Never been a fan of music whilst riding but I bought a cheap set of bone conduction earphones a while ago and quite like them as I can still hear what’s going on, and if I pause them then suddenly I’m just not wearing earphones! However they are surprisingly good for calls, I don’t know if the mic is bone conduction but it seems better than an in ear type hands free.
So I might take these to work and buy a new set for riding.
Things that bug me about the existing set is the propriety charger (extra crap to find in bike luggage) and the main button is hard to feel with gloves and can be uncomfortable pressed against your head to listen for a voice command!
So any suggestions for decent sound and battery life, and ideally USBC charging. I know Shockz tops all the (Ai?!) reviews but not looking to spend that much!
Thanks
It won't help if I tell you how great my Shokz are then?
My Shokz are disappointingly excellent, given the limitations of bone conducting.
Haha
Have either of you compared them to generic ones?
Things that bug me about the existing set is the propriety charger (extra crap to find in bike luggage)
Not a perfect solution but you can get a small adapter to use with a usb c cable. I agree it’s annoying they don’t use usb c right out of the box.
I bought some generic £40-50 versions to test the general concept and whilst the sound was ok, they only lasted about 4 months before dying.
My shokz have lasted a couple of years now through some pretty shitty conditions so like everyone else so far, I'd say just try and pick some of them up when you see any on offer.
I've also got some Motorola Loops which are open ear rather than bone conduction but the end result is pretty similar and they're surprisingly good, I've taken to using these rather than the shokz for dog-walking etc and use the shokz for more active stuff.
Just buy the cheapest Shokz you can. Bought some for Christmas. Very pleased. They are not hifi nor even AirPods, but they are sound on the move with ambient awareness. And a volume button. Wear them dog walking and riding. Don’t listen to music that much. Don’t notice I’m wearing them my new ones are USB-C so tick my only-buy-USB-C devices now box
I have two pairs of shokz…
the cheaper pair called OpenMove is usb-c charging, and whilst they are not as ergonomic as the OpenRuns I also use, they function well
Not a perfect solution but you can get a small adapter to use with a usb c cable. I agree it’s annoying they don’t use usb c right out of the box.
I bought a little CatEye front light for my bike last year when I got it back on the road, and I was astonished to find it still had a MicroUSB charging port! Even cheap-ass Chinese electronics have USB-C ports nowadays! 🤦🏼♂️🤷🏼♂️
Having tried various different types of earphones, I've settled on Shokz, for me, there only weakpoint is going back to sleep in the campervan, not the comfiest thing to lie on.
I'm a podcast addict so have them on whenever I'm not working.
I bought the cheaper set, apart from longer battery life, which would be useful, are the more expensive ones obviously better from an audio POV?
I have the cheaper usb c charging shocks.
I killed a set after 4 years and a lot of use.
I tried my wife's cheaper set, which sounded bad, dropped signal numerous times in 2h rides and replaced them with more shocks.
Another who bought generics to get the concept. Liked it but the batteries lasted about 3 months before stopping charging.
Bought what ever the standard shokz were -but the name they used before shokz (aftershokz??) Have had them for 5+ years. Rubber starting to deteriorated now and could use replacing but still working solidly.
I hate them, don't fit my head and I had to have the volume so high it gave me tinnitus even though I could barely hear it. They're sat in a drawer, if anyone wants them just let me know.
Just replaced my aeropex which had finally died with some open run pro 2s. If they last as long then they will be worth the money (again).
Thanks all, managed to get a pair of Openruns from Boots for £99 (website discount plus advantage card sign up) so decided to take the plunge.
Argos Crawley have a pair of the discontinued Openrun Pros (inbetween model) on clearance for £110 but realised they are not USBC, which is a shame.
Got the Openfit. Let's you ride with just one thingy in place... Good on the bikes. Fits with a full-face and under ear defenders,too.
Another upvote for genuine aftershox.
My first pair, when the same company were Aeropex, (iirc) lasted about 5 years. The rubber started to corrode, they were pretty disgusting but kept on working, but the battery failed in the end. Just one day wouldnt charge.
Replaced them with the newer RunPro2's over Christmas. Theyre a bit of a hybrid, where most of the sound comes from bone conduction, but they have supplementary drivers that handle the bass end of the audio. (my Aeropex were pretty tinny and crackly). The newer design makes a massive difference. The audio quality is good/great by any headphones standards.
Still IP55 splash/sweat/rain resistant.
USB C charge port
https://uk.shokz.com/products/openrun-pro2
valentines day offers on to take advantage of?
I got Her Indoors a set of Xaomi bone conducting headphones of AliExpress for about £12.
She rides on the road a lot & I was planning on getting her some Shokz from Costco as they often have special.deals on them.
Anyway, they arrived & were surprisingly good. Sounded fine, connected easily & never dopped. Didn't bother with the Shokz in the end.
Tested them on a 2hr ride on the gravel bike & I heard some deer in the woods & turned to watch them. Would never have known they were there with regular earphones.
Personally, I just use earphones on the road but turn my head to make observations a bit more.
What's the noise bleed like on these sort of headphones? If they were to be used in a relatively quiet office would others be hearing the tinny vibrations similar to noise bleed on cheap older headphones?
I'm like several others, tried some cheap ones and was happy with the concept, then when they failed bought some Shook. Have lasted ages, are so comfy I genuinely forget I'm wearing them and battery seems to last.
I found they work fine for walking and mountain biking but faster speeds on road means you lose a bit (maybe I've just got big flappy ears though), mic is a bit flaky but may be down to the actual model
Mine are waterproof and at old gym I could leave my phone in a locker and then hook up in the pool on the other side of the wall and swim with sound too so range was pretty good.
Well it’s 5 days later, Boots still show my order as processing and Shockz have the Openruns for £95 so I think I’m going to cancel Boots as they clearly aren’t in a hurry!
re nose bleed, there just be a bit as I’ve had mine generic ones on in the back of a car, not particularly load, and the driver could hear a noise from them. And the Pro2 Shockz have an external base speaker to improve sound and I understand this makes them much more audible to others.
What's the noise bleed like on these sort of headphones? If they were to be used in a relatively quiet office would others be hearing the tinny vibrations similar to noise bleed on cheap older headphones?
I have two colleagues use them in the office and never noticed.
I am surprised on these threads discussing these how people say they can hear background noise so clearly. I think they are marginally better than standard earbuds, but not as good as earbuds with ambient noise pass through. And when you think about how they work, yes they leave the ear canal clear, but the vibrations are still competing for that bandwidth of our auditory senses.
They are still my prefered device for listening to music and podcasts during outdoor activity, and if mine broke I would replace them in a heartbeat, but I do think the ability to hear background noise while in use is greatly exaggerated, from my experience.
Spooky, could you let us know how you get on with the open run. I'm interested in how good the microphone is in particular.thanks
Well after nearly 6 years with no prior warning mine died today.
Everything works fine except that the legs just broke off. It didn't even snap it just crumbled.
But that's 6 years of sweat and of UV rays
A replacement seems to be in the £130 region. Holding off for their spring sale in a couple days see if there's any deals. Looking forward to a usb c upgrade. Pretty much had to keep a cable adaptor in the bag for the old set.