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This is a Buyer Review of a Scala Rider helmet headset (requires a Blue Tooth enabled cell phone) that I purchased recently. The webpage link is:
First, a disclaimer:
I am aware of increasing concerns and evidence that people using cell phones while driving cars and trucks have a higher probability of becoming distracted and getting into accidents (including running motorcycles off the road!). These concerns are even more significant for motorcycle riders using cell phones while they ride.
I am not recommending or advocating cell phone use while riding. However, my excuse is that I have two very elderly parents in ailing health, plus the usual real and imagined crises that arise from being married with kids, a high-stress job, etc. The bottom line is that if I can’t be available by phone while riding my motorcycle, then I won’t be able to ride. I only use my cell phone on the bike to receive phone calls, not to dial out (although the Scala Rider has features to easily do so with voice activated commands or a push button).
Second, my initial Neanderthal experience with a cell phone on the bike:
When I first tried using a cell phone on the bike, I didn’t actually have a phone conversation while riding. I would place my cell phone in a holster clip attached to the left side support strut for my windshield, so that I could easily see the display panel on the phone at a quick glance. I would set the ring tone to high volume to overcome engine/wind noise. When the phone would ring while I was riding, I certainly could not safely answer it. But, I could glance at the display to see the incoming phone number. If I recognized the number as a potentially important call, I’d find a place to safely pull over off the road, and then call back the number within a minute or two.
Then, after that procedure became an obvious pain in the ass after my wife would regularly call for something unimportant (I’d call back and my wife would say something like: “Hi, Honey. Whatcha doin?” Of course my reply was something like: “Well, I was happily riding my motorcycle until you called, which caused me to stop happily riding my motorcycle, so that I could call you back, just so you could ask me “Hi Honey. Whatcha doin?”)
So, then I started using a wired hands-free ear piece and microphone assembly, that is a common inexpensive cell phone accessory. But, that was a royal pain in the ass too. I’d have to very carefully insert the ear piece in my ear, then ultra-carefully put the helmet on so as not to disturb the ear piece. Then, while I was riding, the wire would flop around in the breeze and often dislodge the ear piece. The final straw was that the answer/hang up button on the wire was tiny, and very difficult to quickly find and operate with a gloved hand, without dislodging the ear piece while doing so. There just had to be a better way.
Now, on to the product review:
Voila, I discovered the Scala Rider helmet headset! This is a superb product. It is well thought-out for motorcycle riders. List price is $169.99. I bought mine from Amazon.com last week for $107 (free shipping). The product is easy to set up and securely clip onto your helmet, easy to electronically “pair” with your cell phone (requires Blue Tooth enabled cell phone) and is easy to use. A small speaker with Velcro backing sticks to your helmet liner next to your ear, and a tiny boom microphone with windscreen extends along the inside surface of the liner to the corner of your mouth. With the Scala Rider properly mounted to my helmet, I could easily pull the helmet on and off with absolutely no interference or any special attention.
I still mount my cell phone in the holster on the windshield strut, so that I can still see incoming numbers and ignore calls if I want to.
The incoming call gently rings in the headset with an ascending loudness, so you don’t get “startled” or “spooked” when the phone rings. Also, the Scala Rider has Automatic Gain Control that automatically raises or lowers the ear speaker volume to compensate for engine and wind noise. I could easily hear and be heard during a phone conversation at 80 mph on my bike. (I use a large windshield and full-face helmet. When I opened the face shield at 80 mph my wife said she could then hear wind noise, but she could still clearly understand my words).
If your cell phone has voice activation feature, you can verbally initiate an outgoing call and also verbally accept an incoming call or ignore it to send it to voice mail. Many current-generation phones have Blue Tooth and voice activation features (except the “entry-level” cell phones that you get for free when you initiate a wireless phone contract).
Even if your cell phone does not have voice activation, you can easily accept an incoming call or send it to voice mail (or simply reject the call if you have voice mail turned off) with a simple one-gloved-finger tap on the Scala Rider module that is clipped to the outside of your helmet. Finally, with one-gloved-finger tap on the Scala Rider module, you can redial the last number that you previously manually dialed from your cell phone.
