Bike 2 Bike Intercoms, which is best?

Squiffythewombat · Post by **Squiffythewombat** » Fri May 06, 2005 10:54 am

Hi Guys,

As my budget for the vtr is slightly under (theres always a first) my best mate and i have decided to fork out for some good bike to bike radios. The only problem is there seems to be loads of different types which really vary in quality.
We are looking at the oxford ones, autocom ones and these A90 things....

any input at all would be useful, any feedback as these guys cost Â£100+ a unit and we want to make sure we are getting ones that work!

Does anyone know if they work above 80mph? (on private roads of course)

Thanks Again
Toby

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Fri May 06, 2005 1:59 pm

i got some last year from the BMF show. paid show price - approx 140.00 for both, came with full helmet speakers & titchy mikes & PTT setups. Radios are Motorola.

Ok up to 50-60mph, after that - forget it..... might be ok on a quiet little IL4, but not on a storm with race cans....

Personally i wouldnt worry & spend the money on other goodies....

Squiffythewombat · Post by **Squiffythewombat** » Fri May 06, 2005 4:38 pm

was that a radio or headset issue do you think essexbloke? do you wear a neck tube?

To be honest we have been after these for ages as we do many long journeys together and would really transform our riding experience as i see it!

looking at these at the moment, mainly because they are cheapo (like me as you might of gathered by now...)

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... %3AIT&rd=1

Stormin Ben · Post by **Stormin Ben** » Fri May 06, 2005 5:56 pm

You're in luck mate!!
I just nipped upstairs to see if the old copy of Ride I have in the loo had a website address and guess what is on test?
Yep, bike intercoms

Drop me a line to ben_916_uk@yahoo.co.uk and I'll email you a scan of the test report

Brief summary
The Oxford one is 6th (out of 7

) with scores of 5 for clarity, 4 for ease of use, 6 for range and 8 for comfort

Top two are both Autocom with scores of 9,9,9 & 8 for the KIT6 and 9,7,9 &8 for the KIT 21-K
However they are both more than double the price of the oxford one so you pays yer money etc

Ben

t00lkit · Post by **t00lkit** » Fri May 06, 2005 6:53 pm

Autocom is the only way to go!

Not got any myself as yet, but after doing much research and questioning, the answer is always the same.... Autocom

Never looked into Radio-Radio, but for Music, Mobile, GPS it appears to do the job 100%. Mate of mine uses his bike for work business and he can be on the phone doing 90+ and the other person doesn't even know he's not in the office!

Theres always some on e-bay, but they're not cheap
good luck

Fireman on a Storm · Post by **Fireman on a Storm** » Fri May 06, 2005 8:24 pm

2 bean cans and a bit of string

Go down to your local bike training school and see waht they use.

If they use them day in and day out and are happy they must be good.

cupasoop · Post by **cupasoop** » Sat May 07, 2005 12:08 am

Try somewhere like maplins (http://www.maplins.co.uk), they have all sorts of comms stuff. Maybe a couple of 2 way radios that you can use off the bike as well?

Squiffythewombat · Post by **Squiffythewombat** » Sat May 07, 2005 1:31 am

thanks for all your help.....firstly tried ringing bike schools, they are all running dif radios and have different advice, they are all PMR444 or something tho!

Been looking at autocom, but they are pricey compaired to the oxford ones?

Ive all the ride backissues? do u know whats on the cover so i can dig it out? i go by cover design as they are not sorted by date? If oxford is 5 out of 6 and autocom are six then surely they are not too bad. I would like them to work upto around 90, but past that i dont care...

thanks for all your help?

btw anybody heard of the A80?

essexbloke · Post by **essexbloke** » Sat May 07, 2005 10:55 am

Squiff m8, my set is almost identicle to the one you're looking at.

For me, i personally think it's a problem with interfering noise. too much wind + noisy cans + the fact that your earpeice is designed to be stuck on the inner shell of the helmet. The sound then has to travel through the lining to your ear. Did look into sourcing better ear plug speakers, but couldnt find any to fit the connecting leads so gave up.....

With hindsight, i would have saved up for an autocom, but hey, there you go....

Stormin Ben · Post by **Stormin Ben** » Sat May 07, 2005 10:59 am

The issue is 101 from sept 03 with a close up shot of a bloke in a red Shoei with a road behind him
It was also the issue with 2 separate firestorm reviews, one Vs the SP1 and one in the "best bikes for Â£2500" feature

The top banner is green with "WIN 100 geat prizes worth Â£6500" on it

The features strip across the bottom has 'Bike-2-bike intercoms' on the left, 'on the right rubber' in the middle and 'used Â£2500 bikes' on the right

The Oxford was 5th/6, the Autocoms were 1st/6 and 2nd/6 respectively.
They couldn't use the Oxford above 90mph whereas the autocoms were fine to 150mph but at the end of the day it comes down to quality and exactly what you want out of it
If you want a clear conversation with minimum fafing then the Autocom is the only way to go, however, if you just wanna be able to say 'left turn ahead', 'good save' etc at legal speeds then the Oxford will work ok (albeit less user friendly)

A80 heads north east out from Glasgow

Ben

cupasoop · Post by **cupasoop** » Sat May 07, 2005 8:12 pm

A80 = Horrible bit of duel carrageway that goes from glasgow, past cumbernauld towards stirling. Avoid unless you like sitting in traffic or roadworks.

Fester · Post by **Fester** » Sat May 07, 2005 11:30 pm

Try this lot http://www.intaride.com/

I use their system for my bike training, and find it perfect for the job and considerably cheaper than Autocom

HTH
fester

Squiffythewombat · Post by **Squiffythewombat** » Sun May 08, 2005 12:16 am

fester, your the second person to recommend these radios, im looking at these; "IntaRide XL Pro Bike-to-Bike Kit" they seem to be just like autocome but with more options and the ablitiy to boost the wattage? (on private roads of course)

Squiffythewombat · Post by **Squiffythewombat** » Sun May 08, 2005 12:47 am

oh yeah and is there any real difference between the series 80 and series 99? I realise the power difference but my mate and i would only need say 1/4mile to 1/2 mile coverage MAX distance?

Fester · Post by **Fester** » Mon May 09, 2005 12:15 am

Yo Squiffy

I've never tried Autocom, but appreciate that they are regarded as 'the best', but are also damn expenisve if you want 2 x radios plus all the other kit. The Intaride complete system is a lot cheaper, and does the job perfectly (for me anyway!)

I have the Series 99 radios, the 80 wasn't available when I bought mine a couple of years ago. From what I know, the 80 'can' transmit at 2 watts (which, without a licence, is illegal I believe! but that's the owners call

) whereas the 99 is only a legal .5 watt, so the tx distance on this one isn't great. I use mine for training and so the guy I'm talking to is generally very close in front of me, so I wouldn't want to state exactly how far you will get with the 99, but I'd guess it was less than a mile, and then only when there is nothing else in the way (hills etc). As far as I know the only differences between the 2 are the extra power of the 80, plus it's waterproof.

So I'd suggest the 99 is all you need, going by what you said. Must admit I'd like to try the 80 out some time, just to see how much further I could get, even though I don't actually need it

HTH
fester