Bike Ride and a Microphone

March 29, 2009 6:19 PM

Bike Riding and a Microphone One of our clients is biking across the country. She wants to be able to speak on a head phone, connected to her cell phone, while she rides. everything we have tried so far has way too much background noise. Can you recommend how she can speak on the phone, safely, with no or low background noise during this long journey by Bike? Thanks!
posted by quiverandquill to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

Have you tried anything made for motorcyclists? Their wind situation is much worse than for bicyclists. Years ago, we used a motorcycle-to-motorcycle intercom system that had a speaking tube that rested up against the rider's lips and was sealed by them when the rider wasn't speaking (avoiding ambient wind noise). Googling around for motorcycle cell phone headsets reveals the existence of "throat mics". I have trouble imagining how such a system results in intelligible speech, but there must be some merit to it or it wouldn't be popping up here and there.
I have to belive that modern bluetooth units can be pretty small and light.
posted by css28 at 6:35 PM on March 29, 2009

The Jawbone Bluetooth headseat prides itself on excellent noise-reduction features. I have not personally used one, but reviews I've read said it's pretty good at it.
posted by joshrholloway at 7:00 PM on March 29, 2009

Throat mic.
posted by acro at 7:08 PM on March 29, 2009

Race radios in bicycle racing use push-to-talk switches for the rider's mic. You could probably rig a bluetooth dialer/answerer for the handlebars somehow.
posted by rhizome at 7:10 PM on March 29, 2009

The Verizon branded wired earpiece with 2.5mm connection has worked for me in the past (on a bike with no wind noise heard)
posted by bottlebrushtree at 7:17 PM on March 29, 2009

i used the nokia with headphone set, the mic was in the headphone lead. sometimes it was too windy, but often it was ok.
posted by edtut at 1:26 AM on March 30, 2009