For many riders, the solitude and peace of riding a motorcycle is what they love; no phones, emails or questions, just them and their bike and the road. However, others, myself included, like to remain connected with a set of motorcycle earphones for listening to music on long, straight roads and being able to hear sat nav instructions on my route.
Best motorcycle earphones - our selection
1. Lenovo Bluetooth in-ear headphones
Description
These bluetooth headphones have the convenience of a connector cable so that you don't drop them
2. Jabra Elite 85t True Wireless Earbuds
Description
These ever-popular Jabra bluetooth earbuds feature advanced active noise cancellation, 5.5 hours
3. Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 3 Earbuds
Description
Bluetooth earbuds from soiund specialists Sennheiser, featuring adaptive noise cancellation,
4. Avantree Sports Earphones
Description
These are a step forward from the kind of earphones that come with most smartphones, in that they
5. Umi Earbuds
Description
These Bluetooth earbuds are Amazon's own brand and come in a charging case, you charge the case
6. Jabra Elite 75t
Editor's Pick - We've tested this product and would spend our own money on it
Description
I have a pair of these and they are nothing short of brilliant. They use active noise cancelling
7. JBL Bluetooth In-Ear
Description
These Bluetooth in-earphones look to be a little larger than a pair of traditional earplugs,
8. ISO Tunes Bluetooth Earplugs
Description
These low-profile earbuds are linked by a cable incorporating the battery and controls. They not
9. CFG CF Ride
Description
Another custom-made earplug, this one from Custom Fit Guards comes with a set of Bluetooth
Earphones in detail
Of course, an in-helmet intercom is a great solution that can satisfy all of these requirements. However, as many of us also wear earplugs to protect our hearing from external noise, these can also reduce the effectiveness of any intercom.
Coupled with that is the fact that the intercom must stay within the helmet so is no use to you off the bike and if you have more than one helmet – you ride a sports tourer and an off-road bike, for example - then you need an intercom (or at least a fitting kit) for each helmet.
One way around all of this is to wear a set of motorcycle earphones within your helmet. These can serve to insulate your eardrums from the external noise while also directing sound directly into your ears, making them far more efficient.
Like intercoms, motorcycle earphones, as well as many ‘sports’-style earphones, will have some form of separate control but some may not and in this case, you may need to control them directly from your sat-nav, smartphone or even by voice.
The other difference will be the fit. An intercom will (should) sit flush within the helmet’s interior and not interfere with your ears. A set of earphones may protrude from the ear’s profile and so may not work with all motorcycle helmets, though generally if you are careful, you should be able to get a helmet on – a flip-front or open-face may be easier here.
Finally a word on phone calls. While you may be able to hear someone else on a phone call, depending on where the microphone is located in the system you are using, they may not be able to hear you so if crystal-clear phone calls are a key element of your riding, these may not be for you and an intercom could be a better bet.
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