When planning a bike tour or bike trip, athletes often face a problem with organizing communication between groups. This is acutely felt when the route passes through places where there is no cellular connection. At such a moment come to the rescue Velorations, which allow you to easily coordinate the movement of cyclists or, in extreme cases, warn of any danger.
Besides, walkie-talkies for cyclists, a very handy thing that has special devices for reliable use while riding. And to simplify the management of this device even more, the corresponding headset for cycling, which allows you to communicate without distracting the rider by pressing the receive button, as well as the corresponding bicycle accessories.
But what kind of radio to choose?
Approach the acquisition of such devices carefully and seriously. Remember that good walkie-talkies for cyclists can last you more than one year.
When choosing Velorations, it will be useful for you to familiarize yourself with some theoretical points if you are new to this matter. And if you are already a professional user, then most likely you know everything even more so.
So, here are some important criteria to consider when choosing Velorations.
Decide on the geography of movement, that is, exactly where (in what places) you will need Velorations. There can be three answers: outside the city, in the city, or a mixed type.
Now in more detail.
Country conditions
In this case, we can advise you to choose walkie-talkies for cyclists, operating in the high-frequency range VHF (136-174 MHz). Such devices can be used off-road or on tracks where there are no large signal barriers. You can get acquainted with the walkie-talkies that operate in this range on our website.
If your route is built through dense forests and fairly “deaf” terrain, walkie-talkies with a CB range are suitable for you (truckers and taxi drivers often use them). These radios can receive a signal at a frequency of 27 MHz, and their wavelength is more than 10 m. This means that it will easily bypass an obstacle with a diameter of more than 6 m.
In an urban setting
Are you a fan of city riding? Then your choice is obvious - walkie-talkies with ultra-high frequency range UHF, from 420 to 473 MHz. A radio station of this range has a wavelength of 70 cm.
The UHF band consists of two legal and unlicensed bands - LPD (433 MHz) and PMR (446 MHz). Radio stations with such frequencies can be safely used in Ukraine.
Thanks to these parameters, the connection of such devices is quite high-quality and is not “afraid” of any interference. These walkie-talkies are just perfect for use in the city.
If you have already decided that you will ride the bike paths in the city, walkie-talkies from brands such as Ajetrays, Midland, Kenwood, etc., which are also presented on our website, are ideal for you.
mixed type
The last category is for those who still do not know exactly where they are going, or, perhaps, just want to use walkie-talkies both in the city and beyond. In this case, you need to choose dual-band velocities, usually operating in the UHF and VHF frequency bands. For example, these are models such as: TK-UVF10 and Kenwood TK-UV3R.
What else do you need to know?
If you have already chosen a bike location, then also consider the following points:
Also, the radio should be able to connect additional equipment and accessories for cyclists such as high capacity batteries, headsets, throat phones, antennas, etc.
Pick the perfect one for you veloration, you can in our online store. We will please you not only with a really good choice, but also with the price.
It is unlikely that anyone will deny the importance of having a connection on the route. Not only communication with the "big land", which is often organized by means of cellular or satellite phones, but also communication between the participants of the journey. Such a connection becomes especially relevant in a cycling trip for a group of 5 or more people.
In such a group, the leader often does not see the trailer. And the fact that someone has something pierced or broken is known only by the absence of part of the group at the next stop. If the group passes the route with an escort car, it is very useful to know where this car and our things are now.
Weight restrictions allow cyclists to use only small walkie-talkies. You can also put something more powerful in the car, but this is not often used, because the uniformity of radio models is lost. And in the event of a breakdown of one of the walkie-talkies, it will not work to insure the walkie-talkie from the car.
The requirement of compactness and low weight of radios limits them to the VHF and UHF bands, that is, the frequency bands of 140 and 430 MHz amateur bands. A lot is produced for these ranges and compact models, and the length of the antennas is acceptable.
For walking routes, you can use both low-power models of the LPD and PMR classes, as well as models giving up to 5W to the antenna.
But the cycling group moves faster and "stretches" on the route for considerable distances. Therefore, 0.01 - 0.1W of LPD or PMR radio power is often not enough. The legal use of more powerful walkie-talkies requires their registration, but greatly expands the possibility of communication.
