Bone Conduction Headphones

tangled_metal
tangled_metal Posts: 4,021
edited September 2017 in Commuting general
Does anyone have a set of these? Any good? I'm thinking music on my commute but a set of headphones that allow you to hear to what is around you is sensible.

Market leader is aftershokz but for Bluetooth ones it's £110. Anyone buy the cheaper ones online? The Aliexpress ones are about £35-£45 I think. Any good ones?

Or should I get ordinary in.ear sports, Bluetooth earphones and keep one out of one ear to allow for hearing?

Comments

  • Man Of Lard
    Man Of Lard Posts: 903
    I have a pair of Aftershokz Trekz Titanium and they are the canine's dangling bits. Didn't pay anything like £110 for them - keep your eyes peeled - they often pop up on offer for under £80

    Currently £88 @ Probikekit (no affiliation here) without looking hard at all - https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cycling-ac ... 62324.html
  • mouth
    mouth Posts: 1,195
    Look for something called a 'monobud'? One 'phone, but both channels for stuff recorded in stereo.
    The only disability in life is a poor attitude.
  • macleod113
    macleod113 Posts: 560
    I bought some Aftershokz Trekz Titanium second hand from Amazon for £40. they work great but can be very 'vibratey' if the volume is too high. ive had them for a month and cant see why I ever had in ear buds before. they are great. would definitely purchase a new set next.
    Cube Cross 2016
    Willier GTR 2014
  • tangled_metal
    tangled_metal Posts: 4,021
    I'm looking at wired ones because I can't justify £110!

    One question, what player do you use with your aftershokz? Phone or mp3 player? How do you carry the player.

    I don't trust my jersey pockets so have nowhere to stick the player.
  • Man Of Lard
    Man Of Lard Posts: 903
    I tend not to use mine on the road, but I do carry my phone - in a ziplock bag, in the zipped pocket of the jersey
  • tangled_metal
    tangled_metal Posts: 4,021
    I'm curious about how to use bone conduction headphones. If it's Bluetooth anything with BT in a sealed bag would work. If with a cable headphones (like I will have to get due to budget) then how to keep the player dry and close enough for the cable? Also phone or player?
  • joncomelately
    joncomelately Posts: 660
    Will your player fit in one of those armband things for iPhones and the like? I used to use one running, and it was sealed with a headphone hole and seemed pretty good. Plus, if it's under your sleeve it'll be protected from a lot of weather. You can also keep it quite close to the top of your arm for a shorter cable, and it hopefully wouldn't interfere with arm movements on the bars.

    The alternative would be something like this I guess, which doesn't have an armband.
  • bigmonka
    bigmonka Posts: 361
    I got some Aftershokz Titaniums recently. For running I think they're superb - light, comfy, wireless, still able to hear cars approaching.
    But for cycling I find that the wind noise is really bad so I end up having them really quite loud which kind of defeats the point in still being able to hear things around you. It could just be the combination of my head shape, the glasses I wear, and helmet shape that cause the wind noise, but doing anything above about 15mph or into the wind isn't great (particularly for the high cost)
  • essex-commuter
    essex-commuter Posts: 2,188
    edited September 2017
    I've got Aftershokz Titaniums, one of the best things I've ever bought. First set went wrong after a couple of months, they were replaced immediately. I was getting bored on my commute, that's what made me buy them...I would never use normal headphones on the bike.

    They are not great for spoken word, I tried some podcasts and while I could hear it, it wasn't fantastic. But for music via Spotify, absolute spot on for me.
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Is there a high street store somewhere that you can demo these things? The posts from users, despite their sortof praise, make me a bit nervous about whether they would actually be any good.
  • bigmonka
    bigmonka Posts: 361
    apreading wrote:
    Is there a high street store somewhere that you can demo these things? The posts from users, despite their sortof praise, make me a bit nervous about whether they would actually be any good.
    I'm not sure if there is - although Evans do officially sell them, so they might occasionally have stock in?
    The issue I've found is that they behave differently when you're travelling at speed, and you would get that from trying them in a quiet shop. But on that note they're brilliant for using at your desk at work whilst still being able to have a conversation with people around you.
  • essex-commuter
    essex-commuter Posts: 2,188
    Forgot to mention that the other advantage they have is you can hear (and take) an incoming phone call (or text). When my Father was alive and in a Care Home it really gave me piece of mind knowing that I was instantly contactable. I even wore them on club runs at that time, nothing playing, but just t hear and take a call if I got one (which did happen one day).
  • bigmonka
    bigmonka Posts: 361
    essex-commuter wrote:
    Forgot to mention that the other advantage they have is you can hear (and take) an incoming phone call (or text). When my Father was alive and in a Care Home it really gave me piece of mind knowing that I was instantly contactable. I even wore them on club runs at that time, nothing playing, but just t hear and take a call if I got one (which did happen one day).
    Sorry to hear about your dad :(
    How you get them to receive texts? Or do you just mean you got the notification sound?
  • apreading
    apreading Posts: 4,535
    Do they have a mic too?
  • essex-commuter
    essex-commuter Posts: 2,188
    Text is a notification tone only.

    Yes they have a mic, works pretty well.

    From the headphone you can pause and play music, adjust volume, move to next track and accept incoming phone calls.

    Very comfortable as well, I often take my crash helmet off when I get home, forgetting I am wearing them! ( I wear them over the straps).

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