I highly recommend this product.
First, a disclaimer:
I am aware of increasing concerns and evidence that people using cell phones while driving cars and trucks have a higher probability of becoming distracted and getting into accidents (including running motorcycles off the road!). These concerns are even more significant for motorcycle riders using cell phones while they ride.
I am not recommending or advocating cell phone use while riding. However, my excuse is that I have two very elderly parents in ailing health, plus the usual real and imagined crises that arise from being married with kids, a high-stress job, etc. The bottom line is that if I can’t be available by phone while riding my motorcycle, then I won’t be able to ride. I only use my cell phone on the bike to receive phone calls, not to dial out (although the Scala Rider has features to easily do so with voice activated commands or a push button).
Second, my initial Neanderthal experience with a cell phone on the bike:
When I first tried using a cell phone on the bike, I didn’t actually have a phone conversation while riding. I would place my cell phone in a holster clip attached to the left side support strut for my windshield, so that I could easily see the display panel on the phone at a quick glance. I would set the ring tone to high volume to overcome engine/wind noise. When the phone would ring while I was riding, I certainly could not safely answer it. But, I could glance at the display to see the incoming phone number. If I recognized the number as a potentially important call, I’d find a place to safely pull over off the road, and then call back the number within a minute or two.
Then, after that procedure became an obvious pain in the ass after my wife would regularly call for something unimportant (I’d call back and my wife would say something like: “Hi, Honey. Whatcha doin?” Of course my reply was something like: “Well, I was happily riding my motorcycle until you called, which caused me to stop happily riding my motorcycle, so that I could call you back, just so you could ask me “Hi Honey. Whatcha doin?”)
So, then I started using a wired hands-free ear piece and microphone assembly, that is a common inexpensive cell phone accessory. But, that was a royal pain in the ass too. I’d have to very carefully insert the ear piece in my ear, then ultra-carefully put the helmet on so as not to disturb the ear piece. Then, while I was riding, the wire would flop around in the breeze and often dislodge the ear piece. The final straw was that the answer/hang up button on the wire was tiny, and very difficult to quickly find and operate with a gloved hand, without dislodging the ear piece while doing so. There just had to be a better way.
Now, on to the product review:
Voila, I discovered the Scala Rider helmet headset! This is a superb product. It is well thought-out for motorcycle riders. List price is $169.99. I bought mine from Amazon.com last week for $107 (free shipping). The product is easy to set up and securely clip onto your helmet, easy to electronically “pair” with your cell phone (requires Blue Tooth enabled cell phone) and is easy to use. A small speaker with Velcro backing sticks to your helmet liner next to your ear, and a tiny boom microphone with windscreen extends along the inside surface of the liner to the corner of your mouth. With the Scala Rider properly mounted to my helmet, I could easily pull the helmet on and off with absolutely no interference or any special attention.
I still mount my cell phone in the holster on the windshield strut, so that I can still see incoming numbers and ignore calls if I want to.
The incoming call gently rings in the headset with an ascending loudness, so you don’t get “startled” or “spooked” when the phone rings. Also, the Scala Rider has Automatic Gain Control that automatically raises or lowers the ear speaker volume to compensate for engine and wind noise. I could easily hear and be heard during a phone conversation at 80 mph on my bike. (I use a large windshield and full-face helmet. When I opened the face shield at 80 mph my wife said she could then hear wind noise, but she could still clearly understand my words).
If your cell phone has voice activation feature, you can verbally initiate an outgoing call and also verbally accept an incoming call or ignore it to send it to voice mail. Many current-generation phones have Blue Tooth and voice activation features (except the “entry-level” cell phones that you get for free when you initiate a wireless phone contract).
Even if your cell phone does not have voice activation, you can easily accept an incoming call or send it to voice mail (or simply reject the call if you have voice mail turned off) with a simple one-gloved-finger tap on the Scala Rider module that is clipped to the outside of your helmet. Finally, with one-gloved-finger tap on the Scala Rider module, you can redial the last number that you previously manually dialed from your cell phone.
I highly recommend this product.
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