Are intercom headsets any good for enduro? ︱Cross Training Enduro

Music: Round 2 by Dolby
#crosstrainingenduro #enduro #hardenduro #extremeenduro

[remysaville]

I bought them to ride with my three kids for cruising easy FSRs. It was way too expensive, but also worth it. As a Dad to be able to hear their laughter going through puddles or getting their front tire off the ground would have me over pay again in a heartbeat. Without intercoms I wasn't sure they were even having fun. With them I was connected. I felt like I was truly riding with my kids, their joy at the most simple things became my joy. Best use of money ever.

[darinmosier]

Absolute game changer. Being able to tell my buddies when I crash is a tremendous advantage

[ryunruly]

I bought a cheap intercom for use with the kids! Complete game changer! You can discuss trail obstacles, techniques in real time instead of stopping and turning the bikes off.

[hegteam]

Our group is using "expensive water proof" intercoms (Cardo Bold) for adventure and enduro riding from 2019 and it has proven its usefulness time and time again. We are using the same units for 5 years in the hardest conditions from snow in the Winter to extreme heat in the Summer and we had no problems. We must also state that the intercoms using a MESH system really work for adventure and enduro riding, as they don't need a linear connection (standard Bluetooth intercoms), as in the group we usually change positions. Especially for enduro riding we believe that the MESH units from Cardo or Senna are the only option, as the linear and line of site need of the simple Bluetooth systems from the first to the last rider is not often possible. The only recommendation we can make, is that with your riding friends you should decide if you are going to use Cardo or Senna systems and everybody buy the same brand unit, as their MESH systems are not compatible.

[chrisawrx]

My wife and I went from street to dirt riding and brought the intercoms over from our street helmets. Total game changer! I can talk her through technical spots or communicate about the best line coming up on the trail. We don't have to turn around and check on each other to see if we've gotten stuck or fallen. We tell jokes, coordinate taking breaks, and curse a lot!!!

[aidangillett]

I bought a 2-pack of the FodSport BT-S2 for about $60, which seems to be the most popular of the cheap units
As someone who mostly rides solo or with just 1 other rider i've been very happy with it. I mostly use it via the phone and do a call as the range is unlimited (but obviously requires phone reception). Intercom mode does work, real world range is approx 600m of open road or a couple turns in the twistys. Much closer in woods riding, maybe 200m or so which is still very good, and the audio quality is slightly better (but slightly more annoying to get going again if disconnecting or turning off/on)
Vocal quality is good, wind/noise cancellation is excellent. I almost never hear the wind noise of the other rider and vice versa, even with helmet lid open at highway speeds. So for all intents and purposes you have complete silence until the other person speaks. Will get a little bit of engine noise with a loud bike under hard acceleration but 99% of the time no ambient noise comes through the mic
Overall volume is acceptable and I can still hear the other person whilst wearing earplugs. However past 80kph ambient wind noise does make it hard to hear, anything below that is a complete non issue

Battery life is excellent i've never had it go flat except when I forgot to charge it over 3-4 rides.
Have never landed on it or smacked it against anything, but its seen plenty of rain. Mine has lasted more than 2 years so far
Sound quality for music is good enough, there are better options for quality such as ear buds but i'm there for the ride not to listen to phenomenal music. It gets the job done well enough and I have no problem just leaving it on the helmet constantly, only ever taking it off to charge
Only issue i've had is the adhesive on the microphone is not great and has come loose a couple times but to be fair its mostly the fault of my helmets material in the chin area. And if it moves then it dramatically lowers audible quality. Other helmets it sticks fine and the velcro where the actual intercom sits has never come off so I just need to find some better adhesive
One major annoyance is the intercom will auto-answer phone calls after a certain number of rings. This can't be turned off so if you don't have your phone in front of you to hit cancel, you will always be accepting calls, major PITA. And play/pause doesn't seem to work for me

Considering the price jump to a brand name unit this is absolutely hands down better value, it gets the job done totally fine. Now if you need multi-rider meshing and all that fancy stuff probably not. If you effectively want decent speakers/microphone for phone calls with excellent noise cancellation and acceptable music quality then its unbeatable

Pro Tip: Flip the speakers around so they are facing the helmet and not your. This way the high pitched 'ding' notifications don't pierce your ears, and it gives it a more balanced music profile with better lows

[HowToGetMoreMetal]

Worked for the us forest service. We use the cardo system. Best part is talkings shit about your mates while you ride. Love telling them how much they suck when they mess up. In all honesty, love telling group of hikers in the trail or if someone in the back crashes.

[RiggerbeeOffRoad]

As a father and child it's an absolute game changer. I love my intercom for road riding also. Not done any enduro intercom with my friends but at the same time I don't think you need it as much In that environment.😊

[jayrowe]

I’ve been using Cardo’s Packtalks for at least 5years on Snowmobiles, ATVs, adventure bikes and Enduro. Always enjoyed the ball-busting with buddies, but it wasn’t until my 10yr old daughter started riding did I realize all the value. If you have kids that ride, you don’t wanna miss a second of the funny things they say when they are riding!! I’ve used the same set for 5years so the hold up very well in my opinion.

