can control your MP3 player directly from the helmet. In addition to this, there is an FM Radio with RDS function built into the system.

Included in the box:


•Scala Rider G4 Bluetooth Unit

•Scala Rider G4 Headset

•Stick on bracket

•Clamp on bracket

•3.5mm Stereo music lead

•USB Charger/PC cable

•Mains adaptor

•Bluetooth unit fabric carry case

•Spare mike sponge and velcro pads

•User manual


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Scala Rider G4 Technical Specs:



•Talk Time: up to 10 hours
•Standby: up to 7 days
•Charging time: 3 Hours
•Bluetooth Version 2.1 Class 1

Motorcycle Intercom


•4-Way (2 Drivers and 2 Passengers)
•3-Way (3 separate bikers)
•2-Way (rider to rider or rider to passenger)
•Mobile Phone Conference Mode (rider, passanger and outside caller)

GPS (requires headset profile)


•Compatible with most major Bluetooth GPS devices
•GPS voioce instructions override music, FM Radio and Intercom calls

Supported Mobile Phone Profiles and Functions


•Headset and Handsfree profiles
•A2DP/AVRCP profile for wireless streaming stereo from MP3 player or other A2DP device
•Voice Dial, Redial and Call Reject

•Conference mode between outside caller, rider and passenger

Built-in FM Radio


•87.5 MHz to 108 MHz FM Receiver
•RDS Functionality (adjusts to best frequencies according to zones)
•6-station memory with Search and Store functions
•Automatic radio muting for incoming calls

Firmware Update


•Firmware update ready directly from PC (requires Windows XP or Vista based PC)

MP3 / Music


•Wireless MP3 music (A2DP) or through cable connected MP3 player

Mechanical / Functional Features


•Fits virtually all helmets
•Quick release mechanism to detach Bluetooth unit from headset clamp
•Stick on bracket option included
•Two slim speakers to fit even tight helmets
•Multiple control buttons

Audio Features


•Multi-Lingual spoken status announcements
•Noise cancellation microphone
•AGC technology: automatic volume adjustment of audio signals according to riding speed and ambient noise
•VOX technology: accept or reject calls by voice commands

Charger


•110/240V 50/60Hz Universal Travel Charger
Charger unit uses USB cable that also serves as firmware download cable.