For many years we have been using walkie-talkies manufactured by the Japanese company Yaesu on our routes. At first it was the VX-5R models, and the last 3 years - VX-6R. Good, reliable cars. Power - maximum for mobile walkie-talkies (5W), full water resistance, reliable fastening of the headset to the walkie-talkie on the thread. It won't drop by accident.
There are also troubles:
Very inconvenient clip on the walkie-talkie to hang it on the belt. We do not use it at all - we put the walkie-talkie in our pocket.
Not very small weight (slightly less than 300g). It is not always convenient when it hangs on the back in the pocket of the jersey.
Expensive batteries. More than 2000 rubles per piece. Yes, they are enough for 3-4 days "from dawn to dusk." But anyway.
And we began to look for an alternative. In the same Yaesu products. The closest was a miniature model VX-3R.
The station is small, 2 times smaller than the VX-6R. And it weighs 130g. For transmission 2 bands - 144 and 430MHz.
The maximum power, however, is also smaller - up to 3W at 144 MHz, up to 2W at 430MHz.
Fairly short standard antenna. This walkie-talkie does not add sensitivity.
Batteries are suitable for it from third-party manufacturers, not expensive. Yes, and relatives are in the region of 600 rubles. And if necessary, the antenna can be replaced with something more serious. Some kind of quarter wave. If for the 430 band, then you can use the 17 cm Comet SMA-703.
We bought one such walkie-talkie for testing and went on the route. One VX-6R with the manager, one in the car, and a trial VX-3R with me.
We traveled like this for a week, arrived in Moscow satisfied and rested, after which I returned the radio to the seller. Because of one single problem - the headset.
Headset. as you know, this is an earpiece with a microphone and a call button. Without it, riding a bike with a walkie-talkie is problematic. The radio is in the back pocket of the T-shirt, the microphone is clipped to the collar of the T-shirt, the earphone is in the ear.
And now it was necessary for someone to come up with the idea that the place for inserting this headset into the radio should be made in the form of the letter G (see photo).
As a result, in a walkie-talkie lying in a pocket, the headset is a little "snapped" out of the socket. At the same time, the microphone and earpiece of the headset no longer work, and the speaker and microphone built into the radio do not work yet. As a result, you may be shouted that something happened from behind. You won't hear anything.
In the first releases of this walkie-talkie, after 2 years of operation, some segments of the LCD screen stopped working. It seems to be a trifle, but it becomes difficult to understand what frequency the radio is tuned to. Screens are changed in a service center for not very noticeable money, and after that they live without problems.
Headsets for these walkie-talkies have a weak point - the microphone assembly. Either the cables fall out of it, or the plastic housing of the microphone falls apart. Only "native" headsets are suitable for the radio, so you either have to buy new ones or repair them with glue and electrical tape.
Sakharov Alexander
Hello everyone, first review on this site, I hope you enjoy it.
I decided to order walkie-talkies for me and my girlfriend, but not simple ones, but such that they are somehow fixed on the body, and have some kind of microphone and earpiece. I wanted to use them when riding a bike, because it is not always possible to say something to a partner, and this is often required in different situations.
I even considered the option of collecting something like this myself, but suddenly I stumbled upon ...
These walkie-talkies came in a beautiful wrapper, I ordered two different colors, for different colors of helmets - red and white. The wrapper is really beautiful: not a single package has arrived in the likes of me, I didn’t even want to open it. But I wanted to look at the radio more, so I had to carefully open this beauty. What am I saying, here it is:
Inside were two identical cardboard boxes with a note that there were 1100 mAh batteries. I did not check the real capacity, for this it is necessary to open the device, which I have not done yet.
Inside lies the host device itself, as well as a headset for it. And of course, a charger with a helmet attachment platform.
The radio has 4 buttons, two on the top, two on the side: VOL, CH (volume and channel selection) on the top, PTT and MENU on the side. By pressing VOL and CH, the current volume or channel is reported in English to the earpiece. The walkie-talkie is attached to the helmet with double-sided tape, on the right side, the headset is attached to it via mini-USB, and the headset is hung with the help of a bow on the ears, behind the head. However, here is a picture that will explain how it works.
This image was taken from the product, because. Haven't attached this case to the helmet yet.
The headset communicates with the host via mini-USB, digitally, there is a small block on the headset, from which the wires to the earpiece and microphone come out, where data is encoded and decoded. I'm not really sure about this exactly, but it's a pretty logical system when using mini-USB as a connector.
