Wireless ear buds for mtbiking

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Any recommendations for wireless earbuds to use in the bush? Was going to get Apple ones then realised I probably need a cord between them to hold them in.
Thanks
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I use trekztitanium bone conducting wireless headphones, they are great!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Just looked them up. I like the idea of bone conduction so it doesn’t block your ears. Do they hold on with rougher riding?
 

ctguru

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Just looked them up. I like the idea of bone conduction so it doesn’t block your ears. Do they hold on with rougher riding?
Yep, never had any issues, been using the wireless ones for a couple of years and the wired ones before that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
Bought these yesterday

For the price they are awesome. Audio quality is as good as apples latest wired earbuds.


Once installed into the ear canal, you rotate the outer housing and they gently expand to lock in. No way these are falling out. With a linking cable and lipo batteries in the little bulges, there is no issues losing one earbud.

5 hours run time.


 

Litenbror

Eats Squid
Bought these yesterday

For the price they are awesome. Audio quality is as good as apples latest wired earbuds.


Once installed into the ear canal, you rotate the outer housing and they gently expand to lock in. No way these are falling out. With a linking cable and lipo batteries in the little bulges, there is no issues losing one earbud.

5 hours run time.


The JBL are great sound for the price. I had a similar pair and unfortunately the outside disintegrated and they stopped turning on within 6 months. JB hi-fi were good and refunded the money as they were no longer selling that model anymore, if I had have seen your ones I would probably have grabbed them as the replacement.
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
The JBL are great sound for the price. I had a similar pair and unfortunately the outside disintegrated and they stopped turning on within 6 months. JB hi-fi were good and refunded the money as they were no longer selling that model anymore, if I had have seen your ones I would probably have grabbed them as the replacement.
I had a pair of wired JBL’s before these that lasted a good 4 years, fingers crossed. JB’s sms tax receipts makes any future warranty claims easy.

At this price, a years worth of use I think is fair and reasonable. Lipo cells are so small, they won’t have a 600 cycle life I’m guessing. Happy to be wrong.
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
I had a pair of wired JBL’s before these that lasted a good 4 years, fingers crossed. JB’s sms tax receipts makes any future warranty claims easy.

At this price, a years worth of use I think is fair and reasonable. Lipo cells are so small, they won’t have a 600 cycle life I’m guessing. Happy to be wrong.
I was contemplating some wireless headphones but hadn’t considered how long the batteries would last. For someone using for a few hours most days, is something along the lines of AirPods or similar likely only going to last a year or so before needing to be replaced?
 

link1896

Mr Greenfield
I was contemplating some wireless headphones but hadn’t considered how long the batteries would last. For someone using for a few hours most days, is something along the lines of AirPods or similar likely only going to last a year or so before needing to be replaced?
That is a HUGE can of worms.

If you charge regular lithium polymer cells to 4.2 volts, and discharge to about 3.7volts, they are good for about 600 cycles.

No idea what chemistry and what charging methodology Apple use, of course product longevity isn’t part of the product development team’s vocabulary at Apple.



Deep dive into the nitty gritty here


 

Cardy George

Piercing rural members since 1981
Bought these yesterday

For the price they are awesome. Audio quality is as good as apples latest wired earbuds.


Once installed into the ear canal, you rotate the outer housing and they gently expand to lock in. No way these are falling out. With a linking cable and lipo batteries in the little bulges, there is no issues losing one earbud.

5 hours run time.


I bought their bigger brother, the Endurance Sprint, a few weeks back after my Audioflys died.

384009


I agree on the sound quality, JBL are knocking it out of the park for the money at the moment. Although I had to crank the bass and turn everything else down on these once the were out in the wild. As well as rotating to lock in, the hooks have magnets on the end so once they're in they Do. Not. Move.

Only two issues with them. I find sometimes they're hard to seat properly. Sometimes they go in perfectly and everything is balanced, sometimes one will suction cup itself to my ear canal and I can fuck with it for the whole ride home and not get it right.

And the touch pad controls are way too sensitive, the slightest touch will wither pause the playback, or skip, or try and make a phone call. Sometimes even just sitting them in my helmet will turn the bloody things back on.
 

crash3

Likes Dirt
...of course product longevity isn’t part of the product development team’s vocabulary at Apple.
I'd go so far as to say they purposefully avoid product longevity. Planned obsolescence and all.
I despise Apple as a company, they truly seem to have contempt for their own customers.

