Comms. Good or bad?

[DaveT7]

Having been a lone rider pretty much all my life, I have never had need for in-helmet comms. Now that I am riding more sociably, I have had a couple of friends suggest getting set up with comms. Perhaps I'm being a bit of a luddite, but I view even listening to music as a distraction and am sceptical about messing around with buttons etc. for comms. Is it safe? Is it worth it? Am I missing out? ~ part of the appeal of going for a ride is not having anyone to talk to ~ ...or is that just me? 

[AZJW]

Risk vs reward is a personal thing.  I think everyone can agree that distractions are a hindrance to safety and to some, listening to music while riding falls into that category.   I've ridden dirt bikes with a select few for decades and we've utilized radio comms to help keep the group safe from hazards and getting separated. If one of the riders continously ties up the frequency with idle chatter, the safety aspect is greatly reduced so some discipline is needed.

Personally I hardly ever listen to music, but have on occasion on long slab rides, but almost never while off road. I normally prefer the CP2 tones out of my Camel-ADV exhaust as a sweet sound that doesn't need any competition from music in the helmet speakers. 

[roygilbo]

47 minutes ago, DaveT7 said:

Having been a lone rider pretty much all my life, I have never had need for in-helmet comms. Now that I am riding more sociably, I have had a couple of friends suggest getting set up with comms. Perhaps I'm being a bit of a luddite, but I view even listening to music as a distraction and am sceptical about messing around with buttons etc. for comms. Is it safe? Is it worth it? Am I missing out? ~ part of the appeal of going for a ride is not having anyone to talk to ~ ...or is that just me? 

These are questions I have as well.  Although I have ridden with buddies more than solo, we have never used comm's before.  Interested to hear what everyone has to say. 

 

[Hibobb]

Luddite Good

Gen X, Y, Z Bad

[roygilbo]

1 minute ago, AZJW said:

I normally prefer the CP2 tones out of my Camel-ADV exhaust as a sweet sound that doesn't need any competition from music in the helmet speakers. 

Ain't it purrrty.

[Windblown]

I mostly ride solo and when I do occasionally join a ride with others they usually look at me a bit odd when I tell them I don't have helmet comms. Different generation I reckon, and I'm just not all that sociable either... LOL.

[DaveT7]

3 minutes ago, Windblown said:

I mostly ride solo and when I do occasionally join a ride with others they usually look at me a bit odd when I tell them I don't have helmet comms. Different generation I reckon, and I'm just not all that sociable either... LOL.

Glad to hear it! 

[RobR]

I've been riding with a partner on long-distance trips since 2009 and comms are a necessity.  We have done the CDR, multiple BDRs and our own routes and if we didn't have comms, we would have killed each other by now arguing over missed turns, etc.

 

First, it's great for collaborative navigation - making route decisions on the fly, or if you have a faster rider that gets ahead of the slower rider (me).  Second, it's a safety feature - I can think of several times when one of us called out hazards or traffic issues.  Lastly, it's great to be able to have a conversation, especially when you have long sections of slab to cover between trails. 

 

I also use the same setup when riding solo to listen to music and take the occasional work call.   We started with Cardo Scala G somethings and have upgraded twice, about every 5 years. Currently running the Cardo Packtalk Bolds.

Edited April 3, 2023 by RobR

[winddown]

I have enough random thoughts distracting me as I ride  without the added distraction of music or mates on other bikes blabbering in my ear to compound it.  I think riding with others is good, providing I'm last.  You can let the more manic ones uncover all the surprises.

[Goody Boy]

I would say comms definitely have more pros than cons. Worst case scenario, you can turn it off.

[S.Ga.Rider]

I use my cardo for music on almost every ride and dont consider it a distraction. Comms are nice also. I just got back today from a 3k mile ride today with a friend and its nice to be able to communicate. I would recommend cardo. I have the edge and its been great but get whatever all your riding buddies have since they dont link with sena.

[Mike.b]

Happy with cardo bold. Voice command is great, so no buttons. Easy to just not use it, but nice when there’s an important call coming but you need to ride asap

[JRS700]

Coms are really handy to communicate when someone has to go to the bathroom, has a problem and needs to stop, or decide when and where to stop for lunch. You don't have to jabber on them. They really help keep a group together.

[DT675]

I don’t use comms, but don’t ride super long distances either. My riding partner and I have ways to communicate without them. It’s not 100% foolproof though. Personally I can’t stand them. I spent a few days with another buddy with them and just prefer silence than all the comments.

[Simmons1]

I have used comms for a long time.  I don't typically use them for music only for talking to other riders or my passenger.

[Tenerider]

I once rode with comms active - the other rider's constant chattering was the most annoying distraction to me.

It might of course be helpful in difficult terrain.

 

Apart from that, I use my Cardo Freecom for navigation( quite often) and music (on long rides, but usually only on highways).

[BikeBrother]

I think my friends would not like me having a comm, cos i would shout to them and give them badnames, cos they are toooo slow ...