[mortyoreilly]

We have connected UHF radios to our headsets via Bluetooth dongles with push to talk buttons at our fingertips (as explained in detail by Keith Jobson’s tutorials) to significantly extend their range. We also found the Fodsports M1-S Plus units more reliable and easier to connect than the Senas.

[teambogheart]

Range is everything for dirt riding and even the good ones(cardo in my testing) don't cut it... If they did I'd be all over it. Best use is riding with less experienced riders and staying in contact, but with the trees and mountains where we usually ride range is less than a quarter mile. With serious dust, varying skill levels, and frequent bike dumps, its harder than you would imagine to stay within range. For adventure on a cleared highway its easily 4-8 times that and is amazing!

[Gembelindo]

I’ve been running the same Sena 30K from 2017 for adventure riding and for enduro in the last 2 years. Had it snag on branches and full on spills. Lots of rain and dust. It has yet to come off or give up the ghost. Of the times I’ve smacked it, it didn’t torque my neck and only glanced off the impact. Considering that Sena still updates the firmware, it’s good value to buy an older model (that has mesh) used for cheap over a newer model with marginal features and improvements.

For enduro, mesh is has been solid as long as you don’t stray too far or get masked by terrain. Real world- no more than 75-150 meters in the woods depending on terrain.

[RossiMoore]

Been using the Cardos offroad for about 3 years now. Definitely adds to the experience more than it takes away. Never had a fitment issue until my most recent helmet. As for toughness they hold up really well. In 3 years with 10 of us using them we have only broken 2 and in both cases they were hard over the handlebar crashes. One wasn't usable anymore the other still works but wont turn off once its on.

[Jrod_FPV]

Love Cardo pack talk headsets. Though beware riding through thick brush as it can step the unit off your helmet.

Pro tip. Target it to your helmet, do not reply on the mount alone. Also it's good to keep music on that way you know if the music cuts out, check immediately if you lost your headset.

Another tip is that wearing musicians ear plugs greatly increase the clarity of the headphones because they eliminate nearly all engine and wind noise. Even the cheap $10 musicians plugs on amazing do the trick. Traditional ear plugs block too much of the voices and music. .

[Bubbleuprubberdown]

A buddy and I got the Cardo Paktalk. Definitely added to the entertainment factor. We talk $41+ on our rides. The only issue we ran into was when the mic would get damp from condensation buildup. Our solution was cutting a finger off a latex glove and covering the mic.

[HDeeGardiner]

My family uses mid-grade Bluetooth headsets with high quality speakers, but we do not use the Bluetooth or Mesh intercom function. The intercom lacks the range needed for riding in dusty conditions and you get too much trail chatter. We pair our headsets with a BTech GMRS-Pro Bluetooth two-way radio. This gives us much farther range, and we only transmit when we push the Bluetooth PTT button on our handlebars. It works great.

[hesutton]

Me and a riding buddy starting using the Sena 10S in 2016. It's bluetooth. However, can only have a max of four riders on intercom at a time and pairing 4 riders was a button pushing pain. We all have bought a Sena +Mesh adapter to use with our 10S comms. Its allows the bluetooth systems to now be on open mesh communications with an unlimited number of riders. So all of the guys riding now can talk together.

For us it was a game changer. No more waiting at trail intersections or forks in the trail. The lead rider just says left, right, or whatever. They also call out trail hazards or features for the rest of us. A downed rider can call out for assistance or just a "hey wait a sec, I laid the bike over."

We all ski or snowboard too. We use the same adaptor for our ski helmet Sena comms.

Never had issues with fitment with Bell or Shoei helmets.

Love comms on rides and wouldn't want to go back. 100% worth the cost!

[tincho]

Me sumo a la consuta 👍🏻
En mi caso para ADV utilizo un Cardo4X y me parecen magníficos, tanto para rodar en grupo, como con mi esposa.
No lo utilizo para escuchar música, no me gusta atender el teléfono cuando manejo, pero todas las otras ventajas descriptas en el video también las comparto.
Alguna vez me planteé comprar un juego para enduro, pero tengo exactamente las mismas dudas que mi amigo australiano 😉
Así que apreciaría las opiniones de quienes ya lo experimentaron.
Saludos desde Argentina 🇦🇷

[marshallleach]

I ride single track. I decided to experiment with two-way radio's and cheep eBay helmet speaker and mic that connected to the two-way. The radio went into my backpack and routed the call button to the backpack strap. The wire from the helmet to the radio was exposed but I never had anything snag the wire. The helmet I removed the cheek pads and liner to stick the speaker and mic where they fit. Everything fit fine in the end, and it was VERY cool to hit that button and BS with a buddy half a mile away without fiddling with the radio or taking my gear off. I also ran the setup riding snowmachines and again very nice to not have to take a warm helmet off in the cold. Ultimately none of my other riding buddies where interested with having an exposed wire near their necks! I pulled all that crap out after one season but we still use the two-way radios on every ride!

[khowdyshell]

We love our Cardo systems. Durability is incredible. Have made it through 5 seasons, many crashes and whatever we have thrown at them. Still going strong. Only issue is they are pretty much line of sight functional which is usually fine for our trail riding. They do occasionally pick up exhaust noise of others but it's rare. I opted for the jbl premium sound upgrade, it was well worth it. Love rocking out while riding.