"Hey, we made these awesome bluetooth earphones so you don't get tangled in your wired ones! And we removed the headphone jack so you have to use them! Oh you can't afford those on top of our way overpriced phone? Don't worry, you can buy an overpriced adapter to use your wired headphones, but you can't plug in your phone at the same time!"
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Must say I haven't had any of these problems with Apple products.

Had an iPhone 7 from release all the way to a few weeks ago where I went to a 13, with the old one still functioning as a spare. Other half has the Airpods which have been fine for at least three years I reckon. Plus multiple computers and phones over the years which were either sold or gifted onwards.

Price/performance ratio not to everyone's taste of course, but in my experience the stuff is pretty solid.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I was contemplating some wireless headphones but hadn’t considered how long the batteries would last. For someone using for a few hours most days, is something along the lines of AirPods or similar likely only going to last a year or so before needing to be replaced?
I got airpod pros as a gift start of last year and found I use them every day at work and during the weekends. They are fantastic. I use them all the time riding and have never had them come close to falling out. The comfort, noise cancelling, and battery life is excellent too but I reckon most would be pretty good now. If they break I would get them again.
 

ualf

Likes Dirt
Just looked them up. I like the idea of bone conduction so it doesn’t block your ears. Do they hold on with rougher riding?
The sound quality from them is far from hifi, but far better than you would expect.

Personally my only issue with them is that after about 2 hours they start feeling quite painful at point of contact.
 

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've got Aftershokz bone conducting headphones, they work really well. Not audiophile sound quality for music listening but very handy for being able to hear other stuff at the same time. Hard to make out detail like a conversation but you know someone's talking to you or there's a vehicle approaching etc. I wear mine all day at work sometimes, very handy for taking phone calls while working on a computer or driving.
When riding in the bush I want to hear any mechanical noises from the bike, and when the tyres are about to let go on gravel so I don't wear them while riding.
 

geekman

Squid
I got airpod pros as a gift start of last year and found I use them every day at work and during the weekends. They are fantastic. I use them all the time riding and have never had them come close to falling out. The comfort, noise cancelling, and battery life is excellent too but I reckon most would be pretty good now. If they break I would get them again.
Yep one of the best purchases I’ve ever made, perfect earphones when combined with Foam Masters tips
 

ashes_mtb

Has preferences
Do the full wireless ones pop out occasionally? Looking at a few options, including true wireless, wireless with those clips, or the partial wireless…

And has anyone had any experience with ambient modes, where background noise is mixed in so you can hear what’s going on around you?

384580


384581


384582


384583


384584
 

Jim Junkie

Used to sell drugs, now he just takes them
I've got Aftershokz bone conducting headphones, they work really well. Not audiophile sound quality for music listening but very handy for being able to hear other stuff at the same time. Hard to make out detail like a conversation but you know someone's talking to you or there's a vehicle approaching etc. I wear mine all day at work sometimes, very handy for taking phone calls while working on a computer or driving.
When riding in the bush I want to hear any mechanical noises from the bike, and when the tyres are about to let go on gravel so I don't wear them while riding.
I also use the Aftershokz - Aeropex. The quality was a lot better than I thought it would be for bone-conducting headphones. They have passable microphone quality for hands-free but as you'd expect do not handle the wind well for that.

Being able to hear your surroundings is a huge plus and the fit is secure. I've used them for off-road riding a handful of times with no issues, but like hellmansam, I generally prefer the sounds of silence and bike when out in the bush. On the road it's a real benefit to hear cars & whatnot around you.

One thing I will say though is that the durability has seemed to be a bit lacking. On 2 pairs now, a bit over a year into each's service life, they have developed a knocking sound in one ear, like the driver has come loose. Warranty has not been an issue with both replaced no hassle, but to have the same problem develop twice is a little concerning. That's using them about 10 hours on average a week I'd guess, primarily riding and sweating all over them.
 

Rorschach

Didnt pay $250 for this custom title
Do the full wireless ones pop out occasionally? Looking at a few options, including true wireless, wireless with those clips, or the partial wireless…

And has anyone had any experience with ambient modes, where background noise is mixed in so you can hear what’s going on around you
I've got some Jabra Elite 65t's I've had a few years and while they don't pop out, I don't recommend using the HearThrough mode as all you get is wind noise that the mic picks up from outside.
 
Top