[Canzvt]

So, I've been using comms (Sena's mainly) for well over 10 years. However, I use them very differently depending upon the situation. Solo = music/podcast/or nothing depending upon situation and bike. With my partner 2-up (on my Super T), she turns them on when she wants to have a conversation, and I can always turn it off when I don't.  With buddies on road, as needed for fuel stops, what's for lunch, debris/crazy driver on the road etc. With buddies off road I use a Rugged Radios BT2 system connected to a Baofang 2-way radio with push to talk. This is invaluable in the bush trails/forest service roads for safety. The BT2 allows connectivity to your phone for music (if you want) on the long hauls, or navigation, but the PTT system ensures you can communicate when things go wrong, or you run into an obstacle/logging truck/bear/etc. The Sena is only really good for line of sight or about 500m distance. The Baofang setup is good for about 5kms range in the mountain bush.

 

After riding in NZ for years, I would say if you are riding with buddies, use it for specific comms as needed. The roads and traffic are a bit too technical and hectic for me to want it on all the time/have music playing, unless you are out on the Canterbury plains...then music might be good.

[NeilW]

I have been using comms for more than 10 years. On freeway rides I listen to my favorite music on low ( background ). If I am riding with two more in a group off road, comms are limited to riding and terrain information. If I am on or off road with a single " friend", we chat and also advise of road conditions.  I don't feel distracted when chatting. I have a few friends that are also not distracted by chatting. I also have a friend that is distracted by chatting and so we stop chatting when the terrain is anything but smooth.

I rode to Sturgis and back with a new friend over 6 days of continuous chat and we got to know each other and became long time buddies and not just riding friends.  Also made the superslab time pass more quickly. 

Your next question is which brand to get. The answer is simple, which ever brand the majority of your riding friends have. Otherwise, it is a pain in the butt to connect everyone. 

Sena has the new totally open " do nothing" to connect mesh. Every other brand requires a procedure to connect.  With Sena mesh I have said hello to riders passing in the opposite direction on the freeway!  

When I ride with my wife as pillion, she only wants to listen to music. when I break in with a bit of chatter, I hear back, " music please". We have been married for 44 years....

Edited April 4, 2023 by NeilW

[RobR]

On the issue of "constant chatter", I find suggesting that my riding partners hush up for a bit works well. 

 

I have flown planes with other pilots that constantly chatter and it can be annoying.  A quick "hey guys, lets keep the chatter to a minimum for safety right now" usually shut them up.     

 

 

[winddown]

1 hour ago, RobR said:

On the issue of "constant chatter", I find suggesting that my riding partners hush up for a bit works well.

 

 

Please tell me these modern comms have more than one channel?   Can't the chatterboxes simply have their own one and then a common band one for the group as a whole?

[NeilW]

@winddown on the topic of channels, the older units doing Bluetooth only have ONE channel and that ONE channel is maxed out at 4 people. The new comms from Sena and Cardo are called MESH.  Sena has a completely OPEN channel that literally 1000 people having the same Sena Mesh units could all connect and talk- it has 9 channels of open mesh. In addition, per your question, there is a single PRIVATE group with up to 24 members. 

Cardo does it differently. With Cargo mesh you can have an unlimited number of 15 person groups.  In either case, that's a lot of people in a group.

[winddown]

52 minutes ago, NeilW said:

 

Cardo does it differently. With Cargo mesh you can have an unlimited number of 15 person groups.  In either case, that's a lot of people in a group.

 

More people than I'd want to ride with.  I have ridden with one other, a local guy who has a T7, as well, amazingly, an XL250 same as mine.  I saw him in the distance one day and sped up to have a chat, we ended up going on an hours ride down this excellent backroad.  I was new then and happy to hang back out of his dust and let him lead as he knew the road well.  I wouldn't have wanted to chat with him though as I was intent on sorting out the terrain.

[NeilW]

7 minutes ago, winddown said:

 

More people than I'd want to ride with.  I have ridden with one other, a local guy who has a T7, as well, amazingly, an XL250 same as mine.  I saw him in the distance one day and sped up to have a chat, we ended up going on an hours ride down this excellent backroad.  I was new then and happy to hang back out of his dust and let him lead as he knew the road well.  I wouldn't have wanted to chat with him though as I was intent on sorting out the terrain.

Some riders want "peace and quiet" when riding others want to crank up the heavy metal bands. When I am concentrating on a review that I am writing, I have ACDC playing in my ears at medium sound level. When I am riding solo I change it up with just listening to my tires roll to Talk Radio ( on FM comms) to heavy metal or the whole album of the show Cats.  Just depends on my mood. One thing I know for sure is talking on the phone narrows my visual field of view.  I only talk on the phone if I am on a straightaway with no cars near me.  Chatting and music don't narrow my visual field of view. No idea why, but I don't push that.

[Redneckj]

For communication while on rides the Baofeng 888s radios are great.  Cheap and reliable.   Pair the radio with a shoulder mic and you have a way to talk with other riders in your group.  They are good for 1/2 mile or more depending on conditions.   Drop the radio in your backpack and the mic will clip on the shoulder strap of your backpack.  If one rider needs to alert another rider, you will be able to hear an alert from someone calling you.  Pull over and you can communicate without needing to take off your helmet.  
 

This is just another option than the other helmet to helmet com devices.