The earphone is arranged in an unusual way. A silicone pad with a shackle is put on the speaker, like a padlock. The loudspeaker is fixed in the ear in such a way that the earpiece stands up against some element of the auricle. Unusual, but reliable enough. It is not clear why they didn’t just make a plug - either there is a tricky speaker, which just needs to be large, or in order not to plug one ear, and leave the other open, which can cause discomfort.
Microphone on a short and flexible leg. It has a foam pad, but the manufacturer suggests removing it if the speed is below 35 km / h. I don't think I'd really want to talk at this speed (I don't drive on the highway), so I'll take it off and use it without it. Due to the fact that the stem is short, the microphone fits close enough to the mouth.
This button is for voice transmission. Fastened on the finger, Velcro, has a long wire. The transmission does not start immediately, but after about 0.3 seconds. Not critical, in my opinion.
I have not yet shown a platform for mounting on a helmet and charging under the American (sic!) Standard. Charging standard: 5v, 600 mAh. Charged with ampere from a smartphone, everything is ok. When charging, the red LED is on, at the end - blue.
It's all attached to the helmet with double-sided tape. The host is light, so it should not fall off by itself, and when it falls, it will fly off without being damaged. Well, at least I hope :)
Now about TH:
I tested these walkie-talkies only at home, in different rooms, I did not go out into the street. You can hear each other well, the transmission is quite confident even behind two load-bearing walls. Considering that the walkie-talkies were taken for transmission in line of sight, at a distance of 200-300 meters, I think that we will not run into technical limitations at all. Walkie-talkies can also be tuned in terms of speech sensitivity.
Separately, I want to note the manual for this case. The manual is disgusting, not only was it translated by some kind of automatic translator, but also the punctuation marks are not clear how. Another funny thing is that the radio responds to different commands with a single short beep in the earpiece. In the manual, it is designated as "DOU". At first, for a long time I could not understand what this means :) In particular, due to the crooked manual, I still do not understand how to change the CTCSS setting.
Pros:
Peter Bridger
I ride my bike to work, sometimes I share the ride with a colleague. The problem is that due to the wind and the distance between the bikes it is very difficult to hear what the other person is saying.
It would be great to have some kind of radiotelephone headset to communicate while driving. For example, one solution could be a Bluetooth headset, like those used with mobile phones, paired with some sort of mobile phone or radio.
The best I could find are wired units designed for two people sharing one bike. The radios I found were again for motorcycles and also seemed to be very expensive.
Are there such units for cyclists?
Neil Fane
Not exactly the right answer, but I often set up a set of signals for touring partners: one ring on the bell means "I'm here" and please call back, and several times frantically - "let's stop here." I suspect you won't find a bike headset and the challenge will be to find a walkie-talkie-friendly headset that will play well with both a bike helmet and And with the sound of the wind. Perhaps something designed for boating might work, or something military grade?
Freiheit ♦
@neilfein: The main thing to look for in a microphone is "bone conduction". They hear your voice through their jaws and are much less likely to pick up wind noise.
Daniel R Hicks
I suspect motorcycle gear is the closest you'll find. Unfortunately, not only is it expensive, but it's also heavier and bulkier than you'd like.
omg pony
@freiheit: Throat mics are another option and are easy to find through paintball sources. The only problem I have is getting real throat microphones where you only need to whisper to communicate.
A few years ago, when my wife and I started riding together, we got a couple of cheap two-way radios with headsets that included VOX. This allowed us to talk even when we weren't riding side by side. And since we weren't trying to speak from a mile away, no matter how cheap the radios were.
Of course, this requires you to coordinate with your colleague, both radios are tuned in and tuned to the same frequency.
Brian Knoblauch
FRS radios are pretty inexpensive, most of them seem to have VOX and will satisfy the bill quite well (since it's designed for this particular type of use). Bluetooth can be made to work too, but it's not really designed for that. Also, if you need more range, you can buy an FRS/GMRS combo radio, get an FCC GMRS license, and talk over much longer distances (for example, if you're at a big event and get separated).
Neil Fane
What is VOX? Is it a trademark?
zigdon
The BK-1 product line was acquired by Terrano, LCC. and from today will be sold under the Terrano-X brand.
There is a new product on the market that has just been released by VERTIX. This is a wireless system specially designed for cyclists and equipped with a handlebar remote control. The distance between two riders is 500m and you can have up to 4 riders in a group with up to 1.5km range between the first and last rider! battery life is 10 hours. There is wind noise filtering, as well as a choking prevention function - your friends can't hear you breathing heavily, but only when you're talking!
