What Bluetooth Headset should I get?

[Dammit]

Hi,

I commute to work and back on my bike, normally with my phone in my bag.
This means that I hear it ringing loud and clear, and normally manage to stop, swing the bag round, rummage for the mobile, and pull it out of the bag just as it stops ringing.
This is annoying.

I have been thinking about getting a headset/earpiece unit that I can wear whilst cycling so that I can answer the phone without needing to stop etc.
It would also come in very handy for rides like the London to Brighton, where co-ordinating what you are doing at speed proves challenging with a hand held mobile...

The problem that has occured to me is that of wind rush overwhelming the microphone, as I do not know of any headset that is designed to be used by someone travelling at 25 mph without a windscreen in front of them- any advice?

Cheers,
Neil

[Dammit]

Good idea, I'll do that now, thanks!

[sparkythecat]

Instead of carrying your phone in your bag, why don't you put it in your pocket or on a cord round your neck inside your clothing?. Set it to vibrate when it rings. That way you can whip it out and see whose calling. If its very important, then stop and talk to them, otherwise let it go to voicemail and ring when you get to work. Job sorted without any expense.
Cycling can be dangerous enough without any unnecessary distractions

[Dammit]

I tried keeping it in a pocket, but that was way more dangerous (when I heard it)- have you ever tried to fish a phone out of your pocket whilst cycling through London traffic?

Also it would not help on the L to B communications thing- no pockets at all then...

I could try the cord round the neck, but what I'd prefer would be to answer, tell the caller that I'm on the way in/home and that I'll call them shortly(if not important), or stop and take the call if it is important.

[sparkythecat]

Dammit said:

I could try the cord round the neck, but what I'd prefer would be to answer, tell the caller that I'm on the way in/home and that I'll call them shortly(if not important), or stop and take the call if it is important.

How long's your commute 30 -40 mins?

Whilst you're downing your pre-commute cornflakes/muesli/performance enhancing drugs each morning just change your voicemail message.

Here are some alternatives to consider

" Hi this is Damit, sorry I'm unable to take your call right now but I'm presently cycling through the rush hour traffic thereby helping to make the planet a better place for you and your lovely family by minimising my carbon footprint. Kindly leave a message and I'll call you as soon as I can.

" Hi this is Damit, I'm presently risking life and limb cycling through rush hour traffic. It's a killing zone out here . I'll call you back if I suvive. If you don't hear from me in the next hour, you'll know I didn't make it"

[pdV6]

Surely that's what voicemail's for? Just turn it off whilst commuting.

[Xenocide]

It's always worth cutting a bit of sponge out then making a cut in the middle and putting the mic in it; gets rid of alot of wind noise.

Worth a try and free if the missus isn't looking!

[ewenm]

pdV6 said:

Surely that's what voicemail's for? Just turn it off whilst commuting.

I like being out of contact when running/riding/driving.

[Dammit]

I'm aware of the danger of commuting- I've so far been hit by a Met Police armed response vehicle, two black cabs and one motor bike courier.

Of the above professional drivers who have hit me the courier made the biggest mess, nuking the front end of my Klein.

The thing that I want to avoid is having people that are trying to get hold of me go to voicemail.

Rather than have them listen to a recorded message and hang up half way through I'd rather I could answer the call and a)tell them I'll ring them back if it is not important, or b) if they say that they "have a major systems outage and they need it resolved at once" pull over and start organising engineers to get to site ASAP.

Trust me- this would save an awful lot of hassle, and it would mean that I could actually enjoy my ride home knowing that I was not going to have a rant on my voicemail when I arrive that I start dealing with half an hour later than I would have liked....

[R1 GTR]

Ok, if you're going to stop to talk to the people if it's urgent then why worry about windnoise? Then, when it does ring, just slow down to a speed where wind noise is low and then stop if needed or end call and speed up again if it isnt.

[Dammit]

This is true, however I would like to be able to talk before slowing to a stop- imagine you phone someone and have to listen to a minute or so's white noise before you can hear the other party saying "ok, I've stopped now, what was that again?"

[TedMaul]

Dammit said:

This is true, however I would like to be able to talk before slowing to a stop- imagine you phone someone and have to listen to a minute or so's white noise before you can hear the other party saying "ok, I've stopped now, what was that again?"

If it takes you a minute to slow down to a stop, I would suggest investing in new brakes before you buy a bluetooth headset

[lingus75]

Well, what I do is set my voice control up with the numbers that are likely to call and then as my phone rings (In my pocket or saddle pouch connected with a normal stereo headset whilst listening to tunes or MP3's) it announces the name of the caller. Just then use the button on the headset to accept a call and job done. Also on Sony Ericsson phones I set my 'Magic Word' up with voice-dialling so I can call if I want to. Just announce the word then voice dial, really geeky I know but handy and sometimes on a long ride I may want a chat or just find out what I have for dinner!

[mk1fan]

I'd turn the phone off and then it would go straight to voicemail. I can see that you are trying to offer premium customer service by personally answering your phone. But is it really worth the risk whilst riding? You don't seem to be that lucky without the added distraction of a phone call.

If you are so determined to answer the phone during your commute then I'd hang it on a lanyard around the neck and stop when it rings. Be warned though that talking on you phone whilst riding (without using handsfree) can be punishable as if you were driving a car.

I have a Nokia with a built in radio that had a mic included in the ear phones. Whilst I rode into to work I would listen to the radio but any call would interupt the radio. I could then answer the call. It was very distracting though - I wasn't aware of any wind noise issues.

Personally, I now turn the phone off.

[mat205125]

Do Chris King do blue tooth headsets?

[Dammit]

I got impatient and bought a Jawbone headset- much was made in their literature about the DARPA spec noise cancellation algorithms etc.
To be fair to them these seem to work fine- with one notable exception being wind noise.

So a qualified success...

I can now take the call by tapping the headset, find out who it is, then decide to stop and take the call (hospital crash team paging system has gone down)/tell them I'll phone them back (it's my mum).

Regarding distraction I cannot stand listening to music etc whilst cycling- it makes me feel extremely unsafe, as I rely on my hearing to give me advanced warning of something approaching.
I have had a lot of experience of riding in a big group of other people however- and I have never found that chatting with the other riders was a distraction- when you needed to focus you shut up generally!

[pdV6]

Dammit said:

I have had a lot of experience of riding in a big group of other people however- and I have never found that chatting with the other riders was a distraction- when you needed to focus you shut up generally!

I think that's a similar analogy to chatting in the car vs speaking on a carphone - the passenger (or rest of cycling group) can tell when you need to concentrate whereas the caller will blabber on regardless.

[Dammit]

That may well be true, I have only very limited experience so far.
I'll let you know how I get on.

With the wind noise issue I will have to slow down and stop if I wish to be understood anyway, which should reduce the odds of being turned into 80 kilos of sausage meat I hope...