I can recommend Motorola T5522 radios with VOX (although PTT is more reliable). Used to coordinate them in 24 hour races. It has now been discontinued, but similar systems can be purchased for around £25 or so.
They are a bit pricey, but the solution my wife has been using for a few years is Eartec Simultalk 2.4GHz radios. About $300 for a pair. The benefits are small, light, simple and very user friendly as it is like talking on the phone.
The downside, apart from cost, is that adding a third rider is problematic.
FRS / GMRS radios with VOX and a good headset that fits under a bicycle helmet, must be a more economical solution, but I suspect you may have to try a couple of radio and headset combinations until you get a setup that works for VOX. and bicycle helmets. A radio with VOX settings would be very desirable.
This is a rough hard place on a bike. I used cheap PRS (UHF frequency) radios because they can be found for $30-$40, they run on normal AA batteries, and the headphone/mic kits cost $10 each. I mount the radio on my collar so it's high enough for a good signal, or on my belt and use the PTT microphone on my collar.
The range is about a kilometer, more if its open space like a road. VOX is a setting, but I found it too sensitive. They are not small or light, but for the price, I wouldn't cry to break one.
Finally - they are a standard transceiver, not a proprietary pair where one breaks and the other becomes useless.
Bluetooth technology is designed for use over short distances. Less than 10 meters if there is a clear line of sight. I would advise you to retail a portable two-way radio (FRS) and a headset with a microphone.
Imagine the situation that you are going on a bike trip. On the way, you will come across dense forests, hills, sparsely populated areas, in a word, places where there may be problems with the operation of a mobile phone. What to do?
In cases where it is necessary to ensure communication between all members of the group, athletes usually use velorations and accessories for a bicycle.
Velorations- the thing is very convenient and extremely useful in such situations. The device has special devices that secure it in a secure position while riding. A bonus to walkie-talkies can be cyclist accessories, for example, a headset that allows you to control a walkie-talkie when a person does not have the opportunity to hold the device in his hands
Imagine that you are ready to become the owner veloration, but now you have a dilemma: which model to choose?
Probably, you should not tell you (you already know everything) that you need to approach the acquisition of equipment seriously and responsibly. After all, a good device can become a reliable "friend" for many years.
Let's first decide on your route, during the passage of which you will use Velorations.
We have three valid options, these are: a bike ride around the city, outside the city, or a mixed type (when you will ride both there and there).
Now let's look at each option separately.
So let's say you need Velorations for travel within cities. In this case, your choice should be limited to models of radio stations operating in the UHF band (420-473 MHz). These radios have a wavelength of about 70 cm.
The UHF frequency range is considered "urban" and shows its best qualities in dense urban areas. It consists of such bands as: LPD (433 MHz) and PMR (446 MHz), which are legal and do not require licenses.
Devices operating at such frequencies can be safely used in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other regions of Russia.
If you have already decided that you will ride a bike in the city and admire the urban scenery, radio stations with this range will suit you perfectly. You can find a suitable model on our website.
Now consider a situation in which you are a fan of off-road driving or a desert area located In the countryside.
In case you travel in not too remote places (where there are no big obstacles to the signal), you will need walkie-talkies for cyclists, which work perfectly on the water of the most versatile ranges - VHF (136-174 MHz). But if your path lies through a dense forest, choose a device with a "civilian range" - CB. The wavelength of radio stations operating at this frequency is about 11 meters. This means that such a station will be able to pick up a signal, despite an obstacle with a diameter of more than 6 meters.
And the last option is mixed when you want to ride both in and out of the city, so you plan to use the radio in both cases. Then choose dual-band radios operating in the UHF and VHF bands.
Here is a short guide. But, there are a couple of very important points that you should consider when you decide on the territorial points.
remember, that Velorations must be compact, because when moving, the dimensions of the devices play an important role. Secondly, walkie-talkies must meet the quality standards that characterize their reliability. And, thirdly, make sure that your model has the ability to connect additional equipment, for example, headset that won't occupy your hands, batteries increased capacity to help you stay connected longer, and antennas, to amplify the signal.
You can choose the perfect one for yourself and your friends in our online store. We will be able to please and pleasantly surprise you not only with a really good choice, but also with the cost of goods.
